The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 127 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 127
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 127
  3. Negative: 25 out of 127
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  1. conserd
    Sep 18, 2013
    5
    Quite a disappointment and it forever be a stain on Xcom and is proof that pretty graphics can't save a game from disappointment I mean they could have made an excellent third person shooter.
  2. Baktanfuli
    Aug 23, 2013
    6
    Not a bad as feared, but clearly another game ruined by the catering to the console people.

    Good Overall game mechanic is acceptable (combat) graphic ok Voice acting ok Bad Story holes the size of the moon RPG element is junk You max your chars to fast Everything is linear. if you open the wrong door, you cant go back, one of the worst things the console people have ever    Not a bad as feared, but clearly another game ruined by the catering to the console people.

    Good
    Overall game mechanic is acceptable (combat)
    graphic ok
    Voice acting ok

    Bad
    Story holes the size of the moon
    RPG element is junk
    You max your chars to fast
    Everything is linear.
    if you open the wrong door, you cant go back, one of the worst things the console people have ever brought to the PC world.
    Running around the base gets pretty tedious very fast
    The whole backpack upgrade part should have been changed to something else entirely.
    The main char is a bit of a dick, he is just not likeable, you want a tough guy template, look to Jack Bauer or Guerrero.

    While the bad list is much longer than the good, the game is not horrible, just not very good, you play it through once, and forget about it.    … Expand
  3. Storm1672
    Sep 16, 2013
    5
    Great atmosphere. The 60s feeling is authentic. Good battles. Nicely implemented real time strategy. Good balance on the shooting/strategy. More complex than Brothers in Arms or Spec Ops. Nice art and the VO contribute to the atmosphere.

    - Mediocre graphx, boring characters, the pacing is uneven and the decisions you make through the dialogue have no consequences at all. The end     Great atmosphere. The 60s feeling is authentic. Good battles. Nicely implemented real time strategy. Good balance on the shooting/strategy. More complex than Brothers in Arms or Spec Ops. Nice art and the VO contribute to the atmosphere.

    - Mediocre graphx, boring characters, the pacing is uneven and the decisions you make through the dialogue have no consequences at all. The end mission(s) are kinda nice. It borrows many elements from the Mass Effect series without the heart of it.    … Expand
  4. twos
    Mar 8, 2014
    7
    Those suggesting the tactical interface and commands don't work in this game I would suggest simply don't know how to play a game like this, the command system and combat works remarkably well you just have to stay on top of it and constantly issue new orders to your NPCs.
    Decent graphics, pretty much what you expect out of the story line, average music and sound but overall a very    Those suggesting the tactical interface and commands don't work in this game I would suggest simply don't know how to play a game like this, the command system and combat works remarkably well you just have to stay on top of it and constantly issue new orders to your NPCs.
    Decent graphics, pretty much what you expect out of the story line, average music and sound but overall a very enjoyable experience, I would say unlike Enemy Unknown, which is undoubtedly the better game, Declassified has little to no replay value, but you should enjoy your first romp through.    … Expand
  5. ArcadePhantom
    Aug 25, 2013
    6
    Remember years ago when the devs of this game had announced a first person XCOM that was like a detective game in some ways? I was interested it sounded fresh and had the potential to be amazing but instead we got a third person tactical shooter with A.I that usually has to be baby sited constantly, don't get me wrong this game will appeal to a lot of people but if you think this isRemember years ago when the devs of this game had announced a first person XCOM that was like a detective game in some ways? I was interested it sounded fresh and had the potential to be amazing but instead we got a third person tactical shooter with A.I that usually has to be baby sited constantly, don't get me wrong this game will appeal to a lot of people but if you think this is another RTS XCOM you're gonna be disappointed.
    Want a 3rd person cover based tactical shooter with the XCOM theme? buy this game
    Want a RTS XCOM? wait for XCOM: Enemy Within    … Expand
  6. gamingisgreat
    Oct 31, 2016
    6
    The Bureau XCOM Declassified is a decent squad-based shooter.

    The story is solid,albeit predictable until a surprise twist at the end.The shooting mechanic is decent and the abilities you can get are really cool.However,your allies AI are beyond stupid,and you have to babysit the whole game.The game also follows the cliche 'defend elevator' sequences and throws everything at you in an    The Bureau XCOM Declassified is a decent squad-based shooter.

    The story is solid,albeit predictable until a surprise twist at the end.The shooting mechanic is decent and the abilities you can get are really cool.However,your allies AI are beyond stupid,and you have to babysit the whole game.The game also follows the cliche 'defend elevator' sequences and throws everything at you in an unfair way,which is a mark of bad design in my opinion.

    The graphics are impressive,and the framerate only hitches occasionally.

    Sound design is mediocre and the soundtrack sucks.

    Overall,The Bureau XCOM Declassified is,just like Legendary,another great example of missed potential in gaming.It's still a decent game that is worth trying if you find it for cheap.    … Expand
  7. storygamer
    Sep 14, 2020
    7
    The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is a whole new approach to the XCOM universe. While the strategic concept of the other games of this series works excellent, this tactical shooter seems pretty sloppy. The setting of the game is well made and filled with interesting aspects. And as a newbie to the series, you´ll have a lot of fun. This game is quite good after all. But it´s not an XCOM game!
  8. Awanka
    Jan 7, 2022
    7
    Here I am playing this on Jan 2022, and despite all the X-COM purists who panned it when it came out... this is a solid game with good squad-based real-time tactical gameplay very similar to mass effect.

    The combat is engaging and quite challenging at the highest difficulty level. The graphics are decent for its era, with a retro futuristic WW2 vibe. The story is an interesting spin    Here I am playing this on Jan 2022, and despite all the X-COM purists who panned it when it came out... this is a solid game with good squad-based real-time tactical gameplay very similar to mass effect.

    The combat is engaging and quite challenging at the highest difficulty level. The graphics are decent for its era, with a retro futuristic WW2 vibe. The story is an interesting spin on the original X-COM. One of my favorite things about this game compared to the original is that this really conveys the sense of oppressive loss and hopelessness as the United States is slowly losing against a superior technological alien force.

    I would like to score it a little higher because it is a lot of fun, but on the downside it's a fairly short and linear experience. and I had a number of bugs occur with objects not loading that would force me to reload a checkpoint. The AI of your allies is quite frustrating at times, as they come from the school of running out of cover into the open school of fighting. The narrative also takes a wild turn in the final mission, and not in a good way.

    A quite decent and original take on X-COM that is worthy of the legacy in its own way, but I wish there was a little "more" here.    … Expand
  9. Dunkaccino
    Nov 13, 2022
    7
    An occasionally fun shoot-em-up game with some unfortunately flat characters and a plot that is as cool as a plot for the prequel of XCOM would be.

Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2013
50
#50 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2013
6
#6 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 30
  3. Negative: 1 out of 30
  1. Hyper Magazine
    Oct 3, 2013
    70
    Better than it has any right to be, but still deeply flawed. [Nov 2013, p.68]
  2. X-ONE Magazine UK
    Sep 17, 2013
    60
    It's not ready yet. [Issue#102, p.78]
  3. MondoXbox
    Sep 15, 2013
    77
    Interesting gameplay mechanics and a suspense-rich plot make it a game worth to be tried, even if it could have been much better.
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