UFO: Aftershock Spreads its Strategic Tactics to Mobile Gaming

by Louis Bedigian

“All the units, enemies, weapons, projects and environments, which can be seen in the mobile version, are taken from the PC version.”

An alien invasion is coming. You think you can avoid it. Maybe you can. Spend the rest of your life running from something that’s determined to wipe you out. Go for it, I’ll kick back and watch. Before you know it you’ll come crying back, hoping to get into my homemade Alien Resistance Base. Plug of the day: I purchased the parts for my base at Universal Force Field Operations, Inc., or UFFO for short.

(The guys who sold the parts to me were short and green. You don’t suppose they were…nah, couldn’t be.)

I’ve got a protective base, a lawn chair, and a six-pack of cola waiting to be guzzled. I’m ready for their attack!  And when they come I’ll be able to defend myself using my mobile phone.

“Because of the deadly radiation that emits from its antenna?”

No silly. It’s because I’ll be playing UFO: Aftershock, the ultimate alien invasion strategy game. Developed by Redboss, the mobile version is going to pack as many of the PC version’s features as possible. Jakub Mikyska, Lead Designer and Project Manager, shared the exciting details.

For anyone who hasn't heard of the series before, what kind of a game is UFO: Aftershock?

Jakub Mikyska: UFO: Aftershock is a sequel to the legendary UFO / X-COM series. Your goal is to stop an alien invasion to the Earth. It is a mixture of strategic game, where you built bases, shoot down UFOs and start scientific projects, and tactical action game, where you control a small team of soldiers and go through various combat missions.

How did you come to work on a mobile version of the game?

JM: The PC version is being developed by a Czech team Altar and published by a Czech publisher Cenega. In Redboss, we are all UFO fans and when we have heard that Cenega is seeking a developer to create mobile version, we didn’t hesitate a second.

What's different? What's the same?

JM: The mobile version is also a combination of tactical and strategic part. All the units, enemies, weapons, projects and environments, which can be seen in the mobile version, are taken from the PC version. Limits of mobile phones don’t allow us to incorporate everything, so, the number of environments is limited but there will still be 4 different environments. We also have our own ideas in the game, which are different from the PC version. Missions and mission goals will be different. Some of the abilities will be different as well.

Does the game follow the same story as the PC version?

JM: Yes. The storyline of UFO: Aftershock takes part about 50 years after the events of UFO: Aftermath. Mankind, living on a flying island Laputa, is not aware of what has happened on our planet, but circumstances force us to move back to the Earth and take our homeland back from unknown forces. Even players who didn’t play UFO: Aftermath can fully enjoy the story of UFO: Aftershock. This is perfect for us, because there has not been any mobile version of UFO: Aftermath.

What can we expect from the gameplay?

JM: You can expect tens of missions and scientific projects that you must complete to know the truth about what has happened to our planet. When you go to the mission, you must show your tactical skill as you will face overwhelming predominance. Action is focused on perfect planning of every step more, than frenetic shooting at anything which has more than two eyes. Everyone who will try to play UFO: Aftershock as an ordinary shoot’-em-up will lose a chance to save mankind in a few minutes.

Can you tell us anything about the enemies? Extraterrestrials are a given, but...

JM: There will not be only one race of extraterrestrials and they will not be fighting only the player’s units and bases but they will also attack each other. There will even be a group of humans fighting together with the extraterrestrials against player’s forces. Everyone who is not in your team can be an enemy. But the game also contains politics and you can turn some of your enemies into allies. And of course – you can even turn your best allies to sworn enemies.

Is the SCS system being implemented? If so, could tell us a bit about it?

JM: Yes. SCS (simultaneous combat system) is definitely being implemented. It is an ultimate mixture of turn-based and real-time action. Actions of player’s and hostile forces take part at the same time. Anytime you want to issue new orders, you can “freeze time”. Action will stop and you can react to the situation, issue new orders or just think about what to do next. Then you unfreeze the time and see the action.

I know this might be a hard question to answer, but are you attempting to do anything with the mobile version that wasn't done in the PC version, or anything that hasn't been done in a mobile game at all?

JM: The SCS (simultaneous combat system) is something you could not see in any other mobile game before. Isometric engine that we use is also a state-of-art. I will be able to show you first screenshots in a few weeks. Prepare for a jaw-drop. Variety of mission goals is huge – from elimination missions to stealth missions. There are also some differences from the PC version. It was impossible to implement all the aspects of PC UFO: Aftershock, so we have created our own missions, bases system and soldier’s skills system to fit the needs of mobile gaming.

Mobile version will show unseen things even to the players who completed the PC version, including some parts of the story, which are not present in the PC version.

Are there any RPG elements?

JM: Yes. There will be 3 different kinds of soldiers, each one with special abilities. You will have to use different abilities to accomplish different missions. After some time, player’s soldiers became skilled veterans and will gain even some additional abilities.

What about base construction – will that be a part of the experience?

JM: Again – yes. Battles for new territories are one of the most important strategies, to win the game, if not the most important of them all. On each territory, you can build a base. Bases can be of different kinds - scientific or defensive. Scientific bases will boost your projects which are essential to the progress in technologies, but are highly vulnerable and you will have to protect them against enemy attacks. 

Talk about the game's various units – enemy units, allied units, and any other that are featured in the game.

JM: You can have 3 different kinds of units in your team (Your team can have 5 members). Humans are sharpshooters with medium strength and endurance. Psionics are humans with telepathic abilities. They can carry only light weapons and armor, but the most skilled ones will be for example able to posses enemies.

In some missions, where weapons won’t do too much good to you, like a mission in an explosives warehouse, Psionics will be your only weapon. And finally the Cyborgs are humans with mechanical implants. They carry heavy weapons and get very angry when somebody scratches their armor. But their ammunition is limited and they move very slowly. Enemies are Reticulans, an extraterrestrial race known from UFO: Aftermath. But I cannot talk about other races of extraterrestrials at this moment as the identity of other races is the most surprising twist in the storyline.

The PC version is coming soon. Do you have any idea when the mobile version will be ready for release?

JM: The mobile version will be ready at the end of this year.

Thank you for your time.