Spec Ops: The Line

Reviewed Platform: PS3

Other Platforms: Xbox 360, PC

Today’s video game market is flooded with modern day shooters that all seem to make you seem like the hero, but Spec Ops: The Line is a modern day shooter where you feel like anything but. Do you hate life? Do you wish that there was something that would make you feel horrible for simply being human? Do you feel that Apocalypse Now wasn’t interactive enough? Then Spec Ops: The Line is definitely the game for you.

You are Captain Martin Walker, a soldier in the United States Army who goes into a ruined Dubai, which had been hit by horrendous sandstorms, in order to find out the fate of a battalion who were supposed to be evacuating Dubai, but then suddenly dropped off the map. On entry, however, the state of Dubai is a lot worse than at first expected.

Sure, this may sound similar to your generic modern shooter that we see on the shelves every two weeks, but this is nothing like it. It isn’t the gameplay that stands out, though. The third person cover-based shooter aspects are fairly generic (you take cover and shoot at people). There’s nothing exactly revolutionary in there, even with the ability to use the environmental sand to take out guys not really serving much purpose.

No, it isn’t the gameplay, but rather the story that is of interest. The game revolves almost entirely around morality. No, this doesn’t mean that there’s some arbitrary karma meter that you can fill up that will either give you the good ending or the evil ending. Instead, it’s more so the morality of war, in keeping with its inspiration: Heart of Darkness. Is it okay to be doing these things? Is there another choice? Sometimes, there is absolutely no better choice, you just have to choose from what you feel is less bad and in keeping with you own personal morality.

At one crucial point in the game you are almost forced to do something so horrible that will make you feel terrible. Personally I had to stop playing the game for a while. Spec Ops: The Line had made me feel completely and utterly disgusted with myself for doing something so awful, even though I should have known better and not have done it at all. It is at this crucial point that you start to see the changes in the characters.

All three characters become increasingly angrier throughout the game. What were originally stern and commanding orders at first are now littered with cursing and angry tones. Characters start arguing with each other as battle warps their minds, leading them towards insanity. It’s so striking that even though you should hate these characters you start feeling how they do. The game openly admits that they are no heroes, and challenges you to hate them.

But there also seems to be something rather meta about the entire affair. Spec Ops: The Line critiques the shooter genre at almost every turn. Some scenes seem somewhat reminiscent of other popular games, such as Call of Duty, and suggests that what you are doing is in no way heroic but rather barbaric. The game even goes so far as to have loading screens later on in the game question you about what you are doing, suggesting that it is ridiculous killing is okay for entertainment, asking you is you feel like a hero. Even the choice of Nolan North as the main character seems to be stab at his heroics as Nathan Drake from Uncharted.

The entire game is proof that games can be viewed as artistic, with a lot of the story and message being open to interpretation. It tells an incredibly compelling story that will have you hooked throughout. I have been careful not to say a lot about this game as it should be experienced. Though the shooting is fairly generic, it is incredibly challenging and unforgiving, which seems to complement to story aspect. Definitely pick this game up at some point because it has an emotional value that is not often seen in video games and is incredibly hard-hitting.