by Known simply as XCOM when it was first unveiled in 2010, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is a strange creature. Now on Mac (following a late summer launch on other platforms), the 1960s-set adventure — loosely related to the more strategic XCOM: Enemy Unknown — is at once an attempt to do something new and interesting with the franchise and a bid to capture mainstream success with a focus on action. It doesn’t quite succeed at either of these, but it tries hard, and patient players will find that battling an alien invasion during the height of the Cold War can be immensely fun. It just takes a while to get to that point.
Centering on William Carter, a gravel-voiced G-man who’s pressed into service for the secret XCOM agency when the invasion begins, The Bureau lays its early ’60s atmosphere on thick. The soundtrack is appropriately jazzy, the American small-town environments look convincingly mid-century, and there’s even an optional grain filter for an aged (but potentially hardware-taxing) look. More obviously, era-appropriate fashions and firearms are everywhere – at least until you start stealing unattended laser guns and plasma rifles and using them against your alien foes.
Out in the field, The Bureau controls like any other modern third-person shooter, with an emphasis on cover and the ability to snap to it and pop out to shoot at enemies — but there’s a light strategic element, too. Carter is always accompanied by two squadmates, who (with the help of a time-slowing tactical view) can be ordered to flank the enemy, attack specific targets, or use various abilities, depending on their class. Engineers, for example, can (eventually) deploy gun turrets, while Recon snipers can execute critical shots on distant foes. Carter’s no slouch himself, and as he ranks up, he’ll inexplicably be granted alien abilities, like the power to summon floating drones or to telekinetically paralyze and lift enemies out of cover.
When you’re able to wade into fights with a powered-up squad, the experience can be hugely empowering, as you order agents to circle around your enemies and work in unison to bring them down much more quickly than you would by simply shooting at them. One problem with this is that it doesn’t get really fun until you’ve unlocked most of their — and Carter’s — abilities, something that doesn’t happen until hours into the game, while earlier battles feel sloggy. The other issue is that if you’re not constantly giving them directions, your squadmates are almost as likely to dash around in the open, unprotected from alien fire, as they are to take cover and capably defend themselves — and more importantly, you. At least they can be revived easily — although if you don’t get to them in time, they’ll bleed out, making the rest of the level a lot tougher (unless, of course, you decide to just reload the last checkpoint).
Squads aside, The Bureau attempts a few interesting touches, including completely optional missions (that can yield new weapons and technology if pursued) and non-interactive assignments you can send otherwise idle agents on to level up their abilities. For all its attempts to put its own stamp on shooters, though, The Bureau falls just short of being something special. Even with all of the strategic elements, advanced weaponry, and force-shielded aliens, its fights often feel like the same generic cannon-fodder exercises you’d find in any similar shooter, and while the combat is punctuated by interactive conversations, they’re ultimately tedious and seldom have a concrete effect on the game or story.
The bottom line. The Bureau: XCOM Declassified tries hard to distinguish itself, but falls just short of being a meaningful addition to the XCOM series or the shooter genre.
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