Spec Ops: The Line

I have played video games for ages and played lots of them. I like games a lot but every time someone claims that video games and movies are kindred spirits I laugh. To compare games and movies are, in my humble opinion, to give games way too much credit. The story lines are always juvenile at best, boasting scripts that wouldn't even fit the worst b-movies. Characters are usually shallow if not nonexistent. In order for games to elevate themselves, the developers really really need to dare write mature stories and present plots that engage us on a deeper level.

And along came Spec ops: the line, a seemingly run off the mill shooter with nothing new. The setting was somewhat original though, A recon mission into a Dubai, laid to waste by sandstorms. But I was still expecting the usual macho-soldier patriotism, thinking with your trigger finger-stuff. Boy was I wrong.

Someone at Yager has made some truly bold decisions, slowly, the story turns from the standard crap to a story that haunted me. Some of the visuals seriously shocked me and I both wanted to and did not want to find out what would happen at the end. The story is one of the best i have ever experienced in any video game. Ever.

The voice work is excellent, and does not get worse by the fact that Bruce Boxleitner plays the colonel. I still have a soft spot for him since Babylon 5.

I will not comment on the visuals, except to say that they have used it do present some of the most horrendous scenes i have seen in video gaming. The game play is OK, but seems like an afterthought when compared to the story. The game play mostly serves as a method to get us under captain walker's skin, to connect with him, only to make the second half of the game so much more powerful.

Play this. Its good. Really good.

This game is /intentionally/ marketed as a generic arcade shooter, but will in fact take you through an emotional and psychological horror experience.

DO NOT play this game like you play any other arcade shooter, pay attention to the characters' mental state, the details in the environment around them, the dialogue, all that. This game will deliver a different message to everyone, depending on one's personal philosophy, what details one picks up and how one perceives the game's story.

Gameplay-wise, cover system is clunky and gunplay is too arcadey for my taste but it isn't worse enough to affect how you experience the game.

Very, very, very underrated. Hope there would be more similar games in the future.

While most war games out there tend to glorify the violence, this game (it's hard to call it a game when it isn't exactly fun and it's so narrative-focused) shows the player the reality of war in all of its horror. In fact, it may even be safe to say that this could be considered a horror game by definition. After going through the campaign on this game, I found myself more appreciative of what our men and women on the frontlines go through every day, because this game, as I said, shows you the reality of war and not its glorified state like in so many others such as Call of Duty and Battlefield. How? It removes the "hero" aspect. This time you're not killing Nazis, Al-Qaeda, or aliens; you're going into the beautiful Middle- Eastern city of Dubai to help evacuate its refugees from the worst sandstorm in recorded history. I won't spoil who the enemy turns out to be. While that does sound well-intentioned, the way the plot unfolds takes Captain Walker and crew into an extremely brutal fight for survival. Unique to video games, there's also non-linear storytelling in the game as well when the player is forced to make some remarkably unpleasant decisions. One may even argue that some of these said decisions are things that real soldiers must make from time to time, just to be called war criminals for doing what they HAD TO DO. There needs to be more (not games) interactive experiences like this. the game is a masterpiece

Spec ops the line isn't you'r typical cod experience, an underrated masterpiece that faded between all these shiny war marked i.p s.

Tho the game contains a massive amount of violence and disturbing scenes, unlike other third person action shooters out there, they have a target: to show you the real face of war.

The story of the game is colored in gray, you may find yourself as the savior for the first few hours of the game and willing to even kill your fellow comrades in pursuit of that goal but it costs, not only for them, and not only in the physical world, it will slowly break down your mental health and before you even realize it you're lost. But that's not it, this is the real world and soon you'll find out trying to be the hero only made you the main villain. A lone man will never be able to decide for the lives of others, no matter how good your intentions are, your ignorance will take you down as you are nothing but one human in billions.

With all that is said the story progression is just too perfect that its hard to close the game even after finishing it. 10 out of 10

the graphics and arts are both realistic as they should be and good enough to score 8 out of 10.

Unlike other parts of the game, its gameplay doesn't offer anything new, a well made cover system game with its own little innovations. Generally 8/10.

And at last but not the least the music, there is not much to say except that nothing can express the game more than its track album. If you're asking me check out the glasgow track from mogwai, 10/10.

In overall spec ops the line is a fine 9/10. Once you've played the game you will never forget it. Its not a game to play in you're free time to waste time, its the type that will come to you before sleep time which proves how well made it is.

Speaking freely, this is the only game that has ever made me feel truly uncomfortable while playing it. I've played hundreds of games and have laughed, cried, felt guilty or even despressed while playing but with this... I felt like throwing up. I felt like crap. I felt like a monster - I even felt a bit like blowing my brains out (but in a good way).

Bottom line, the jokingly dubbed "PTSD" Simulator lived up to what everyone said it would, surprisingly.

9/10. Only misses the 10 due to weak gameplay mechanics and laggy controls.

My only regret is not playing this sooner.