Overall Feeling:
A complete surprise on nearly every front, Spec Ops: The Line manages to keep the entertainment factor high while delivering a game with a surprisingly deep message. Perfectly balanced in the gameplay department with battles that require thought, strategy, and actual aiming skills, gamers looking for a competent action game will find just that plus more in the game as the pacing is perfect and the battles are ever intense. Spec Ops: The Line is a game that is impactful and is simply effective in showing that war can be a hellish experience that can break even the most skilled soldiers.
The Pros:
+ Story is beyond good in how it makes players think about their actions and ultimately what the casualty of war is.
+ Combat is handled in a smart way with enemy encounters that are challenging and consistently intense.
+ The lighting adds a tremendous amount of mood to the game and presents some breathtaking visuals.
+ We may have yet another game starring Nolan North, but the voice acting is excellent as the main cast delivers stunning performances, especially that of Bruce Boxleitner as Konrad.
+ Dubai looks beautiful and doesn’t feel too gamey in how it was adapted for a video game.
The Cons:
- Multiplayer is just kind of there and doesn’t feel like it’ll have a long-term community.
- Visuals look less than optimized in a few areas as there’s a lot of Unreal Engine 3 texture loading and pop-up.
Despite being glamorized for years in film, TV, and even literature, war is ultimately a hellish experience that is devoid of any true glory or things that can make someone feel proud. Now that’s not to take away from the valor that soldiers have who are fighting overseas, but I think there’s a slight disconnect when people imagine what war truly is. Up until now we haven’t seen too many games depict war for the hellish experience that it is but Spec Ops: The Line does a wonderful job at balancing the reality of the situation while giving gamers something to sink their teeth into.
