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[Stafford]

First let me say that i wish we'd still have some of these straight up, linear third person shooters with a good enough story. In the case of this game, a very good story.

Back when this game released it looked so generic and the demo didn't convince me either. But a week ago I saw a video on it and that's when I decided I'd find a affordable copy of it on 360 and play it via BC on Series X. Sadly it's not enhanced for One X or Series X and holy shit it shows.

Super low resolution, blurry, jaggies truly everywhere, it's unfortunate because on PC it still looks quite good actually. But luckily the gameplay is definitely very solid and the story was worth it for damn sure. The gunplay feels good, the physics are nice, the elements with the sandstorm and the destruction at times is fucking awesome and the locations are great, especially the parts where you are on top of these insanely tall buildings.

But again, that story. It really perfectly shows the madness of war, and what it does to the characters. I am so glad I clicked that one video I was watching away before some truly powerful and spoiler heavy parts happened, because there really is at least one very fucked up part in the story and there is nothing you can do about it.

There's just one thing though, apparently one of the devs has said that everything that happens after the chopper crash at the start is basically a hallucination, like it's Walker's purgatory. And I honestly don't like that. Because all the stuff he's done in the game never happened? Like mowing down countless of fellow Americans, the white Phosphore part with the 45 or 47 innocents from Dubai? Then my question is, what DID happen before the chopper crashed? Was that basically them arriving in Dubai?

Some movies do this too....oh don't worry guys, it was just a dream, nah fam.

 

[SJRB]

I just take the game at face value and the game definitely doesn't imply that Walker was hallucinating.

Good game, amazing setting, some very cool ideas with the sand, and of course an awesome story.

Game was made one, maybe even two generations too soon.

 

[Shifty1897]

This is one of those games that seems primed for a remaster. A new generation of gamers need to play this one.

 

[Stafford]

I just take the game at face value and the game definitely doesn't imply that Walker was hallucinating.

Good game, amazing setting, some very cool ideas with the sand, and of course an awesome story.

Game was made one, maybe even two generations too soon.

Well apparently the dev said that when it shows a white background before or after cutscenes it's not real, black is real , if I'm not mistaken.

Yeah agreed, when I played through it it never occurred to me that none of this was real.

This is one of those games that seems primed for a remaster. A new generation of gamers need to play this one.

Oh hell yeah, very well said.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Was wholly unimpressed by this game at release, just brushing it off as a generic third person military shooter that was popular around this time. Gave it a second chance on PC last year and was floored by how good it was, especially the writing and depiction of ptsd and war trauma but also the combat and the way you interact with your squad mates. One of the best third person shooters ever made imo. I don't know what the fuck I was smoking back then to blow it off like that. It's a genuine masterpiece.

 

[Rush2112]

The story required a couple of more brain cells to grasp than CoD. It was a refreshing change. It wasn't supposed to win an oscar.

 

[STARSBarry]

Was wholly unimpressed by this game at release, just brushing it off as a generic third person military shooter that was popular around this time. Gave it a second chance on PC last year and was floored by how good it was, especially the writing and depiction of ptsd and war trauma but also the combat and the way you interact with your squad mates. One of the best third person shooters ever made imo. I don't know what the fuck I was smoking back then to blow it off like that. It's a genuine masterpiece.

this feels like the critical reception of the starship troopers movie where they missed the entire point that it was brutal satire. Good on you for giving it another shot, the phosphorus scene was always the turning point for me, that's when I started paying attention.

 

[Black_Stride]

It came out in the era of brown games......so alot of people looked at it as a Gears clone without any of the monsters or cool chainsaws so it didnt sell well.
The protags literally being buzzcut cookie cutter soldier designs didnt help either.

I wholly blame gamers for not buying it though.

Always love to hear when people give the game a go even generations later.
Not a masterpiece but most certainly the type of game we should have rewarded so we got more games like it.

The story confusion is actually perfect, because it gets people talking, some people did/do believe its all hallucinations some think that it actually happened and its only the captain/commander who was the hallucination(others are there but its the big one).

No hand holding, pretty bleak story with solid combat.


Yager is actually still alive which is a good thing, in the current gaming climate Spec Ops would have likely killed the studio.

 

[Uncle Moe]

Didn't realize until now that this game has been delisted. Really glad I decided to double-dip on Xbox after completing the game on PS3. It makes great use of its licensed tunes (a la Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now).

 

[Salmon Snake]

Great fucking game.

 

[Wildebeest]

It was a time when people thought that making a AA game with bad gameplay and a plot cobbled together from movies they love was pure genius.

 

[Danjin44]

This actually only military shooters I actually enjoyed thanks to how told its story.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

I got this back when I used to read Rock Paper Shotgun religiously.

While RPS became...not what I wanted for gaming discourse, I'm glad they pointed me to this game.

Played it again a couple years back. Holds up well because they don't really make these linear third-person shooters anymore, so it doesn't pale in comparison to the new and improved.

Good story, good gameplay. Probably wouldn't have The Last of Us 2 if this game hadn't paved the way for Debbie Downer protagonists lol

 

[Digital-Aftertaste]

This is one of those games that seems primed for a remaster. A new generation of gamers need to play this one.

I'd opt for a remake for this one. Has the legs to work well.

 

[Stafford]

Maybe it was just me, doubt it, but when Walker is using the display to mark Phosphore targets you slowly start to see his reflection of his face and that to me made it seem like him realizing "wtf am I even doing?" Especially since it was shortly ago that he saw the direct effects of Phosphore.

 

[bender]

It's rather dull mechanically and I've seen it argued that was by design or a happy accident that helps accentuate the story which I don't really buy. I understand why people like the game, but the nicest thing I can say about it outside of the narrative is that it is mercifully short. Given the development history and many challenges faced along the way, it's too bad they weren't able to do more with the sand tech that was developed for the game and one of the pillars the game was supposed to be designed around.

 

[SJRB]

The reveal trailer is still one of my all-time favorites. The vibes are immaculate. The weird Bjork music, the otherworldly setting (literally unique, no one has tried this ever again), the sand physics, destructible cover, the glass shattering, and of course the insanely grim and macabre visuals.

Interestingly (and most damning) is that the actual gameplay is by far the weakest part. Play it on easy mode and just enjoy the ride.

The game is a retelling of Heart of Darkness but they did it in an amazing way. It's unreal how no one told Yager to make a sequel.

 

[Tommi84]

Do you mind shaeing the video link? Finished the gsme years ago so no issues wirh spoilers for me

 

[violence]

Yeah, this was a pleasant surprise. Really liked the experience at the time. I think I just wished the gameplay had at least one new mechanic and the sound work didn't sound so soft (ie. The guns don't sound very powerful.)

I'm probably due for a replay of this.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I remember liking it, but never understood how some put it on a pedestal.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

One of the very rare games which archives a level of immersion in your decisions. I'd recommend playing it on easy. It's not about the challenge of shooting enemies but more about how the acts in the game influence you to the point of investing emotionally.

It's rare that I can say a game achieves the Pinnacle of what games can do to make you believe you are living in the situations the game puts you through as well as the decisions.

As a 3rd person shooter it's run of the mill. That isn't as much of the point of this game than what it does to draw you into believing. Just allow yourself to believe and you will hopefully feel a little of what I've described.

 

[rm082e]

I liked this one when I played it back in the day. It was at the height of Nolan North saturation, so I was constantly distracted by hearing Nathan Drake/Prince of Persia talking for this military guy.

 

[mitch1971]

They could make a film of it and give it an Apocolypse Now in the desert sort of vibe.

 

[Lionel Richie]

They could make a film of it and give it an Apocolypse Now in the desert sort of vibe.

Poe's law is a real thing.

 

[Jayjayhd34]

Can buy the 360 disc and play this on my series x ?

 

[adamsapple]

Can buy the 360 disc and play this on my series x ?

Yes, it's backwards compatible.

 

[Walliwallipaloo]

One of the most over-hyped pieces of garbage in the history of gaming, written by a man who went on-record saying he hates videogames and the people who play them.

Slop.

 

[Danny22]

I mean, its alright. I think its put on a pedestal by the people obsessed with being counter-culture, I'm sure there's a lot of 'shows u a mirror' reviews, I have experienced all of these entertainment products already.

But I will say delisting it was incredibly stupid, one tiktok viral video and this game would have blown up to a new younger generation. I just don't understand why they don't just remove the music instead, surely that's got to be better than not getting the expected 100 dollars a month or whatever revenue it was generating.

 

[Lionel Richie]

I mean, its alright. I think its put on a pedestal by the people obsessed with being counter-culture, I'm sure there's a lot of 'shows u a mirror' reviews, I have experienced all of these entertainment products already.

Name one other game that pulls a "are we the baddies" as throughly and as convincingly as this game. Fuck, name half a game that does that.

 

[Walliwallipaloo]

Name one other game that pulls a "are we the baddies" as throughly and as convincingly as this game. Fuck, name half a game that does that.

U...UNATCO?

 

[Drew1440]

Pretty good game, but I think it was overlooked because many had military shooter fatigue when it was released

 

[Black_Stride]

One of the most over-hyped pieces of garbage in the history of gaming, written by a man who went on-record saying he hates videogames and the people who play them.

Slop.

How is it overhyped when it barely had a marketing run, wasnt talked about in the community and ended up bombing?

If anything its a cult hit because the few that did buy it liked it, and slowly but surely more people are getting into it such as OP.


P.S The writer didnt say he hates videogames out right he said he dislikes the power fantasy that glorifies violence without consequence especially in nuanced situations such as war......this game is literally his thesis on that topic and it works so damn well.

Yeah we are powerful soldiers but seeing the effect of our destruction gets us to think, because in most vidogames you run through a city decking everything without eveen thinking about what you are leaving in your wake, this game actually has you see that shit.......its brilliant.

 

[ShadowNate]

I admit this is the first time I'm reading the "it was all hallucinations" interpretation / twist and I still believe that it's bullshit and so inconsistent with how the game and the decision making plays out.
Is there a citation for that statement?

Regardless, of course, the game is far better if all that's happening in it, has happened.

The game also, if I recall correctly, adjusts some of its visuals (eg. graffiti) to reflect the player's decisions, which I though that was a cool detail as well as a hint on what was going on.

Spec Ops: The Line is a great game and unforgettable experience.

 

[Roberts]

P.S The writer didnt say he hates videogames out right he said he dislikes the power fantasy that glorifies violence without consequence especially in nuanced situations such as war......this game is literally his thesis on that topic and it works so damn well.

Yeah we are powerful soldiers but seeing the effect of our destruction gets us to think, because in most vidogames you run through a city decking everything without eveen thinking about what you are leaving in your wake, this game actually has you see that shit.......its brilliant.

Yes, the game's power fantasy violence critique was commendable and very fresh at the time, I'd argue they don't quite nail it. I think that despite all the effort it ends up being "have your cake and eat it too" situation. Then again, I'm also not entirely sure that it is possibly to pull it off in a videogame format at all, like it is possible in cinema (Haneke comes to mind).

 

[FewRope]

How is it overhyped when it barely had a marketing run, wasnt talked about in the community and ended up bombing?

If anything its a cult hit because the few that did buy it liked it, and slowly but surely more people are getting into it such as OP.


P.S The writer didnt say he hates videogames out right he said he dislikes the power fantasy that glorifies violence without consequence especially in nuanced situations such as war......this game is literally his thesis on that topic and it works so damn well.

Yeah we are powerful soldiers but seeing the effect of our destruction gets us to think, because in most vidogames you run through a city decking everything without eveen thinking about what you are leaving in your wake, this game actually has you see that shit.......its brilliant.

Yeah, they way your own teammates literally break down as the game progresses I dont think has ever been done the same since this game