LogFAQs > #932387709

<b>#7: Spec Ops: The Line
Released on 6/26/2012
Steam</b>
(written in 2015)

The first thing I appreciate is how well optimized the game is. My laptop barely runs older games anymore, but this ran smoothly. Lucky me, because this was the wildest game of the bunch.

I spoiled myself on it by watching an episode of Extra Credits about it, but it still captivated me. What an interesting focus to put on a shooter: what if you are facing targets you do not want to fight? What if you considered your opponents to be fellow Americans? Or civilians, just plain ole' humans? Would you still play a game that forces you to fight people so unethically? I did, and it was easy to feel dirty for doing it...which was exactly their intention.

Seeing yourself go down the pits of hell to continue playing has some weird satisfaction. I don't think I'll ever forget the flashing room where the enemy keeps moving. Feeling so stuck at the decision to use white phosphorus is brutal, especially to be antagonized about how this game won't give you the choice of NOT using it. You can still avoid some awful sins sometimes -- like the crowd-moment where you are expected to shoot them but can shoot the air instead -- but ultimately it is too late and you are still going to morally feel crushed with shell shock. Captain Walker getting more outrageous with his melee attacks and ammo refills was a nice subtle touch too. It's like a horror game where you are the monster and the tension is when you will stop...but you can't, because "you wanted to be something you're not: a hero."

"This is all your fault."

The writer in me appreciates the way they did not pander to their audience outside of the set-up. It looks like nearly any other game in the genre, from the box art to the first two hours to the game's general mechanics. They then wreck your world and treat you like the fool the game tricked you into becoming. Is it this game's fault for making you see your mindless violence so clearly, or the industry's for not pointing it out sooner? The game will talk directly to YOU by the end of it all, and it's compelling with a ton of little details.

It's been easy to hate on shooters in recent years...but after games like Portal, Half-Life 2, Bioshock, and now Spec Ops: The Line, I think single player is my preferred focus so these more unique stories can be crafted. Multi-player shooters just don't compare to larger experiences like these.

NOW IN 2020: we see the trend of games that insist you are the bad guy grow in recent years -- Bioshock, LISA the Painful, to an optional degree Undertale, etc. -- but it's hard to understate the amount of damage you bring with your experience in Spec Ops: the Line and it's phenomenal at representing the mental damage that comes with it. I really look forward to replaying this soon -- what a fascinating study of PTSD and ego.

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O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
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