Yes it is.
It claims to be a deconstruction of Moder War games when it itself is a modern war game. It claims to lambast the player for engaging in war crimes (and I could do a whole separate rant on why I think the very idea of war crimes is stupid) and then FORCES the player to do horrible things. You do not get to claim to be a satire or deconstruction or whatever if you're not going to do anything with it. It targets the consumer when it should be aiming itself at developers or the publishers that mandate what they create. The consumer has very little say about what goes in these games. They're essentially picking on the intern when they should be focusing on the CEO.
I liked the soundtrack and there were a few sequences where the atmosphere, the music and the gameplay come together (my favorite being the water dome level with Glasgo Mega-Snake playing in the background.). Say what you will about The Radioman, the dude has good taste in prog rock. Which brings me to another issue: tone. It's too dark! I know that's a silly thing to say, but it is! It has the same problem as Warhammer 40000, in that its so bleak that it's impossible to take seriously. Things get so dark and so gritty, it almost becomes a black comedy, or hell, it does become a black comedy whenever The Radioman opens his fat gob.
Finally, the whole concept, the whole being of the game is utterly paradoxical: the story is meant to make players question why they play games, players want the game to be fun, the game can't be fun or the players won't question, but if the game isn't fun, then the players fuck off and play something that is, so to try and make them stay, the game tries to be both fun and not fun, and features lots of exploding heads and slo-mo giblets. You see? It's hypocritical to have your game be wall-to-wall violence and have an ultimately anti-violence message.
Having an awesome and subversive story means absolutely dick when your gameplay is crap. There are certain rules you have to abide in this medium, certain inviolable rules, and Spec Ops broke them.
Finally, trying to use killing to shock a seasoned videogame player is like trying to put out a chemical fire with a garden hose. It tales a lot more than just "These people died, AND IT'S YOUR FAULT!!!!11one!" to get a reaction other than a maniacal grin from me. For example, Far Cry 3 managed to gut punch me when it is heavily implied, if not out right confirmed, that your friend Keith was being buggered nightly by a randy Australian. That sent an unpleasant shiver down my spine.
It claims to be a deconstruction of Moder War games when it itself is a modern war game. It claims to lambast the player for engaging in war crimes (and I could do a whole separate rant on why I think the very idea of war crimes is stupid) and then FORCES the player to do horrible things. You do not get to claim to be a satire or deconstruction or whatever if you're not going to do anything with it. It targets the consumer when it should be aiming itself at developers or the publishers that mandate what they create. The consumer has very little say about what goes in these games. They're essentially picking on the intern when they should be focusing on the CEO.
I liked the soundtrack and there were a few sequences where the atmosphere, the music and the gameplay come together (my favorite being the water dome level with Glasgo Mega-Snake playing in the background.). Say what you will about The Radioman, the dude has good taste in prog rock. Which brings me to another issue: tone. It's too dark! I know that's a silly thing to say, but it is! It has the same problem as Warhammer 40000, in that its so bleak that it's impossible to take seriously. Things get so dark and so gritty, it almost becomes a black comedy, or hell, it does become a black comedy whenever The Radioman opens his fat gob.
Finally, the whole concept, the whole being of the game is utterly paradoxical: the story is meant to make players question why they play games, players want the game to be fun, the game can't be fun or the players won't question, but if the game isn't fun, then the players fuck off and play something that is, so to try and make them stay, the game tries to be both fun and not fun, and features lots of exploding heads and slo-mo giblets. You see? It's hypocritical to have your game be wall-to-wall violence and have an ultimately anti-violence message.
Having an awesome and subversive story means absolutely dick when your gameplay is crap. There are certain rules you have to abide in this medium, certain inviolable rules, and Spec Ops broke them.
Finally, trying to use killing to shock a seasoned videogame player is like trying to put out a chemical fire with a garden hose. It tales a lot more than just "These people died, AND IT'S YOUR FAULT!!!!11one!" to get a reaction other than a maniacal grin from me. For example, Far Cry 3 managed to gut punch me when it is heavily implied, if not out right confirmed, that your friend Keith was being buggered nightly by a randy Australian. That sent an unpleasant shiver down my spine.
