Zero Punctuation: Spec Ops: The Line

[scw55]

I do like it when Yahtzee has room to put on his academic hat and explores themes and thinks about them in-addition to entertaining us by pointing out video game flaws.

 

[krazykidd]

Aww, Yahtzee, you shouldn't hesitate to go all serious on us, we won't leave! You could do an Extra Punctuation on The Line; you obviously have a lot to say about it, but you felt you couldn't stuff it in the video without you audience going: "Six minutes of talky nonsense and no farting sounds?! I'm never watching this series again!"

Anyway, The Line makes me cream myself with every new review that I read/watch. It's like a mighty, echoing slap to the face of dudebro manshoots. But it's less of a finger-wagging killjoy, and more of a "yes, it's been fun the first five times, and it's been tolerable the next twenty times, but now it's just getting silly, guys" directed right at the industry's overworked FPS machine.

captcha: "never give up"
Wow, where do you get these from, Escapist? I feel more motivated every time you check whether I'm a bot.

Don't overestimate the average viewer of ZP.

OT: WoW. I want this game name now. Am i to understand this is the Silent hill 2 of FPS ?

 

[the abyss gazes also]

Can a game make you feel guilty for doing something it told you to do? I have three words for you: Weighted. Companion. Cube.

*Sniffle*

(I wish I was cool enough to think of this on my own, but my wife brought this up.)

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Having played the demo I was utterly bored before I finished it, but if it's a little more than shoot his face, then shoot her face, then I might get it out the bargain bin some time.

 

[Loonerinoes]

Game's a pile of wank and failure; boring story that fucks around in circles for half the game, terrible graphics, player decisions that aren't explained until much later, after you've been forced to decide with no idea at all what it is or why you're doing it, and bland, samey, unoriginal and utterly sleep inducing gun play.

Game: "Murder everyone or turn the game off -- those are your two options."

Player: "Okay..."

Game: "Oh my god! How could you! You killed all those people! Don't you just feel the emotion weight on your soul."

...

And I thought that was what all today's "brown-shooters" did. I hate it when games actively hate you for playing them. I get there needs to be challenge in the game and obstacles to overcome, but to be called an awful person for it just makes no sense! I'm just gonna leave this here:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouBastard

The funny thing is that this trope is closely tethered to the point of this game's story and is pulled off pretty well too. As to what that point is well - you have to play till the end to find out. Suffice it to say that the point certainly justifies the "You Bastard" trope being used.

I'm pretty sure that if someone's going to play this game with the intent of "Ahhh, let's escape my dreary RL by shooting up some shit for teh lulz." then yeah, this game is definitely not for you and the trope mentioned is bad to you. So play some other FPS that tells you how cool you are instead and you'll have a much better time.

However if you approach this game with the intent of say...finding out what it'd feel to actually fight a war without having to do so IRL - this game is pretty much for you and the trope mentioned really manages to bring that feeling up beautifully.

It's all about what you expect from a game really. Thing is, there are already plenty of FPSes that tell you how cool you are for killing virtual monsters/NPCs. But this is the first FPS that seems specifically designed to get a very grim point across - one that is much more tethered to reality and does not exist to please your ego. Even if one of the game's endings, that you get to choose, does come off as insanely badass.

 

[Warforger]

Finally, a curveball for Yahtzee, a game that surprised him so much that he had a hard time making jokes.

I love it when he has these running-gags in his reviews, like the wolfenstein limerick and the Brink drinking game.

Wolfenstein was awesome but Brink was just annoying because every other game rips off another some way (oh it has guns doom clone), that's always been the case so it was just stupid for him to shove it down our throats.

 

[rayen020]

well i really want to read extra punctuation next week...

 

[PinkiePyro]

wow an fps I am actually interested in never thought I would see the day (hat generator 2 doesn't count)

also I now feel childish for laughing at the farting imps

 

[synobal]

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

And I yours. Also I was as surprised as the next guy that he seemed to give the game a positive review.

 

[marurder]

I'm looking forward to the Extra Punctuation that will cover this more.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Don't overestimate the average viewer of ZP.

*chuckles*
Indeed.

ON TOPIC:
The only game that really made me aware of what I was doing potentially had dire ethical consequences in relation to the plot was ironically, Chrono Cross.

Looking back as an adult, I see that the entire plot for that game was incredibly contrived and shit.
But without going too far down the rabbit hole, scaling Terra Tower knowing full well that the big baddies at the end were actually right to take revenge on us. Basically their entire utopian existence got buttfucked for reasons that were beyond their control and totally our fault. So it kind of felt like having to putting down Old Yeller...only he was trying to kill me and my whole race for being manipulative twats.

 

[Norix596]

Well that was surprising -- I was expecting it to get butchered- - I played the demo and couldn't be bothered to finish it cause it was just so boring and repetitive - who would have thought that the story would be the saving grace of a dull third person shooter rather than its worst part.

 

[ZephrC]

I'm not a huge fan of shooters in general, and I have a very strong distaste for the modern variety, but this actually looks like something I might want to pick up on Steam sale. Crazy world.

 

[ShadowHand25]

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.

Predictable, yet not entirely unlikeable.

 

[Deadyawn]

Hmm, a recommendation, eh? Now that's interesting. I may have to pick this up at some point.

 

[In Search of Username]

The fart noises made it.

In all seriousness, halfway through this game right now and it seems interesting so far. The gameplay's completely standard, but the setpieces have been impressive and the plot seems to be developing into the whole Heart of Darkness thing talked about here. This is looking like a good one. Something to make everyone who bought it expecting another Call of Duty/Battlefield think.

 

[CronoT]

So, it's like an FPS game version of the movie Eyes Wide Shut?

That's... a pretty abstract comparison. I mean, Eyes Wide Shut was about a wealthy married couple having strange sexual adventures in New York.

I aims to please.

;-)

 

[Still Life]

2 words my friend family video (or the nearest movie rental store) you can get a game for a week for less that 10$ saves you money and gives you a definitive yes or no on if your going to buy it. unless your a pc gamer then just prey to the steam gods i guess

Yeah, PC gamer.

And the steam gods are vice incarnate.

 

[survivor686]

I ave to admit I was kinda expecting Yahtzee to rag on this. Perhaps I should give it a turn.

 

[Guilty Bystander]

I want to play this game. Something about it made this review unique and I will be damned if I do not experience it. Thanks Yahtzee for the incentive... it was a bit dull though.