Commander, it’s once again time to save the Earth – but this time you can do it from the comfort of your toilet seat. XCOM 2 today launched on iPhones, iPads, I don’t know anymore. The iOS release comes with all the DLC too, enough game to occupy your attention for potentially thousands of bowel movements. And I think technically you’re allowed to play phone games in other places too?

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Gather round, descendants of unwelcome occupiers. It is time to celebrate turkeys again. Now, I don t have any comically large birds to slaughter, but I do recognise the emotional benefit of reflection, which is what this questionable holiday is all about. Being thankful. There are many small things we videosgamers take for granted, the stuff you don t even think about. But tiny quality of life things still deserve a grateful thumbs-up. Here are 17 things to be thankful for in games.

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Welcome back, Commanders. I’ve returned to an expanded and finalised XCOM 2 this week. Since the launch of 2017’s War Of The Chosen expansion and last year’s Tactical Legacy Pack, things have been quiet on the XCOM front. The game is finally stabilised, giving modders a nice static test-bed to add new weapons, aliens and features to the squad tactics sandbox. Here’s a deep dive on the boldly named “A Better Everything” – a modular overhaul mod package – plus a few fun extras to freshen up your next scuffle with Advent.

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My favourite XCOM is XCOM: Enemy Unknown*, a pure and direct, no mess/no fuss modern-day remix of metagame-augmented turn-based tactics. My second-favourite XCOM is the polar opposite, XCOM 2 DLC War Of The Chosen, an absurd explosion of superheroics that throws internal logic to the wind.

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Standard-issue XCOM 2 is probably my least-favourite of the four different flavours of XCOM now available to us (i.e. including the Enemy Within and War Of The Chosen expansions), but that’s a bit like saying I don’t enjoy 29 degrees of heat quite as much as 26, 27 and 28 degrees. They’re all great! Make it like that all the time, please. Only, y’know, without the heat-death of the planet. And, yeah, keep on releasing more XCOMs.

If you’ve avoided Firaxis’ reimagining of The Greatest PC Game Of All Time (If You’re An Old Man Like Me), XCOM 2 can be a rather full-on point of entry. On the other hand, it’s currently free all weekend (and 75% off if you want to keep it forever), which is the easiest point of entry of all.

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Have you ever stopped to wonder what life is really all about? To get to the bottom of why we exist, what our purpose is, where this is all heading?

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More XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen is such an exciting prospect to some that our Alec, despite being away on months-long sabbatical, appeared wanting to write about the new DLC released today (Brendan shooed him away with a broom). Tactical Legacy Pack is its name, and adding loads of new missions and maps and items and modes is its game. It’s free for keepsies right now too (though it does require the WOTC expansion), then in December Sally-come-latelys will start needing to pay a couple quid for it. Eat it, Meer. Enjoy not doing work ha ha, sucker.

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Six years ago, Firaxis pulled off the impossible with XCOM, re-envisioning a DOS classic – next week, they’re celebrating this feat with the Tactical Legacy pack for XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen. It’s pure fan-service of the less-sexy kind (unless Carapace armour turns you on, in which case fly your freak flag high), featuring old favourite equipment and environments used in a new series of tactical mini-campaigns. Better still, it’ll be initially free to owners of War Of The Chosen. It’s out next week, October 9th. Check the reveal trailer below.

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The calendar’s doors have been opened and the games inside have been eaten. But fear not, latecomer – we’ve reconstructed the list in this single post for easy re-consumption. Click on to discover the best games of 2017. (more…)

Back in the summer, I boldly declared that ‘I will play XCOM 2: War Of The Chosen’s daily challenge mode every day.’ Er. Whoops. I’ve only played a handful since then, and I’m not alone there. Though the mode still pumps out a new challenge every day, it hasn’t blossomed into a new religion in the same way The Binding of Isaac and Spelunky’s daily random-o-map scoreboard challenges have for those communities.

So, what happened?

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