XCOM has been delayed so often and has changed so drastically that it may be hard to keep track of what the game is. Is it still a FPS? (No.) Is it related to last year's XCOM game? (Not really.) Is it still called XCOM? (No, it's now called The Bureau: XCOM Declassified.)
Don't worry if you haven't been able to keep track of The Bureau's many changes. XCOM as it is today can be best summed up as this: Mass Effect, set in the 60s.
After years of silence, the XCOM FPS has resurfaced as a tactical cover-based third-person shooter known as The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. Yet, in spite of a new perspective and a new title, 2K Games insists that their re-revealed game is not a reboot. Instead, it's simply an "evolution" of the long-in-development game.
"The game has not restarted over and over again," 2K Marin VP Alyssa Finley told Shacknews in an interview. "If you look back at the game we showed in 2010, you'll see some of the same enemies, you can see some of the same teammates. This really is an evolution."
After a week of teases, 2K Games has officially announced The Bureau: XCOM Declassified--the game formerly known as just XCOM.
When introduced in 2010, XCOM was a first-person shooter set in the 1960s. The Bureau takes the same setting, but is now a tactical third-person cover-based shooter. "Set in 1962 at the height of the Cold War, The Bureau tells the origin story of the clandestine XCOM organization's first encounter with a mysterious and devastating enemy," 2K's press release details.
Original X-COM creator Julian Gollop has played through XCOM: Enemy Unknown and found it to be a great and entertaining game (as we did). But that doesn't mean he wouldn't have done some things differently, and probably failed in the process.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown was very nearly crowned our favorite game of 2012. If you're a Mac owner wishing you could know what all the hubub is about, today you finally have a chance, as the game has released on the Mac OS platform.
A new trailer has emerged from Veritas MCMLXII pointing toward an impending relaunch of the XCOM shooter. This trailer isn't quite as detailed, but as with any conspiracy theory, it's what you don't see at first that is more important.
The mystery surrounding 2K Games' XCOM shooter rivals the conspiracy theories and covert shenanigans the series is known for. First, the game was delayed to fiscal 2014, then rumors surfaced of it switching to a third-person tactical game. Then, the website and screens for the title just disappeared like you were flashed with the "forget-about-it" ray from Men in Black. Now, some marketing materials have surfaced, adding to the speculation.
Today at its PAX East panel, Firaxis and 2K Games announced that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is coming to iOS devices. The iPhone and iPad will sport slightly different interfaces catered to each device.
COMMANDERS... You have performed... admirably, considering the situation. You managed to beat competition from what should have been Game of the Year contenders this year, and did remarkably well. The odds were always stacked against you, and earning support from Gamers around the world was always going to be a challenge. Would hardcore fans offer their support, given how radically different Enemy Unknown is from the original UFO Defense? And what about the hyphen? More casual gamers may have struggled to see the appeal of a turn-based strategy game in 2012. "Why isn't this a FPS?," they might have proclaimed. Who could have known there was so much power hidden in this relic of a genre?
If you feel like killing some aliens today and jump into XCOM: Enemy Unknown, you will be greeted with a brief download bearing a free gift. Publisher 2K Games has released the second DLC pack for the game entitled Second Wave.
Many publishers have been sending holiday cards to ye olde Shacknews office. However, this one from 2K Games merits special attention.
A simple black card with XCOM's "Vigilo Confido" logo emblazoned on it opens up with a warning. The card tells us to consider Enemy Unknown "for any annual video game awards" because "future funding for the XCOM project may depend on it."
You'll have to start a brand new campaign to access any of the new content for XCOM: Enemy Unknown's "Slingshot" add-on. Considering how great the core game is, that's not really a bad thing. Unlike other DLC expansions, Slingshot is integrated into the campaign, with Council missions triggering at key moments in the story.
It's clear that XCOM's first add-on was designed to address some of the cosmetic complaints fans had about the original game. Although the threat is global, and the game takes you to places around the world, you never feel like you leave the good ol' US of A in the game. Whether you're in Mumbai, Johannesburg, or Shanghai, you always feel like you're in some generic middle American suburb.
The first expansion pack for XCOM: Enemy Unknown lands on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, and PC December 4th. It will be available for $6.99 (560 Microsoft Points).
As previously announced, "Slingshot" adds three new missions to the campaign set in China, promising to add a bit more structure and narrative to the mostly randomly-generated game. To access the add-on's new content, you'll need to start a brand new game; the first opportunity to partake in a DLC mission should occur around when you make your first encounter with a downed ship.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is not a particularly easy game, even on the mode that is literally called "Easy." 2K has announced it will address this in an upcoming patch, along with various other bug fixes. It didn't detail exactly how the game will be made easier, but presumably it has something to do with making fewer of the aliens big stupid jerks.
"Yeah I hope for this too - I loved the story in 1 and 2 but Combat rated a 5 or 6 for me. Big ..."
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