Zero Punctuation: Spec Ops: The Line

[Matt King]

Wow I have only one question. Was it really that gruesome? It has that much of a guilt element? That a plus but dang I don't have the money.

oh fuck me is it a guilt element, it is seriously the first time i have ever felt guilt playing a game, mainly because of how your squad react to you and while it may not be that bad while playing when you get to the end and everything you have done get's revealed and the truth and misery becomes apparent (aswell as the short little sequence after the ending) you will feel so fucking guilty and will lose any feeling of being right or just

Man maybe its a message .... or something that will make us figure out that shooting people is bad. I mean how many Russians have we killed and not felt sympathy. It might be a turn in the right direction

but then i remember i'm killing americans, so i stop giving a fuck

 

[Lunar Templar]

o.o

o.0?

0.0!!

he LIKED it o.o;; a modern set 'relistic shooter'? and he LIKED it o.0

guess i should probably give it a look then, since Yahtzee and i tend to hate modern FPSs with the amount of fervor

quote unrelated

like your avatar

 

[Zoe Castillo]

--

 

[shrekfan246]

It amazes me how the brown shooter still hasn't died.
Oh well, maybe next-gen.

I still hear this comment made over and over again... (ironic in a way) but I don't see how a game like this could get any more colourful without turning ridiculous.
The scenery is actually fairly colourful and varied, but what do you want them to do apart from that? Make the sand pink? Have soldiers wearing neon orange camouflage?
There's a point where wanting a bit of colour in your games is fair request and there's a point where asking for more colour comes across as being a little pedantic.
I feel many people request colourful games automatically without thinking and regardless of the subject matter.

"Brown shooter" has become synonymous with "Modern shooter that doesn't appeal to what I like". Hell, I've seen people bash Halo of all things for being a "grey-brown shooter".

OT: Interesting that it managed to implement a powerful story, compared to the swaths cut by other shooters on the market today. Still don't think I'm interested in getting the game itself, but nice to know it's not absolutely terrible in every way possible.

 

[jmarquiso]

I actually played the demo for this and found the gameplay quite lacking if being utterly annoying. The chemistry of the characters was lacking (maybe it's because it's the demo) and frankly I couldn't feel invested in it. But that being said, I did enjoy this review since it has something Yahtzee is very good at and that is the juxtaposition of being funny. Grim games can work, but really, if it's not fun to play (and I would even go sofar as to say if a horror game isn't fun) then really what is the point? Immersion? Not on my count. It's impossible to get immersed in a game you're hating. The shooting is bland, the contextual flashbang is mind-boggling and I hadn't the feeling the plot was up to much.

Accounting from most of the reviews, the demo doesn't actually showcase the major selling point of this game - which is the story and the choices made in this story. That was my mian problem with the demo -

Turrent Sequence, Gears of war Gameplay, something with sand, oooh some interesting plot, sandy shooter, etc.

 

[warlock257]

I saw that last fart coming a mile away, and still laughed

 

[Zero Serenity]

Accounting from most of the reviews, the demo doesn't actually showcase the major selling point of this game - which is the story and the choices made in this story. That was my mian problem with the demo -

Turrent Sequence, Gears of war Gameplay, something with sand, oooh some interesting plot, sandy shooter, etc.

My problem is that a demo should get me interested enough to rate it on the four point graph for me (Day One Buy, Later Buy, Borrow, Not Bothering) higher than not bothering. The game kinda felt like my time with Uncharted (a game I also didn't like) with more sand. So, some demos are just absent, but really, a lot of demos could really use help. Selling the story in the demo strikes of "doing it wrong". Sell the fun if there is any.

 

[Jumplion]

I have become so jaded with this industry that when I heard that the developers were basing the storyline of this game off of Heart of Darkness, with all the PR bullcrap of "deep, mature, character driven story!" (when "deep, mature, character driven" stories in games just means explosions, random introspection, and "edgy" characters), I completely tossed this game off my radar as I didn't want to fall for the bullshit. My thought was that, like Dante's Inferno and many other games before it, this game was just going to be another pile of rubbish that does absolutely no justice to the source material and will completely fail.

But now with this and several other reviews, I realize that that is not entirely fair. While it is entirely reasonable to believe that the story will be utter shit (especially one where they self proclaim that it's so deep n' mature n' stuff (Homefront and Call of Juarez: The Cartel anyone?)), I was taking it a step too far by just tossing up anything that didn't exceed the expectation I had with innovation/concepts which isn't fair because nothing will exceed the high standards I have now with my jadedness.

I may give this a chance down the line eventually. I may or may not enjoy it and that is entirely my prerogative. The thing I shouldn't do, however, is completely disregard something because I already believe it is shit.

So, yeah. Thanks for making me grab a handle on my jadedness. Maybe I'll actually enjoy the occasional game now.

Also, quick note on "fun" being the point of a game, I would actually say that the point of a game is to "entertain" rather than just be "fun" and there is a huge difference between the two. After all, as you said, Silent Hill and many horror games aren't exactly "fun" but they definitely "entertain" the audience with their mechanics and design. It's this narrow thinking that all games must be "fun" that prevents us from really getting some truly unique experiences out there.

 

[Furrama]

This is my favorite review you've done in a long time. I guess because there was actual weight you had to deal with and still make it funny. Which you did. In the most disrespectful way possible given the source material. So good show all around really. I really and truly laughed out loud at the end.

I hope games continue to progress in such away that allows for more of this.

 

[Moeez]

I actually played the demo for this and found the gameplay quite lacking if being utterly annoying. The chemistry of the characters was lacking (maybe it's because it's the demo) and frankly I couldn't feel invested in it. But that being said, I did enjoy this review since it has something Yahtzee is very good at and that is the juxtaposition of being funny. Grim games can work, but really, if it's not fun to play (and I would even go sofar as to say if a horror game isn't fun) then really what is the point? Immersion? Not on my count. It's impossible to get immersed in a game you're hating. The shooting is bland, the contextual flashbang is mind-boggling and I hadn't the feeling the plot was up to much.

Dude, the demo is nothing compared to the full game. Experience it just to see the greatest narrative to ever grace a shooter, and the gameplay is generally good.

 

[almostgold]

"You hardly kill any foreigners"

Aren't Americans foreigners to Yahtzee? Or does he think that word means "dark people"?

 

[lacktheknack]

The moment Yahtzee first wheeled out the farting noises gag, I paused the video and said "This episode shall end with deep, serious analysis, and then another fart noise"

And lo was it so.

I didn't realize exactly HOW grim and serious the analysis would be.

Which really did make it funnier. I feel very immature now.

Also, I'm now filled with the intense urge to play Spec Ops: The Line.

 

[John the Gamer]

I saw a commercial on tv stating 'Do [something - don't remember] and get a chance to win an Xbox 360 with the game Spec ops: the line"

And immediately thought; this game must surely be shit for them to give it away for free.

And so it is.

Yay for me.

Did you even watched the episode or played the game? The gameplay is meh but the rest is good, it has a lot of detail in it, not just story wise

I played it a bit at a friends' house. Really didn't like it.

 

[Darth_Payn]

Jesus Fuck! Someone in Australia better get out and check on Yahtzee
I think Spec Ops might have...

*puts on sunglasses*

...Rectum

Also JAM!

You forgot to put the YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!, but well done, sir.

 

[natster43]

Wait a shooter with a good storyline? I now actually want to play this game.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

Im sick of gritty realism. some devlopers should make a wacky entertaining fps with a large weapon wheel.

Serious Sam 3 just came out, ya know.

OT: I'm very nearly done with the game (I know the campaign's short, but I don't really play games that often) and I must say it's one of the most amazingly written third person shooters I've played in years. I love the fact that pretty much everything becomes more brutal as the main character gets more brutalized. Instead of shouting "Sniper over there, take him out!" he shouts "For fucks sake get that fucking sniper down NOW!" and the executions change from a simple shot to the head to two brutal punches. It's amazing, and incredibly depressing to!

Still can't believe Yahtzee liked this though, thought he would say it was some sort of generic shooter trying to be edgy with a brutal story and failing. What a pleasant surprise.

 

[antipunt]

wow. the reaction to this game is rather interesting.

will need to keep tabs on this one. Heard the story is rather gripping, and I can handle emo well (*emo stance)

 

[Hutzpah Chicken]

Next meaningful speech I make will end with farting noises. Also, I do remember when I could enjoy shooting daemons that looked like angry turds. Good times...