I actually didn’t mind at all that the initially announced (and formerly Xbox 360 exclusive) version of this was going to be a first-person experience, but some really stubborn hardcore fans of the classic PC game as well as misguided message board denizens who think ANY game with a FPS viewpoint is going to be a Call of Duty retread didn’t like the new direction at ALL. While all that turmoil was going on, veteran developer Firaxis was tapped to create a new tactical game in the series that followed and enhanced the gameplay of the original and as expected, it did quite well critically and (it seems) commercially. During all this, a poll was taken about the other game and fans basically asked it to be pretty much as similar as can be to what they “expect” and so, here we are…

Well, not quite. There’s a new name, The Bureau: XCOM Declassifled, that trailer above, a facebook page , an August 20, 2013 release date (PC, PS3 and Xbox 360) and some screenshots below. Thankfully, the 50’s setting from the game has only been bumped up to 1962, meaning the “retro” vibe is still very nicely in effect, although it seems some of the stranger visual elements have been polished up (and out) somewhat. As for the gameplay, it’s now a “third-person tactical shooter”, which brings to mind a mix of XCOM and Rainbow Six, which is a good thing.

That said, a well done live action non-gameplay trailer and three tantalizing screens aside, it’ll be interesting to see and play this before it lands in stores, so hopefully 2K is setting aside some time to get this into NYC for a press event before the game is out and about. I’m definitely more curious about it although I’d have preferred to see the team stick to its guns and shake things up a little by not listening to people who might not have bought the game they planned to make in the first place anyway…