Spec Ops: The Line

Spec Ops: The Line

That "The Line" subtitle is much more interestingly explored than you're probably thinking

I've heard a lot about this game the last couple of months. It's usually compared to Far Cry 3 as an example of this new-ish trend of "games about games". The consensus seems to be that while Far Cry 3 was mechanically very sound and the story definitely had some nice "meta" moments, it's execution was just a little too safe. The elements of an effective "Apocalypse Now" style journey into madness are (mostly) all there, just oddly hidden beneath layers of subtext that you really need to be looking closely at to see. Personally, too many of the "purposefully" oddly implemented elements - like the animal skinning that doesn't actually skin the animal, Buck's weird ability to track your movements, the magic compass that no-one seems interested in, the hallucinatory boss-fights like the one with Vaas (and especially with Hoyt). With all of this cognitive dissonance being thrown around, you'd think that by the end of the game the events would've built up to a drugged-out fever pitch, but they... don't. I mean, the ending is very trippy, but it's explained ludically (sort of, at least - Citra blows some magic powder in your face and after that things get weird), and it's actually pretty tame compared to what happened at Vaas' compound.

In the end, Far Cry 3 is more similar to Metal Gear Solid 2 than any other game. Both games feature bizarre, unexplained supernatural elements and fantastic, barely-believable story arcs. They're both built around deep gameplay mechanics with a lot of choices available to the player, and they both have eye-catching worlds that feel less than real.

But where MGS2 committed suicide at the end and shoved the truth violently into players' faces, Far Cry 3 felt much more hesitant to break the spell (the unceremonious way in which you're dumped back onto the island after the credits roll immediately comes to mind here). Where MGS2 was totally willing to destroy it's own universe (and franchise, potentially) to make it's message hit harder, Far Cry 3 is torn between sending players a message and keeping players hooked - like if players knew unequivocally that the events of the game were a satire designed to make you think about how far you're willing to go to for "escape" (Spec Ops deals with this a bit as well) they would get angry and stop playing. Personal intuition time: after seeing what happened with Far Cry 2 - i.e., allowing a small team to make a game with a very specific vision, and the resulting polarized reaction - Ubisoft was a little more cautious this time around. Far Cry 3 could be "meta" and "subvertive", sure - but above all else, it needed to be fun. It needed to be a hit. And that's why I think Far Cry 3 is remembered as a great shooter with a "weird story", rather than how people talk about, say, Spec Ops, for instance. Wow, was that a good segue or what?

What Was I Talking About Again?

Spec Ops: The Line, on the other hand, is very different from Far Cry 3. It's also pretty different from MGS2 - I think the only game you can really compare it to is Far Cry 2 in terms of themes and motifs, but even that is kind of shaky. Ludically speaking, the games are quite different in approach - Far Cry 2 gives you a sandbox and a loose overall goal, leaving all the decision making up to you - the degree to which you murder and destroy is largely on your shoulders, and the games' ample quiet moments and gorgeous landscape serve as great counterpoints to the depravity taking place around you. And no matter what you do, the game doesn't really condemn or praise either approach - it just sits back and lets you make your own decisions about how to proceed. The overall tone, despite (or maybe because of) the bright wilderness, is very bleak, and I find the game to be pretty draining (maybe because of all the driving).

Now look at Spec Ops, and you can immediately see that this game is going about things in a very different way. But I'll talk about that stuff a bit later. First, the boring stuff!

Graphics

One of this game's insane vistas

 Obviously the most important part of any game, right? Kinda, sorta, not really. Anyway, if you're coming off of Crysis or something and are preparing for some awful 2011-era polygons here, you should be pleasantly surprised (mostly). 75% of the time, Spec Ops is a fine looking game with interesting environments and good character models. 15% of the time the semi-post apocalyptic clutter and some awkwardly animated cut scenes pop up and bring the experience down a notch. 10% of the time the game looks incredible, and the art direction and environmental design really come together for some literally "wow" moments. The faces look excellent and they did a great job with you and your squads' character models reflecting their mental states - in the beginning they're a bunch of clean-cut soldiers cracking jokes. By the end, they're bloodied and tired, and jokes stopped somewhere in the first third of the game.

This is one of the strengths of the game: showing your character (Walker) as he slides deeper and deeper into total batshit psychosis. By the end of the game half of his face is horrible burned and blackened, and I'm pretty sure he's missing an ear. These visual metaphors help reinforce the impact of the events of the game on your character - it's a great idea that works well here. 

Sound

Just as important as the graphics are the sounds - I think we all know how a soundtrack can make or break a game. Spec Ops surprised me here - I was expecting CoD-type stuff, gruff dudes shouting orders over thumping war music and the like. And there is some of that, definitely, but the audio in this game is a bit different from your usual shooter. First, there are a number of licensed songs - "Hush" by Deep Purple, some Black Angel songs, and others. They're used sparingly enough to make you "wake up" and notice what's happening in their contexts, and also effective at keeping the action up and not giving you a chance to breath. The general ambient soundtracks are also quite good, mostly rockin' guitar type stuff that fits the "gung-ho" nature of the first couple chapters of the game nicely. Overall, the music enhances the player's confusion by not giving them much time to really think - this game does have quiet moments, and they're very deliberate and are much more affecting because of the usual cacophony being blasted at you.

The enemies' banter also reinforces the dream-like horror. Soldiers shout scared expletives and confused directives, and their voices echo and warble in battlefield terror. On the other hand, your character and your team sound cool and collected in comparison, coldly dealing death to what seem to be scared and hapless foes. You'd have to be a sociopath to not have it give you pause, and it never lets up. There are small moments where you sneak up on enemies mid-conversation and have to listen to their innocent small-talk before murdering them. After executing enemies (seriously, this is a real game mechanic), your character will often be panting, breathless after bashing a persons' head in with his rifle butt. And the voice acting of the main characters is mostly well-done also, with Nolan North being perfect for the role of Walker. There are a couple of stinkers here and there (Riggs and Gould are pretty blah) but otherwise the acting is solid, with you and your squadmates' actors turning in the best performances (which is good).

Gameplay

Here's were people have some problems with Spec Ops. The gameplay is Gears of War-style cover-based shooting, but with Drake's Uncharted-style gunplay. It's pretty stock, and after the first hour there isn't anything new, which is kind of unfortunate. The controls are a bit weird and the cover-sticking mechanics aren't flawless - they work, but there's nothing really special about them., with the exception of each weapon having an alternate fire mode, which usually doesn't matter much.

Now, there are some "choices" sprinkled throughout here - but they aren't binary "paragon or renegade" choices. For most of the game, you don't have a choice to surrender or kill yourself - you just have to keep going. And when the game does give you a choice, it's ambiguous at best and, as it turns out in the end, usually pointless. And that's intentional - and awesome, because that's how life is. Life isn't "Press A to save the Little Sister, press X to harvest", it's murky and clouded and sometimes good people die and terrible things happen. But more than that, I think it's the frustration at the game for not giving you an alternative that makes it compelling. You get mad because that "choice" was bullshit, so now you cool off by killing some more American soldiers, which is kinda weird but it's OK because this game is stupid anyway. Right?

I've been writing this for a couple hours now and I'm pretty burned out, so I'll wrap things up. Bottom line? PLAY IT. Not just for the gameplay, or the graphics, or the great soundtrack - the main characters' descent into madness over the course of the events in this game is simply incredible to watch and experience. The subversion and meta stuff is interesting too, but that's more personal so I can't really tell you how you should feel about it. Suffice it to say, this game will make you think about quite a few things - and anytihng that makes you think like this is good.