XCOM first-person shooter repurposed as full-priced third-person tactical game for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
After numerous delays and years of silence, 2K has finally announced its intentions for the mysterious XCOM first-person shooter that was originally announced in 2010. The game has evolved into a third-person tactical shooter called The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, a $60 Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC game due out on August 20.
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified--in development at BioShock 2 studio 2K Marin--is set in 1962 America at the end of the Cold War. John F. Kennedy is president and the U.S. public at large is afraid of a nuclear war with Russia. At the same time, the US government is establishing a secret organization to combat this threat. As it turns out, it's not the Russians who invade, it's the aliens.
"And so the same organization has to switch gears to combat the aliens. So not only are you combating the aliens for the public physically, but you also have to keep it secret so you're not creating mass hysteria and panic in the streets," explained associate producer Andrew Dutra. "This is where the origin story comes in. The Bureau is one of these organizations and it's the start of how the hero becomes the XCOM organization."
Gamers play as agent William Carter, an intelligence operative with a determined resolve. He'll stop at nothing to get the job done "no matter what," 2K explained.
Described as a third-person tactical squad-based combat game, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified borrows from the praised XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Specifically, the new game will adopt the pillars of the strategy series--Team, Tactics, Tools, Technology, and Terror--and introduce them to players in a new way.
Creative director Morgan Gray explained that being tactical is a key component of The Bureau. He said players will only succeed if they work together. "The team and tactics aspect is at the forefront of our gameplay experience," he said.
Though the Bureau will be respectful of the tone and atmosphere of the classic strategy game series, the new game--designed for hardcore gamers--puts players on the ground and in the boots of a soldier. This makes for a compelling and novel experience, Gray argues.
"When we say tactical third-person squad-based combat game, that has a huge T on that tactical; it should be underlined and printed in bold. Because we're basically trying to get a game that puts you away from the turn-based, God's eye view of the action, and puts you in the boots of the squad leader in the battlefield where the bullets are flying," he said. "You have real-time control of your squad."
In terms of strategy and tactics, The Bureau will allow players to flank, perform leap frog procedures, cover and fire, and prioritize targets within their squad. In addition, gamers will be able to unleash powers to squadmates that are unlocked through experience points amassed over the course of the campaign.
"This is basically putting you in the heat of battle and asking you to use both your brains and bullets to win," Gray said.
The stakes are especially high in The Bureau, Gray explained, because when a squadmate dies, there is no coming back. Permadeath for companions is in place for the game, and Gray believes this is a revolutionary feature for the title.
"When they're dead, they're dead for good. Now, this is obviously part of the XCOM DNA, but in the third-person space, this is like a revolution," Gray said. "The concept of 'What? My squadmates are dead and they're gone forever?' Yes. And now you still have a lot of game to go and the clock's ticking. Our plotline is always moving forward. The consequences of that loss are immediate and there's no way to hide from them. The war will not stop for you."
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified will arrive in the wake of the well-received XCOM: Enemy Uknown, a turn-based strategy game for consoles and PC. Though The Bureau and Enemy Unknown are dissimilar in genre, Gray said he does not believe this will stretch the brand too far or dilute it in any way.
"I figure good games are good games," Gray said. "I don't think myself or 2K is too worried about diluting the brand as much as our goal is…we have a brand, let's find an expression that can bring more people to the table and give more people a chance to experience it in different ways."
Overall, the goal of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is to "expand and open up the franchise" to gamers who may have been turned off by past entries in the series, while also preserving the pillars of the classic strategy franchise, Gray explained.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
Aww yet another men in black 3 theme??
After disounered, Bioshock GTA and all thos 60 and 70 themed games, it seems that one more is going down that road, what a great shame...
I hate the 70 and everything it is related to them and it seems that some ppl cannot go past this decade...
Amazing trailer, amazing editing. Announcing the game a few months before the release = KICK ASS
This looks promising if they actually follow through with their ideas and put out a polished game. It's similar to other games but I'm liking the differences I'm hearing about also. Hopefully they pull it off.
I'm a little disappointed they let the whiners alter their game but whatever. This looks good too.
@StaticPenguin I am sure you meant by the term "whiners" as people with valid complaints like you and myself.
:)
1 Like Should have kept isometric perspective. This looks like another Gears of War type of take cover type mechanic, with probably clumsy ways to instruct your squadmates to do a few different skills. Blech.
Alright, this definitely has my attention. Haven't looked forward to a new game since Watch Dogs was announced.
I too am sad to see that the FPS structure has been dropped but on the bright side, they have some interesting concepts at work here. If it turns out well-polished, I'm game.
ok now what i want to know is when does the UFO series get revived?
Im not holding my breath ever again for an xcom game, let them rip, the fucking kids that made xcom EU were fucking noobs.
This game still has the Social Commentary and Allegory (About the LGBT and civil rights) as was shown before:
"Is the closeted [LGBT] scientist still going to be in the game?"
"Absolutely," Gray confirmed.
http://kotaku.com/that-xcom-fps-isnt-dead-and-it-isnt-an-fps-anymore-481886477
But sadly, still no Research, Manufacturing, Base Building, Agent Control, or Strategy.
I've been wanting another Brothers in Arms or classic Rainbow Six vibe for a while, so if it means that this is how I get it, with some XCOM universe sprinkled in, I'm at least curious. I wouldn't blindly buy it just because of my love for XCOM, but it's something to keep my eye on.
Of course, now I want another Brothers in Arms or classic Rainbow Six game...
If they incorporated strategy elements similar to the old Rainbow Six games, I'd probably give it a try.
1 Like How do I delete my account? This site has gone to shit in the last year or so and I no longer want them to have my contact information.
1 Like Sci-fi cover shooter set in the middle of the century? Sign me up!
Haters gonna hate, as usual...
1 Like @wavelength121 You sound like a idiot. Too many cover shooters . You have to have a messed up brain if you still want cover shooters in this day and age.
2 Like @wavelength121 @electro57 Lol you obviously have never played the other xcom games.
@electro57 @wavelength121 You obviously are a troglodyte. He's suggesting that you have a very narrow perspective and you're proving him right.
1 Like @electro57 Just because it's not a turn-based strategy game doesn't mean it won't be good. It's not like all XCOM games in the future will be like this.
2 Like i hope people aren't mad that this isn't the strategy xcom because they already got one. I was also looking forward to the FPS
@killman961 Well, it was already tried once before to turn XCOM into different genres, including FPS. The series inevitably failed with Enforcer until it picked back up with what's going on nowadays.
4 Like Quick lets just stitch it togetter and get it out the door, we need to recover some of this cash! Oh and one more thing, dont forget to marker over the references to Bioshock 2, we dont want to affect sales.
If I can still capture alien tech and research it to enhance my own weaponry then I might be interested.
Well so basically we're gonna have a Brothers in Arms game with X COM universe... I don't find that bad, I actually like it... Though the most difficult part would be permadeath in a tactical squad real time 3rd person shooter... I hope they can work on the BIA base, and improve it's mechanics... If they can pull it off, we're gonna have a wonderful product in our hands...
OH why not just stick to what we like huh? Shame! Well no more turn based tactical shooters for us for a while. I am sure it will be a good game just not the one i was looking for.
3 Like Brothers in Arms did this way before these guys. Seems like there just borrowing the mechanic from them. I have to admit though, that the Brothers in Arms team did it FLAWLESSLY. The live action squad you had to command in real time worked perfect. If this game can pull this off maybe it has a chance, if it doesn't, then i see this game falling face first.
@DarkSaber2k Jesus H Christ! Enforcer shouldn't even be mentioned in X-Com cannon. Interceptor was bad enough...
Battlefield, FIFA publisher confirms staff reductions, but won't specify number of teams affected. Full Story
Nintendo reveals worldwide Internet-connected ratio for platform higher than any past hardware; 3DS connected rate in US at 83 percent. Full Story
Box art for what could be 2013's Call of Duty appears in supermarket listing Full Story
Lead system architect Mark Cerny declines to give total title count, but says developer familiarity with platform the reason for strong support. Full Story
Cowen & Company industry watcher says post-holiday sales of latest Call of Duty game tracking better than Modern Warfare 3. Full Story
Mario maker says it plans to concentrate on releasing "key" first-party games and cutting costs to regain platform momentum. Full Story
Hideo Kojima's stealth-action franchise reaches new sales milestone. Full Story
Xbox 720 has DVR-like video capture?
Sources say Microsoft's next-gen platform will allow players to capture and share video highlights just like the PlayStation 4; Achievement system...
