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#3926487 - 03/18/14 04:19 PM The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR)  
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Coot Offline
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These United States of America
Okay, I started to get back into this game after only a short time with it on release. Its starting to open up for me more now and flesh out and I'm really enjoying it. If you enjoy cold war era scifi lore and 3rd person shooters with some strategy and unit control you'd probably like this. Its not perfect but its a great little game. Seems to be running a little better for me than it initially did but if you have a beefy pc this game has a lot of bells and whistles for you to enjoy like ambient occlusion, cloth physics on some characters and even a DX11 setting which I don't run it in.

I actually had to turn down the difficulty to rookie from veteran because of how hard it got and the following mission here, I still lost a man and it was considered a "minor" mission. This was basically only my third mission in the game.

Operation Guardian
Mission task - subdue the Outsider alien threat that has seized total control of a hidden nuclear missile launch silo in Montana.


Before heading out, I talk to who I need to in The Bureau's main base of operations, a deep underground bunker in the American Southwest. After a chat and refresher on my newly acquired alien tech augmentation device via Bureau provided training videos, its time to head out with my squad.








Myself, McClendon and Baker will be tackling this mission. Both have been with me from the start and have reached my same level of experience. Little do I know that this mission will require more than I ever had imagined. We receive onsite orders and proceed through the farm towards the hidden silo. "Enemy sighted"!





The enemy spots us and I immediately give orders. Being fired at with only hay bales as cover, I know I need to move my team to better positions ASAP. As I give moving orders, a large blue beam flashes from the sky towards the ground. Instantly, my men start shouting "Muton"! Perhaps I missed the briefing or memo but I have never yet seen one of these beings yet before in my travels. Its huge.






I would never have believed my team and I would have met so much difficult resistance on a mission classified by the Bureau as "minor". I know that I'm still new to the Bureau and no more informed on our Outsider enemy than anyone else (we have to learn, fight, endure and defeat this enemy threat together) but this mission taught me that I needed to shift my previous perception of any and all terms, labels and vernacular used within the Bureau as now I know that I know nothing. What I now know is that I need to be a blank slate and to accumulate and retain knowledge not only through asking every question that I can think of and doing all of the research that I can, but also through the instruction of that cruel teacher known as "experience".

In this skirmish we lost Bureau operative Baker. A Korean war vet and promising Bureau asset with over twenty confirmed enemy kills and three missions under his belt, Baker won't be coming home. I hate to leave him here but we must press on to the silo. (His name now hangs on the Bureau memorial wall) HQ was able to drop us another new recruit, Moses Washington. Though green, Moses was key in helping McClendon and I survive the skirmish with the Muton. He actually provided covering fire and distraction while McClendon came to my aid when disabled while the Muton came barreling down on us. The name of Moses Washington also now hangs on the memorial wall. I'm so grieved and angry that this young man was snuffed out so quickly. This was his first and last mission with the Bureau. He gave his all saving my and McClendon's hide allowing us to make it to the silo. Baker and Washington. Two torches that though were short-lived, burned brighter in a moment, in a day than a lifetime of sunshine.




At the last possible minute, with help from HQ, I was able to take control of the launch sequence of the nuclear missile and to alter its target coordinates. Those #%&*$# Outsiders were targeting Washington DC. Thank Providence we were able to redirect it to Bikini Atoll, a nuclear testing site.





Upon returning to base, I was paged to go and meet with the Base's Commander, a Mr. Faulk at the laboratory section of our underground bunker station. There I was greeted with quite an interesting surprise. With the added help of our Outsider foe's technology, base scientists were able to make a previous man-made prototype flying disc almost operational. I'll be curious to see how this might aid us in future operations.










Last edited by Coot; 03/18/14 06:45 PM.

John 10:1-30
Romans 10:1-13

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#3926847 - 03/19/14 10:04 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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Looks cool. I'll add it to my Steam wishlist.

#3926849 - 03/19/14 10:29 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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Well written AAR and very engrossing too. I actually felt the pain of the officer as he lament's the deaths of his troops.

#3926859 - 03/19/14 11:08 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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Looks good, I may invest in this smile

#3926957 - 03/19/14 02:52 PM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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Wow, this sure looks better than it did during the previews and early release. Those were "darker" images, while this is nice and bright! Just might add it to my library if it goes on sale!


- Ice
#3926967 - 03/19/14 03:06 PM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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These United States of America
I'd say definitely pick it up when it goes on sale. If you like fun, scifi lore and a 3rd person shooter with some strategy you can't go wrong. It took a little while for it to open up but like I said, its really fleshing out and once you get past the first few intro missions, its nice just walking around the base and then picking missions at your leisure.

I just found out too that you can send squads out to perform certain missions on their own where they can pick up experience while you do something else. I was surprised too to see how big the base is. After one level a new section opened up with some story related dialogue that I needed to engage in and the area is quite big. I never got into them much, but The Bureau borrows the real time combat mechanics and some dialogue trees from the Mass Effect series.

This should be interesting







I just created 2 more agents. Robert Shaw and Hugh Beaumont. Both green so I need to start them off on easier missions until they get more experienced. It stinks when you loose someone even with a higher level. Some of it does boil down to your ability or lack there of to command yourself and your squad and to utilize each individuals strengths at the right time and in the right way.


John 10:1-30
Romans 10:1-13

#3927215 - 03/19/14 10:39 PM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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Cool Coot

#3927362 - 03/20/14 10:21 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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Nice shots, and nice mini report Coot! I'll give this game a try pretty soon, as I really love the mix of sci-fi and the 60's.


Murphy's Law says, "Whatever can go wrong, will, and when you least expect it."
(And, of course, we all know that Murphy was an aviator.)

*aka Flying-V*
#3927375 - 03/20/14 11:13 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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I'll wait till it's ridiculously cheap though...

#3928026 - 03/21/14 03:37 PM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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Got it yesterday, it was time to try something new, and this game really looked like something I could enjoy.

So far, I am not disappointed! I really love the 60's atmosphere, the design is good (makes me think about Mafia 2), gameplay is not that simple (IMO) and makes up for a nice challenge using your team mates and not getting them exposed too much. I've only done the first mission, and was quite impressed at some of the historical accuracy they put in it, especially the crashed C-119 and F-104. I must say I hadn't found anything out of place for this timeframe as for now, except for the camouflage sets some military are wearing. Looks like ERDL, but it was not used by the US before 1967. That being said, it was being developped since 1948, so this is still plausible (I know, I know, stitch nazi inside :D). The characters are enjoyable this far, they seem to have some real personality and are not simple generic dummies dropped around your environment.

I'm really looking forward to play more missions, and try to keep my squad mates alive while doing so! The only complaint I have right now is the ability to use one of your team member to pull an airstrike, even when inside a building. They should have make it possible only when outdoor.


Murphy's Law says, "Whatever can go wrong, will, and when you least expect it."
(And, of course, we all know that Murphy was an aviator.)

*aka Flying-V*
#3928379 - 03/22/14 04:49 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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These United States of America
I also wish there was a little more background on where you get the arm device. Its slipped my memory but as I recall you don't have it and then all of a sudden, you have this tech that allows you to have augmented combat abilities. Not a huge deal in that games like these that start to pull me in, whatever they forget or leave out I fill in with my imagination.

Yeah that first mission with the huge ufo dogfight going on overhead and the crashed F-104 shows that whoever developed and directed the design for the game put a lot of love into it. Its not like they just picked some go to generic aircraft they put something era-specific in there which is an uncommon respect to at least attempting authenticity compared to other developers.


John 10:1-30
Romans 10:1-13

#3932076 - 03/30/14 11:01 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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Well, we didn't have to wait long! This game is currently on sale on Steam at £4.99, the lowest-ever recorded price according to IsThereAnyDeal.com


- Ice
#3972030 - 06/24/14 01:49 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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These United States of America
Hey all, if anyone from this post uses Steam and or any passerby's who really think they might like to try this game, post your Steam name as I have an extra copy of this title to give away as a gift.


John 10:1-30
Romans 10:1-13

#3972032 - 06/24/14 01:53 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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As you have done for me Coot my good man. Thanks

#3972041 - 06/24/14 02:28 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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These United States of America
NP enjoy! abducted


John 10:1-30
Romans 10:1-13

#3972107 - 06/24/14 07:02 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  

**DONOTDELETE**
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Oh yes, this game is really an underrated little gem. Finished it some time ago and had a blast. It is difficult as hell but in a good way. Played on hard but on last mission had to switch to normal. Couldn't finish the last fight despite like 20 tries:) Great attention to details and really awsome level designs. Strongly reccomend this one!

#4049794 - 12/12/14 11:38 PM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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These United States of America
Continued to play the game recently after having got a new computer.(Thank you Steam for saving my old saved games in a cloud apparently!)

Well I lost Robert Shaw in a mission heading into the Outsider world. I feel the game's ending is near but I still have a little left to go and so far I've got about 22hours into it:





















Last edited by Coot; 12/12/14 11:41 PM.

John 10:1-30
Romans 10:1-13

#4049867 - 12/13/14 03:55 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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Lol!! Looks good. I was about to ask if you still had that extra copy when I saw that the post was dated six months ago!


"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive to live as one in peace."
Astronaut William C. McCool RIP, January 29, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia

#4049868 - 12/13/14 03:57 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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These United States of America
Actually I still have an extra copy of it. Bought more copies than I thought when it was on the cheap. I thought it was bisher's copy just not claimed yet but his steam says he's got it so this is another I didn't know I still had. Its your's Pooch if you want it. abducted

Last edited by Coot; 12/13/14 03:58 AM.

John 10:1-30
Romans 10:1-13

#4049869 - 12/13/14 03:59 AM Re: The Bureau: Xcom Declassified (Mini AAR) [Re: Coot]  
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You're kidding. So its still up for grabs? If you'd be so kind, I'll take it off your hands.


"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive to live as one in peace."
Astronaut William C. McCool RIP, January 29, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia


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