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Is anyone feeling very differently after completing Spec Ops: The Line?

R

RustyNails

Member
This is not a LTTP thread where I give a semi-review or something, even though I finished the game last week. It's about recollecting your thoughts on the game's impact. I mentioned in the Spec Ops thread a week ago that I finished the game, and it really affected me so much that I want to pause gaming for a while.

I don't know. I don't think even Apocalypse Now or any other psychologically mindfuck war movie made me feel this way. It put a whole new perspective on what essentially is press-x-to-shoot polygons in a videogame. For example, I did NOT need to execute any member of the 33rd that was groaning in pain after being shot by me. But I did. Because I was becoming a monster and I couldn't realize it. It didn't start out that way. In the first few hours I was like, poor sod. I won't execute you. I only shot you for self defense but now that you're incapcitated, I don't have a problem with you. My beef is with Konrad, not you.

Then the infamous
White Phosphorous scene happens
. And you get to the area where civvies were holed up, and that
half burned woman with her kid
. Shit is nightmare fuel. It kept haunting me throughout the weekend :( I know it wasn't real, but what the fuck, how can my mind not reconcile that everything was just pixels and fake ass crap. It's worse at night when you're trying to sleep and that image keeps popping up in your head. Didn't necessarily feel "miserable", but it really drove home the point of actions having consequences, especially when you don't see the full picture.

I did NOT think there were civvies in the area, I did not even consider it. But Walker and Adams bitched out Lugo, only guy who was talking sense at the moment. And I was siding with them, not Lugo. I didn't feel the need to do it, but I wanted it to be done. Feels bad. The journey of Spec Ops: The Line was so powerful that when I got to the final revelation part, I felt ill..
I was nothing but Don Quixote
. Nothing more, nothing less.
All the massacres and decisions just for my quixotic adventures
. Fuckity fuck. Only part where I had a strong disconnect with Walker's actions was the water tanker part. I wasn't sure that taking those out will help solve anyone's problems. I don't know what Yager had in mind and if I should be mad at them for forcing me to go through the game's choices and making me feel like shit or congratulate them for making a game that affects your shit.
Lugo getting violenty lynched because of your stupid actions, and Adams going out in a hail of bullet glory to save your dumb ass also made me feel like shit. They were my buddies and I made them do crazy shit and get them killed because I wanted more.

I don't want to play games for a while even though I had Bioshock infy on preorder. Haven't claimed it yet because I need a few more days to clear my mind off that crazy shit from Spec Ops.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
No, because while it was a very good game, a lot of fun to play, and mentally dragged you in some strange places - ultimately it was just a fun experience to have and was worth playing. It wasn't that big of a deal to me and didn't affect me much.
 
S

SniperHunter

Banned
I played it for 20 minutes and I am finding it hard to pick it up again...seems like a generic military shooter. I am actually into Binary Domain and Vanquish atm
 
A

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
No, I can separate fiction from reality and have no issues shooting dudes in games.
 
S

Shadow2222

Member
Yeah, while it definitely affected me, I think I've unfortunately become too desensitized due to the internet.

Definitely caught me by surprise though, and I do believe it was an excellent story.
 
N

News Bot

Banned
Sunflower said:
No, because while it was a very good game, a lot of fun to play, and mentally dragged you in some strange places - ultimately it was just a fun experience to have and was worth playing. It wasn't that big of a deal to me and didn't affect me much.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. Nice game, nice story, but I'm not a changed man or something.
 
S

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
Sunflower said:
No, because while it was a very good game, a lot of fun to play, and mentally dragged you in some strange places - ultimately it was just a fun experience to have and was worth playing. It wasn't that big of a deal to me and didn't affect me much.
Click to expand...
Pretty much.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
Sunflower said:
No, because while it was a very good game, a lot of fun to play, and mentally dragged you in some strange places - ultimately it was just a fun experience to have and was worth playing. It wasn't that big of a deal to me and didn't affect me much.
Click to expand...

Yep, pretty much this.

It was a pretty well done game that gave me a different perspective on shooters, but it wasn't some life changing deal.
 
S

Sky Chief

Member
Ever since I got this on PS+ I have been trying to slog through it but I just find it so boring :( Unfortunately, it seems like I will never finish it and see what all the fuss is about
 
C

Cronq

Banned
Not at all.

It was a corridor shooter with ZERO options. It's a 3PS and I expected to kill lots and lots of people without asking questions and that's what I did.

Thankfully in real life a 3 man team would get slaughtered by an army.

I'm tired of people pretending like this game was profound.
 
Nemesis_

Nemesis_

Member
I don't know why this game gets so much praise for doing what it did.

IMO it went from being incredibly underrated by the masses to incredibly overrated.

Cronq said:
I'm tired of people pretending like this game was profound.
Click to expand...

I know, right? Someone wrote a fucking BOOK on this game which is just beyond pretentious.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
No, because it did not have an impact on me with it's 'shock value' moments of trying to make me question my actions. I kind of saw what was coming, and while some of it still made me cringe a bit, the game was still just an average third person shooter for me on the whole. Played it, beat it and forgot about it.
 
S

shuri

Banned
I played this title for a couple of hours before giving up. Everything about it felt cheap and undercooked :( I just don't get the hype at all. I never saw anything interesting about it; and the 'omg so profound' crap I read on the forums reeked on bordeline desperate viral marketing
 
L

LiK

Member
SniperHunter said:
I played it for 20 minutes and I am finding it hard to pick it up again...seems like a generic military shooter. I am actually into Binary Domain and Vanquish atm
Click to expand...

shuri said:
I played this title for a couple of hours before giving up. Everything about it felt cheap and undercooked :( I just don't get the hype at all!
Click to expand...

you're missing out on a great experience. The opening is nothing like the end game. Some really great twists.
 
Y

Ysiadmihi

Banned
Sunflower said:
No, because while it was a very good game, a lot of fun to play, and mentally dragged you in some strange places - ultimately it was just a fun experience to have and was worth playing. It wasn't that big of a deal to me and didn't affect me much.
Click to expand...

This is going to get quoted a lot, but yeah, pretty much true.
 
T

Takamura-San

Member
I'm still trying to figure out what was real or not in that game.

The radio talks were hallucinations right?

The remainder of the 33rd was real...right?
The dubai people fighting you were real... right?

The helicopters were real...right?

But the people at the end palace were hallucinations?
 
L

Lime

Member
No, I've always felt jarred by the popular military shooter as a genre. The only difference between Spec Ops and whatever Call of Duty game you have is that the Spec Ops chooses to comment and subvert the military tropes that have been ingrained into people's minds.

It could also have benefited a lot by not being fictional. Just like Apocalypse Now, it could actually comment on a real war or military intervention by the US. Instead, Yager played it pretty safe.
 
A

Acorn

Member
Sunflower said:
No, because while it was a very good game, a lot of fun to play, and mentally dragged you in some strange places - ultimately it was just a fun experience to have and was worth playing. It wasn't that big of a deal to me and didn't affect me much.
Click to expand...

Sums up my feelings perfectly although I thought the actual gameplay was just solid nothing more nothing less (Kinda how I feel about Bioshock Infinite, even though it's probably one of my top experiences this gen - it isn't because of the gameplay).

It's story made you think and I wish more games did that.
 
H

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
Bought it for 5 dollars, played on easy, thought it looked fairly nice and had a great soundtrack. I thought it did pretty well at what it was trying to do, and the gradual degradation of the main character was very well realized and should be an example to other developers trying to portray a harrowing journey.

My emotional reaction to the game was purely in the moment, however; it didn't stay with me or change the way I think about anything.
 
R

RustyNails

Member
shuri said:
I played this title for a couple of hours before giving up. Everything about it felt cheap and undercooked :( I just don't get the hype at all. I never saw anything interesting about it; and the 'omg so profound' crap I read on the forums reeked on bordeline desperate viral marketing
Click to expand...

The first few hours are boring, and they are set up that way in order to really drive home your "real mission" versus "scope creep". Just keep collecting intel and listen to it. It gets exponentially crazier after the first half of the game.
 
N

News Bot

Banned
Nemesis_ said:
I don't know why this game gets so much praise for doing what it did.

IMO it went from being incredibly underrated by the masses to incredibly overrated.

I know, right? Someone wrote a fucking BOOK on this game which is just beyond pretentious.
Click to expand...

It was shocking and subverted expectations while antagonizing the player along the way. I agree that it's a tad overrated by some, but it does deserve credit for its execution.

The story itself isn't anything special or groundbreaking though. It does the turning point and a few other things fantastically and is "up there" in terms of video game storytelling. But it's not literary genius or something.
 
synchronicity

synchronicity

Member
The game had no emotional effect on me whatsoever. I just felt like it was an average shooter that thought it was something more.
 
Nemesis_

Nemesis_

Member
News Bot said:
It was shocking and subverted expectations while antagonizing the player along the way. I agree that it's a tad overrated by some, but it does deserve credit for its execution.

The story itself isn't anything special or groundbreaking though.
Click to expand...

Maybe the hype and expectations I heard around these parts soured my experience. I was expecting MUCH more.

It just felt like the game that every "journalist" jumped on at the time and I feel like the bandwagoning seriously ruined it's impact for those who played it as a result.
 
S

Spring-Loaded

Member
There were a few parts in the Battlefield 4 trailer where the player shoots at people immediately upon seeing them. I had the sound down low, so I may have missed the player receiving clearance to engage, but all I could think of were the parts of Spec-Ops where you're attacking people without even knowing who they are first.
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
It was an enjoyable game with a really nice take on a story but it didn't really make me think about things outside of the game. It's going to take a long time for a game to do that to me.
 
N

News Bot

Banned
Nemesis_ said:
Maybe the hype and expectations I heard around these parts soured my experience. I was expecting MUCH more.

It just felt like the game that every "journalist" jumped on at the time and I feel like the bandwagoning seriously ruined it's impact for those who played it as a result.
Click to expand...

Yes, I think the game only works well if you go in expecting a standard shooter. Going in based on word-of-mouth soils the initial shock.
 
D

doniewhalberg

Member
Total honesty, I quit after chapter 3. Very very unengaging gameplay. I appreciate the game has a message, but you have to remember what you're making first: a game, an experience, that is interactive, and thus needs to be engaging on layers beyond the story, and it just wasn't there for me.
 
Z

ZeroAKA

Member
It would have been interesting if the game at least gave players the option to walk away from everything and end the game right there.
 
A

Acorn

Member
It's fairly short, steam says I finished it in 6 hours. Accounting for breaks it probably only takes 5 hours or so to beat. I'd encourage those of you that started it to finish it as the game really needs to be completed to be judged.
 
U

USC-fan

Banned
It would been a lot better if really you had a real choice to not kill anyone but you cant. You really have no choices to make that matter.

Really wish i could have played through it without killing anyone or kill everyone like they make you. The choice was to the gamer.
 
R

RustyNails

Member
People skipping the game because the first few hours are boring are missing out. Seriously, I don't know any other way to say it. Yeah I wish Yager could have turned the gameplay upside it's head as well like it did with storytelling, but stick with it.
 
G

ghst

thanks for the laugh
sadly, i have no desire to slog through a generic military shooter in order to have my reasons for slogging through a generic military shooter subverted after hours of boredom.
 
R

RustyNails

Member
USC-fan said:
It would been a lot better if really you had a real choice to not kill anyone but you cant. You really have no choices to make that matter.

Really wish i could have played through it without killing anyone or kill everyone like they make you. The choice was to the gamer.
Click to expand...

The developer was forced to include the multiplayer and compromise on some aspects of the single player game. But yeah, having a Heavy Rain type open ended game would've been perfect for it. But I highly doubt the publisher would've allowed it. Quantic Dream got away with it because 1st party and Sony.
 
G

Grecco

Member
RustyNails said:
People skipping the game because the first few hours are boring are missing out. Seriously, I don't know any other way to say it. Yeah I wish Yager could have turned the gameplay upside it's head as well like it did with storytelling, but stick with it.
Click to expand...

How long till it gets good"? Im at the abandoned hotel under the sand and its still generic
 
X

XaosWolf

Member
Absolutely not.

It was a dull military shooter that forces you to do something and spends the rest of the game rubbing in your face just how terrible a person you are for that and playing their and others' shooters.

The only way to enjoy that game is to not play it, it's what the developers wanted.
I am not the target audience for the game by a long shot
 
J

John

Member
spec ops the line is probably part of the reason why i can't even look at a television screen displaying a video game anymore without it visually screaming the words "VIDEO GAMES" in giant opaque white letters at me
 
P

phosphor112

Banned
Yes, it's fucking amazing. It should have gotten more awards.

The amount of details in that game... Jesus Christ... giant spoiler tag below.

Hidden sniper nests
The snipers names with tallies of people killed

Wall with Delta's pictures on it
Lugo is crossed out after a while

Normal billboards
After you do something horrible the eyes burn out/are painted out once you look away and look back
They are shutting their eyes because they cannot stand your atrocities

Only healthy tree in the area, everything is burnt to shit
Walk past it
Look back
It's dead

The mannequin scene
After that, see a mannequin
Melee it, it flashes into a real person before shattering

As the story goes on your executions become more brutal
Straight up kneecap a guy

Let Riggs die in the fire
Use your only bullet on the ibex
Achievement unlocked: The Deerhunter

Die enough
'Do you want to swap difficulties?'
Die some more
'Do you feel like a hero yet?'

Die in certain areas
The death screen doesn't appear
You just flash back to the start of the area, he shakes his head and goes, 'what the fuck?'

Entire list of the 33rd on a wall
All are crossed out except eight
Eight soldiers in the next room
'We surrender to you sir'
Go back
The eight are crossed out
Go back to the soldiers
They aren't there anymore

Vh4sO1U.jpg


fgl5w6b.jpg
Click to expand...

Pay attention to his trigger discipline

SOOOO FUCKING GOOOOOOD.
 
S

SystemBug

Member
I partially felt the same way. My little brother as well, which is funny since he's 12. He rarely plays CoD now. Just sports game.
 
R

RustyNails

Member
Grecco said:
How long till it gets good"? Im at the abandoned hotel under the sand and its still generic
Click to expand...
It should be around that time. I think The Gate chapter is very close, if not the next one.

But don't set your expectations high and think the game will suddenly become Star Fox 64 and you will be doing barrel rolls. Just keep an open head and collect intel.
 
R

RMI

Banned
serious question: If I'm already grossed out by shooters and most violence in games, is there any value to playing Spec Ops The Line? I'm kind of curious about it, but so many games not enough time etc etc.
 
R

Roto13

Member
phosphor112 said:
Yes, it's fucking amazing. It should have gotten more awards.

The amount of details in that game... Jesus Christ... giant spoiler tag below.

[spoilerz]
[/spoilerz]



Pay attention to his trigger discipline

SOOOO FUCKING GOOOOOOD.
Click to expand...

I didn't even notice a lot of this stuff. Wow. I should play it again.
RMI said:
serious question: If I'm already grossed out by shooters and most violence in games, is there any value to playing Spec Ops The Line? I'm kind of curious about it, but so many games not enough time etc etc.
Click to expand...

Sure. The game isn't really that long. I finished it in one day.
 
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