So I've been playing Spec Ops: The Line

[DioWallachia]

Huh, so you kill MERRYCANS in B3 and no shit was given? It seems even more obvious that people are just randomly picking a fight just to draw attention, YET somehow they still hold power over the others that can have an opinion on their own.

What bothered me most about that whole controversy is that EA caved and changed the Taliban to something else. It's not the fact that they changed it that's the problem, it's the fact that video gaming can't be taken seriously if people don't stand by their decisions kind of thing.

According to Extra Credits:


The gamers ACTUALLY wanted the Taliban thing to stay but EA chickened out even after all the support.

We are way more mature to be filed under "entitled" dear EA.
We KNOW that you were responsible for the deaths of Ultima IX and Bullfrog.
We KNOW that you dont give a shit about games and want to rush anything for a quick thrill.
Your irresponsible actions may end up triggering The Second Videogame Crash but we wouldnt allow it, after all, it is kinda HARD to forget that E.T and Pacman from the Atari 2600 were ALSO rushed games.

 

[KeyMaster45]

I played it through and i have to agree, i was quite blown away, but one thing i have to say is...where is the controversy?!! People were up in arms when Medal of Honor came out both in the US and over here in the UK because you could kill American Soldiers in multiplayer or something, but then a game comes along like this and...nothing. Don't get me wrong, i loved the game and i am glad there is no outcry but it just strikes me as...well...odd

It's because you could play as the Taliban for the opposing team in multiplayer, so they just went and changed the name to "Opposing Forces" and everyone was cool. It was a pretty BS controversy and I think the only reason they did it was because the US army was refusing to allow the game to be played on their bases or some contrived shit like that.

The killing civilians in the airport was a confusing one as well. I've done waaaay worse things in GTA.

 

[Waaghpowa]

It's EA. Shareholders before Integrity.

Which is part of the reason why games from big publishers have continually lost my interest. While I'll agree it's within their rights to care about their profits, they're compromising the quality of their games to do it.

Strangely enough, 2K games and THQ, despite their financial troubles, are the few publishers out there who I can confidently say aren't afraid to take a risk every now and then. 2k released Spec ops, which I will also agree is fairly fantastic, while THQ is responsible for, not only the Warhammer franchise, but few other pretty big games.

 

[DioWallachia]

I heard that the game "Red Orchestra 2" does a better job than this game in being anti-war. Gonna need confirmation on that

 

[octafish]

I played it through and i have to agree, i was quite blown away, but one thing i have to say is...where is the controversy?!! People were up in arms when Medal of Honor came out both in the US and over here in the UK because you could kill American Soldiers in multiplayer or something, but then a game comes along like this and...nothing. Don't get me wrong, i loved the game and i am glad there is no outcry but it just strikes me as...well...odd

I believe the controversy you're thinking of regarding Medal of Honour was the fact you could play as Tabliban. Assuming you're referring to the new Medal of Honour. You kill Americans in Battlefield 3 and no shit was given.

Huh, so you kill MERRYCANS in B3 and no shit was given? It seems even more obvious that people are just randomly picking a fight just to draw attention, YET somehow they still hold power over the others that can have an opinion on their own.

It isn't the killing of american soldiers that was the problem, it was the Taliban/insurgents as playable characters in the multiplayer. American soldiers have been killed in just about every war game with multiplayer ever made.

I must say, I'll probably buy this when it is more heavily discounted. I've played the Demo and it just isn't very polished. Seems like it might be a bit like Bioshock, ordinary game with interesting ideas. You know it's funny but what people are saying about this game is exactly how I feel about COD4. That's a dark game, with you playing as war criminals and inhuman killers, plus the bleak ending where everyone dies or is crippled...then they made COD6.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I heard that the game "Red Orchestra 2" does a better job than this game in being anti-war. Gonna need confirmation on that

Well Red Orchestra is a multi player game mostly. There are times where players "die" but the soldier they play as don't, just mortally wounded. So you'll occasionally hear someone screaming in agony or bleeding out.

 

[ResonanceSD]

I heard that the game "Red Orchestra 2" does a better job than this game in being anti-war. Gonna need confirmation on that

This game isn't meant to be anti-war so much as "humans without social constraints are just fucking bastards".

I think.

 

[distortedreality]

It's like the developers looked at Homefront (which I loved) sneered, and said "You think that's a knife? THIS, IS A KNIFE".

That thing you said got me confused. So, it is like Homefront but BIGGER and nothing else? Just asking because i dont know making something to be BIGGER would make people actually care MOAR about its message.

I think he was talking about the difference between a spoon and a knife actually. I could be wrong though.

Back OT - i'm actually really interested in this. If Yahtzee says something is good, it's almost invariably worth checking out even if you're not interested the in the genre the game sits in (and I happen to like shooters, so yay for me).

Definitely has me intrigued.

 

[Noetherian]

Anyway, let's do a quick summary of the game:

* Great story. Probably the best FPS story of the last couple of years. (TPS, really, but yeah.)
* Quite good storytelling as well. Good pacing. Good storytelling tools used. Nice twists.
* Decent characters. Decently played and they all have nice arcs through the game.
* Decent graphics, but everything has that these days.
* Fantastic set pieces. The ruins of Dubai does not disappoint. Loved it so much.
* Enjoyable gameplay. Doesn't innovate, but fuck me neither has any other game the last three years.

Bad bits:

* It's quite short. Shorter in fact than the CoD games, which is pretty sad.
* It's VERY 'inspired' by certain movies and books, so it's slightly predictable.
* No innovation. No one else manages to innovate either but I still detract points for it.

Summary much appreciated. After what passes for a glowing review from Yahtzee, I'm thinking of picking this up for my brother, who likes shooters (and horror) but also engaging his brain. The length of the game is a major disappointment, though-- is there any kind of multiplayer or additional content? Call me biased, but as someone who mostly plays RPG's I'm pretty appalled by what passes for standard length in the shooter genre. I'd hoped the centrality of plot would push this particular game in the opposite direction.

 

[ResonanceSD]

Anyway, let's do a quick summary of the game:

* Great story. Probably the best FPS story of the last couple of years. (TPS, really, but yeah.)
* Quite good storytelling as well. Good pacing. Good storytelling tools used. Nice twists.
* Decent characters. Decently played and they all have nice arcs through the game.
* Decent graphics, but everything has that these days.
* Fantastic set pieces. The ruins of Dubai does not disappoint. Loved it so much.
* Enjoyable gameplay. Doesn't innovate, but fuck me neither has any other game the last three years.

Bad bits:

* It's quite short. Shorter in fact than the CoD games, which is pretty sad.
* It's VERY 'inspired' by certain movies and books, so it's slightly predictable.
* No innovation. No one else manages to innovate either but I still detract points for it.

Summary much appreciated. After what passes for a glowing review from Yahtzee, I'm thinking of picking this up for my brother, who likes shooters (and horror) but also engaging his brain. The length of the game is a major disappointment, though-- is there any kind of multiplayer or additional content? Call me biased, but as someone who mostly plays RPG's I'm pretty appalled by what passes for standard length in the shooter genre. I'd hoped the centrality of plot would push this particular game in the opposite direction.

Homefront had this problem too. However, it now has a sequel coming up.

 

[octafish]

snip
Summary much appreciated. After what passes for a glowing review from Yahtzee, I'm thinking of picking this up for my brother, who likes shooters (and horror) but also engaging his brain. The length of the game is a major disappointment, though-- is there any kind of multiplayer or additional content? Call me biased, but as someone who mostly plays RPG's I'm pretty appalled by what passes for standard length in the shooter genre. I'd hoped the centrality of plot would push this particular game in the opposite direction.

Homefront had this problem too. However, it now has a sequel coming up.[/quote]

A sequel which will be a gorgeous open world shooter with multiple pathways, clever AI, and tight satisfying shooting- then halfway through aliens/mutants will be introduced and the gameplay will go out the window. It's being made by Crytek.

 

[josemlopes]

Bad bits:

* It's quite short. Shorter in fact than the CoD games, which is pretty sad.
* It's VERY 'inspired' by certain movies and books, so it's slightly predictable.
* No innovation. No one else manages to innovate either but I still detract points for it.
's kind of

To be honest I do think that they innovated the way games can tell a story that uses the player as a key factor to it (in the end the choice is about how much of a hero do you (the player, not Walker) still want to be). This is a story that wouldnt work as well if it was a movie or a book and that for me is a really big step on the right direction

 

[Aidinthel]

The length of the game is a major disappointment, though-- is there any kind of multiplayer or additional content?

There's multiplayer, yes, but all of the reviews I've read say it's pretty lackluster. Which is only to be expected, since the actual game mechanics are so generic.

The game probably isn't worth full price simply due to the length, but if you can find it for $25-$30 I'd heartily recommend it.

 

[ResonanceSD]

The length of the game is a major disappointment, though-- is there any kind of multiplayer or additional content?

There's multiplayer, yes, but all of the reviews I've read say it's pretty lackluster. Which is only to be expected, since the actual game mechanics are so generic.

The game probably isn't worth full price simply due to the length, but if you can find it for $25-$30 I'd heartily recommend it.

Actually you'll find the game is worth what a consumer will pay for it. even given it's length, $60 is great.

 

[The Human Torch]

I got it after the rare recommendation from zero punctuation.

Holy shit, it's the darkest game I've played recently. It's like the developers looked at Homefront (which I loved) sneered, and said "You think that's a knife? THIS, IS A KNIFE".

Or something. Anyway, I can't stress how good this game is enough.

I felt that it was a bit forced, seeing as how it's the game that makes most of the darkest decisions for you, and not you, yourself. For me it would have had more of an impact if I was faced with several options and I picked the wrong one by accident.

With the odd moment of being frustrated by the AI of my teammates, Spec Ops was quite the enjoyable game, but I never felt really guilty about anything. I think that I am way too desensitized.

 

[Aidinthel]

Actually you'll find the game is worth what a consumer will pay for it.

And as a consumer, I would not pay more than $30. I'm not claiming to be some authoritative Price Master here.

 

[Flipip]

And if you're expecting that controversy is either getting nuked or killing an airport full of civilians, you've really become desensitized.

I'm not entirely sure what you meant by that but i don't think i am desensitised at all. I was only expecting controversy based on previous experience. As people in this forum have reminded me, Medal of Honor took a lot of flack simply because the OpFor faction was named Taliban and you could kill American soldiers, Spec Ops has American soldiers committing atrocities, one thing i thought would get it flagged by some people, and you are actively killing them, sometimes in horrible ways, another thing i thought some people would flag. Never mind, I wish i had never made the fucking comment.

As for you mentioning the "getting nuked or killing an airport full of civilians", i have no idea why you brought it up, maybe i am just being dim but that post didn't seem to make a lot of sense to me at times. If you are implying i expect scenes like that in all my video games, i don't, if scenes like that are going to be used i would like them to be used properly and not just thrown in for shock value. Anywsy...

 

[ResonanceSD]

And if you're expecting that controversy is either getting nuked or killing an airport full of civilians, you've really become desensitized.

I'm not entirely sure what you meant by that but i don't think i am desensitised at all. I was only expecting controversy based on previous experience. As people in this forum have reminded me, Medal of Honor took a lot of flack simply because the OpFor faction was named Taliban and you could kill American soldiers, Spec Ops has American soldiers committing atrocities, one thing i thought would get it flagged by some people, and you are actively killing them, sometimes in horrible ways, another thing i thought some people would flag. Never mind, I wish i had never made the fucking comment.

As for you mentioning the "getting nuked or killing an airport full of civilians", i have no idea why you brought it up, maybe i am just being dim but that post didn't seem to make a lot of sense to me at times. If you are implying i expect scenes like that in all my video games, i don't, if scenes like that are going to be used i would like them to be used properly and not just thrown in for shock value. Anywsy...

I just played the controversial bit. I'm not going to ruin anything. However I can say that it blows anything Treyarch, DICE or IW could do so far out of the water, it's not even funny.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Interesting, I've heard good things about this game.

I'll get it for my birthday next month

 

[Flipip]

Interesting, I've heard good things about this game.

I'll get it for my birthday next month

I am normally terrible at remembering so i'll just say happy birthday for next month