Spec Ops: The Line

Rating: 3 out of 3 Stars (why only 3 possible stars?)

Genre: Third Person Cover-Based Shooter

ESRB: M (gore, depressing realities of war)

Estimated hours of gameplay (thorough play/quick play): 8/4

Developer: Yager 

Wiki page

I'm a little tired of realistic shooters, so I hope I'm judging this clearly. I did just give Max Payne 3 a one, and now I'm giving this a three? Maybe I'm crazy. Or maybe this game just has better level design and less drunk controls. Sometimes the difference between something good and something bad is just a tiny hair between them. Maybe I'm biased because this game is kind of an underdog and I don't particularly like Rockstar. Whatever the case is, I'm sticking with a three.

"Creative use of sand" didn't do it for me, either.

The biggest selling point of this game is the story. And I agree with that sentiment. I don't think I'm nearly as enamored as I've heard some people say they are in reviews or general comments, but it does well. I just don't care too much about military drama and there's a twist somewhere in the story that didn't entirely make sense. But the main character has an arc, and I thought that was super cool. It even came in the form of in-game changes. For example, early on he would calmly say "tango down" when taking down an enemy. Then later, when he starts to lose his shit, he would yell out "STAY THE FUCK DOWN!" at the hapless bastards he would gun down. A simple change-up of an in-game sound file that plays when the player performs a routine action: so easy yet so effective! And the story revolves around the horrors of war instead of just feeling like a list of action movie cliches like most modern shooters. I will say that being presented in a video game does take some of the wind out of the sails of being a heavy drama, though. I mean, who is this guy that can get shot a thousand times while calmly headshotting hundreds of bad guys one at a time? But I wouldn't want to discourage developers from trying to take writing seriously. Please... take writing seriously. Of course, even if they could hear me it wouldn't matter. The guys that wrote Call of Duty made the publishers millions of dollars, so what else matters?

More helicopters! More explosions! No human drama! Wooo!

Gameplay is where I find myself scratching my head. The controls and level layouts work well enough. The levels aren't overly realistic like Max Payne and both walking and running seem to actually function like some kind of video game instead of straight bullshit. But... eh. Realistic shooters feature something like 95% of the same enemy: guy with a couple hit points and an assault rifle. I just prefer some fantasy in my gaming. Give the guys some exosuits, mix in some rabid animals and mutant men... anything! I need some variety, man. They did include a unit that is referred to as a "heavy." And it's pretty hilarious when your team refers to this thing with familiarity like it's something that occurs in real life. It's just a guy wearing a bomb suit who has a million billion hit points. He slowly walks towards you firing a gun with infinite bullets and doesn't care about cover. He's kind of a dick. And there doesn't seem to be a "headshot" location on him, although his helmet does get cracked open. It doesn't matter, because overall the game didn't do anything to make itself stand out as a realistic shooter in a way that appeals to people who might not care for the genre. But that's not to say it doesn't succeed at being a realistic shooter... if you like that kind of stuff.

Magic powers and robot suits! Where are they!?

I'll briefly touch on the multiplayer, which unfortunately was not as strong as I'd hoped. It still has enough function and depth to give players something fun to explore for a long period of time. But the clunkiness of a third person cover shooter is groan inducing in this mode of play. I want controls to be as tight as possible when going into a competitive game. So when my guy awkwardly shambles into cover, becomes stuck to cover, or does this weird thing where he puts his gun down because he's standing too close to a wall I tend to not have fun. And another thing that stuck out is weapon damage: every gun can score a one hit head shot kill! To put that in perspective: a hard hitting sniper rifle will not one hit kill with a clean hit to the chest. A Goddamn shotgun will not kill in one shot if the enemy is slightly out of melee range. But a pistol shot from across the map that gently grazes an enemy's ear? Instant kill. That... is fucking stupid. The random sandstorms don't add anything to the combat either. Whatever, though. It still works well enough that there is fun to be had for those who, uh, aren't as picky as me.

At least the skins don't include bullshit like skeletons (IE Uncharted 3).

Conclusion:

People love realistic shooters, so those people should love this one! Why not? Because it isn't a major brand name? Youuuuuuu consumer whore! Blarg!