The Bureau: XCOM Declassified Video Hides The Truth

[Karloff]

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified Video Hides The Truth


The REDACTED is especially thrilling.

Agent Carter and his Bureau [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123531-2K-Reveals-The-Bureau-XCOM-Declassified] team are hard at work, protecting the nation against nebulous threats, as the latest video reveal - or more accurately, non-reveal - shows. The Department of Defense is worried that too much information may alarm the public, so don't expect any alien autopsies, but if you were hoping for some glimpses of gameplay, squint hard at the spaces between the black bars and secrets may yet be discovered.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is the XCOM FPS that vanished off the radar [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123275-Troubled-XCOM-Shooters-Website-Disappears] a while back, only to reappear as a tactical squad based combat game. You guide your trusty agents through the hot zone, trying not to get too many of them killed as, once gone, they're gone for good. Combat earns them experience which can buy abilities, like telekinesis, or tools like flash bangs. Alien tech can be researched to aid your effort though, at the moment at least, not much is known about how that will work.

This Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC title launches August 2013.


Permalink

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

This still looks really good. I think people need to read the review or play it before they insult. This could have great customization and weapon creation. An there could be some good strategy elements as well. Fingers crossed.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

Kind of disappointing they're doing the whole, DLC mission as preorder bonus thing but still, this looks like it could be interesting.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

Here's a developer interview vid that shows off a bit more of the gameplay.


I'm still not quite sure what to think of this game. I still kinda wished they renamed the whole thing entirely, plus I think it's going to be hard to accept this as an "origin" story to XCOM. I mean, how come by Enemy Unknown, everyone was freaking out over the aliens as something NEW? 'First contact', 'never before seen lifeforms', etc when apparently the 60s went through the same shit, with the same alien species!? I'm really not sure how they can logically explain that without it being complete nonsense.

Sigh...

But, all that aside, looking at the game itself for what it is....I like it. This sort of gameplay is what I wished from Mass Effect. Having a lot of tactical control over your squad and their use of powers and such. It could be interesting.

Plus, on the bright side, I imagine fighting aliens like Mutons, Chryssalids, and Sectopods from a third person perspective like this could be really intense.

But, I have to wonder just how much the development-hell has affected the quality of this game.

 

[Candidus]

I'd be interested if it were set in any other time period at all. Literally any other. Including medieval. But I find something so earth-shatteringly dull about the 40's-60's, in America and elsewhere... the screenshots actually make me depressed and lethargic.

Not to mention that E.T fighting equipment in that era is going to evoke the Ghost Busters, no matter how hard you work to avoid it.

 

[Anathrax]

Looks very interesting. I just hope the core game play is built around you and your squad mates being geniuses and not the mass effect style of keep behind cover until this guy gets his head out, shoot, repeat. I also hope there's a LoTR the Third age style dark mode, where you play as the aliens, and the squad mates you play with are characterized. Oh wait, I shouldn't get hyped for this, IT'S GONNA SUCK. That's better.

 

[fix-the-spade]

But, I have to wonder just how much the development-hell has affected the quality of this game.

You never know, don't forget that games lost in development Hell include Metroid Prime, Prey and Team Fortress 2.

I hope it's good, I'd have preferred first person because I find it better than third for shooters, but I dreamed about a XCom shooter the first time round. The idea of fighting a Chrysalid on foot is... interesting.

 

[Bindal]

I'm still not quite sure what to think of this game. I still kinda wished they renamed the whole thing entirely, plus I think it's going to be hard to accept this as an "origin" story to XCOM. I mean, how come by Enemy Unknown, everyone was freaking out over the aliens as something NEW? 'First contact', 'never before seen lifeforms', etc when apparently the 60s went through the same shit, with the same alien species!? I'm really not sure how they can logically explain that without it being complete nonsense.

They explain it by Enemy Unknown not being related to this game. "The Bureau" is a prequel to the ORIGINAL game. Just as they stated tons of times.

Not to mention that E.T fighting equipment in that era is going to evoke the Ghost Busters, no matter how hard you work to avoid it.

How is that possible? Ghostbusters came out in the mid-eighties (1984) and was set a bit later. Not sure how you can relate them to the 60s...
If you would have said "Fallout", that would have been a different story.

 

[Ukomba]

I'm glad it didn't die entirely. Since the strategy version did come out, there's no harm in an FPS too. Not going to pre-order though, too much troubled past with this to trust the with a pre-order.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

I'm still not quite sure what to think of this game. I still kinda wished they renamed the whole thing entirely, plus I think it's going to be hard to accept this as an "origin" story to XCOM. I mean, how come by Enemy Unknown, everyone was freaking out over the aliens as something NEW? 'First contact', 'never before seen lifeforms', etc when apparently the 60s went through the same shit, with the same alien species!? I'm really not sure how they can logically explain that without it being complete nonsense.

They explain it by Enemy Unknown not being related to this game. "The Bureau" is a prequel to the ORIGINAL game. Just as they stated tons of times.

Never heard them say that. Besides, Outsiders weren't in the originals, and these Sectoids look very EU'ey as well. So excuse me for thinking it was connected to Enemy Unknown. Them calling the black goo Silacoids even though they don't actually look like Silacoids made me wonder just how connected this XCOM was to any of them.

Spoiler

[/spoiler]

Now that it is connected to the originals, my greatest curiosity is in the art style. Will the aliens look like the classics, or like the EU aliens? I figured with the 60's look, the classic designs could fit in quite well.

And I liked the designs of many of the classic aliens. Especially the chryssalids.

[img src='http://www.ufopaedia.org/images/6/6c/Chryssalid.gif']

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

Wow, this game actually looks loads better than what was originally teased years ago.

I really like the whole 50-60s advanced alien technology jury-rigged for human use and now that the strategy game has come out I don't see there being any harm in an FPS.

 

[RicoADF]

Seriously 2k/Take Two rarely get it wrong, they make some of the best game franchises around and I have yet to be disapointed by them, if anything XCOM: EU shows they know how to do an excellent XCOM game. So I feel confident in saying.......

 

[Strazdas]

But, I have to wonder just how much the development-hell has affected the quality of this game.

You never know, don't forget that games lost in development Hell include Metroid Prime, Prey and Team Fortress 2.

As well As Dukem Nukem and Aliens.
Developement hell is called hell for a reason.

Also this game was not good to begin with from what we saw so...

If this is the same Xcom "joke" game that was attempted before, this wont end well.