Join the Men in Black: You get to travel, serve your country & kick some serious alien butt —Only caveat: You can NEVER tell anyone about it.
Developed by 2K Games, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is an FPS (first person shooter) a third-person shooter set in the year 1962, when America was immersed in anti-communist paranoia during the peak of the Cold War. But it turns out uncle Sam’s boys have a much worse enemy to worry about than the Red Menace: highly advanced aliens with a covert agenda to take over the entire planet —that’s when a secret government agency known simply as ‘the Bureau’ comes in.
This looks like a pretty decent title, but what’s interesting to note is how its release managed to coincide with last week’s official acknowledgment of Area 51 —talk about the luckiest market campaign ever!
…Or is it?
Huff Post columnist Andy Campbell wonders if there might be something else behind all this, especially when you take into consideration that none other than Nick Pope is involved with 2K’s PR campaign. Last year during an interview, Pope said that in the event of an attack he expected that we would “quickly adapt our plans for other more current war scenarios.” —From 2K’s website: “The Bureau’s mission is clear – survive, adapt and overcome the enemy threat.” [emphasis mine]
There was also a lot of fuss provoked by an interview Pope gave to the Daily Mail prior to the opening of the Olympic games in London, when he warned about the possibility of UFOs making an appearance during the sport celebration:
He said: ‘The government must – and has planned – for the worst-case scenario: alien attack and alien invasion.
‘Space shuttles, lasers and directed-energy weapons are all committed via the Alien Invasion War Plan to defence against any alien ships in orbit.
‘If UFOs came into our atmosphere, RAF jets such as the Eurofighter Typhoons, and missiles such as the Rapiers guarding the Olympic Games would be well equipped to enter the fray.
‘And if the aliens landed, in an unprecedented move, I am in doubt that the entire Army would be join the fight.
‘The TA and the Reserves would be called out and conscription potentially introduced. ‘
It took a while for everyone to realize Pope was not being 100% serious with his claims, and that these interviews were part of the PR campaign for the previous game in the XCOM series —causing a public denouncement from Richard Dolan.
Speaking about this latest release, Nick had this to say:
“We didn’t plan to match up the game’s release with the declassification of Area 51 material … I’m not a gamer myself, I’m not involved in the development side. My role is to engage with the gaming community and bridge the gap between UFO enthusiasts and gamers.”
Yet I still get the feeling that if some nerdy teenager manages to beat the game with a really high score, soon after he might get a visit from a group of smartly-dressed G man, offering him a chance to join in & experience the real thing —Last Starfighter anyone?
