I have seen my fair share of games in my few years on this planet, and I reserve very few for some of the highest ranks. Many times, shooters of any type get thrown to the mid/bottom end of the barrel for me, but not this time around. Spec Ops: The Line, on its surface looks like your typical, everyday, modern warfare, cover-based, third-person shooter. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is anything but.
Story:
You begin this game controlling Captain Martin Walker and his group of two other special operations soldiers, Lieutenant Alphonse Adams, and Staff Sergeant John Lugo in their mission to extract a key person from Dubai after a gigantic sandstorm floods the city. While their primary goal is to search for survivors, they also find themselves gathering information along the way that delves even deeper into what happened to the city as the sand took over. There are several unanswered questions on top of their mission which have some surprising outcomes as well. The story leaves you with a realistic, yet somewhat disturbing, view of war. There’s no sugarcoating the fact that you actually kill people, military or not, and the consequences come back to your own decisions.
The game has a choice-based system at key points, but unlike some games like inFamous or Mass Effect, the “good” and “bad” choices aren’t nearly as clear, and even the “neutral” choice can lead down a darker path than you expect. That is the wonderful thing I enjoy about the story in this game. You feel every decision you make, and it hurts but in a way that makes you want to stand up and clap at the execution of it all. War is not pretty, nor is it particularly fun for soldiers, and this game shows you a glimpse of that world. Walker has to make hard decisions that either put he and his men at risk, innocent civilians, or even the people he’s been sent out to look for. In the end you have one of the most engrossing, emotional, and engaging stories I have seen in a shooter in a long while.
Another thing about the story is that there are several moments when I actually went “This is a bad idea” and tried any way to take a different route than what the story wanted you to. That hasn’t happened for me with a game in a long time. There will be times you will be shocked, times you feel at odds with Walker, and possibly times you will cry, but that all adds to the story and journey, not takes away from it.
Gameplay:
As I said above, this is a cover-based third-person shooter. I liked the sliding aspect for when you get near cover, and the characters never feel too stuck to the cover you’re in, so movement is fairly nice in that aspect. There are also some stealth aspects in the game, which they introduce early on. I thought the game had a nice mix of either going the Rambo route or being Mr. Splinter Cell, yet working in either. Mind you, it is still an action-based TPS, but throwing in the option to be silent adds a nice layer of gameplay to the mix. That also plays into the whole choice system in a way. Sure, you could take out a bunch of guys with guns blazing, but there are also civilians nearby you may not want to get involved in the firefight. You can also use mountains of sand behind windows or walls to kill enemies, or shoot out roof sections to have them plummet to their deaths. It’s a nice addition to the gameplay I enjoyed.
This game is also fairly difficult, even if you’re good at TPS games. I found myself, on normal difficulty, dying quite a bit during some of the larger gun sequences. The computer is cruel, much like the realities of war in a way. You will find certain enemies become bullet sponges and while Walker and his team can take hits, they are not super human. Walker, more often than not, seems to go down before his crew, but that’s somewhat expected. Your teammates CAN be taken down, I might add, and you either command the other to heal them or you have to go in and heal them yourself. The opposite is not true, however, so you better be ready to die in the process of healing one of them. You can also command them to take out certain targets as well, which is a real help when you don’t have a sniper rifle on hand. I’m scared to see how hard things are at higher difficulties, but it could add a nice layer of challenge to the game, especially if you try to go a more stealth-based route.
There is also a multiplayer mode and a co-op mode, which I have yet to try, but from what I’ve heard, both are fairly solid. Personally, I prefer to enjoy the singleplayer vs. multiplayer.
Graphics:
The game itself looks very nice and runs fairly well on PC. I do take issue with no Anti Aliasing options on the in-game menu, but I’m quite sure there is a fix and for me, it didn’t really take away from the gaming experience. In a way, it is a bit of a straight Console-to-PC port, but I think the added framerates and such help with controls. You will also probably be better served with a gamepad vs. Mouse and Keyboard, but I play most PC games with a controller anyway, so it’s no real issue for me. But back to the graphics. Overall there were very few dips in framerates for the game, even with all the sand effects and such. There was a previous issue with the game where Nvidia Optimus users would not have their second GPU detected, but it seems they’ve fixed that and have the game running well. It’s a good looking game, especially if you find a way to add AA, and it runs well, you really can’t ask for more.
Music:
The music in this game, while good, kind of has a very similar feel throughout. Mind you the majority of the game doesn’t have music outside of battle sections and scenes, but what does play for certain areas is similar. This is not to say, however, that any of it is bad. You just know what area has what battle music. It also fits the world of the game and the what the characters are going through quite well too, some of it being more raw guitar and grungy-feeling while others have a much cleaner sound to them.
I wish I had some examples, but it seems like the soundtrack is either hard to find or just doesn’t really exist. Either way, you’ll find the music works with each situation you’re in.
Conclusion:
Spec Ops: The Line, is a breath of fresh air in the modern shooter market. For once we have a truly engaging and emotional storyline, and one that hits all the right heartstrings. You see the effects of war not only on the main character and his team, but the people around them. It’s a journey filled with tough choices and even tougher outcomes, which keeps you enthralled and wanting to know more yet makes you cringe at what could possibly be there. I haven’t enjoyed the story of a game like this in a while, and it really brought out some things I hadn’t expected. I highly recommend this game.
Scores:
Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10
Music: 8/10
Overall Score: 9.3/10
