Overview
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is the the eighth game in the XCOM franchise, and the second game in the rebooted series - the first being XCOM: Enemy Unknown in 2012. The Bureau is a third-person, squad-based, tactical game set in America in 1962. After being in development in some form since 2006, the game was announced in 2010 as a first-person shooter under the name of "XCOM". On April 26, 2013, it was re-announced under its current name.
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified was released in North America on August 20, 2013 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC via Steam. The game was released in released other regions on August 23, 2013.
Story
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified tells the origin story of the XCOM project. The initiative was created to combat the alien threat during the Cold War. The main character, William Carter, is a field officer in charge of leading a team to neutralize threats.
Gameplay
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is a tactical third-person shooter. Players take on the role of secret FBI agent, William Carter; the player must track the radio and radar for alien activity and perform field investigations to ensure that the task force gets proper funding to stay on top of their game. The game features RPG progression elements and squad based combat.
As in other XCOM titles, permanent death of customizable squad-mates will factor into gameplay.
Development History
The Bureau underwent an extended development cycle that saw it go through numerous iterations. It began life as a game simply called XCOM, and was first revealed to the public in 2010 as an FPS with an emphasis on stealth and investigation set during the Cold War era of the 1950s. The game was to feature aliens that were faceless and shapeless, emphasizing the idea of unknown enemies.
Over time, however, the initial design was altered to provide more structure with a linear story campaign featuring a variety of side missions. The emphasis on stealth and investigation was also dropped as the player's allied AI partners, originally NPCs, became controllable, and the formless enemies of the original concept were dropped for designs more akin to the Firaxis strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The game's perspective was shifted from first-person to third-person, as well, and a greater emphasis was placed on squad tactics and abilities in combat scenarios reminiscent of the Mass Effect series.
System Requirements
PC
Minimum | Recommended |
---|
OS: Windows Vista Service Pack 2 32-bit | Windows 7 Service Pack 1 64-bit |
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO 2.4 GHz / AMD Athlon X2 2.7 GHz | Quad Core Processor |
Memory: 2 GB RAM | 4 GB RAM |
Graphics: DirectX9 Compatible ATI Radeon HD 3870 / NVIDIA 8800 GT | DirectX11 Compatible, AMD Radeon HD 6950 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 |
Hard Drive: 12 GB available space | 12 GB available space |
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible | DirectX Compatible |
Additional Notes: Incompatible with Intel HD 3000 Integrated Graphics | Incompatible with Intel HD 3000 Integrated Graphics |
Mac
Minimum | Recommended |
---|
OS: Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.7.5 or higher | Mac OS X Lion 10.9 or higher |
Processor: Intel Core i series processor | Intel Core i series processor |
Memory: 4 GB RAM | 4 GB RAM |
Graphics: AMD HD4870 / NVIDIA 8800GT / Intel Iris Graphics or better | AMD HD5870 / Nvidia 650M or better |
Hard Drive: 15 GB available space | 15 GB available space |
Additional Notes: Keyboard and 3 button Mouse or Logitech Dual Analog Stick Gamepad | Keyboard and 3 button Mouse or Logitech Dual Analog Stick Gamepad |