XCOM Declassified
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''The Bureau: XCOM Declassified'' is a 2013
tactical Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tact ...
third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by
2K Marin 2K Marin, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Novato, California. Founded in December 2007 as a spin-off from their parent, 2K, the company developed '' BioShock 2'' (2010) and '' The Bureau: XCOM Declassified'' (2013) before la ...
and published by 2K. The eighth title in the
turn-based strategy Strategy video game is a major video game genre that focuses on analyzing and strategizing over direct quick reaction in order to secure success. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, the strategy genre is most commo ...
series '' X-COM'' and a narrative prequel to '' XCOM: Enemy Unknown'', it was released for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
,
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, and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
in August 2013. Set in late 1962 at the height of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, the game's premise mainly revolves around The Bureau, the predecessor of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (XCOM), as they attempt to repel an alien invasion. As a tactical shooter, players can use the battle focus mode to issue commands to two other agents accompanying the protagonist, William Carter. Players can
permanently ''Permanently'' is the third studio album by American country music singer Mark Wills. Released in 2000 on Mercury Nashville Records, the album produced three singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart: "Back at One", " ...
lose their squad members so they must make good tactical decisions. The game's development was protracted and troubled. Development began in 2006 and soon became a collaboration between
2K Marin 2K Marin, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Novato, California. Founded in December 2007 as a spin-off from their parent, 2K, the company developed '' BioShock 2'' (2010) and '' The Bureau: XCOM Declassified'' (2013) before la ...
and
2K Australia 2K Australia Pty Ltd (formerly Irrational Games Australia and 2K Marin) was an Australian video game developer based in Canberra. The company was founded as Irrational Games Australia, a subsidiary of Irrational Games, in April 2000. Irrationa ...
. Initially, the 2K Australia team wanted to create a mysterious
first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
with fearful alien life forms, and the player would be tasked to take photographs of them and research them in a secret government organization. However, after 2K Australia was removed from the project due to communication issues between the two studios, the Marin team decided to focus more on teamwork and tactical elements and rebranded the game as ''The Bureau: XCOM Declassified''. ''
The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...
'' and ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
'' inspired the game's artistic style while '' The Right Stuff'' inspired the game's narrative. Revealed as ''XCOM'' in April 2010, the game was meant to be a reboot of the series; the idea was met with mixed reactions from critics. It missed several target release windows before release. ''The Bureau: XCOM Declassified'' received mixed reviews upon release, with critics praising the game's tactical elements and art style but criticizing the game's
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
,
permadeath Permadeath or permanent death is a game mechanic in both tabletop games and video games in which player characters who lose all of their health are considered dead and cannot be used anymore. Depending on the situation, this could require the p ...
system, narrative, and gameplay. Most critics considered the game a disappointing entry into the series.


Gameplay

''The Bureau: XCOM Declassified'' is a
tactical shooter A tactical shooter is a Video game genre, sub-genre of First-person shooter, first- and third-person shooters, associated with using strategy, planning, and Military tactics, tactics in gameplay, as well as the realistic simulations of ballisti ...
played from a
third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to storytelling, convey a narrative, story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to del ...
. In the game, the player assumes control of Agent William Carter, a field agent who has to defend the US from a hostile extraterrestrial force known as the Outsiders. The Bureau's headquarters serves as the game's hub space where Carter can interact with other people of interest. Using a
dialogue tree A dialogue tree, or conversation tree, is a gameplay mechanic that is used throughout many adventure games (including action-adventure games) and role-playing video games. When interacting with a non-player character, the player is given a choice ...
, players can select different conversation options when talking to
non-playable character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s. Players also recruit agents in the headquarters and choose one of four different classes for them—commando, engineer, recon, and support. Each class has different abilities and weapons. For instance, the commando class specializes in direct offensive abilities and rifles, while the engineer class relies on
landmine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...
s and automatic turrets. Players also choose the recruit's background from six possible options; each provides a minor perk that enhances the recruit's combat efficiency. Recruits can be further customized with different faces and uniforms. In mission areas, players are accompanied by only two recruited agents; other agents stay at the base or are dispatched to secondary tasks. To combat the alien enemies, the player uses human and alien firearms, ranging from pistols and grenades to scatter laser and laser rifle. In order to
flank Flank may refer to: * Flank (anatomy), part of the abdomen ** Flank steak, a cut of beef ** Part of the external anatomy of a horse * Flank speed, a nautical term * Flank opening, a chess opening * A term in Australian rules football * The ...
enemies and avoid being shot by them, players can hide behind and switch between cover. If a cover is effective, a blue holographic shield is shown, otherwise a red shield is shown. Since ammunition is limited, players look for resupply in different ammo stashes or pick up new weapons by exploring each mission area. Players can assign commands to two companions who are controlled by
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
(AI). By entering the battle focus mode, in which time slows down nearly to a halt, players can instruct the companions to move to different positions, hide behind cover, target an enemy, or use a skill. In the console versions, commands are issued via a radial wheel, whereas in the PC version, commands are shown as a flat row of options for players to select. In the battle focus mode, the
area of effect Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the gamer, players, and video game culture, surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 ...
s and the percentage of success of each attack, and the health status of the squad members, are displayed. Actions can be chained together to create combo attacks though special abilities usually have a
cooldown Cooling down (also known as limbering down or warming down) is the transition from intense physical activity to a more typical activity level. A typical cool-down activity after a workout might involve a jogging slowly or walking for a few minutes. ...
time (abilities cannot be activated for a certain period of time after being used). An agent will become permanently unconscious or die if Carter is unable to revive the agent. Players explore each mission area to find documents and audio recordings that provide insight about the game's world. Carter and his squad members gain
experience points An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
by completing missions and secondary tasks. The experience points allow the player character and their squad members to level up and gain new abilities. New options in the game's branching
skill tree Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...
would also become available for players to unlock. The upgrade choices are binary—unselected choices are locked forever. Some of these upgrades include alien powers such as
cloaking Cloaking is a search engine optimization (SEO) technique in which the content presented to the search engine spider is different from that presented to the user's browser. This is done by delivering content based on the IP addresses or the ...
, levitation (which ascends enemies hiding between cover), and pulse wave (which knocks down enemies). Backpacks can be collected to boost the passive perks.


Synopsis


Setting

The game is set in late 1962 at the height of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
between the United States and Soviet Union. Prior to the events of the game, US President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
authorized the creation of the Bureau of Strategic Emergency Command, which was intended to coordinate US military forces in the event of a Soviet invasion of the US. A top-secret underground command bunker was constructed to house the bureau and military and civilian personnel were secretly contacted and told to report there in the event of an invasion. The bureau's director, Myron Faulke, had another vision for his organization: a bulwark against attacks from the Outsiders, hostile extraterrestrial forces who he believed had been operating on Earth for the past six months and had some connection to the recently discovered super-element elerium. As the game begins, Central Intelligence Agency special agent William Carter is tasked with delivering an important package to Faulke at the Bureau's research labs at
Groom Range The Groom Range is a mountain range in Lincoln County, Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, ...
.


Plot

Responding to Director Faulke's summons, William Carter waits in a room at the Groom Range facility where he meets a military officer who informs him that she is to escort him to Faulke to deliver his briefcase. Carter is wary and refuses to go. A black fluid discharges from the officer's eyes; she shoots Carter and opens the case. The case emits a blinding light which incinerates the officer and stuns Carter. Moments later, Carter awakens to find his gunshot wound inexplicably healed and the case destroyed. The base comes under attack. Carter attempts to rescue Faulke as the attackers, identified as the Outsiders by bureau agents whom Carter encounters, easily slaughter the base's garrison. He eventually finds Faulke, but is too late to save
J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...
, CIA director Frost, and General Deems (who was controlled by the aliens and killed the others). Carter escapes the Groom Range facility by tram just as Outsider devices cause the mountain to implode. He stalls the Outsider pursuit with a powerful Elerium bomb and he and Faulke flee on a Skyranger helicopter. At the Bureau's command bunker, Faulke announces that communications worldwide are jammed and other US military bases have been destroyed in similar attacks. With no way to contact the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
and other American military leaders, Faulke formally activates the bureau which is renamed as XCOM. To counter the Outsider threat, Faulke assumes control of the country's remaining military forces while XCOM operatives planted in major cities keep the civilian populace from panicking by downplaying the attacks as safety drills. Over the following weeks, Carter leads teams of agents across the country to retrieve important personnel, defend strategic sites, and recover what alien technology they can for research. Gradually, the bureau pieces together the Outsiders' motives: to conquer the Earth and terraform it into a new home world while simultaneously enslaving humanity. The interrogation of an Outsider infiltrator, who Carter can gradually bring over to their side via persuasion, reveals that their species is commanded by an entity known as Origin through a
psionic In American science fiction of the 1950s and '60s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as extrasensory percept ...
network called Mosaic, which the Infiltrator was disconnected from. Carter's team travels through a portal to the Outsider home world using the Avenger, a
flying saucer A flying saucer, or flying disc, is a purported type of disc-shaped unidentified flying object (UFO). The term was coined in 1947 by the United States (US) news media for the objects pilot Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, Kenneth Arnold claimed fl ...
XCOM has developed. There, Carter discovers that Mosaic is powered by an enslaved
Ethereal Ethereal may refer to: * Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001 * Ethereal (musician), American rapper and record producer * Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music * W ...
, a being of pure energy with immense psionic power. The Outsiders have been searching for a dormant Ethereal on Earth (which is what was inside Carter's briefcase) that now inhabits his body. He manages to capture Origin's Ethereal, detonates a bomb at Mosaic's entry point, and returns to Earth. At XCOM's base, the captured Ethereal named Shamash psionically contacts the Ethereal inside of Carter, Asaru. It becomes apparent that the player has actually been playing as Asaru. In its recently awakened state, Asaru believed itself to be human and psionically controlling William Carter. Shamash claims that because both the Outsiders and humans have learned how to capture Ethereals, the humans must be destroyed so that a force like Mosaic is never rebuilt. Upon hearing this, Carter manages to temporarily break free of Asaru and kills Shamash, who goes on to believe that Asaru will enslave them anyway. XCOM's base is discovered by the Outsiders after Faulke forces Weir, a previously retrieved cryptologist, to reconnect the Infiltrator to find where Origin is hiding and Carter attempts to defend it while attempting to break free from Asaru's control. Carter plants an explosive device with a thirty-second timer because he believes that the Ethereal will never allow him to be free.


Conclusion

Four endings are possible depending on the choices made at this point. If Asaru refuses to relinquish control of Carter, the bomb goes off and kills both of them. Alternatively, Asaru can release Carter but only to willingly merge with either Dr. Weir, Agent Weaver, or Director Faulke. The new host knocks Carter unconscious and the remaining agents abandon the base. They discover that Origin still exists within the remains of the Mosaic network and has transported itself to Earth's orbit in order to command the Outsiders stranded on the planet. The crew of the Avenger mounts their final attack against Origin's ship, with Asaru providing the new host with the powers it had given Carter. During the mission, one of the other two host options is sacrificed and the other is rescued and Carter, who believes that Asaru is no different from the Outsiders, is either executed or incarcerated. Asaru's host discovers a secondary entry point for Mosaic and psionically integrates with the network and destroys Origin and its influence over the Outsiders. The aftermath of the Outsider invasion is revealed in the form of a debriefing of Asaru's host. * If Asaru merges with Weir, he persuades the Outsiders to cease their attack and help rebuild before departing amicably to continue their search for a homeworld; Outsider technology is carefully disassembled and stored away, sites of Outsider attacks are quietly erased from the national register or explained away as natural disasters. * If Asaru merges with Weaver, she forces the Outsiders to kill each other; all Outsider technology and evidence of their attacks is destroyed, in some cases with nuclear weapons. * If Asaru merges with Faulke, he commands the Outsiders to stand down and rebuild before being exterminated; some Outsider technology is preserved and provides considerable scientific and military advances, sites of Outsider attacks are erased. In any case, the Outsider invasion is successfully covered up with only the members of XCOM and a handful of top US and other world leaders aware of how close the human race came to extinction. The debriefing concludes with a description of how Asaru severs contact with its host and departs after the Outsiders are dealt with. Asaru's intentions remain unknown. The musical score segues into a theme from ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown''.


Development


As ''XCOM'' (2006–2011)

Take-Two Interactive Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993. The company owns three major Imprint (trade name), publishing labels, Rockstar Games, Zynga and 2K ...
, the parent company of the game's publisher
2K Games 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports sub-labels. The nascent label incorporated several developme ...
, purchased the
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
rights of '' X-COM'' from
Infogrames Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA ()), also known as Atari Group, is a French holding company headquartered in Paris that owns mainly video gaming-related interactive entertainment properties. Atari SA's core subsidiaries include ...
in 2005. In 2006, 2K Games acquired
Irrational Games Irrational Games (known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009) was an American video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. Take-Two Interactive acquired t ...
, which had an office in Boston and another in Australia. Irrational Games, led by Ken Levine, was primarily focused on the development of ''
BioShock ''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K. The first game in the ''BioShock'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 ...
'' but the team wanted to develop two projects simultaneously. Both offices created different pitches for a new ''X-COM'' game. Initially, the team attempted to return to the strategy root of the franchise using the engine that powered '' Freedom Force'' but because of the popularity of and the team's expertise in
first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
s (having worked on ''
SWAT 4 ''SWAT 4'' is a 2005 tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by Sierra Entertainment ( Vivendi Universal Games) exclusively for Microsoft Windows. It is the ninth installment in the ''Police Quest' ...
'' and ''
System Shock 2 ''System Shock 2'' is a 1999 action role-playing survival horror video game designed by Ken Levine and co-developed by Irrational Games and Looking Glass Studios. Originally intended to be a standalone title, its story was changed during produ ...
''), they changed genres. However, the team found it difficult to translate the strategy elements into a shooter and many pitches were abandoned. One of the pitches was set in a world conquered by extraterrestrial forces where the hero, inspired by
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...
, leads a revolution against the aliens. Another pitch had the player character escape an alien vessel and mount the back of a colossal alien. The Australian branch experimented with
asymmetrical multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
, in which a group of players played as human soldiers while another group controlled the aliens. Levine's Boston office withdrew from the game's development to focus on ''BioShock''s production. Irrational Games Australia later split to become
2K Australia 2K Australia Pty Ltd (formerly Irrational Games Australia and 2K Marin) was an Australian video game developer based in Canberra. The company was founded as Irrational Games Australia, a subsidiary of Irrational Games, in April 2000. Irrationa ...
. When 2K Australia assumed full creative control, they decided to use the setting pitched by the Boston office and set the game in the 1950s where humanity was technologically incapable of fighting against advanced alien enemies. Development of the game stalled when Take-Two assigned 2K Australia to assist the development of ''BioShock'' and its
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
. The initial goal of the project was to create a first-person shooter that could "elicit fear and confusion." The pitch was named X-COM: Enemy Unknown, a
word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, ph ...
on '' UFO: Enemy Unknown'', the first '' X-COM'' title, while also reflecting the mysterious and unknowable nature of the aliens. This pitch was also inspired by ''
X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to May 19, 2002, on Fox, spanning nine seasons, with 202 episodes. A tenth season of six e ...
'': the game's protagonist was a government official who would investigate alien sightings across North America, collect information, and return to a secret military laboratory for research and strategy planning. The version had limited
procedural generation In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated content and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. I ...
. The art team envisioned the aliens as globs of goo. The first alien created by the team was the titan, which was heavily featured in the game's marketing materials. 2K Games saw the game's potential and assigned 2K Marin a supporting role in the game's development. They began conceptualizing
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
modes for the game and modifying the game engine. Initially, the team drafted a cooperative multiplayer mode similar to ''
Left 4 Dead ''Left 4 Dead'' is a 2008 first-person shooter game developed by Valve South and published by Valve. It was originally released for Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2008 and for Mac OS X in October 2010, and is the first title in the '' Left 4 ...
''. It would also have an AI director to determine when and where enemies would
spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...
. Although the two studios were working on two separate components, their distant geographical locations and different time zones hindered communication and made collaboration difficult. On April 14, 2010, 2K Games merged 2K Australia into 2K Marin and officially revealed the project as ''XCOM''. However, despite the merge, communication problems persisted and the game failed to meet several development milestones. 2K Games then removed the multiplayer portion completely and reassigned the Marin studio to work with the Australian team on the single-player portion. Led by the Australian design team, the Marin studio worked on the first-person portion, also known as Field Ops, while the Australian team contributed to the strategy elements of the game. 2K Marin had no idea how to animate and program the behaviors of an enemy that was "unknowable". A prime component in gameplay design was to photograph aliens, but the unknowable enemies had no face and players could not determine if the enemy was looking at the protagonist. To improve communication, the teams swapped employees between the two studios, though this failed to stop some employees from leaving the project. A gameplay demonstration was shown to the press at
E3 2010 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 (E3 2010) was the 16th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 14, 2010, and ended on June 17, 2010, with 45,600 total attendees. The ...
. Players could complete rescue tasks, anomaly missions, and unknown missions. The weapons were futuristic and players were tasked to take photographs of aliens, and were allowed to withdraw from a mission once sufficient information was collected. Players could also explore the XCOM base in first-person; the base would gradually expand as the player completed more missions. The game also featured a branching path where completing one mission could mean that other missions became inaccessible. Jonathan Pelling, the creative director, said that the team tried to uphold the "core ''X-COM'' tenets". He described the game as a "systematic" first-person shooter in which the story would unlock gradually depending on how much the player had achieved. Pelling said the game's design of 1950s America was inspired by how
Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
advertisement depicted that period of time (not how it actually was)—one "where people feel comfortable and everything is optimistic."


Transition to ''The Bureau'' (2011–2012)

After creative leads the Australian branch left the company in 2011, the main 2K Marin studio became the lead developer and exerted more control over the game's development. 2K Marin experimented with some conventional game features, including
stealth Stealth may refer to: Military *Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles **Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology ** Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology ** Ste ...
gameplay and a suspicion system, in which enemies would be alerted if the players acted abnormally. Jordan Thomas became the game's narrative director and he pushed the setting to 1962—the height of
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. The new storyline also included issues centered in the civil rights movement. 2K Marin streamlined the game's features, turning open-ended levels into more linear ones, making humanoid enemies the main enemy types and downplaying the mysterious component. The radial wheel was introduced in 2011 as well as Time Units (using skills and battle focus would drain time). 2K Marin was unhappy with the state of the game and asked 2K Games permission to create a new demo for
E3 2011 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3 2011) was the 17th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 7, 2011, and ended on June 9, 2011, with 46,800 total attendees. E3 20 ...
. They wanted to increase squad tactics and switch the game to a
third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to storytelling, convey a narrative, story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to del ...
so that it would resemble classic ''XCOM'' games. After seeing the positive press reaction to the demo shown at E3 2011, 2K Games agreed to let the team reboot the project. Thomas envisioned the rebooted project as a link between
Firaxis Games Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meie ...
' '' XCOM: Enemy Unknown'' and the older ''X-COM'' titles. Most of the stealth and horror elements were discarded and the game was redesigned to become a
tactical shooter A tactical shooter is a Video game genre, sub-genre of First-person shooter, first- and third-person shooters, associated with using strategy, planning, and Military tactics, tactics in gameplay, as well as the realistic simulations of ballisti ...
. The changes were a lot of work and with continued communication problems between 2K Australia and 2K Marin, development was behind schedule. 2K Games intervened and removed the Australian branch from the project, though some Australian staff members were offered to relocate to the Marin office and continue their work. 2K Marin's studio head John Chowanec forced the team to work nine hours a day to speed up development. Thomas left the project to work on ''
BioShock Infinite ''BioShock Infinite'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K. The third installment of the ''BioShock'' series, ''Infinite'' was released worldwide for the PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360, a ...
''.


As ''The Bureau: XCOM Declassified'' (2012–2013)

After the departure of Thomas, Zak McClendon, the narrative designer of ''BioShock 2'', led the game's gameplay design. Under his guidance, 2K Marin began including classic ''X-COM'' enemies into the game. Having missed multiple milestones, the game entered its alpha stage in mid-2012; the game was playable from beginning to end. The game entered the beta stage in March 2013 and the publishing arm of 2K Games began promoting the game more heavily. During this period, 2K Marin also exchanged ideas with
Firaxis Games Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meie ...
. The game has multiple references to ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown'' and other ''X-COM'' games, though the enemies are less advanced than those in Firaxis' reboot since the story takes place over 60 years earlier. In late 2012, the studio experimented with
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...
gameplay, in which players controlled agents from a
top-down perspective A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...
. The radial wheel was reintroduced, though the team realized that players did not give commands to other characters during the testing phase. Early playtesters also complained that switching between agents was too slow and cumbersome. To solve the problem, the team streamlined gameplay by removing Time Units and the ability to assume control of different agents. Playtesters found the radial wheel confusing to use because there were too many skills to choose from when all agents reached their maximum levels. The team, in response, created a radial menu in which the selected option would expand and the rest of the menu would shrink in size. With the game's setting shifted to the 1960s, the art style became more realistic. It was inspired by ''
The Day the Earth Stood Still ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' is a 1951 American science fiction film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Julian Blaustein and directed by Robert Wise. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, F ...
'', ''The X-Files'', and ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
''. The 1960s architecture featured in the game was inspired by the
Googie Googie architecture ( ) is a type of futurist architecture influenced by car culture, jets, the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It originated in Southern California from the Streamline Moderne architecture of the 1930s, and was popular in the U ...
style. Erik Caponi served as the game's narrative lead. His main task was to fill the gaps in the overarching story previously written by Thomas. He was inspired by '' The Right Stuff'' and ''
The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential ...
''. In the game, each mission is a self-contained narrative, similar to an episode of a television show. He compared it to a
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
(RPG) in which the story is more personalized. Players action would bring consequences to the game's world that would result in several alternate endings. To increase player agency, different side objectives were introduced to the game. According to Gray, the XCOM base was an important part of the game. Grey described the base as "a character in itself" and one that would slowly change as the story unfolds. He compared it to the Normandy ship in the ''
Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology left behind by Elder race, a ...
'' trilogy. Unlike ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown'', players could not conduct any research as time did not pass between missions and the team believed that research would disrupt the game's narrative and remove the game's tension. Players can pick up alien weaponry in the field, an approach which was seen as more immediate by the team. The base is also the place in which players recruit new agents. The team felt that it was impractical to create hundreds of agents with unique personalities and voices and hoped that players could instead relate to them through gameplay. Players could not recruit female agents because Caponi wanted the
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...
of the period to be represented in the game. Seeing the popularity of difficult games like ''XCOM: Enemy Unknown'', ''
Dark Souls is a dark fantasy action role-playing game series developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series began with the release of ''Dark Souls (video game), Dark Souls'' (2011) and has ...
'' and ''
Fire Emblem is a Video games in Japan, Japanese fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, the series currently con ...
'', the team designed the game to be unforgiving. Players are easily outnumbered and agents can die permanently. This prompts players to utilize different tactics in order to survive. According to Finley, run and gun would result in the death of the protagonist. The AI was programmed to ensure that the accompanying agents could survive on their own, though they require player input to function effectively. The game was designed to cater to a wide audience, including both strategy fans and action game players. Inspired by ''
Fallout 3 ''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...
'', the design team aimed to create a fluid gameplay experience with deep strategy gameplay. In addition, the team slowed down the movement speed of the playable character to encourage players to think tactically before they entered the warzone.


Release

''XCOM'' was announced on April 13, 2010, for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
. The first gameplay demonstration was shown at
E3 2010 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 (E3 2010) was the 16th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 14, 2010, and ended on June 17, 2010, with 45,600 total attendees. The ...
. ''XCOM'' received a mixed critical reception. Some critics criticized the game for not returning to the franchise's root of
turn-based strategy Strategy video game is a major video game genre that focuses on analyzing and strategizing over direct quick reaction in order to secure success. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, the strategy genre is most commo ...
as well as the lack of tactics involved in gameplay, especially since the game was meant to serve as a reboot to the series.
Julian Gollop Julian Gollop is a British video game designer Video game design is the process of designing the rules and content of video games in the Video game development#Pre-production, pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, environment, st ...
, the creator of the ''X-COM'' series, was disappointed by the game's first-person perspective and he criticized the game for abandoning the turn-based gameplay. Christoph Hartmann, the president of 2K Games, responded by saying that turn-based strategy games are not contemporary and that the series needed to be revitalized with new gameplay ideas so that the game could be "in line with what this generation of gamers want". The game did not have any public promotion until a year later at
E3 2011 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3 2011) was the 17th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 7, 2011, and ended on June 9, 2011, with 46,800 total attendees. E3 20 ...
. 2K Games announced that the game would be released March 6, 2012, the same day as competitor
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
released ''
Mass Effect 3 ''Mass Effect 3'' is a 2012 action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. The third major entry in the ''Mass Effect'' series and the final installment of the original trilogy, it was released in March 2012 for ...
''. In early 2012, the release was delayed until 2013 and then until 2K Game's
fiscal year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...
2014, which meant that the franchise would be relaunched with Firaxis' '' XCOM: Enemy Unknown'' instead. After another year of silence, 2K Games registered several new domains that hinted the game might return with a new title, possibly as ''The Bureau'' or ''What Happened in 62''. In April 2013, the official website and all promotional videos and trailers for ''XCOM'' on YouTube were removed by the publisher, and 2K Games teased that the game had undergone a major evolution. ''The Bureau: XCOM Declassified'' was officially announced on April 26, 2013, for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
, Windows, and Xbox 360. The game was released in North America and Europe on August 20 and 23, respectively. TransGaming handled the game's release for the OS X platform in December 2013. When the game was announced, 2K Games released a live-action trailer for the game titled The Burn Room''.'' The Burn Room was later expanded to become a short mini-series. Henry Hobson, who had previously directed the opening sequence of ''The Last of Us'' and the live-action trailer for ''Resistance 3'', directed the series of trailers. The mini-series stars Dominic Monaghan as Agent Ennis Cole. To promote the game, 2K Games also launched an interactive browser game called the Hungover X as a spoof. Downloadable content was released for the game: "Hangar 6 R&D" was released exclusively for Xbox 360 and served as a prequel, and players who preordered the game gained access to "Codebreakers". Those who preordered the game using GAME (retailer), GAME unlocked the Light Plasma Pistol. Both "Codebreakers" and the Light Plasma Pistol were released on October 15, 2013.


Reception


Critical reception

The gameplay received a mixed response. The game's incompetent artificial intelligence (AI) was a common point of criticism because it needed player input to function properly and made squad management cumbersome. The permadeath feature was criticized by Matt Miller from ''Game Informer'' for being unengaging because players can always restart from checkpoint, and that agent deaths lacked impact and turned gameplay into a "monotonous slog" according to GameSpot's reviewer Kevin VanOrd. Ludwig Kietzmann from Joystiq noted that without these companions, combat could become very difficult but their loss was "felt in utility more than emotion." VanOrd found the gunplay entertaining while Dan Stapleton from ''IGN'' found it serviceable. Stapleton also praised the variety of enemies which kept the combat from becoming stale after several hours. James Stephanie Sterling from ''Destructoid'' was disappointed by the Battle Focus mode because it was inconvenient to use. Critics noted the game's challenging nature and believed that using tactics was largely the only way to succeed in the game. Whitehead enjoyed the combat perks and skills that helped open up new combat possibilities. Justin McElroy from ''Polygon (website), Polygon'' also liked the skills since they could be chained seamlessly together. Hollander Cooper from GamesRadar also reacted positively to the combat skills, saying that unlocking these skills and utilizing them in combat was rewarding and engaging. Critics were mixed about the game's story. Miller felt that most of the agent recruits were lifeless and boring and compared them unfavorably to the companions from ''Mass Effect''; however, he felt the final act story twist reinvigorated the story. VanOrd agreed, saying that the twist was a welcome change of pace, though he did not think the story made much sense. He also believed that navigating the XCOM base helped players immerse themselves in the 1960s atmosphere, but found it uninteresting with redundant story beats and repeating themes. Stapleton thought the twist was non-sensical. Cooper agreed, saying that while the story started strong, it collapsed in the final act. He also criticized the characters, especially Carter, for being uninteresting. This was echoed by Sterling, who described Carter as an "outdated archetype" who was unlikeable. Both Stapleton and Birnbaum criticized the XCOM base for being empty and they lamented the lack of research options. Birnbaum further noted that there was a disconnect between exploration of the base and the main missions. Whitehead felt that many of the interactions between Carter and other non-playable characters were pointless and served no narrative purpose. Josh Harmon from ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' liked the game's narrative, which he compared to the work of Arthur C. Clarke. He also liked the environmental storytelling and compared it to the team's previous work on ''BioShock''. McElroy noted that recruiting companions was poorly executed because it was pointless to put untested agents on the field, and Whitehead criticized the secondary tasks for being undercooked missions which lacked strategy depth. VanOrd applauded the team for creating a period-accurate retro-futuristic atmosphere. Stapleton also liked the visuals, though he noted several gameplay components undermined the consistency, especially how XCOM agents acquired alien weaponry for their own use without proper in-game explanation. Harmon also enjoyed the game's art style but found it unpolished as he noticed different texture issues and cutscene animation hiccups. Kietzmann called the art "a major point of pride for the developers", praising its rich details and the depiction of different rural locales. Birnbaum wrote that the 1960s suburban areas featured in the game were "painstakingly recreated" and admired the team's efforts in building the game's world.


Sales

According to analyst Doug Creutz from Cowen and Company, the game was unlikely to be a financial success for 2K Games and he predicted that fewer than 250,000 units would be sold by the end of 2013 in North America. The game was launched in a highly competitive week against ''Saints Row IV'', ''Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist'', and ''Disney Infinity''. It became the tenth best-selling retail game in the UK in its week of release, according to Chart-Track.


References


External links

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