Spec-Ops: The Line

Local-womanizer

The demo of this is out on the marketplace, played it last night and enjoyed it.

Your a Delta Force team sent to a destroyed Dubai to search for an American Colonel and his company of American Soldiers, who were sent in to evacuate survivors after Dubai was destroyed by huge sandstorms. The Colonel and his company soon go off the radar, bar a few transmissions picked up from them that suggest they have "left" the US army (ala Apocalypse Now)

Gameplay Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAx5WEMz09M

wes

Taught the demo was excellent. May very well pick it up now.

Notorioux

Tried the demo and its generic.

TheGunns

watched a vid of its gameplay couple days ago and i think it looks epic
definate buy for me

promethius42

I cant wait for this game looks amazing.

Helix

absolutely brilliant game. loved it. watershed moment in storytelling for the genre imo

review incoming

Helix

Review up http://www.clickonline.com/games/review--spec-ops-the-line/11098/

Local-womanizer

Helix wrote: »

Review up http://www.clickonline.com/games/review--spec-ops-the-line/11098/

Great stuff! I knew it had potential!

How long is the single player campaign Helix? Id expect it's long enough with the story sounding so good!

Helix

long enough that you'll actually start thinking that each of the last 5 chapters are the last chapter :P

Helix

we've just been chatting with the writer/narrative director of the game and he's going to do us the honour of an interview if there's anything anyone would like to know about the process of writing a game's script

TheGunns

Helix wrote: »

absolutely brilliant game. loved it. watershed moment in storytelling for the genre imo

review incoming

was really hopeful but the reviews of the demo were average to bad
absolutely delighted that the game is good. Can't wait to get it now

Dcully

Im not really interested in single player and trust very few reviewers.
I find totalbiscuit ,Eldergeek etc to be honest guys.
Multiplayer looks good but War Inc does the 3rd person multiplayer modern shooter pretty darn good and its free.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ROBtiVAUUI

Local-womanizer

Helix wrote: »

we've just been chatting with the writer/narrative director of the game and he's going to do us the honour of an interview if there's anything anyone would like to know about the process of writing a game's script

Ask him, "Why Dubai?"

Can't think of anything else having not played the game. It would be class if it copied even a 1/4 of the atmosphere of Apocalypse Now

Helix

Dcully wrote: »

Im not really interested in single player

no point bothering with spec ops then, as you'll be missing out on the best part of the game

Dcully

Helix wrote: »

no point bothering with spec ops then, as you'll be missing out on the best part of the game

Well written review btw,fair play.
Which would you recommend for 3rd person MP spec ops or future soldier? on PC btw.
Ill check out your future soldier review later today.

I watched a stream lastnight of ghost recon online beta [different game to future soldier]with the devs playing and it looks fantastic, i believe its going to be F2P.

Mr Freeze

Helix wrote: »

Review up http://www.clickonline.com/games/review--spec-ops-the-line/11098/

Wow, that's some review.

Looking forward to getting stuck into the game now this evening, only played the 1st few chapters so far. So far its ok, but my expectations have now skyrocketed after reading that review.

dreamers75

Okish shooter with a sense of real war plot. 2 main gripes were control issues, few times i idead staring at sandbags whilst smashing space bar. No idea why you couldnt move round objects in cover. and the littlebird level, i have no idea how i did it but i died about 20 times. Still not sure how i made it past, dont know what i was doing right or wrong.


For a game with a serious plot, its has a stupid ending with more plot holes than Fight Club.

calex71

Not finished yet , but this is a lot better than I was expecting especially in terms of plot and the "human cost of war" ok it has holes and the combat is a bit generic , really lacks the ability to roll or dodge in places.

Playing on suicide mission difficulty isn't super hard but there were a couple of parts that took me more than 10 attempts namely The Pit, talk about tension it's been a while since a game has given me such a buzz from beating a section as I got from that one

The greatest disappointment was the lack of co-op, I could have sworn that it had co-op when I saw it being played at e3 , it's bloody typical if this had got co-op no one on my friends list would be playing it and as it is 4 of them are :mad:

Didn't play the multiplayer because when I tried I was the only person playing

This would be a great rental for anyone interested in the genre or even casual players. I say rental because of the lack of people in multiplayer.

Edit: I'm on chapter 13 now and get the feeling that the twist or possible twist is being sign posted, hope i'm wrong but after that and earlier events I don't think I am

Mr Freeze

Its quite infuriating on Fubar difficulty.

Thought the game was ok, Story is great, but the game itself is ok, dumb squad mates and poor controls really let it down.

You really should be able to command the squad to take cover not just to attack a single target and flash bang the odd time. If I could get them to take cover way behind me and let me to the shooting, I'd enjoy the game more, I do not enjoy constantly healing them or failing because of them.

balkieb2002

I've just started playing this on PC and while I'm only on Chapter 3 I like the settings and combat feels nice though I can see how squad-mates can/will be annoying!

1 thing though that I really annoying me though are the controls! Why bind Sprint/Cover etc to e.g. Space (ala Mass Effect) but then bind Vault/Melee to another single key... it really just makes it akward! I know that this is due to the game being designed for consoles first but at least give me the option to assign certain actions to different keys!

One control feature I do like and is something I feel should be in every TPS: controlling the aim camera. What I mean by this is by pressing a certain button I can change which shoulder I am aiming over. This was missing from Binary Domain and for me personally the camera in the game just never sat right.

SeantheMan

Tried it on steam there, and enjoyed it.

Not gonna pay full price for it, I can wait till xmas Steam sale, as I can't see it comin down much in the upcoming sale as it's only new.

Needed to adjust the brightness though, was very dark.

Also, the squad controls were functional, but not great.

With regards to story, I want to know more..., why did the 13th revolt and seperate from the US Army.
Why are US troops, killing US troops in a foreign country.
Why does Dubai look like it was hit by a Nuclear bomb

Edit : Just checked wikipedia to the last question - didn't read further though as I want to play out the story

Six months prior to the game, the worst series of dust storms in recorded history began across Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dubai's politicians and wealthy elite downplayed the situation before evacuating in secret, leaving countless Emiratis behind. .

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

SeantheMan wrote: »

Tried it on steam there, and enjoyed it.

Not gonna pay full price for it, I can wait till xmas Steam sale, as I can't see it comin down much in the upcoming sale as it's only new.

steam sales are going to kill this hobby of ours

SeantheMan

Yahtzee also just put up a review - and OMG - he liked it and reccomended it.
There are minor spoilers to the plot somewhat, so ..don't read if you wanna play through yourself I guess.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6021-Spec-Ops-The-Line

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

steam sales are going to kill this hobby of ours

And no, it just means it will be an everlasting list
However, I think that...for every game I play, I buy 5 , and have this every growing list, so in 10 years time I will only probably be getting round to Spec Ops.

NinjaK

bought this today having played the demo this morning, looking forward to playing it tonight!

platinums

played the demo, pants, nothing that hasn't been done before.
waste of a download

Kiith

Tempted to pick this up, as the story is supposed to be excellent. Might see if it's reduced anymore in the Steam sales.

dreamers75

platinums wrote: »

played the demo, pants, nothing that hasn't been done before.
waste of a download

Fairly theres at least 3 "things" in this game that have never been done before.

All story related but hinge on certain actions.

balkieb2002

dreamers75 wrote: »

Fairly theres at least 3 "things" in this game that have never been done before.

All story related but hinge on certain actions.

I just finished it there and it was definitely different... combat was fairly generic but decent fun though I really liked the story even with the various oddities. Also top notch music in various parts of the game.

I'm fairly certain of the areas you are on about and I wish I actually did things differently but really didn't think certain situations through!

Do they though have enough consequence on the story to actually change the ending? You can use spoiler tags to hide it

dreamers75

balkieb2002 wrote: »

I just finished it there and it was definitely different... combat was fairly generic but decent fun though I really liked the story even with the various oddities. Also top notch music in various parts of the game.

I'm fairly certain of the areas you are on about and I wish I actually did things differently but really didn't think certain situations through!

Do they though have enough consequence on the story to actually change the ending? You can use spoiler tags to hide it

Dunno tbh

I got my ending but think everyone looked at

the gate and thought nuke em

i think they wanted you to think that and do it.

The next moment was the 1st time a video game made me "feel" .

if the entire game was set up to do that it worked.

Seriously i actually said "fcuk" out loud and anyone who has played it prolly said it too.

calex71

balkieb2002 wrote: »

I just finished it there and it was definitely different... combat was fairly generic but decent fun though I really liked the story even with the various oddities. Also top notch music in various parts of the game.

I'm fairly certain of the areas you are on about and I wish I actually did things differently but really didn't think certain situations through!

Do they though have enough consequence on the story to actually change the ending? You can use spoiler tags to hide it

In a word

No

There are 2 different ends from what I saw, and I'm sure you guessed which point determines which one you get.

Started playing on fubar last night, after playing the main game on Suicide Mission, very frustrating at times.

Glad I played on the hardest difficulty available on my first run though , as after replaying earlier missions for achievements / other choices on the easier settings this game would not have been very rewarding or challenging at all. As much as I swore at the screen on parts during suicide mission I would not have come away from the game with the same opinion having played on easy.

Helix

calex71 wrote: »

There are 2 different ends from what I saw, and I'm sure you guessed which point determines which one you get.

i got 3 different ones

not sure if there's any more

calex71

Helix wrote: »

i got 3 different ones

not sure if there's any more

Theres 4 but not really that different and all based

Big Spoiler to anyone not finished

on decisions the at the end. Kill Konrad or Kill Yourself, if you kill Konrad you get an epilogue where you get another choice shoot or lay down arms and go with the soldiers

LH Pathe

Rented this one so I shouldn't be too upset.

Apparently it's scoring for it's anti-war theme, ahead of any gameplay so we'll just have to see how that rings true because I never woulda guessed it from the box

Helix

calex71 wrote: »

Theres 4 but not really that different and all based

Big Spoiler to anyone not finished

on decisions the at the end. Kill Konrad or Kill Yourself, if you kill Konrad you get an epilogue where you get another choice shoot or lay down arms and go with the soldiers

forgot about that bit

yeah i got all 4

Mr Freeze

calex71 wrote: »

Started playing on fubar last night, after playing the main game on Suicide Mission, very frustrating at times.

You still playing FUBAR?

I got fed up of it, team mates constant deaths were too much to handle. They are worse than useless on that difficulty. Play till chapter 10 I think, and there is a section in car park heading for the Aquarium, I gave up there, no achievement is worth it if it aint fun.

LH Pathe

This is like 3rd person Bad Company!

..it's alright. The plot hasn't really begun to unfurl yet so going by gameplay! Into this supposed heart of darkness I trudge...

LH Pathe

Completed it, there I guess the clue was in the title for the line was indeed crossed

Some decent AI that swarms / flanks n some fun with the single command you can usher (take em out!) but other than that.. non too astounding I'd be more concerned at the fact this is scoring more for not being another gung-ho pro-war game. Just how few is there?!

7.5.

DarkJager

Picked this up on Saturday for something to play and just finished it now. Absolutely brilliant stuff, really took me by surprise. Hadn't heard much about it beforehand but it has one of the best stories in recent times. Enjoyed the ending too

Going to do a second playthrough just to see if any of the "choices" can be done differently

the phosporous bombing on the civilians is one of the most jarring moments I've played in any game, that shot of the burned mother and daughter was nasty!

Grumpypants

DarkJager wrote: »

the phosporous bombing on the civilians is one of the most jarring moments I've played in any game, that shot of the burned mother and daughter was nasty!

That stuff is nasty did have a moment of oh crap what have i done walking through the bodies screaming

For the endings I only got 3. Don't shoot Conrad and you die. Shoot him then the game continues to the epilogue where you can lay your gun down and go with the soldiers or shoot them. I did die at this stage so not sure can you kill the soldiers or will you die no matter what you do.

Overall some pretty decent bits, quality dips in places one moment it looks amazing then for no reason it just looks awful. Story keep you guessing but i was expecting a lot more from it and the end was a let down.

C14N

SeantheMan wrote: »

Needed to adjust the brightness though, was very dark.

On PC the game tells you to adjust the brightness when you first load it up. Also lets you add a sort of instagram type filter if you're into that.

I had not heard of this one but bought it on the basis of the positive ZP review. I had recently finished playing Uncharted and was frustrated by the lack of consequence of the mass murder you commit in the game so one that apparently deals with this issue sounded perfect.

I'm fairly far at this stage (Chapter 12 or 13) and I'm sort of disappointed. Gameplay is standard enough 3rd person shooter so no complaints. You shoot the enemy before he shoots you. You get the standard gun selection. Ammo is a little more scarce than in other shooters I've played and enemy AI is quite good. If you stay holed up behind cover they will flush you out so it encourages you to keep moving. The squadmate command button seems kind of ineffectual, they're often slow to act and it's easier to just shoot the target yourself. I had heard there were some bugs but didn't encounter any and the game has been frustration-free so far. The only bug I've had is occasional absence of sound for cutscenes.

Graphics are passable but the art direction is great and original.

The part I'm disappointed with is the story. The character's dialogue is good and the parts are well acted but I'm just not getting the whole "horrors of war" vibe. After the freakishly solemn ZP review I was thinking "wow, this must be some heavy stuff" but so far I haven't felt particularly horrified. There was the one moment when you

use a mortar to fire white phosphorus and you realise afterward that you just killed a huge refugee camp

and that was kind of rough but other than that I haven't got much and for the most part genuinely feel justified in most of my actions. Even the part where

Riggs destroys the shipment of water didn't make me feel bad because it was Riggs' fault and he was just trying to prevent a much larger war. It still seems like the 33rd are the bad guys.

I also had to check Wikipedia to find out that there are three warring factions and not two. I had thought it was just the CIA guys and the 33rd but apparently there's a breakaway group from the 33rd too.

Even then I think there needs to be more distinction between them. Just my two cents though,

cursai

C14N wrote: »

SeantheMan wrote: »

Needed to adjust the brightness though, was very dark.

On PC the game tells you to adjust the brightness when you first load it up. Also lets you add a sort of instagram type filter if you're into that.

I had not heard of this one but bought it on the basis of the positive ZP review. I had recently finished playing Uncharted and was frustrated by the lack of consequence of the mass murder you commit in the game so one that apparently deals with this issue sounded perfect.

I'm fairly far at this stage (Chapter 12 or 13) and I'm sort of disappointed. Gameplay is standard enough 3rd person shooter so no complaints. You shoot the enemy before he shoots you. You get the standard gun selection. Ammo is a little more scarce than in other shooters I've played and enemy AI is quite good. If you stay holed up behind cover they will flush you out so it encourages you to keep moving. The squadmate command button seems kind of ineffectual, they're often slow to act and it's easier to just shoot the target yourself. I had heard there were some bugs but didn't encounter any and the game has been frustration-free so far. The only bug I've had is occasional absence of sound for cutscenes.

Graphics are passable but the art direction is great and original.

The part I'm disappointed with is the story. The character's dialogue is good and the parts are well acted but I'm just not getting the whole "horrors of war" vibe. After the freakishly solemn ZP review I was thinking "wow, this must be some heavy stuff" but so far I haven't felt particularly horrified. There was the one moment when you

use a mortar to fire white phosphorus and you realise afterward that you just killed a huge refugee camp

and that was kind of rough but other than that I haven't got much and for the most part genuinely feel justified in most of my actions. Even the part where

Riggs destroys the shipment of water didn't make me feel bad because it was Riggs' fault and he was just trying to prevent a much larger war. It still seems like the 33rd are the bad guys.

I also had to check Wikipedia to find out that there are three warring factions and not two. I had thought it was just the CIA guys and the 33rd but apparently there's a breakaway group from the 33rd too.

Even then I think there needs to be more distinction between them. Just my two cents though,

What was the craic with the 33Rd

who was in charge of them if walker was hallucinating the whole thing. if they were rogue why did they go under his command right at the end

C14N

cursai wrote: »

What was the craic with the 33Rd

who was in charge of them if walker was hallucinating the whole thing. if they were rogue why did they go under his command right at the end

They weren't under his command. He imagined them. The way I saw it, it was possible that the 33rd were hallucinations throughout the game and they were all dead before Walker even arrived. It's a pretty sure thing that Konrad was dead from the start at least.

Local-womanizer

Finished this today, really enjoyed it. Comparing it to any other shooter out there this beats them hands down story wise. Yes it had its plot holes but at least they tried a different angle, and it had it's moments where I was like "oh feck!"

I thought the epilogue was excellent, very sad and somber ending.

The way the squad dynamic changes throughout the game was excellent too I thought.

A seriously impressive game despite its few flaws.

Kudos deserved I think

tok9

Just to let people know, the game is €24.09 on the hut.

http://www.thehut.com/elysium.search?nav=usp&search=spec+Ops%3A+the+line

Think I might pick it up

tok9

Well After leaving it for a while I played through the game over the weekend.

I really enjoyed it as the story was good and emotional however I don't think there was enough choice in the game. When you look at it, no matter what you do for the majority of the game, it is only the last decision you make that will affect the ending.

Major disappointment for me was

the phosphorus attack

. I knew it wasn't a good idea but it didn't look like I had any choice in it which was annoying. Was it possible to do that level another way?

Anyway I did really enjoy it and thought I played it for longer than I actually did. Completed it in about 4 hours I think.

C14N

tok9 wrote: »

Well After leaving it for a while I played through the game over the weekend.

I really enjoyed it as the story was good and emotional however I don't think there was enough choice in the game. When you look at it, no matter what you do for the majority of the game, it is only the last decision you make that will affect the ending.

Major disappointment for me was

the phosphorus attack

. I knew it wasn't a good idea but it didn't look like I had any choice in it which was annoying. Was it possible to do that level another way?

Anyway I did really enjoy it and thought I played it for longer than I actually did. Completed it in about 4 hours I think.

Not having a choice was the point. If you could have done that part differently then it would have defeated the purpose.

tok9

C14N wrote: »

Not having a choice was the point. If you could have done that part differently then it would have defeated the purpose.

It still would have at least been better if

you were able to rapple down and an infinite amount of enemies kept spawning

. So that once you exhausted that avenue you say

fcuk them, they are getting whats coming to them.

I don't know, the lack of choice in a game, especially one so story driven annoys me.

dreamers75

Fairly sure that was the point of the game, any other option wouldnt have made sense.

You killed all those people for no reason.

Local-womanizer

dreamers75 wrote: »

Fairly sure that was the point of the game, any other option wouldnt have made sense.

You killed all those people for no reason.

Yea, isent that were things go "downhill" for your character?

It's a turning point.

tok9

Local-womanizer wrote: »

Yea, isent that were things go "downhill" for your character?

It's a turning point.

Yes I know but it's so obvious that it's a bad idea that it kind of took me out of the game.

Local-womanizer

tok9 wrote: »

Yes I know but it's so obvious that it's a bad idea that it kind of took me out of the game.

Yea I know where your coming from but it couldn't really give you a choice, as where would the story go after that?

I don't mind when choice is taken from you as long as it makes sense.

The whole scene after that was brilliant I felt, hard hitting.