Developer: Yager Development | Publisher: 2K Games | Genre: Third-Person Shooter
PS3 | Xbox 360 | Windows PC | Mac
One of the more interesting games of recent, Spec Ops: The Line will take you on an adventure through Hell and back, and will leave you with plenty of questions.
You play as Captain Martin Walker, who at first glance seems like your stereotypical American soldier, along with your team mates Lugo and Adams, you have been given the orders to save survivors in Dubai and bring them to safety - reasons being massive sandstorms have been regularly hitting the city, putting the citizens at a huge risk. Trust me though, this isn't the real problem.
The game's core gameplay contains tons of action - right from the start, you'll find yourself manning a minigun from a helicopter shooting at enemy 'copters, which sets the tone for the rest of the game; hectic and a whole lot of fun. There are a total of four difficulty settings, enabling both casual and hardcore gamers to enjoy what the game has to offer.
As soon as the game really begins, there's this instant feeling that something is very wrong, nothing ever feels like an actual army situation, instead something rather sinister and mysterious, and its because of this you'll find yourself wanting to keep on playing to reveal more of the story. There are numerous intelligence items throughout the game that aid in the narratives progression, if you want to know everything about what's going in, it's advised to go out of you way to collect all the intel.
Whilst the game may initially give you this impression that team-work is essential, there's the option to use Lugo and Adams to help certain combat situations, such as targeting a certain enemy, blinding a group of enemies with a stun grenade, or healing each other. The group will often hold very entertaining and funny dialogue throughout the game, showing you they are a tight-nit team who have known each other for a long time.
But when it comes down to it, team-work isn't the most important aspect at all, a lot of your own survival relies on using the environment to your advantage - taking cover behind certain surfaces so bullets can't penetrate through, timing the enemies shots to enable you to move to another part of the surroundings, and so on.
Most of the weapons available each come with an attachment or secondary firing option - the SCAR gives you the option to fire grenades, the P90 gives you the option to utilize laser-aiming, things like this add a little more gameplay in terms of how you tackle certain situations. Grenades also play a part in getting through the enemy, including frag, stun, and sticky - each are very useful depending on what kind of trouble you're in.
During all of the chaos of combat, you might forget how gorgeous the game looks, each environment is full of richness and has its own character, which immerses you in the game completely. The amount of detail combined with the completely atmospheric environments makes up for a really nice looking game.
Although there's much to be praised, the gameplay is at times very predictable and can be generic - the process of hiding, shooting, and rinsing becomes all too familiar, but there are entertaining aids to break it up a bit, you'll often have the chance to execute fallen enemies, showing a very brutal way of disposing an enemy, each time you get a headshot, the game will slow down giving you the chance to either bask in your shooting skills or use the delayed time to your advantage by taking out other enemies.
This game is complete action through and through, with a narrative that as it evolves will keep you wanting more, with a campaign of around eight or so hours, you'll be kept entertained enough, just don't expect spectacular gameplay - the real winner here is the way the narrative turns out, which you'll have to play for yourself to find out. REVIEW1
7/10
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