Spec Ops: The Line

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/11/22/the-dangerous-game-of-spec-ops-the-line/

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/chemical-warfare-spec-ops/726575

http://kotaku.com/5881363/why-dubai-is-the-perfect-video-game-playground

...anyone looking forward to this? I'm quite torn on the subject. On one hand, I like the idea of a game set in a crumbling Dubai. They could go for a theme of "destroyed beauty" like Bio Shock. That coupled with a Heart Of Darkness inspired plot could make for some atmospheric gameplay.

On the other hand let's see: a terribly implausible premise (a sandstorm destroys THE ENTIRE CITY? And it's simply LEFT TO ROT? No wonder the UAE already banned this), and "mature" content involving horrendous war crimes? Sounds an awful lot like Homefront and we know how THAT turned out.

Anyway, I'm cautiously optimistic. Which if the last few times I was are any indication (Haze, Need For Speed: The Run) this will suck :-(

edited 7th Feb '12 1:19:48 PM by Psyclone

I'm not too sure about its gameplay. It'll have to be awfully atmospheric when really played, because it looked pretty typical to me.

Is this the game that once had a "Sponsored Video" on youtube titled "New Military Shooter?"

That instantly put me off. Very badly.

PC Gamer has high hopes.

Also, to quote the article:

(Wikipedia says the eighth came out in 2002, so I guess that's not surprising.)

edited 11th Feb '12 3:00:16 PM by feotakahari

And they were among some of the most terrible games in existence. Only reason their franchise probably even survived is because clueless parents or gamers who didn't read the magazines back then thought it would've been a great gift for those into military games back in the PS 1 days.

I liked Spec Ops: Covert Assault...

I will admit though, Airborne Commando was terrible for many reasons. Including lying on the box art.

edited 12th Feb '12 1:31:39 PM by hnd03

IGN (yeah yeah, I know) is apparently excited about the same reasons I am:

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/121/1218554p1.html

This is the part that most interested me:

Nice to see a break from the usual "Shoot those Russians/brown people" military shooter. It's about time we see a story about soldiers being forced to fight fellow countrymen done in a more serious manner.

Also, vibrant colors, i.e. less brown. That alone piques my interest. :-P

edited 13th Feb '12 8:16:03 AM by Psyclone

New trailer.

Got to say, it looks impressive. And appropriately dark. Maintaining my cautious optimism.

Some gameplay. Pretty standard stuff, nothing special. I think the story will make or break this.

(Wow, I really am the only person interested in this game on this forum, huh?)

Well, the writing sounds pretty damn great to me.

Dunno about the gameplay though...

edited 13th Apr '12 8:39:44 AM by VutherA

You're not the only one. Problem is, I've got the same opinion as you do: only the setting and story seem to be what makes this game unique. Otherwise it seems a lot like SOCOM or your typical military cover-shooter.

It looks like it really is trying to break up the monotomy of gameplay with more spectacle focused fights, like the one where you're hanging from a building shooting at guys above you. At the same time that part really looks like a poor man's uncharted but it still looks like a fun game.

According to the devs, whom I spoke with, this is Bio Shock in real-life.

Wow, quite the modest guy, huh?

...in all seriousness, if that is even 80% true, then this is a buy for me.

Basically, Dubai is Rapture (and incidentally, Dubai is becoming Rapture in real-life, thanks to the economy). There's a Big Bad who is exactly like a philosophy spouting Andrew Ryan.

You never feel like a superman, either. You need your teammates taking out enemies because you're more or less a Glass Cannon. Tactics are heavily stressed.

The game becomes more and more Darker and Edgier as it goes along.

The other major influence is Heart Of Darkness.

PS. Demo is on PSN and Marketplace.

Yes, I realized what you meant, I was just kidding.

This is exactly what I hoped the game will be. Interest levels, high.

Played the demo. The plot is essentially Apocalypse Now the videogame...

I'm just worried people will overlook Spec Ops as just another Call Of Duty military shooter.

For the mainstream public, yeah it's gonna be an issue. But the real concern (that I have, at least) is that it's not showing me anything truly different about itself in comparison to all the other shooters out there. In fact the first thing that comes to mind upon seeing images of the game is Kill.Switch and SOCOM, as well as the typical tightly railroaded level with scripted events. Even the multiplayer concept is deliberately borrowing ideas from COD!

At best I would rent it for the story, but there's no way I'm buying this game!

Huh? The biggest diff for me is that your squadmates are actually useful, even compared to Mass Effect 3. It's the first time in a long while since AI felt like human players. (The original Unreal Tournament).

I might wait until a price drop myself. Still, demo impressions have been positive so far.

edited 10th May '12 10:19:51 AM by Psyclone

OK, so I finally got the chance to play the demo. I really like the environments, especially in the chapter where you zipline from one skyscraper to the other: it really is like Rapture in a sense, you're fighting inside these 5 star hotels and luxurious gyms all ruined and buried in sand. You truly get a Look on My Works, Ye Mighty, and Despair vibe. Also liked the banter between squad mates. Gameplay wise, it's kind of generic (it feels like a platformless Uncharted with Modern Warfare weapons).

Story wise, I was rather intrigued by the "Radioman", and the recording that you find of him where he confronts an Emirati politician about them having the wealthy and powerful people in the city secretly evacuated while covering up evidence that the storms were coming. Between that and the stuff he says in the trailer, I'm rather curious as to what his motivations are.

We'll have to see where this goes. Truthfully though, I think it's going to be quite middle of the road.

Edit: BTW as if it weren't obvious enough that this is Apocalypse Now in the desert, even the soundtrack has a 70s vibe.

edited 4th Jun '12 4:30:37 AM by Psyclone

Played the Demo. I think it's a statement of how immersive the game is when I played all the way until the end, looked at the clock, and went, "Wait, I finished the demo already and didn't notice?"

I find the premise intriguing in a way, as well as the question of what turned a battalion of more or less decent US soldiers into the antagonists you see. And I rather like the characters; Nolan North's Captain Walker is a cool customer, Lieutenant Adams is a humorous boisterous bruiser who nontheless gets shit done, and Sergeant Lugo is the commo specialist/sniper who's always annoyingly amusing - or amusingly annoying...

Until they discover that things are going BAD, and then they get their game faces on.

From what the demo has shown, it looks like things aren't quite as clear cut as Konrad setting himself up as an oppressive warlord, given that the recorded distress signal has him sounding like a tired old man who's past the Despair Event Horizon. The Radioman, on the other hand... and CIA is stirring the pot, but are they responsible for how things are going to hell, or are they fighting fire with fire?

Ammo is a bit less than other shooters, though the figures seen are reasonable for a lightly armed Delta team that's just being sent in for recon and not expecting to be in pitched firefights.

Anyhow, I'm definately getting this, hook or by crook, alongside Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. I guess I'll make a trope page for starters.

Reviews are starting to pour in. 77 out of 100 on Metacritic, pretty much every review so far has praised the story and the differences of opinion remain with, well, everything else. I'll definitely check it out once it's on sale.

edited 26th Jun '12 4:23:43 PM by Psyclone