Spec Ops: The Line - Opinions/Thoughts?

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v0rtic3s

Limp Gawd
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What are people's thoughts on this so far from previews or the demo?

Linearity made-up for by any brutal, enjoyable gameplay?
Story/atmosphere actually impactful at all?
Visuals mechanics, gameplay... thoughts?

Maybe too scripted too much of the time for any replay value?

I just found out there's a demo but haven't had the time to try it and game releases in just three days. Would like to hear people's opinions/thoughts.

How do you think the MP will be? Standard death match stuff? That's fine, if done well... don't want another Max Payne 3 type MP experience.

Actually saw the commercial on TV, hadn't even paid attention to it online until that point and it grabbed my attention. Watching some vids, reading some previews now, and it actually seems... good... gritty, brutal, linear but maybe the gameplay and mood will hold it together.

Seems a little heavy on the "morality tale" aspect, but they state it's "dark", so as long as I can make immoral decisions and being "goody-goody" isn't shoved in my face, then that's fine.

I'm not usually into strictly military shooters either, just Battlefield, everything other shooter is usually another genre/style for me.

Thoughts? Experiences?
 
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Why don't you try the demo yourself? :) It's right there on Steam. Far and away the best way to determine this for yourself.


I liked it. I'm going to probably buy it.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1698039

My thoughts are in this thread. Save myself some typing. ;)
 
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Did anyone here besides me play the original Spec Ops? I remember getting that around the same time that I picked up Rainbow Six. Rainbow Six was the better game, but I thought Spec Ops was cool...been looking for a copy of it forever.

At any rate, I'll have to check out this new game.
 
In terms of gameplay it's a very generic third-person cover shooter. It's the branching storyline dependent on player action or inaction that sets it apart from the pack. Just from the demo, there is some pretty decent writing as well.

Not sure about the multiplayer...if it takes off then it could be a good purchase but I can't see myself buying this for more than $10 or a rental fee.
 
Just finished this after picking it up in the Amazon sale. The gameplay is pretty meh, standard cover based shooter stuff. In every other way though this game shines. Probably my favorite use of sound design is recent memory. Haunting guitar tracks soundtrack some of the bleaker moments, while psychedelic rock plays over some of the more intense battle sequences. Graphically, it shows the standard console port signs, but makes excellent use of the resources it has. Levels are varied and vibrant, ranging from candle lit corridors to hallucinatory rooms illuminated in ultraviolet light. Most important of all however, is the incredible narrative driving everything. It's almost impossible to talk about without ruining the games more shocking moments, but this is where you'll get your money's worth.

In short:
Game as a game: Eh. If you just want to shoot stuff you can easily find better ways to fill your time.
Game as a narrative: So good! Great story told within the game, with every aspect (sound, character models, loading screens, intro levels, etc.) woven together to reinforce the mood and tone of the story. One of the best things I've played in a long time.
 
TBickle said:
Just finished this after picking it up in the Amazon sale. The gameplay is pretty meh, standard cover based shooter stuff. In every other way though this game shines. Probably my favorite use of sound design is recent memory. Haunting guitar tracks soundtrack some of the bleaker moments, while psychedelic rock plays over some of the more intense battle sequences. Graphically, it shows the standard console port signs, but makes excellent use of the resources it has. Levels are varied and vibrant, ranging from candle lit corridors to hallucinatory rooms illuminated in ultraviolet light. Most important of all however, is the incredible narrative driving everything. It's almost impossible to talk about without ruining the games more shocking moments, but this is where you'll get your money's worth.

In short:
Game as a game: Eh. If you just want to shoot stuff you can easily find better ways to fill your time.
Game as a narrative: So good! Great story told within the game, with every aspect (sound, character models, loading screens, intro levels, etc.) woven together to reinforce the mood and tone of the story. One of the best things I've played in a long time.
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Yeah, for those who don't mind average (not bad, just not great) gameplay if the story is good, Spec Ops: The Line is a pretty easy recommendation.
 
I really like it.


http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1703266

$25. If that sale is still going on that's a no brainer for this game IMO. Some nice stuff on that list.

Solid gameplay, decent enough story, lots of good action, signs of nice support from the devs, multiplayer has potential.

Solid game. I'd give it an 8/10 myself.
 
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I am really enjoying it. Maybe because I was looking for a simple shooter but playing on hard is a real challenge and the narrative is mature and gruesome. It is uncommon for a typical shooter.
 
I have to agree with most people here.

The game play is so-so...basic cover/shoot game BUT the story and scripted sequences (which are a plenty!) makes this game one of the BEST games I've played in a long long LONG time.

Thoroughly impressed and surprised!
 
Deep story, one of the better endings that I have seen in a while.
 
It's on my wishlist. I love story driven games and the little I played on demo in a store I liked. I hope the game manages to take off becasue it seems to deserve to and apparently it's not selling that well...
 
_PixelNinja said:
It's on my wishlist. I love story driven games and the little I played on demo in a store I liked. I hope the game manages to take off becasue it seems to deserve to and apparently it's not selling that well...
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Probably because many people don't give it a second chance because of the gameplay, which is pretty mediocre. But then again, people raved about Max Payne 3 and the gameplay was the same thing through the entire thing, fun but repetitive.
 
_PixelNinja said:
It's on my wishlist. I love story driven games and the little I played on demo in a store I liked. I hope the game manages to take off becasue it seems to deserve to and apparently it's not selling that well...
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Support it with a purchase is all I can tell you. If you liked the demo you'll love the full game.
 
Never finished the demo, didn't like it, another boring generic shooter game. Just like the rest of today's modern shooters, linear and generic gameplay.
 
xIronCrossx said:
Probably because many people don't give it a second chance because of the gameplay, which is pretty mediocre. But then again, people raved about Max Payne 3 and the gameplay was the same thing through the entire thing, fun but repetitive.
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This has been debated quite a few times on TGS and by TotalBiscuit. What comes out of the discussion is that the game seems to be badly advertised in that it is portrayed as yet another action shooter (cf. it's trailer) while the game is in reality a mature, dark and very story driven game about the horrors of war. As such the game does not stand out at all and is not getting much attention. It's a shame because I've yet to talk with someone having given the game a chance and say they did not enjoy it.

Q-BZ said:
Support it with a purchase is all I can tell you. If you liked the demo you'll love the full game.
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I certainly will end up purchasing the game.
 
_PixelNinja said:
This has been debated quite a few times on TGS and by TotalBiscuit. What comes out of the discussion is that the game seems to be badly advertised in that it is portrayed as yet another action shooter (cf. it's trailer) while the game is in reality a mature, dark and very story driven game about the horrors of war. As such the game does not stand out at all and is not getting much attention. It's a shame because I've yet to talk with someone having given the game a chance and say they did not enjoy it.
I certainly will end up purchasing the game.
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The gameplay isn't shock and awe but it's certainly solid enough IMO. You have menu options to make things more to your liking as far controls and some other things go.

You're right: The people that actually tried the game all but invariably come away satisfied.
 
John Vuong said:
Never finished the demo, didn't like it, another boring generic shooter game. Just like the rest of today's modern shooters, linear and generic gameplay.
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True, but that's kind of the point. The whole game is a deconstruction of the modern shooter genre. It maintains those generic shooter conventions in the early part of the game so that it can play on those expectations as you go further. As many have said the gameplay is servicable but not great, if your looking for an excellent shooter look elsewhere. However, if you want to experience a grim slog through the heart of darkness, this is your game.
 
Agreed with most of the input here. The gameplay is standard, but if you let yourself be taken in by the story you will most definitely leave impressed.
 
xIronCrossx said:
Probably because many people don't give it a second chance because of the gameplay, which is pretty mediocre. But then again, people raved about Max Payne 3 and the gameplay was the same thing through the entire thing, fun but repetitive.
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I think there's a double standard about these things.

Bioshock's gameplay is kind of unique, but it's still quite bad as an FPS and it's an incredibly easy game. Its story/atmosphere/design is ultra unique and extremely good which is why everyone gives it a pass on the weak gameplay.

In this case, you've got a bit better gameplay (it's not good but it's average-above average, while Bioshock's was below average imo), much less unique atmosphere but another incredible story with great execution.

A lot of it is marketing, but there's also the extra <3 Bethesda and Rockstar always get. If Rockstar had made this exact same game (they were originally working on the franchise, but it obviously would've been totally different), reviewers would be jizzing themselves over what an accomplishment it is.
 
John Vuong said:
Never finished the demo, didn't like it, another boring generic shooter game. Just like the rest of today's modern shooters, linear and generic gameplay.
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The movement and shooting mechanics are simply awful. The story is actually rather good though.
 
Picked this up in the Amazon bundle and just finished it. Combat is standard Unreal engine cover-shooter....Mass Effect in Dubai with 2012 weapons. The story and cinematics make it. I'd give it a 'must play' for that.
 
Ruiner said:
Picked this up in the Amazon bundle and just finished it. Combat is standard Unreal engine cover-shooter....Mass Effect in Dubai with 2012 weapons. The story and cinematics make it. I'd give it a 'must play' for that.
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Absolutely. A nice dark horse that it going to be an ideal pick up for a lot of folks in between AAA blockbusters and such.
 
I haven't played this yet, but reading some of these opinions make me want to try it out.
 
I found the gameplay to be average to meh. But the storyline was solid and made it all worth while. Worth playing for that.
 
Digging up an old thread. Just finished this game today and I really enjoyed it. Great story, pretty good graphics(not crazy good, but not bad at all if you force AA/AF), awesome story, sound was good, and I liked that it wasn't too long as I usually get bored of games. I finished this in 4 sittings and this is definitely worth the $5 I spent. Controls are really weird at first, but I changed them around until I found something comfortable. Suprisingly I hated the controls on a 360 controller even though this is a console port
 
I liked it a lot. The gameplay was average and it's a corridor shooter, but the story and visuals make up for it. The game in some places was just gorgeous, others more dust and sand than anything else. If you can pick it up under $10 it's well worth it. I know I will be replaying it again eventually, and that is a rarity anymore.
 
I liked the story, pretty much like everyone else, but I hated the ending, because it seemed like they tried to push a twist in the end.

I feel like something like this would never happen, because it would've been caught way early on.
 
Yea definitely not realistic bc satellites would see all the chaos. But i enjoyed it. There is three different endings
 
hardc0re said:
i thought it had a generic story/gameplay, didnt finish it.
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How is this possible ?!? It got more than its fair share of GOTY votes specifically for its STORY. And you say the story is "generic". Does not compute.
 
Is there any way to disable mouse hardware acceleration? It's so bad I ended up playing with my Xbox controller... Also the FOV seems to low. Is it possible to adjust it? I googled it but couldn't find anything that would work with the Steam version.
 
The storyline and atmosphere were very interesting. I've been to Dubai several times and definitely could see how a freak sandstorm would overwhelm and devastate the city in the way depicted.
 
I'm on my second play through and still enjoying the game. Like others have stated, the gameplay mechanics are meh, but the story is very good.
 
I thought the gameplay was actually pretty ok. It was a weird combination. In a Call of Duty game the gameplay would be atrocious but the storyline plays to the combat so well and I enjoyed it all the way through. I'm really known as one of the slower plodding players on H and I just sat down and blew through the game in one day. It was very well put together. Kept me on a cliff the whole time. Never got bored.
 
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