Spec Ops: The Line

Although the setup sounds like it, Spec Ops: The Line is not your ordinary modern military shooter. The single player campaign is pretty short. It comes to tell a story, makes its point, and finishes, without any obviously unneeded parts or sidetracks. So this post will be likewise.

Screenshot of Spec Ops: The Line

The story is about horrors of war. It has some stressful and regrettable choices. The setting is outlandish, I think: Dubai during a months long sandstorm that blocks everything. (It's on the coast; couldn't they use boats to evacuate?) I'm not sure if there are any right choices, because it seems that your squad will fight regardless. The ending takes a very psychological bend. Even thinking a bit about it, I'm not sure what was real and what was a hallucination.

The gameplay and graphics are what one would expect of a 2010s-era cover-based shooter built on Unreal Engine 3. They're OK. The controls were a bit whacked, as I kept switching weapons instead of reloading them. I could never remember the grenade hotkeys in a firefight, so I never used them, unlike the reload prompt, which seems to appear when your clip is mostly full.

Overall, this is a quick game. I'm not sure if it's worth the $30 asking price though, even with the free (unplayed) coop mode.

Since you've made it this far, you might be interested in reading:

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