Dopass.com

I was a HUGE fan of the first two X-Com games. I wasn't a massive fan of the later entries in the series, because they stepped away from the combat model that made X-Com so fantastic. I thought that style of game was gone for good, but a few years back I found a game called Laser Squad Nemesis made by the same guys that created X-Com. It has all the turn-based strategy love of X-Com but it's bite-sized, with most games amounting to about 5 or 6 minutes of real-time play across 30 turns.

You see, it's squad vs. squad combat, and each match is a single firefight. The action is fast, deeply strategic, and VERY accessible. This really is turn-based play at its most streamlined, glorious pinnacle.

Even though it's a subscription based game, it's VERY cheap. My 6 months (including the purchase of the game) cost a measly $30 bucks, the cost of a single game itself. For that $30 bucks I get a bunch of single player campaigns I can play alone (though admittedly, I haven't yet) and access to their online play service (with ladders and easy game matching) for 6 months. There are discounts for buying larger blocks of time, as with most online games now a days.

I was happily reminded of this game by Ombwah a couple of weeks ago and we've started playing, again. Come join us! I play as BetMonty and even though I've just started playing, I'll take any comers.

Seriously, if you liked X-Com's combat, come play this game. You will not be disappointed.

- Snipehunter