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[Kupfer]

If you still want to play the game and haven't been spoiled too much, play it before continuing to read here. In my opinion, the game works better if you don't know much about it and experience it firsthand.
I will still try to avoid giving away any plot spoilers and focus on discussing the premise of the game and what makes it so special.

Spec Ops: The Line, an often overlooked game from 2012, offers remarkable narrative depth and an intense gaming experience.
The gameplay is reminiscent of past giants like Gears of War, presenting itself as a cover-based shooter that focuses on tactical combat.
Despite this familiar gameplay mechanic, Spec Ops:The Line distinguishes itself through a series of narrative strengths.
The profound storyline and moral decisions take centerstage, highlighting the psychological effects of war on the characters.

The relationships between the main characters, including Captain Walker, Lieutenant Adams, and Sergeant Lugo, are complex and evolve throughout the game.
Conflicts, solidarity, and moral dilemmas shape their interactions. The setting in a war-tornenvironment, particularly the city of Dubai engulfed by sandstorms, creates a haunting atmosphere that intensifies the game's oppressive mood.
This backdrop serves as the stage for captivating characterdevelopment, notably that of Captain Walker, who transitions from aperceived hero to a broken man tormented by his decisions.

The game's soundtrack, featuring titles like "Hush"by Deep Purple and "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the Vandellas, enhances the atmosphere and perfectly captures the mood.
Through evolving loading screens, hallucinations, and a shift in the protagonist's tone, the game establishes a connection with the player on a meta-level.
Captain Walker's character transformation is reflected in his increasingly desperate tone and behavior, while executions become more personal and brutal to underscore the horrors of war.
Parallel to the mental decline, the game also illustrates physical decay throughout, as Walker does not emerge from thesetrials unscathed.

In addition to these aspects, the outstanding voicelines of the protagonists during gameplay and in the cutscenes stand out. The dialogues are intense and emotionally charged, allowing players to delve deeper into the storyline.
Particularly, the evolving tones and emotions of the main characters, such as Captain Walker, lend the game an impressive authenticity and significantly contribute to immersion.
These voice lines are not only informative but also poignant, conveying the psychological burdens and moral conflicts of the characters in a compelling manner.

Spec Ops: The Line breaks the fourth wall at times, further deepening the immersive experience of the game.
The main characters represent various aspects of consciousness and constantly reflect on the ethical and moral implications of their actions.
Overall, the game offers a captivating gaming experience characterized by profound storytelling and intense character development.

I highly recommend playing this game in one sitting, preferably over a weekend.
The campaign lasts about 8 hours andgreatly benefits from players noticing and "feeling" the changing nuances of the game. The shifting locations provide plentyof variety, and there are plenty of pivotal moments that will leave alasting impression.

The mistake I made over 10 years ago when I first played it was to approach the game very superficially. The maincharacter initially seemed cheesy, the gameplay felt stale, and the setting didn't seem particularly engaging in the first half-hour.
I got bored and turned it off, forgetting about it. It was only when I heard that Steam had removed the game from its lineup that I felt compelled to give it another chance, and I was completely hooked.
I played it on the Steam Deck in a few sessions and was thoroughly impressed; I had vastly underestimated the game.

Spec Ops: The Line runs flawlessly on the Deck. During gameplay, I consistently had 40 frames (capped) at 12W-13W consumption. Only some pre-rendered cutscenes ran at 30fps, others did not.

The screenshots were taken on the Deck.​

Spoiler: mild spoilers ahead

 

[SJRB]

Incredible game. I played it on easy mode because the combat is by far the weakest aspect. But the truly unique setting, the brutal vibes, the music, voice acting, everything is excellent.

No doubt Heart of Darkness / Apocalypse Now were inspirations, the vibes are very similar: a man sent on a relatively straightforward mission, slowly descending literally and figuratively into madness. The more you play, the more brutal and harrowing things become.

Really, really enjoyed my time with it.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

So is this game ACTUALLY fire? If I don't fuck with PC is the PS3 version decent?

 

[Majormaxxx]

So is this game ACTUALLY fire? If I don't fuck with PC is the PS3 version decent?

I played it on ps3 back in the day and it was great. However, I gamed on a 27 inch screen. Not sure how it holds up blown up.

 

[SlimySnake]

So is this game ACTUALLY fire? If I don't fuck with PC is the PS3 version decent?

its an AMAZING game with an even better story and more importantly storytelling. it immerses you in and uses gameplay to tell the story in a way no game had done before or since.

i knew back when i played it that it is one of the best told video games id ever played. i just didnt know that it would not be topped a decade later.

 

[{insert code here}]

One of the best games of that generation for me. Loved the characters, story, setting, atmosphere. They just don't make games with this kind of vibe anymore.

 

[Kupfer]

Incredible game. I played it on easy mode because the combat is by far the weakest aspect. But the truly unique setting, the brutal vibes, the music, voice acting, everything is excellent.

No doubt Heart of Darkness / Apocalypse Now were inspirations, the vibes are very similar: a man sent on a relatively straightforward mission, slowly descending literally and figuratively into madness. The more you play, the more brutal and harrowing things become.

Really, really enjoyed my time with it.

Agreed 100%.

The game has its difficulty spikes; even on Normal, I needed several attempts at some points. But in my opinion, it never becomes unfair; occasionally, you just need to learn enemy patterns.
On Easy difficulty, you might have missed out on the numerous loading screens since you didn't die as frequently. Initially, these loading screens provide ordinary tips and remain quite neutral, but as the game progresses, they also become darker and question you and your decisions.
Another detail: after dying and while the loading screen fades to gameplay, Walker shakes his head and holds his forehead, as if the experience before was a delusion. I can't recall any game where a loading screen and checkpoint restart were integrated into the concept so immersively and convincingly, yet subtile.

So is this game ACTUALLY fire? If I don't fuck with PC is the PS3 version decent?

Can't tell, if you can live with 720p/30 (I guess) you'll be fine. Content-wise it's still a great game!

 

[willothedog]

the level after the white phosphorus attack aftermath is quite chilling

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Agreed 100%.

The game has its difficulty spikes; even on Normal, I needed several attempts at some points. But in my opinion, it never becomes unfair; occasionally, you just need to learn enemy patterns.
On Easy difficulty, you might have missed out on the numerous loading screens since you didn't die as frequently. Initially, these loading screens provide ordinary tips and remain quite neutral, but as the game progresses, they also become darker and question you and your decisions.
Another detail: after dying and while the loading screen fades to gameplay, Walker shakes his head and holds his forehead, as if the experience before was a delusion. I can't recall any game where a loading screen and checkpoint restart were integrated into the concept so immersively and convincingly, yet subtile.


Can't tell, if you can live with 720p/30 (I guess) you'll be fine. Content-wise it's still a great game!

Huh? This is from another thread regarding Sea of Stars. I think you somehow quoted me from that thread in this one which seem unrelated.

 

[Chuck Berry]

One of the most underrated Nolan North performances to me.

 

[Kupfer]

Huh? This is from another thread regarding Sea of Stars. I think you somehow quoted me from that thread in this one which seem unrelated.

You're right, I don't know what went wrong.

 

[Dazraell]

A great game with stellar performances from main cast. I really loved the premise, story and the setting. Shame it never garnered as much attention as it deserved

 

[Shakka43]

So is this game ACTUALLY fire? If I don't fuck with PC is the PS3 version decent?

PS3 is where I play it back then and it ran fine from what I can remember, got the platinum trophy and all. I will give it another go on the Steam Deck soon it should probably run great there too.

 

[Perrott]

Amazing title from the golden days of 2K Games.

On PC running at 4K it kinda looks like a PS4-era title (Unreal Engine 3 is a beast) with a stunning art direction.

 

[Three]

Game is great. Anybody with a PS3 who had PS+ you can check your catalog. You can download it there if you claimed the game back then.

PlayStation Plus March Update: Spec Ops: The Line Free for Members

With Spring on the horizon, we figured it might be time to test a new format of delivering your PS Plus updates. This month, we’re providing an outlook of the major stuff hitting the Instant Game Collection in March with this update, but you’ll still want to check the weekly posts to see the...

blog.playstation.com

 

[Kupfer]

I will give it another go on the Steam Deck soon it should probably run great there too.

Not only probably, like I wrote in the original post, it runs great on the Deck with a handful of 30fps cutscenes.
Gameplay is a solid 40fps (capped, 60fps probably possible) with max settings. Had to switch to Proton experimental though.

Amazing title from the golden days of 2K Games.

On PC running at 4K it kinda looks like a PS4-era title (Unreal Engine 3 is a beast) with a stunning art direction.

Agreed, UE3 shines in this title.

Game is great. Anybody with a PS3 who had PS+ you can check your catalog. You can download it there if you claimed the game back then.

PlayStation Plus March Update: Spec Ops: The Line Free for Members

With Spring on the horizon, we figured it might be time to test a new format of delivering your PS Plus updates. This month, we’re providing an outlook of the major stuff hitting the Instant Game Collection in March with this update, but you’ll still want to check the weekly posts to see the...

blog.playstation.com

Good call. Just looked up prices for used copies, the game becomes quiete expensive.

 

[Cyborg]

Great game, great story. Loved it

 

[Shakka43]

Not only probably, like I wrote in the original post, it runs great on the Deck with a handful of 30fps cutscenes.
Gameplay is a solid 40fps (capped, 60fps probably possible) with max settings. Had to switch to Proton experimental though.

Installed it last night and I'm at the beginning of Chapter 7. Game runs great at 90 fps maxed out settings, there are traversal stutters here and there but nothing too bad.

For me I have to run it with Proton 6.3-8 otherwise I get no sound, Proton Experimental and Proton 8.0-5 fix the sound but break controller support...

 

[CamHostage]

Erm... well, I'll be the contrarian if this thread needs it (although it's not out to buy anymore so there's not a lot of need for guidance as to whether you should or shouldn't play it; if you find it somewhere, have at.)

I was excited for Spec Ops: The Line in previews and heard all the good things about it, but in playing it, the game was not only mediocre in play (which has already been said here by people who otherwise like the game) but also not really constructed to highlight its best qualities. The combat wasn't much "fun" and was extremely repetitive in shooting systems and encounters. Character performances are great, but if you're looking for an Apocalypse Now experience with a squad of unique characters slowly descending into madness, you'll instead get two guys mostly shouting, "Captain, what the fuck are we doing here?!" (And speaking of the squad, there are kind of squad commands to direct teammates, but it's hardly tactical or cooperative.) Visually it comes across well thanks to some ambitious lighting design (and they had special systems designed just to make all the sand in the game look great,) but you spend most of the time in gunfights not having a great view of the battlefield from or sniping small little characters far off in the distance of dust and darkness. A few other technical issues also hamper the experience. (People tell me the loadtimes are bad because they're supposed to make me agitated, because war is hell, man!)

And then the laudable design of choices in gameplay... I guess there are choices? I have learned a lot about those choices afterwards from other people or deep-dives into the game, and I can see that the writing is designed to highlight the consequences of decisions and also shame you for not thinking your way out of dire situations. That's all good design. However, the game is so linear and the storytelling is so amped up and overwrought that I never considered making choices in gameplay. Like I believe there's a moment where I'm supposed to decide whether to execute one guy or a different guy, and you can't leave the encounter, so it felt like the game was presenting me with only those two choices. So eenie-meanie-miney-mo, you shoot one and on with that branch of the story. Later, you find out that if you did some trick then a third option exists, which is not atypical for there to be some hidden third option (and in fact you can tell from the Trophy/Achievements that there may be other answers to this puzzle,) but also you find out that by not spending all day there in that puzzle trying to figure out the trick to the "pacifist" option, you were supposed to feel bad personally about your heinous choice. You just shot somebody! Dude, I just shot 90 other guys to get to this cutscene, I'm sure I'm going to shoot at least 90 more once this is done, I have some guy squalking on the radio about how brutal war is, I have two other squadmates losing their shit about not knowing why the fuck we're here, and it's a video game puzzle which I can always restart my save on to try Option B or find Option C afterwards. I'm supposed to feel shitty about myself for following the game script? Because that's the same as a soldier following orders and so I'm just as much a sheep as the boys on the battlefield? Whoa, that's heavy, I guess... but I'm already planning to just restart the save and see all three options or go on YT and watch the branches, so it's not quite the same to me as engaging in a war crime.



The creative design of Spec Ops: The Line is intriguing, (all the stuff that the developers embedded in the game, all the people who had an eye-opening experience in their playthrough, all the in-game experiences designed around play mechanics rather than choosing actions from a menu, that's all clever stuff if you're gaming to see how clever the creators can be.) However, I enjoy reading about it more than I actually do playing it.