The Bureau: XCOM Declassified's Battle Focus Is Your Best Weapon
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Mike Futter on Jun 19, 2013 at 07:00 AM
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Want to see The Bureau: XCOM Declassified in action? We've got a new trailer, screenshots, and the final box art.
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The Bureau declassifies DLC plans
(23 minutes ago)
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Publisher 2K Games announced today that
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified will have pre-order and post-launch downloadable content, which is about as shocking of a revelation as knowing Marmite will divide humanity into the two groups of the next great war.
"We're excited that our stories will provide a new perspective on the war effort, much like how our critically acclaimed
Minvera's Den DLC for
BioShock 2 allowed us to present a unique perspective of Rapture," said Morgan Gray, development director at 2K Marin.
The game's pre-order bonus is the "Codebreakers" side mission. In it, Special Agent Carter and his squad must reestablish contact a top-secret government communications facility, eliminate any threats and decrypt the employee's combined lunch order. There are no details about the post-launch DLC, but the first pack "will be available exclusively to Xbox 360 players."
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified will fight the future on August 20 and 23 in North America and internationally, respectively.
Some images from a recent marketing survey have been sent to Kotaku, showing what could be the latest iteration of the XCOM first person shooter that’s been knocking around for years. Kotaku report that the survey blurb suggests that it’s still being put together by 2K Marin with the same 60s setting, but is now a third person shooter with squad control mechanics. One question asks whether the testee would respond favourably to a lower price point, set at $30 instead of $60.
(4 hours ago) 
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There’s a moment, very early on during my time with The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, when I realise that I’m definitely playing an XCOM game. And funnily enough, it’s not the point at which I slow down time and order a complex series of flanking manoeuvres followed by special attacks to my two companions. It comes immediately afterwards, when I arrogantly decide that, actually, I’ve played tons of third-person shooters, thanks very much – and all this ‘tactical’ nonsense is a bit beneath me and my awesome headshot abilities. Sectoids have oversized skulls anyway, right? Shouldn’t be too hard to nab that damage bonus. And so, I decide to run-and-gun my way through the next wave of alien forces. They get my squad members first of all. Without the direction of their commander, they suddenly seem overwhelmed by the stresses and strains of extraterrestrial combat. And then, when the aliens have finished with my teammates, they come for poor outnumbered, outgunned me. It’s a dismal, humiliating failure but, as protagonist William Carter slumps to the ground after a failed attempt to resuscitate one of his companions, I’m filled with a powerful sense of joy.
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