The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

Takes inspiration from Mass Effects, but offers a richer, more tactical combat. Usually there’s a reason for scheduling a game release for the slow summer season, but The Bureau turned out to be a really good game. [CD-Action 10/2013, p.56]

It offers a glimpse in the history of XCOM through a tactical third person shooter, without becoming a simple mindless shooter. The Bureau requires a good amount of tactical thinking, which really makes it feel like a true XCOM game. Lack of strategy, however, might make the game less appealing to some XCOM fans, but the majority of players will revel in the tactical gameplay.

The Bureau builds up adequately on a lot of ideas taken from XCOM. As a result it is entertaining and generally true to the XCOM canon but its potential is, more often than not, half-expressed.

With the plot being one of its most worth highlighting features, The Bureau takes the strategy from XCOM and makes it work within a shooter-based gameplay.

Paradoxically, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified feels immediate and inclusive as a strategy game, relying more closely on your rapid-fire commands than the bursts of your rifle. The odd hybrid is far from being fully evolved, but it's well suited to further study.

A fun shooter with a tactical edge, but not as strategy focused as other XCOM games. [Nov 2013, p.68]

The tactical shootouts are very entertaining.

Considering the game’s fraught development history and arguably ill-conceived premise, The Bureau is practically a best-case scenario. It may not be a game that anyone asked for, but perhaps that has, in a way, strengthened the final game, forcing it to reel itself in a bit and focus on being entertaining rather than revamping an old IP. It succeeds admirably as an enjoyable sci-fi shooter, and that’s good enough for us.

The Bureau is a good game. I like the fact that it forces teamwork, has a great atmosphere and solid graphics. The aliens tend to attack with various and difficult to kill forces from the beginning - that's good as well. Unfortunately later on the magic kind of disappears - the story becomes silly, fights get easier and the interface irritates more and more. But taking all things into consideration, The Bureau is a solid, well made game. A cool appetizer to all the big games arriving this fall.

Developer 2K Marin has put everything into creating the best tactical fights possible. Because of this the third person alien shooter is at its best when taking on enemies in combat. Unfortunately everything else is less refined, but despite this The Bureau is still a great addition to the series.

As it winds towards completion, the plot jumps the rails more than once. I lost touch with what was going on, but eventually I was charmed by the pure insanity on display.

XCOM Declassified is missing that something more that could make it a third-person shooter you have to play. Right now is just another shooter with an original twist in the gameplay.