Review - Spec Ops: The Line

Game Name:    Spec Ops: The Line

Developer:    Yager Development

Publisher:    2K Games

Platform:     PC (reviewed), X360, PS3

Genre: 3rd Person, Shooter

Engine: Unreal Engine 3

Release Date: June 26, 2012

I ended up buying Spec Ops: The Line during a Steam sale this holiday season. I guess I was out of the loop when this released in June 2012, but thankfully it showed up on so many Game of the Year lists that it quickly became a must play for me (the Steam Winter Sale prices didn’t hurt either). Because I came upon this game a little late, it’s inevitable that my views are somewhat tainted by all of the hype that I heard, but I’ve done my best to make an objective evaluation.

To give you a brief overview of the story, you play as Captain Martin Walker, leading the elite Delta force squad (with a whopping size of... three) into the dust ridden depths of Dubai on a recon mission. You almost immediately make hostile contact with what seem to be American soldiers. This throws up a few red flags, obviously. So you delve down into the rabbit hole, on a journey to discover why these soldiers are shooting at you, and what the hell is going on in Dubai.

If you’ve never seen Dubai, go Google it and check out some images of the city and the insanely badass architecture of its skyscrapers. Now imagine instead of being surrounded by ocean, it’s engulfed in sand dunes. The first time you walk outside a building and see the city, the experience is genuinely jaw-dropping. Within this unique setting, the developers introduce a neat mechanic in the form of massive dust storms that you must trudge through and endure. The wind kicks in, the dust flies, it’s difficult to move around and even more difficult to see. These sequences are downright intense. A feeling of panic strikes, you squint your eyes to see the barely visible enemies, and you do whatever you can, as fast as you can, to extinguish them before making your way through the storm to shelter. The feeling of being truly swayed by these storms is a defining factor of the atmosphere of the game, and the developers did a great job with this.

Outside of these dust storms, you’re not going to see too much new as far as gameplay mechanics go. The gameplay is about as cookie cutter as it gets for a third person, cover based shooter. Moreover, the game doesn’t even fit the mold that well. The controls feel rather rigid. Jumping in and out of cover is sort of clumsy, and not as seemless as a game like Gears of War. It’s not horrible, but it could certainly use some polish.

Thankfully the formulaic mechanics are not the main focus of the game, they are simply the toolset used for conveying a creative and haunting narrative, riddled with atrocities and horrors that you will not soon forget. Because of this focus on such a dark story, I have to go out on a limb here and say that this game is not... fun. At least not in the traditional sense. This game is fun in the same way that a movie like Schindler’s List is entertaining. Schindler’s List is a spectacular film, but it’s not really enjoyable to watch. Spec Ops: The Line is very similar in this regard. It focuses less on innovative mechanics and gameplay, and more on immersing you in the atmosphere and the characters, forcing your character to make tough, “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” choices, all the while delivering a shockingly dark narrative.

It’s difficult to describe without spoiling anything, but as you traverse the path that leads you to the end of the game, things get increasingly hectic. The feeling of there being no way to turn back after what’s been done is conveyed very well via Walker’s rationale. You’ll hear conflicting arguments against Walker’s decisions throughout your journey from your vocal squad members, and honestly, they are pretty sound arguments most of the time.  The discussion and banter between squad members adds a lot of perspective to what’s happening. The dialogue isn’t the mindless, meathead banter you’ve come to expect from characters in these roles, instead it feels honest and genuine. This could have really ruined the game if it were bad, but thanks to great writing and voice acting, this aspect of the game shines.

As much as I’ve written about tough decisions in this review, you as a player don’t end up making most of these decisions. These are Walker’s decisions, and you are along for the ride. The focus is on storytelling, and this is by no means a bad thing, just don’t look for much replayability with the campaign because of the linear nature of the story. That being said, I will recommend that once you see that credits screen, do yourself a favor and check out the other endings, either on Youtube, or by replaying the last mission. Each ending delivers a different kind of blow to your mind and emotions.

With that, I’ll close this review with a firm recommendation to go play this game. While the gameplay is a bit lackluster, the story is among the most creative, interesting, and disturbing that I’ve encountered in a video game. On top of this, it’s not going to take up too much of your valuable gaming time, the campaign is only 5 or 6 hours long, and to put a little cherry on top, you can find this on sale through Steam or similar vendors for very a low price (<$10) on a regular basis.