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XCOM: Enemy Within now on mobile
Commander, XCOM: Enemy Within is now available for iOS and Android devices. Yup, it's the full game, which includes the addition of genetic manipulation and mechs to the turn-based strategy game of humans vs. aliens. Ironman is the only way to play! The game is compatible with iPad 3, iPad mini 2, iPhone 5 and up on iOS. It won't work with earlier devices, so don't even try (it can still be purchased, but won't work). Also, multiplayer won't be offered on Amazon devices. Be sure to check your mobile device's compatibility before purchase. XCOM: Enemy Within has replaced the mobile version of Enemy Unknown on the various digital storefronts and is available for $12.99.
Stories we tell in quiet houses and alien invasions
Video game experiences aren't wholly relegated to what designers have deliberately laid out for you; through gameplay, a unique narrative emerges. We all have our own stories: a car chase in Grand Theft Auto V, a battle within a hidden cave in Skyrim, an ore-rich chasm in Minecraft. These discoveries highlight the promise that, if we just keep looking and keep testing a game's boundaries, we might find something that's uniquely ours. Thanks to franchises like BioShock, Fallout and Grand Theft Auto, the idea of player-driven narrative is being explored in different ways. From collectibles to character customization and sprawling open-worlds, video games today are littered with tools people can use to manufacture stories that belong only to them. But that doesn't mean the role of the developer has been in any way diminished. On the contrary, designers now have more work to do than ever, subtly and precisely tailoring their games so that players can get a full experience without feeling like they're being led by the nose.
Humble 2K Bundle offers up BioShock trilogy, The Darkness 2
Publisher 2K Games headlines today's newly launched Humble Bundle, offering Steam-redeemable versions of BioShock, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified and other featured games for a price of your choosing. All bundle buyers receive copies of 2K's undersea FPS BioShock, comic book-based action game The Darkness 2, and alternate-history shooter The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. Purchases that exceed the bundle's average purchase price will also receive BioShock 2, Mafia 2 and Spec Ops: The Line, and customers who pay $20 or more will get bonus copies of BioShock Infinite and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. A buyer-chosen portion of proceeds benefits the American Red Cross and Action Against Hunger charities. The Humble 2K Bundle will be available through July 22. [Image: 2K Games]
XCOM: Enemy Unknown gets acquainted with Android, out now
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is out now on Google Play, commander. The new Android port is priced $10/£7.14, and according to a message from XCOM HQ, an advance on the Amazon Appstore is expected "soon." Despite claiming the lives of many of our best friends - or at least a bunch of soldiers named after them - we ranked Enemy Unknown as our second-best game of 2012. The good news: Firaxis transitioned the console and PC release into a "slick, portable package" on iOS, and hopefully that'll pan out the same way on Android. [Image: 2K Games]
XCOM: Enemy Unknown Complete Edition lands on PC, Mac
The XCOM: Enemy Unknown Complete Edition is available now for PC and Mac in North America, and it launches worldwide on March 7. Most game retailers carry the Complete Edition, but for those with an itchy trigger finger, check it out on Steam. Also, buy some Gold Bond or something. The new bundle comes with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, XCOM: Enemy Within, the Elite Soldier DLC, Slingshot DLC and Second Wave DLC. This pack is desktop-only, no console versions planned. Speaking of XCOM: Today we hosted a livestream with franchise creator Julian Gollop and his latest strategy game, Chaos Reborn. Check out the replay of our live gameplay and chat here. [Image: 2K Games]
Ridiculous Fishing, Badland win App Store's Best of 2013 awards
Apple awarded Vlambeer's Ridiculous Fishing its much-coveted iPhone Game of the Year award today, while Frogmind's silhouetted platformer Badland picked up the iPad award. With App Store exposure being so crucial to an app's success, the awards are big wins for the two indie studios, both comprised of just two people. The duo of duos beat competition from major studios in 2K Games and EA PopCap, with runner-up spots going to XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Plants vs. Zombies 2. Kevin Ng's rollercoaster puzzler The Impossible Road and the stylish wordplay of Simogo's Device 6 also picked up runners-up prizes. If you thought those awards, while deserved, were a smidge predictable, be prepared for further non-raising of eyebrows: This year's most downloaded free app (not just games but all apps) was Candy Crush Saga, while Minecraft: Pocket Edition was the best-selling paid app of 2013. It's also worth noting that while Candy Crush Saga is free-to-download, it was also the highest grossing app of 2013 - Minecraft: Pocket Edition came in 11th.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown among 2K games discounted on iOS this week
2K is discounting a number of its mobile games this week, the publisher announced. The Mobile Fall Sale runs from November 27 through December 2 and applies to six iOS games. Among the 2K-published games on sale this week are NHL 2K11, Civilization Revolution and Sid Meier's Pirates, each discounted to 99 cents. Lucid Games' racer 2K Drive, which launched in September for $7, will be $1.99 on iOS as of Wednesday. Lastly, NBA 2K14 will drop down to $2.99 while XCOM: Enemy Unknown will be $9.99.
PSN Tuesday: XCOM: Enemy Within, Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus
It's a big week for PS3 content on the PlayStation Store. XCOM: Enemy Within makes its debut on PS3 today, as does the latest entry in the Ratchet & Clank series, Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, from Insomniac Games. Two new Wonderbook adventures, Diggs Nightcrawler and Walking With Dinosaurs, are also available today, as is Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition and a special everything-but-the-kitchen-sink version of Grid 2. The first episode of BioShock Infinite's Burial at Sea DLC is also up for grabs. Ibb and Obb is free on PS3 for PS Plus members, who will find a new plethora of deals to sift through on PSN this week. Highlights include cheap fighters like Divekick and Street Fighter X Tekken, plus Ubisoft franchises such as Scott Pilgrim, Beyond Good & Evil HD and From Dust.
XCOM: Enemy Within Review: Of MECs and Men
Firaxis has elevated XCOM: Enemy Unknown's intensity through the bulkier risk-reward strategy system in its expansion, XCOM: Enemy Within. The expansion's potency is at worst intriguing and at best traumatic. Its net effect is as captivating as its launch pad with new items, juiced-up soldiers, alien mechs, a new branching series of side quests, and 47 fresh battlegrounds ripe with opportunities for tactical excision. Enemy Within's single-player campaign starts the same way as Enemy Unknown -- bunkered in an underground military base at the brink of the end of the world, following the escalating war with the aliens to its climax. Think of the expansion as a lateral addition to a core game and mission list that remains unchanged. It's possible to play Enemy Within almost exactly like Enemy Unknown, but Enemy Within adds an optional quest line early on: Defend the XCOM nations and XCOM itself from a transhuman threat... an organization called Exalt. To further humanity's evolution, Exalt attempts to disrupt XCOM operations and promote the assimilation of alien technology into human biology. Thick with narrative irony, XCOM simultaneously develops two tracks of transhuman upgrades, the exact kind of alien-human integration that Exalt wants: MECs and gene mods. Each unlocks after the construction of cybernetics or genetics labs, respectively, enabling the manufacture of XCOM super soldiers to combat both Exalt and the Sectoids' breed of elite soldiers.
2K offering three-game Holiday Bundles for $30 each
If you want to surprise your loved ones with a generous and value-conscious bouquet of shooters and strategy games on Christmas morning, 2K Games has you covered with its newly announced lineup of $29.99 Holiday Bundles for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Players who missed out on some of this generation's best first-person shooters (and who aren't averse to the occasional tactical strategy game) may enjoy 2K's Essentials Collection, which includes the original BioShock, Borderlands, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The Rogues and Outlaws Collection is an obvious choice for any rogues and outlaws in your immediate family, serving up copies of Borderlands 2, Spec Ops: The Line and Mafia 2. Finally, those who enjoy games with the number "2" in the title will love the 2K Power Pack, which offers BioShock 2, Mafia 2, and The Darkness 2. 2K is also offering a Definitive Strategy Collection, which includes the PC versions of XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Sid Meier's Civilization V. All bundles (except for the Rogues and Outlaws Collection, which is a Walmart exclusive) are available at Amazon, GameStop, Walmart, and Best Buy.
Multiplayer added to XCOM: Enemy Unknown iOS
A new update adding multiplayer is available for XCOM: Enemy Unknown on iOS. Multiplayer in XCOM on iOS is asynchronous, allowing players to conduct turns at their convenience. The update also adds multiplayer leaderboards, optimizes the game for iOS 7 and fixes a few lingering bugs. And to celebrate this new update, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is on sale for $10 until October 13. XCOM: Enemy Unknown made its debut on iOS back in June, in a full mobile port we found to be on par with the console and PC offering. XCOM: Enemy Within, a new expansion for the PC and console version of the game, is due on November 12.
XCOM: Enemy Within's clandestine 'Exalt' wants to rule the world
Exalt, the third faction introduced in the XCOM: Enemy Unknown expansion, XCOM: Enemy Within, is a renegade human organization whose ultimate goal is the genetic perfection of the human race. They view themselves as the rightful rulers of Earth, ushering the species into a new era of evolution. They're an organization that strikes from the shadows, enacting nefarious and secretive plots to disrupt XCOM operations and weaken the organization's presence worldwide. For Exalt, it's all about achieving that goal – regardless of how many human lives are lost in the process.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown free to play until Sunday on Steam, franchise on sale
Commander, FIraxis' XCOM: Enemy Unknown is currently free to play on Steam through Sunday until 16:00 Eastern. The franchise is also on sale until Monday, October 7, until 10:00 Eastern. Players should also be aware that if they start a game through the free offer, they'll need to buy it before the weekend is over for $10 to retain their progress. The free-to-play weekend is actually part of a publisher sale going on with 2K Games over at the digital distribution network. Amazon is also having a similar deal. We'll be watching your progress with interest, Commander.
XCOM Enemy Unknown and The Bureau bundled for $25 on Amazon
Looking for an opportunity to jump in on the XCOM franchise? Amazon is currently offering the PC versions of Firaxis' turn-based strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown and 2K Marin's third-person shooter The Bureau: XCOM Declassified as a discounted bundle priced at $24.99. Both games are redeemable via Steam. Downloadable versions of XCOM: Enemy Unknown and The Bureau are available individually for $9.99 and $19.99, respectively. If you prefer the classic stylings of the XCOM games from the '90s and early 2000s, you may want to check out the $3.75 XCOM Complete Pack, which collects XCOM: Apocalypse, XCOM: Enforcer, XCOM: Interceptor, XCOM: Terror from the Deep, and the 1993 debut entry XCOM: UFO Defense.
Steam weekend sales: 2K games, Baldur's Gate and Final Fantasy 7
Look, we know things have been rough ever since the government shut down. Cars have become sentient; peach cobbler is now physically impossible to produce – it's not easy out there. Still, there are some things we can depend on in these tough times, such as the persistence and regularity of sales on Steam. From now through 10 a.m. Pacific on Monday, October 7, a growing selection of 2k Games-published jams have gone under the discount knife, including BioShock Infinite ($26.79), XCOM: Enemy Unknown ($9.99) and a whole bunch of others. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy 7 is half-off at $5.99 and Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition can be snagged for a thin $5. Granted, these sales may not make up for the fact that our nation's stop signs now act as portals to Ung'Thagar's Darkest Dark Moon, but every little bit helps until the government comes back online and this all gets straightened out.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown on PC with DLC for $10 through Amazon
Commander, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is currently $10 through Amazon's digital distribution network. We don't believe this is a Sectoid conspiracy, but that's a pretty good deal, especially since it includes both the Elite Soldier and Slingshot downloadable content packs. XCOM's Enemy Within expansion, which will add new tech, enemies and maps, is currently scheduled for November 12. The expansion is priced at $30 on PC, so if you've yet to pick up XCOM, this deal would be the same as getting the Xbox 360 or PS3 "Commander Edition." That version includes a copy of Enemy Unknown, along with the Slingshot and Elite Soldier content packs for $40.
XCOM: Enemy Within narrated trailer shows contents within
Commander, you shouldn't be required to wait in line, so here's the XCOM: Enemy Within gameplay demonstration from Gamescom and PAX Prime 2013 direct to your personal device. In it, Lead Designer Ananda Gupta briefs you on new weapons, abilities and enemies.
XCOM: Enemy Within 'too big' to be DLC on Xbox 360, PS3
XCOM: Enemy Unknown's expansion, Enemy Within, will be issued as DLC on PC and Mac for $30, but the only way to get it on consoles is through a new Commander's Edition – a retail re-release that includes the XCOM: Enemy Unknown game, the Slingshot and Elite Soldier add-ons, plus the Enemy Within expansion. The reason for issuing the Commander's Edition is because Enemy Within is simply too large a file to patch into the console game as DLC. "For the expansion on the PC, it was fairly straightforward," Garth DeAngelis, senior producer at Firaxis Games, said during a PAX Prime interview. "But when it came to the consoles, it was too big. If we wanted to deliver the same content to the console players, we had to do it this way as a standalone expansion on a disc. We couldn't simply just patch it in." DeAngelis added that Enemy Within includes so many changes to the base XCOM: Enemy Unknown experience – new unit types, upgrades and even skill changes – it necessitated an entire re-issue of the game. "These things are tied deeply into Enemy Unknown so we wanted to release [the Commander's Edition] as sort of the ultimate edition, with all the previous DLC on this one disc. It was either deliver it this way or not deliver it at all." XCOM: Enemy Within, announced at Gamescom nearly a week ago, launches on November 12.
XCOM: Enemy Within 'War Machines' trailer
The XCOM initiative is up against new, vicious extraterrestrials, but enemies aren't the only ones with aces up their cybernetically enhanced sleeves. Choose between alien psychic powers or heavily armored mecha exoskeletons and get to augmenting your soldiers in this XCOM: Enemy Within trailer.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown finds 'Enemy Within' expansion this Nov.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown will seek out the "Enemy Within" when the critically acclaimed reboot receives its first major expansion on November 12. Enemy Within will be available on PC and Mac for $30, while Xbox 360 and PS3 get the $40 "Commander Edition" that includes a copy of Enemy Unknown and the Slingshot and Elite Soldier content packs. Enemy Within takes place in the confines of Enemy Unknown, so it's the same game with more stuff. That descriptive noun includes new soldier abilities earned through alien research, such as gene mods and MECs, more commonly known as "mechs," even more commonly known as awesome mechanical exoskeletons that include flamethrowers and grenade launchers. The expansion also adds new weapons and equipment, new enemies – like the "Mechtoid," a machine-encased Sectoid soldier, more resources, additional "tactical challenges" on maps and much more content for multiplayer. Finally, in celebration of the international Gamescom convention going on right now, Firaxis found the perfect time to add the most important feature to XCOM: More soldier accents! The developer has reorganized the voicebank, so soldiers now have access to all their localized languages. We always did find it odd that XCOM used an international team with only perfect American accents.
