Spec Ops: The Line. A Shooter Propelde By Story Rather Than Gameplay?

[SacremPyrobolum]

SO:TL, on the surface, looks like your standard modern day military shooter with sand and military jargon. The squad consits of stereotypes, black guy with a machine gun, no nonsense squad leader, and the coy smartass. The gameplay is standard and what you would expect, and is very satisfying to play out.

However, the story itself is where the meat is. From what I read, Spec Ops is one of those rare games where all the violence actually takes a toll on those committing it, especially since sometimes the enemies are American soldiers. As the game progresses, and the situation becomes grimmer and grimmer, you can actually see your character being effected by the extreme violence he is surrounded by.

So what do you think? Does this shooter stand out from the rest?

 

[Tohuvabohu]

So what do you think? Does this shooter stand out from the rest?

I'm actually very curious about the game. On it's surface, it bored me just by looking at it, and all promises of a compelling story seemed like a bunch of smoke to me.

I saw TB's video about Spec Ops, and surprisingly he had a generally positive view of it, citing it's story and dialogue with squad members as the strong points.

I'm utterly bored of these military shooters, but one military shooter that actually emphasizes the horrors and immorality of combat? Seems like a stretch to me, still... I read that it was influenced strongly by the Heart of Darkness story (Same story that influenced Apocalypse Now) That alone makes me very intrigued, and other people saying that it actually does deliver a compelling story intrigues me even more.

But I am leaning towards trying it. Hell, I was actually going to get it - but ended up getting the Secret World instead. I might cave in and buy it still... like today :|

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

It's a fairly generic third person cover shooter. On the surface. But after what I just witnessed in the game, I don't care if it's generic. Well I don't care because I got the game as a gift. I'm still not sure if I could recommend buying it for full price. It's got an intriguing story and it's not afraid of controversy. If you had any idea what the game just made me do...Jesus Christ the scene I just saw was horrible.

Spoiler: What basically happened

main character thought he was killing enemy soldiers with white phosphorus, but when you were finished burning them alive, you realize they were actually the good guys, not the soldiers you were fighting just minutes before. These guys were helping civilians. And you burned them and those civilians. Women and children were among them. There was a mother holding her child in her arms. And it's quite graphic. Burned flesh and everything. But the saddest thing for me was when you approached one dying soldier who with his last breath just asked you "why". Christ, this game is fuckin' dark.

It's definitely not a gray military shooter. It's very colorful actually and locations are not what you'd expect from a generic military shooter. It's a very surprising game. It makes me sad that the actual gameplay is very generic. 2 weapons, cover system, some grenades and 2 squad members without the ability to issue a lot of tactical commands. It could have been so much more. Hell, with a story like that it should have been so much more.

 

[Zhukov]

Yeah, from what I've seen it has a bit more going for it than is immediately apparent.

I wish the protagonist wasn't so boring though.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

It's a fairly generic third person cover shooter.

Ewww
However, i thought it looked oddly interesting on the steam advertisement and now i will check it out
I am all about story

 

[mindlesspuppet]

snip...

But I am leaning towards trying it. Hell, I was actually going to get it - but ended up getting the Secret World instead. I might cave in and buy it still... like today :|

Amazon's Summer Sale which started today has it for 50% off (24.99 USD), and it is the Steam version.

http://www.amazon.com/Spec-Ops-The-Line-Download/dp/B0085NTITS/ref=br_lf_m_1000812791_1_2_ttl?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&pf_rd_p=1375147182&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000812791&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=00ACR7M62WQBQ2QXMC9A

 

[matrix3509]

Yeah, from what I've seen it has a bit more going for it than is immediately apparent.

I wish the protagonist wasn't so boring though.

In my honest opinion, Nolan North gives his best performance ever. While the protagonist is pretty generic at the beginning, he eventually transforms into something wholly different, and every line he gives reflects that transformation, even...no... especially the throw away lines (or rather lines that would be throw away in other games).

 

[Khazoth]

I honestly CANNOT bring myself to play this game, when I saw the commercial that made it look somehow more brown then any shooter in recent history I immediately tuned out. The commercial made it look like it had somehow taken everything wrong with recent shooters and made one long brownathon through desertestan and its close neighbor country dirtestan.

Hey, it'd be nice if I was wrong though.

 

[Makon]

I've played it through, and can honestly say that SO:TL was one of the biggest surprises for me this year. They weren't lying when they said they were putting the emphasis on story, because it really shows. One of the best shooter stories I've played in ... ever? It's also the only shooter (definitively) that made me feel like absolute crap while playing it because of the moral hell the game throws you into.

 

[bells]

If you wanna talk about Symbolism and Shift in tone, it's enough to say that the final chapter takes place in a beautiful aquarium.

And hell, this game surprised me with it's art design... even the areas in the wide open sand are colorful. But the shifts from Red to Green to Blue are amazingly well done. The whole Water depot segment was super well crafted.

 

[OldDirtyCrusty]

I read only good things about the story and this alone makes me want to play it. The demo was nothing new but i don`t mind this since there was nothing wrong with the controls. I play almost everything shooter related and they all play mostly the same it´s no big deal. If the story is good, then this alone is reason enough for me. Sounds refreshing playing something else tan the usual flag waving "war is so awesome" stuff.

 

[Gorilla Gunk]

Waiting for the console version drop down to $30.

Demo didn't "Wow" me but the game still intrigues me.

I also want to try out the multiplayer despite every review saying it wasn't that great.

 

[Waaghpowa]

snip...

But I am leaning towards trying it. Hell, I was actually going to get it - but ended up getting the Secret World instead. I might cave in and buy it still... like today :|

Amazon's Summer Sale which started today has it for 50% off (24.99 USD), and it is the Steam version.

http://www.amazon.com/Spec-Ops-The-Line-Download/dp/B0085NTITS/ref=br_lf_m_1000812791_1_2_ttl?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&pf_rd_p=1375147182&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000812791&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=00ACR7M62WQBQ2QXMC9A

Can you confirm that for sure? I can get a buddy in the states to get it for me since Amazon.com wont accept Canadian addresses and I don't want them buying something that I can't get.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

snip...

But I am leaning towards trying it. Hell, I was actually going to get it - but ended up getting the Secret World instead. I might cave in and buy it still... like today :|

Amazon's Summer Sale which started today has it for 50% off (24.99 USD), and it is the Steam version.

http://www.amazon.com/Spec-Ops-The-Line-Download/dp/B0085NTITS/ref=br_lf_m_1000812791_1_2_ttl?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&pf_rd_p=1375147182&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000812791&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=00ACR7M62WQBQ2QXMC9A

Can you confirm that for sure? I can get a buddy in the states to get it for me since Amazon.com wont accept Canadian addresses and I don't want them buying something that I can't get.

From the page

List Price: $49.99
Price: $24.99
You Save: $25.00 (50%)

...

Additional Info: Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include: STEAM Client, Microsoft Direct X, Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable, Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable

It's also listed on the sale page here; http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=480502

Amazon really should expand its game downloads to outside the US =/

 

[Waaghpowa]

Amazon really should expand its game downloads to outside the US =/

Now see, I didn't scroll down because, aesthetically, Amazon US is a different from Amazon Canada. It just looks weird at first glance.

I can understand why they would restrict Amazon to specific regions/countries since there are sellers within the US that use Amazon. For things like downloads I don't see why they couldn't just expand it. Steam and every other digital distributor does. Amazon Canada doesn't even have downloads from what I can tell.