Spec Ops: The Line

A third person shooter much akin to Resident Evil 4 controls and animations. Playing out in a ruined Dubai tortured by a civil war, the special operations force of Captain Walker’s tiny squad must then face against the 33rd Battalion, who have declared martial law during the victims, water shortage and random violence of a no man’s land.

As a desert setting, obviously water plays a big role seen here in the storyline for motivation. There are also sandstorm moments that are done pretty well while fighting your way through rogue soldiers. The abandoned setting is standing out quite nicely.

Spec Ops: The Line distinguishes itself from others for featuring a presentation that lets you doubt moral stances at certain moments and then ends abruptly with a twist ending which I think cannot be compared to Apocalypse Now, but Heart of Darkness might be possible, considering I haven’t studied the latter.

Basically the game can be seen as a message towards anti-war and anti-violence. Your squad is slowly losing their way and their mission, while upbeat and patriotic tunes play through the menu’s and battlefields. At other moments you can command your team to silence others.

Apart from the generic enemies, there are heavier versions of them and maniacs with knives that instant kill you. The arsenal is very standard but it can be noted that the shotgun is considerably more effective here than in many other games. And there are variations found on assault weaponry and more than just 1 kind of grenade.

So it plays very well, has a pleasant setting, makes you think about your choices found in the story, can be a nightmare to beat on higher challenges and the music was embracing. That makes it more than just something trying to be something else.

Spec Ops: The Line might let you feel bitter and sorry for the poor bastards depicted in it though, and perhaps it can compare certain circumstances and emotions with real life conflicts. If it wasn’t for the narrative and direction, it would be a clone or an apathy of a game.

Rating: 8.2