Ascendancy represents what is generally perceived as an impossibility: a thorough 4X game native to the iPad and, more amazing yet, built recently. This is a game that harkens back to the golden days of 4X gaming, giving the player huge amounts of control over exploring a galaxy, exploiting its resources, expanding your sphere of influence, and, when necessary, beating the tar out of your enemies...maybe (more on that in a tick). Ascendancy does give the full 4X gaming experience in a tablet-friendly tappable interface. There's more than enough detail and customizability in this game to make the most irascible gamer happy and give you hours of gameplay. If you're even passingly-happy with 4X games and need a way to kill time, look no further. Add to that the benefit of its turn-based nature and you have a game that's fun, engaging, and can be put down and picked up at will. So what are the downsides? The interface suffers from some documentation problems (as in a lack of it), but 4X gamers will not be deterred; exploring our own interface is part of the fun. The learning curve is sharp but survivable. Enemies are tenacious and, unfortunately, better at using the interface than you are (benefit of living inside the computer), making combat a little dicey. It's difficult to maintain the peace, so your options are difficult peace or difficult combat. But the game is playable, enjoyable, and reasonably priced even at $6, mainly because it avoids so many of the pitfalls of iOS games -- for example, you can (sit down before reading on) have more than ONE savegame! Yes, you get multiple spots AND control over when you save, plus an autosave! Truth told, Ascendancy does 4X right, properly honoring its roots (it's actually a remake of a very old game). If you're a 4X fan, get thee to the App Store and get downloading; Ascendancy does it right.