SPLICED GAMING /
REVIEW / The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
affording you time to, for example, send your
squad to flank enemies, or have them focus
fire on specific targets. You can also activate
a variety of special abilities from within Battle
Focus. Your fellow XCOM agents are divided
into four classes (Recon, Support, Assault and
Commando), each with a different role to play
in battle. As you combat the Outsiders, you and
your squadmates will gain experience and rank
up, each rank granting a variety of bonuses, as
well as allowing you to gradually unlock new
abilities for Carter and his agents (Engineers
can call in defensive turrets, for example, while
Recon agents can cloak).
Between missions, you’re able to roam
around the XCOM base, talking to supporting
characters and occasionally performing
mundane tasks for them. It’s initially a thrill to
explore the base from this new viewpoint, but
it quickly becomes clear that it’s nothing more
than a tertiary distraction, devoid of any real
substance. The base is where you select missions
you’d like to undertake, and they’re split between
minor operations (optional secondary exploits)
and major operations (story missions). There are
also agent dispatch missions that let you send
idle agents on various errands, which will reward
them with experience and ensure that they don’t
fall behind in rank due to inactivity.
Ultimately, in action The Bureau feels
scattered, unfocused, as though it wasn’t
sure what it wanted to be and suffered from
96
that lack of direction. The story is decent,
but it’s delivered recklessly and without any
true impact. Near the end there’s a twist that
could’ve, and should’ve, been brilliant, but it’s
poorly delivered and easily discarded because
of it. I quite liked the more tactical nature of the
gameplay, which sets it apart from everything
else out there – but anyone who’s not keen on
taking advantage of the tactical fluff will likely
be bored by the very average third-person cover
shooter that’s underneath it. It’s also missing
all of what makes X-Com / XCOM such a
uniquely alluring experience.?
7
Verdict
Despite being flawed,
disappointing and entirely
forgettable, The Bureau is not a bad game.
ISSUE 01