09 Apr

I’m From the Bureau

I feel bad for The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. It’s like the poor middle child, born with the XCOM name but not given the responsibility of the eldest son (the well-respected though absolutely confusing old-school X-COM: UFO Defense) nor spoiled rotten as the critical darling who’s just so like his older brother, isn’t that darling XCOM: Enemy Unknown. No, not only does The Bureau have the misfortune of being in a family with those two, but in this tortured metaphor, I’d go so far as to say that The Bureau is their sister: the single outnumbered girl constantly being told how great her brothers are.

Go Eagles!And here’s the thing – it’s a prestigious family. It’s hard to stand out when your older brother is considered one of the greatest original tactical games ever invented and your younger brother is considered one of the greatest modern tactical games ever invented and you’re a game that has shooty gun bits. How good can an XCOM shooter be, anyway? Is The Bureau a modern-day X-COM: Enforcer? Read More

26 Dec

Tango Down

Merry Christmas! As the holidays roll through and the Steam winter sale does its worst, I’ve weathered the storm with only a few purchases here and there. Believe me, it could have been much, much worse. So what did I pick up?

Clear!

I couldn’t resist police XCOMtastic RPS tactics game of the year Door Kickers. I was a little worried that I would find that my relationship with tactics games had gotten It’s Complicated. I’m not a huge tactics junkie but I really enjoyed Valkyria Chronicles, and had a brief but enjoyable dalliance with Frozen Synapse. Would Door Kickers get to third base with me? Read More