To call this XCOM would be a major disservice to one of the finest names in tactical gaming. For bar the well-realised time period, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is nothing but another generic third-person shooter with XCOM elements uncomfortably shoe-horned in. Set in the 1960s, you play Agent William Carter – the leader of a three-man squad sent to investigate various alien attacks. Negative space: Gamplay gets repetitive very quickly - despite 2K's best efforts in enemy variation To its credit, the uninspired combat holds up well. Using a Mass Effect-style command and abilities wheel spliced with a Gears of War cover-system, battles often involve sending your teammates down the flanks to draw fire, while you attack from the other side.
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Solid but completely uninspired third-person gameplay
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Well-realised time period and interesting environments
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XCOM's 'once you're dead, you're dead' mechanic just doesn't work with your team - losing that trademark sense of urgency
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No multiplayer
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Wooden voice acting and average graphics
Although your squad mates can die if not revived, main character @placeholder cannot – his fatality merely causing a respawn of the entire squad at the previous checkpoint.