Spec Ops: The Line

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.

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.

Spec Ops: The Line is quite possibly the most mature and definitely my favorite game of all time, never has a game hit me and blew me away as strong as this. I even knew about the 'expectation' side of the game. Imagine if I didn't now about it's true identity! (By the way this review is going to be a bit short, due to its 'surprise'. I feel like the game should be experienced with the right expectation. But since I have already mentioned it, you can guess what the surprise is! Is it trippy? Does it have good gameplay? Is it so bad it's good by intention? Is it Funny? Is it so original that people love it? Is it as polished as the great salt lakes? You decide, Either way it's pretty emotional. The ending can also leave people satisfied, because it's ambiguity is intentional!

By this point of the review, you might be wondering 'What aboot the gameplay?!' It's nothing special. But that's intentional! You know what everything in this game is intentional. That was all I needed to say to avoid your suspicion. Anyway this game is so damn fantastic. When you beat it, if you buy this game PLEASE play it in FUBAR! It is way more metaphorical in it's message. So that's it, tenoutaten.

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

Greetings from Lithuania.

So i have recently invested 8-10 hours of my lifetime into "Spec Ops: The Line" (2012). It was worth every minute of it.

This is a 3rd person shooter with an amazing story (Seriously. In a Shooter!), gorgeous graphics (played for the first time in the end of 2015), very solid game-play and mechanics. The highlight of the game and the actual reason why i have played in the first place 3 years after it's release (haven' t got a chance at the moment of it's release) was a story that i read was great. It is great, based on a "The Heart of The Darkness", on which material the masterpiece "Appocalyose Now" was made - it takes you to the deeps of modern warfare and place you in a shoes of "Captain Willard" who has to go trough hell to kill "Kurtz". Although the ending left me a bit confused, i loved the whole experience nevertheless.

Overall, "Spec Ops: The Line" is a highly enjoyable game (still) in regards to 3 main factors: amazing story and mood, great game-play and superb visuals. Maybe it's not as polished as "Gears Of War", but it is a rare gem - shooter that actually makes you FEEL.