For what it’s worth, Spec Ops: The Line is more or less the equal of almost every other game on the market trying to do a similar thing.
However, as I’ve already said, because of its technical proficiency, it does works and does provide a degree of satisfaction as a result. So, in terms of originality, the gameplay is lacking. And turret handling is nothing you’ve not played before. However, try as they might, the stealth portions never go beyond the fact that they’re simply a means of preventing you from burning out on the constant shooting.
It’s a crying shame and one that’s impossible to put out of your mind given that panning your camera across the skyline provides constant reminder of what could have been.Ī bit of spice and variety is attempted with the inclusion of a few stealth sections and innumerable turret showdowns. Levels feature the grand scale in the background but you, in the foreground, must be content with blasting around semi-collapsed floors of fancy hotels, ruined outdoor courtyards and the odd duck ‘n’ dive down a road littered with long out of commission cars, buses and tanks. Spec Ops: The Line wastes the opportunity, though. Up close, it looks like any other shooter.Īll too often a cut-scene preceding a level depicts epic landscapes, engaging backdrops, and scenes of horror as the world of man has been violently and overwhelming reclaimed by the forces of nature.Dubai under sand is a brilliant, evocative idea as far as settings go, and one that (in theory) I would be eager and excited to experience. The tragedy is that these core skills have been coupled with level design that is lacking much in the way of flair or originality.Īnd that’s a crying shame because, from a distance, the buried city of Dubai looks stunning.
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That suggests a dev team that fully understands the ins and outs of making guns feel “beefy”, giving enemy AI the right level of intelligence and even knowing how to serve up an intuitive and working health system. What’s irritating is that the gameplay loop plays out exactly as intended, and provides just enough of a hook (despite its predictability) to keep you playing. While it’s unfair to claim that all of Spec Ops: The Line’s combat sequences play out in this way, it’s fair to suggest that 80-90 per cent of your time can be summed up as above. You and your two “dude-bro” AI team-mates enter from one side of the area, the enemy from the other – cue switching between cover until you’ve killed everyone, or least killed enough of them to allow you to trigger a cut-scene that sends you onto your next shootout. Shootouts work in the same way as any other third-person, cover-based shooter you’ve ever played. Instead, Spec Ops: The Line too often relies on tried and tested formulas and scenarios in a disappointing attempt to not completely alienate those players desperately looking for their next generic fix. It’s a shame then, that the gameplay doesn’t quite manage to embrace that same spirit of courage and maturity. The narrative works, it’s a brave and surprisingly adult approach considering the kind of dumbed-down gibberish and recycled crap we’ve become accepting of when it comes to wannabe-blockbuster shooter franchises. If you’ve seen Apocalypse Now, the easiest way to think about it is that you’re playing the Martin Sheen role and you’re looking for Marlon Brando. All the way down to the swapping out of “Conrad” for “Konrad”.
If the storyline sounds familiar, that’s because it’s based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (filmed as Apocalypse Now). Set in a Dubai that has been hit with an apocalyptic-level sandstorm, burying all but the tallest of the garish skyscrapers beneath a sea of fine golden dust, it tells the story of Delta Force Captain Martin Walker.Ĭolonel John Konrad, one of the US military’s most celebrated individuals, has gone missing and it’s up to Walker to try and separate the facts from the rumour and misinformation – Where has Konrad been? What really happened when the US military attempted to evacuate the people of Dubai? Who is leading the remaining refugees? The narrative pillars of setting, character and plot that try so heroically to hold up Spec Ops: The Lineare – simply put – wonderful.