Spec Ops: The Line Review - ExtremeGamer's Blog

Arena Blog Dynasty Scores Sign Up ☰

ExtremeGamer's Blog

Spec Ops: The Line Review

Posted on July 2, 2012 at 11:19 AM.

(4)

War is dark, it's ugly, and it's hell. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you want to look at it), videogames rarely view it in this light. Most "war" type shooters end up with a light hearted story focusing more on multiplayer like a Call of Duty game. Granted, the Call of Duty franchise has had some controversial topics in their single player narrative, but nothing like Spec Ops attempts.

Spec Ops goes outside the box, it's a different shooter than what we've seen, it's a shooter that is focusing on single player rather than multiplayer. The story is the star of the show here. And what a story it is.

Basic plot outline is Dubai was hit with a massive sandstorm crippling the city. American forces went in to help out, and were never heard from again. Six months later a distress beacon is fired off and your 3 man Delta force goes into investigate. Plan is to find survivors, and get out. Like any good movie, plans never go as they should.

I can't and won't go deeper into the story as not to spoil anything. This simply has to be played by anyone who enjoys a 3rd person shooter or military type game. The story will grip you, shock you, and emotionally effect you in multiple ways. There are choices that you have to make, and decisions that will haunt you long after you've completed your play through. It's what I'm assuming "real" war is for many soldiers who are sent on special operations missions like this one.

The graphics are well done, everything looks it's part, and nothing looks too dated. Sand is something you will use to your advantage throughout the 14 chapters, but in the end, it feels more scripted, and wish the sand could have been more dynamic.

The audio is incredible. Every gun sounds different, every time a grenade hits the sand, you hear that punch of it that differs from it landing in a building. The voice acting, well, all of it blew me away. Nolan North is once again on top of his game, just listen to how his voice changes throughout the game as well. Christopher "Kidd" Reid as Adams and Omid Abathi as Lugo equally impressed, as they sounded like soldiers, made their voices really appear a part of this title. Jake Busey as The Radioman also stole the show for a bit. He's constantly talking and having good one liners throughout the game. This is an area that developer Yager did not skimp on. The audio is as effective as any war movie released in the last 10 years, it brings the story closer to the player.

The one dud of the whole package is really the multiplayer. It feels completely tacked on and pointless in almost every game type. None of them were fun, and all of them kind of just were there. The game would have been just as good without it, and personally, wish it was left out completely. Just a bad mark on an otherwise fantastic title.

In the end, this is a game that you need to play. Don't let anyone spoil anything for you, don't watch youtube, don't even discuss it with anyone who's beaten it. Yes, it's short, it's a knock on the title if that's the only thing you're looking at, but the game felt perfectly timed. Nothing too stretched out or too short overall. It just flows well, so I'm not going to knock it for that. You won't get a better story for your buck so far in 2012, it's a definite contender for game of the year in my opinion.

Loved

-Story, finally a developer that catered to the story driven gamer, and it paid off. Forcing the player to decide on two different outcomes, and having them all play out in the end worked beautifully. Also, the game has 3 endings, so there's many chances for replayability.

-Audio, best audio in a game in a long time. Even gives the Battlefield series a run for their money with the gun sounds

Disliked

-Multiplayer, just felt tacked on and overall useless to the package.

Overall score - 9.5/10

Comments

# 1 Steve_OS @ Jul 2

Haven't played a shooter in a while. Will look into picking this up, thanks EG.

# 2 ExtremeGamer @ Jul 2

I'd say it's the best story I've ever played through for a shooter. I was so gripped from beginning to end. And it stuck with me for days after completing it. That's a mark of a great story.

# 3 mgoblue @ Jul 2

I'll be getting this in the next couple months (when I finish ME3). I would have passed, but since I'm more of a single player gamer this is right up my alley!