Spec Ops: The Line: Here's sand in your eyes!

     Spec Ops: The Line was one of those games that I casually kept track of in its development stage. When I would see a new video or news article about it I would check it out, but was never really overly excited for it. Then earlier this year a demo was released and that changed everything. After playing the demo I realized how great this game was. This game that I casually paid attention to had a deep narrative that pulled me in and really is the heart and soul of the game.

     So now that I've talked up this deep narrative, let me tell you about the story. Spec Ops: The Line puts you in the shoes of Captain Martin Walker. You and your squad (Lugo and Adams) are sent out to Dubai after a deployment of American soldiers have gone rogue and left their original mission. The city of Dubai is left in ruins and large sandstorms have buried much of the city. Of course when you get there you aren't not greeted with a friendly handshake from either the troops or the civilians. Instead you are greeted with gunfire, explosions, and whatever attacks they can throw at you.

     It's clear the developers wanted the focus of the game to be the single player campaign. After all, the achievements/trophies are only from the campaign portion. The thing that makes the story so deep and interesting are the moral choices you have to make at certain points. Sounds simple enough right? Wrong! What makes this difficult is you never really feel like either choice is a good one. I found myself second guessing some of myself and really felt stuck on what choice should I make. You almost get a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" feeling. The story is very dark too and people have compared it to The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. You'll get into the minds of the characters and that makes the story, choices, and consequences so great.

     The controls work very well too. The game plays out in a third person perspective and you have a pretty smooth covering and targeting system. Once you hold the run button for a few seconds and begin to run, you don't have to hold the button any longer. Then when you get close enough to a place for cover, you automatically take cover. You can also switch between different areas of cover and it all works pretty well. Another nice feature is the targeting system. There will be many times when you are under heavy fire. In this case you can move your reticule at what enemy you wish to target. Then by pressing a shoulder button you will highlight that enemy. Then your teammates will take them down. You can also give other commands like tossing grenades or healing a fallen teammate.

     What would a game set in Dubai be without sand? Well don't worry about that because sand is also another mechanic or "character" in this game. There are moments where a huge sandstorm will come through. Much like in reality, this blurs your vision and you walk much slower. Enemies will also have trouble seeing you. Even though this happens several times in the campaign it never gets old. Also, you can use sand against your enemy. Certain structures can be broken and a wave of sand will swallow your enemies. You can also toss grenades out to send a burst of sand, thus blinding your enemies for a moment.

     Spec Ops: The Line also has a multiplayer component but it's nothing amazing. It's got all of your basic multiplayer modes. You can level up your character to unlock new weapons, gear, perks, and cosmetic features. The multiplayer works, but it's just not as awesome and lasting as the single player campaign. The developers at Yager have said they will be adding some online co-op missions to the multiplayer sometime in the near future.

     Graphically the game looks good. Especially the lighting effects and the environment. I was afraid that looking at sand all the time would get old, but it doesn't. The buildings falling apart, abandoned vehicles, burning structures, and more all look good. The character models are decent looking but nothing amazing. The music fits nicely with the story and gets your adrenaline going as well. Nolan North lends his voice to the main character, but voice acting is really good across the board.

     Spec Ops: The Line is a game about choices and consequences. It's a game that shows the dirty, gritty, and dark side of war. It's a game that really surprised me at how strong the story was and how important those choices felt to me. While the multiplayer may not have you coming back for a really long time, the single player campaign is where this game shines.

Final Verdict: 9/10

Written by: Alter Ego 83