2K Marin's XCOM Shooter Not Dead, Rebranded as The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

They really want that XCOM brand in there, eh?

More tactics

4 months seems like, uh... Not a long time.

I guess they gotta squeeze it out before next gen stuff. Doesn't seem promising.

Sounds just like the new XCOM but in a different era. That might be interesting.

So I heard this was supposed to be an origin story and is connected to XCOM: EU. I don't necessarily mind but, this could easily just be a new IP.

They've been working on the game for years. This isn't some crazy Dragon Age II situation of shitting out a full game in a year and a half.

There was a point a while back where I was pretty interested in this game but something about this news gives me a bad vibe. No idea why, it just does.

Does it have all of the tactics?

This is looking to be a lot better than what was first showed. I will await this with interest.

I was pretty into it when Jeff was talking about it as a solely first-person affair, but having a game so heavily re-tooled is always worrisome. However, I'll still follow it until its released. I hope it's average, if nothing else.

I am way more interested in this then I thought I would be. This makes me think that the shadow organisation in Enemy Unknown knew about the aliens for decades. Maybe this game involves a giant cover up.

This seems like a better thought out approach, i do like me some tactics.

I enjoyed pointing my dudes around in Mass Effect and micromanaging where they were going and what they were taking cover against and who they were focusing fire on, but at the same time, that was mostly because the AI was so terrible that I had to.

If this is like Mass Effect, but with competent AI, I'm in.

XCOM: Survival Instinct

Sounds like XCOM meets Freedom Fighters. Please let that be an accurate way to describe it.

Those UFO pilots in EU, the one that formed themselves out of polygons whenever you got close to crashed ships appeared to be tied into this game's enemies when it was still an FPS. Which might be interesting, but even measly Sectoids should roll almost anything 60's G-men would be bringing with them if GI JOE style super assault weapons don't even guarantee kills in early 20XX.

You know, it looked like a decent 1st person shooter with a nice setting back when they first announced it. If they want to make it more like a certain game some people consider their GOTY 2012, sure. Don't have a problem with that.

Hearing about the whole squad-mate permadeath thing has me infinitely more interested in this game now. It basically sounds like XCOM: EU just with you controlling the action more directly. The 60s setting is pretty cool, too.

The last time that Take Two delayed a game so it could get the work it needed, we got Spec Ops: The Line. That and the fact that I've been interested in this game, especially the setting since it was announced means i'll give it a fair look.

If this plays anything like Freedom Fighters then I will be completely on board for this.

This is sounding much more interesting to me than before. Maybe it's just because I got the proper XCOM that I wanted, so I'm not as offended about them making a spin off anymore. It's nice to hear that there is a tactical aspect to it, too. I wonder if your squad-mates get goofy call signs.

The whole aspect involving AI team members scares the crap out of me. When can you ever rely on AI to do anything right? I think it could potentially ruin the entire game unless you can heavily babysit/micromanage them as if playing the XCOM turn-based game. All it takes is one glitch or bug involving the AI and you could lose your veteran soldiers. Good luck 2k.

after Enemy Unknown killed it last year this just seems like a middle ground retooling that'll please no one. There won't be enough shooting for those fans and not enough strategy for the the other fans. This seems too on-the-fence, safe, derivative, or in other words boring.

A good point. Though I'm starting to warm to the idea of this game, that is a pretty daunting obstacle for them to overcome. Normally shooters get around their dumb AI by just making them invincible. If they're going to put an emphasis on permadeath in a 3rd person shooter, their AI needs to be really reliable. Only time will tell, but the continual delays don't do much for my optimism.

I'm down to try this. If nothing out of morbid curiosity at this point. What is now, iteration 5 or 6? What something like Fez was to IGF, this game is to E3.

I'm actually real damn curious about this game. At the very least the 50s setting is pretty novel for a sci-fi game.

As a fan on Bioshock 2 and shooters of a tactical bent I am interested how this turns out. I don't think it will leave development hell totally unscathed but hopefully it will be solid addition in a sub-genre we don't see too many games in. Though I will echo the concerns about permadeath in a world where you can be screwed by AI and other glitches.

Sweet I've been interested in this game since it was announced. Little worried considering what's gone on with it's development, I wouldn't be shocked if it ended up not being great but I'm hoping it turns out well.

I think there's some value in keeping the XCOM brand because they get to play with that mythology in a new setting, and if their statements are to believed, that gameplay from a new perspective. I'm not sure how you do tactics in this setting, unless it's Mass Effect style, pause and command, but a solid refinement of that system could be really awesome.

I don't need this game to be a masterpiece. If these guys can create an interesting romp through the lore behind XCOM, I'm more than willing to give it a fair shot. I just hope the A.I. is adequate.

It was funny to notice the neighborhood in the bicycle portion as an area in LA's San Fernando Valley. I never saw any flying black obelisk in that neighborhood though.

Freedom Fighters but with aliens.

Boom! million dollars right there!

You know, Take Two has always been willing to delay and retool games that weren't working out. And it has almost always worked out for them. Outside of their baseball games, I can't really think of any truly bad 2K or Rockstar game this generation, and there are quite a few really masterful ones. I'm sure investors really hate this company, but as a gamer it is good to see that at least one publisher cares enough about quality to ruin quarterly results in an effort to make a better game. Here's to hoping that this game turns out as good as all of 2K's other delayed and retooled games this generation. They better get their marketing ramped up quickly, though. August is only a couple months away.

This is how to do it. Don't call it Xcom. Don't imply this is what xcom is from now on. Make it clear that this is a side story.

I like XCOM. I like the 60's. I think I might like this

EDIT: I should probably read people's responses all the way before responding.

"Oh shit, people still play games that aren't FPS's, perhaps we should take another look at that other game we were making."

I think its fitting that Dave Lang was on just last night talking about how sometimes you have to take projects that people give you, that are ultimately made to fail and make them into winners.

Xcom: Eu is a good example of that. They were given a type of game that no one really plays, and made it int a great game. It has bugs, and is not perfect but it 2k is rethinking the Xcom brand because they did such a great job.

I think the idea of "XCOM in the 1960s" sounds really interesting. The key will be whether they can actually make that idea fun and engaging.

I need more alien invasions in my games. I'd give it a shot.

I loved Bioshock 2 and this sounds awesome.

Could be good. I think first person might have been more my groove, but this could totally rock.

That's a sentence that can be read two very different ways.

@lackingsaint: Indeed, BioShock 2 showed a tremendous amount of promise from 2K Marin in terms of combat engineering.

The constant retooling and changing of this game could either be really promising or really bad. My bet is somewhere in the middle ;)

@hangnail: Too bad all those people left.

Sweet, I'm glad this is still alive and kicking.

I never understood the immediate dismissal of this game simply because it's not a turn based strategy. For all the overused tropes and settings in video games, I feel like there could be a lot more with that 1920 - 1950 classic Americana vibe. I can't get enough of that stuff.

If it's going to be third person it better be well-done and not yet another third person shooter, so my regards to those who will end up looking for new employment.

Don't hold out a lot of hope for this one people.

I know a lot of people were against the XCOM first person shooter idea, but, really. First person perspective is so much better in every single way compared to third person. I'm disappointed they decided to change that, because some kind of Rainbow Six-esque 50's XCOM alien investigation stuff sounded really, really interesting.

I'll still buy it, obviously, but I hope someone will put out a first person mod for it.

This is a pretty big deal.. don't understand peeps missing the significance of a mass market TPS being routed to make it more tactical. Did XCOM just turn the game trends car around?

I like 3rd Person, but Console only? I'm hesitant about buying any Console games until I find out what the backwards compatibility systems will be capable of. I basically haven't bought an Xbox game since 2011 (though I got Halo 4 for Xmas, other games Dishonored and & the new XCOM, I got on Steam instead...since I'm slow to start a new game).