How playable are these on mobile devices (without a controller)? I've never gotten around to playing either of these but have always wanted to, wondering if this is the way to do it

Don't let them spin it. After the harassment cases broke and the, deserved, fallout that followed, Activision needed to distract from the "PR nightmare" and Microsoft thought they could get a good deal. This comment tells you all you need to know about this monster;

Just how insecure do you need to be to instruct NASA(!) to drop everything and "work" on bs like this?

Well that's not great. :(

Definitely, really liked that one as well! I've read quite a few of his novels but this one (WB) is still my favourite