Spec Ops: The Line: The most mediocre of gameplay then has the gall to huff its own farts right in front of you, but really, I think its impactful story is still pretty unique over a decade later and helps keep a game - that probably should be pretty stale - somewhat fresh.
First, its issues. You can just launch right into Spec Ops: The Line if you want. But should you want to, say, adjust the mouse sensitivity and disable acceleration, or disable motion blur, maybe cap the frame rate? You know, normal PC stuff? You're going to have to become a bit of a CSI: Miami writing level-computer hacker for a minute. You have to download tools to decrypt the .ini files before you can even read them (unless you're fluent in Wingdings), adjust them from there, then encrypt them again. Absurdity. Why are these files encrypted?!
The vertical sensitivity when using a scope is terrible and there's just no fixing that.
You'll also want to block the .exe in your Windows Defender Firewall, as every time you boot up the game it sits at a “Checking for Updates” screen for far longer than it should, just waiting for files that'll never be there. Or, I suppose, you could just beat it in one sitting so you'd only see that screen once. The game isn't that long.
But hey: no hard crashes! So that's swell.
How's it look and sound? Pretty good, nothing super special. Great textures, pretty nice shadows, and the animations can seem a bit robotic, but definitely make sense given the release date. There's a couple times you get to really 'take in' the ruined city of Dubai where a dolly zoom-like effect is used to create a good sense of awe and vertigo. The sandstorms you run into look good and creep in slowly, creating a nice sense of tension, and they sound nice, too.
All the other sounds, like the guns, are just serviceable aside from Nolan “Everybody is Nathan Drake” North's performance, which is very commendable.
The gameplay is like a cheap Gears of War clone, very lifeless and repetitive. You run to cover, pop up for easy headshots, and if you're shot you stay down until you see colors again, then rinse and repeat. There's a chopper gunner segment to 'mix it up' but it sucks and you'll hate that it's in there twice. No, the meta joke doesn't make it worth it.
You can issue your squad to kill targets, but you have to aim your reticle on who you want dead in order to issue the command. Unless it's a heavy-armored unit or a turret gunner, it's almost certainly easier to just pull the trigger yourself.
There's not much weapon variety, pretty much exactly what you'd expect to see (a few rifles, a couple shotguns and SMGs, and pistols you'll never use), though the kill-tracking achievements may subliminally incentivize you to vary up your firearm choices, like they did me.
What keeps this game interesting and worth checking out in my opinion is its story. It's pretty divisive: you'll either love that they went from something different here or you'll wonder if you've got a case for false advertising. If you've played the game multiple times like me, maybe you've even felt both. I won't spoil anything, but I'll say I hated this when I first played it years ago and now find it to be an interesting change of pace.
Supposedly the developers are kind of pompous and believe something along the lines of “the only way to win is to not play”, but this is a video game: if you bought it, you're going to play it. In the game, you're never really given any choice, either, it's a pretty linear experience. In the years since my first playthrough and now, I'd say I'm just more comfortable with separating myself from the character, a concept pretty integral to the game's intended experience. It's very much deliberate for you to question “your” own actions and, like Walker would, seek redemption. What has this all been for? Do you feel like a hero yet?
Now, I can just play through it and smirk at stuff like “Mission Objective: Obey.” Obviously, it helps that I knew exactly what I was walking into here, too. That first time through Spec Ops: The Line is a pretty ambitious gaming experience to develop, though, and I think they did a pretty good job with that. The Epilogue mission here is a damn fine way to end a game, and though very dark, I really enjoyed it.
I know the term “iconic” gets tossed around pretty loosely these days, but I think the 'white phosphorous' scene in this game actually fits it. Walker's story is one very, very different from other military shooters you see and I think it's worth remembering Spec Ops: The Line for providing some outside-the-box war crimes for you to enjoy. It's not the best game ever, but I still recommend it for that.
"There's always a choice!"
”No... there's really not.”
First, its issues. You can just launch right into Spec Ops: The Line if you want. But should you want to, say, adjust the mouse sensitivity and disable acceleration, or disable motion blur, maybe cap the frame rate? You know, normal PC stuff? You're going to have to become a bit of a CSI: Miami writing level-computer hacker for a minute. You have to download tools to decrypt the .ini files before you can even read them (unless you're fluent in Wingdings), adjust them from there, then encrypt them again. Absurdity. Why are these files encrypted?!
The vertical sensitivity when using a scope is terrible and there's just no fixing that.
You'll also want to block the .exe in your Windows Defender Firewall, as every time you boot up the game it sits at a “Checking for Updates” screen for far longer than it should, just waiting for files that'll never be there. Or, I suppose, you could just beat it in one sitting so you'd only see that screen once. The game isn't that long.
But hey: no hard crashes! So that's swell.
How's it look and sound? Pretty good, nothing super special. Great textures, pretty nice shadows, and the animations can seem a bit robotic, but definitely make sense given the release date. There's a couple times you get to really 'take in' the ruined city of Dubai where a dolly zoom-like effect is used to create a good sense of awe and vertigo. The sandstorms you run into look good and creep in slowly, creating a nice sense of tension, and they sound nice, too.
All the other sounds, like the guns, are just serviceable aside from Nolan “Everybody is Nathan Drake” North's performance, which is very commendable.
The gameplay is like a cheap Gears of War clone, very lifeless and repetitive. You run to cover, pop up for easy headshots, and if you're shot you stay down until you see colors again, then rinse and repeat. There's a chopper gunner segment to 'mix it up' but it sucks and you'll hate that it's in there twice. No, the meta joke doesn't make it worth it.
You can issue your squad to kill targets, but you have to aim your reticle on who you want dead in order to issue the command. Unless it's a heavy-armored unit or a turret gunner, it's almost certainly easier to just pull the trigger yourself.
There's not much weapon variety, pretty much exactly what you'd expect to see (a few rifles, a couple shotguns and SMGs, and pistols you'll never use), though the kill-tracking achievements may subliminally incentivize you to vary up your firearm choices, like they did me.
What keeps this game interesting and worth checking out in my opinion is its story. It's pretty divisive: you'll either love that they went from something different here or you'll wonder if you've got a case for false advertising. If you've played the game multiple times like me, maybe you've even felt both. I won't spoil anything, but I'll say I hated this when I first played it years ago and now find it to be an interesting change of pace.
Supposedly the developers are kind of pompous and believe something along the lines of “the only way to win is to not play”, but this is a video game: if you bought it, you're going to play it. In the game, you're never really given any choice, either, it's a pretty linear experience. In the years since my first playthrough and now, I'd say I'm just more comfortable with separating myself from the character, a concept pretty integral to the game's intended experience. It's very much deliberate for you to question “your” own actions and, like Walker would, seek redemption. What has this all been for? Do you feel like a hero yet?
Now, I can just play through it and smirk at stuff like “Mission Objective: Obey.” Obviously, it helps that I knew exactly what I was walking into here, too. That first time through Spec Ops: The Line is a pretty ambitious gaming experience to develop, though, and I think they did a pretty good job with that. The Epilogue mission here is a damn fine way to end a game, and though very dark, I really enjoyed it.
I know the term “iconic” gets tossed around pretty loosely these days, but I think the 'white phosphorous' scene in this game actually fits it. Walker's story is one very, very different from other military shooters you see and I think it's worth remembering Spec Ops: The Line for providing some outside-the-box war crimes for you to enjoy. It's not the best game ever, but I still recommend it for that.
"There's always a choice!"
”No... there's really not.”