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[CoachKevin]

I picked this up on one of the gamefly PC sales for $5 a few months back after hearing that the story was worth experiencing...

On the day I bought it, I booted it up, and put in about 90 minutes before finding it pretty boring and being distracted by other games.

Between yesterday and today I went through the whole game and I honestly felt disgusting as a gamer through much of the play through. I think a major part of it is related to my feelings about the tragedy in CT this past week. Blowing dudes heads off, especially American soldiers didn't give me that, "Fuck Yeah!" emotion that I usually get from killing locust in Gears or Zombies in L4D.

The choices that you are making were also interesting and I was surprised about the amount of choice I had (like shooting warning shots into the sky instead of the crowd), even if it did not matter in the end.

Then there were the scenes with dozens of people hanging from light posts...And the major event of you killing all the innocent civilians...Not just by shooting them, but burning them alive. Throughout the play through the most I could play is 30-45 minutes at a time because of how over stimulating and graphic it was.

All of that had a much bigger impact on me than the final reveal, that you basically were the, "bad guy."

Having just put the controller down, I feel sick to my stomach and have no interest in playing another shooter anytime soon. Maybe I just need to spend a few weeks dedicated to the SNES and my portables...

How did you guys feel after finishing the game? Am I just overreacting?

 

[antitrop]

Spec Ops is my favorite game of the year and I have not been shy about telling GAF over the last 5 months. The game does amazing things that I think other future games should learn from and maybe even copy.

It's a gaming masterpiece, as far as I'm concerned.

I have completed the game 3 times this year, each in one play through. As a war veteran the disturbing imagery did not bother me as it did you and I completed all plays on one sitting. I did appreciate the game taking itself seriously.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

antitrop will be here soon to tell you how amazing it is, but yeah, you're suppose to be feel like shit

edit: welp

 

[Hato-kun]

How did you guys feel after finishing the game? Am I just overreacting?

I played up to the decent down the buildings and thought it was fantastic. Encountering the US soldiers who opened fire on you was really eerie...

 

[Teggy]

The first time that I played and came to the scene where Lugo is hung, I shot into the crowd with an actual feeling of anger - that really surprised me.

Overall, though, it didn't make me feel any ill will towards video games. It brought out a lot of questions about politics and the fog of war, but I don't have any issue separating video games from reality.

 

[Mutanthands]

The game is meant to give you that type of reaction, to make you question your role as the "hero." It apes the standard shooter tropes and then punches you in the gut with the unintended consequences of your actions. Sounds like it worked.

 

[antitrop]

antitrop will be here soon to tell you how amazing it is, but yeah, you're suppose to be feel like shit

edit: welp

You know I have a Spec Ops bat signal everytime someone posts about it on GAF, right?

 

[U2NUMB]

Loved the game.. double dipped on 360 and PS3 and plan to play it once I build my gaming PC.

 

[antitrop]

This is all your fault.

Do you feel like a hero?

 

[WX3]

Loved the game.. double dipped on 360 and PS3 and plan to play it once I build my gaming PC.

I am also waiting to play it on my pc. 360 version first time through, the game was good fun and most importantly a bit different than I'm used to.

 

[Dascu]

Kinda disappointed about the gameplay. I was looking forward to some novel use of the sand and terrain deformation. But there was practically none of that other than a handful of gimmicks and scripted scenes.

Otherwise, it's a decent third-person shooter with competent gunplay and nice environments.

About the story: I was not particularly surprised by any of the twists, nor is it a very original or innovative concept. But for a video game, the execution and melding of story to gameplay was quite successful.

 

[billy beane]

It's a good game, and it'll be in my top 10 of this year. The story is really well told, and the gameplay is solid. I wish the sand played more of a part in the game. I really liked the few times you can shoot the glass and take out a group of enemies.

 

[antitrop]

I feel like the rarity of the sand interactions makes them kind of special. It would have been too easy to base the entire game around that mechanic and it would have been lame.

 

[Hobohodo]

This is all your fault.

Do you feel like a hero?

So used to just glazing over load screen tips that those caught me off guard completely.

 

[Meccanical]

I think you're overreacting.

 

[Dipswitch]

The games "twists" were pretty effective and certain scenes put me in a state of unease. So Yager deserves props for that. Voice acting was good as well.

Too bad the game play was exceedingly mediocre though. The context sensitive "Action" button also made me nuts as well.

Still, worth grabbing on sale.

 

[MickeyKnox]

It's pretty great adaptation of Heart of Darkness and a game that's certainly more than the sum of it's parts. Went into it completely cold a few weeks ago and went through it in one sitting and I remember going from "eh OK it's a shootbang" to "hrm, it's sorta kinda giving me Heart of Darkness vibes" to "OH SHIT, it IS Heart of Darkness" about halfway through.

After the credits and the final branch point I was awestruck that a game had hit me on the level that it did, I'm very far off on the gameplay > story end of the spectrum but this game takes what is honestly middling gameplay and wraps it in a narrative that feeds back onto the gameplay so as to make me have a physiological reaction to performing said middling actions. It's a gem that makes me hopeful about the maturation of games as a story telling medium.

 

[Type2]

Visually, I was really impressed with the game. I found myself taking time or trying to during the shootouts to really appreciate the set pieces. The graphic images, twists and characters change in tone towards you were very effective in delivering the games message. I felt that as a shooter is was competent( not really bad by any means) but it was a great story stuck in the shell of something I didn't want to play. I still haven't pushed through the last few sections of the game because of shooter fatigue. I plan to finish it up during the break.
Absolutely worth the 5$ it seems to be going for lately on the PC!

 

[sTeLioSco]

play some cod to get over it

 

[vidcons]

People praise this game every week but Kane and Lynch 2 gets nothing. Maybe I'm just the only person who finds this so attached to its source material and desire to feel bad to the point where it's a parody of the intended message.

 

[JumpJeff84]

I played the demo of this game and actually liked the feel of it as a 3rd person shooter. Then a bunch of underwhelming reviews kind of killed my interest. Maybe I should give it a shot...

 

[antitrop]

People praise this game every week but Kane and Lynch 2 gets nothing. Maybe I'm just the only person who finds this so attached to its source material and desire to feel bad to the point where it's a parody of the intended message.

I don't know where you get "parody" from. The game takes itself seriously enough to convey a good, impactful, somewhat meaningful story. It's not perfect and maybe it misses the mark in some areas, but it's still a triumphant success in my mind.

I played the demo of this game and actually liked the feel of it as a 3rd person shooter. Then a bunch of underwhelming reviews kind of killed my interest. Maybe I should give it a shot...

Maybe you were just expecting too much, because Spec Ops actually received mostly positive reviews. The 76% on Metacritic is depressingly low, but many of the more trusted sights were positive about the game.

It's pretty great adaptation of Heart of Darkness and a game that's certainly more than the sum of it's parts. Went into it completely cold a few weeks ago and went through it in one sitting and I remember going from "eh OK it's a shootbang" to "hrm, it's sorta kinda giving me Heart of Darkness vibes" to "OH SHIT, it IS Heart of Darkness" about halfway through.

After the credits and the final branch point I was awestruck that a game had hit me on the level that it did, I'm very far off on the gameplay > story end of the spectrum but this game takes what is honestly middling gameplay and wraps it in a narrative that feeds back onto the gameplay so as to make me have a physiological reaction to performing said middling actions. It's a gem that makes me hopeful about the maturation of games as a story telling medium.

Well stated, I've said as much in dozens of other GAF threads.

 

[ErikB]

This is all your fault.

Do you feel like a hero?

'Spec Ops: The Line accurately recreates the feeling of being berated by your mother for wasting your life playing video games instead of doing something more productive'

 

[antitrop]

'Spec Ops: The Line accurately recreates the feeling of being berated by your mother for wasting your life playing video games instead of doing something more productive'

There's a 90's FMV adventure game that I can't remember the name of where that is actually the ending to the game.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

It's supposed to disturb and/or sicken you. It's kinda the point.

"Freedom is what you do with what has been done to you."

 

[RooMHM]

Between yesterday and today I went through the whole game and I honestly felt disgusting as a gamer through much of the play through. I think a major part of it is related to my feelings about the tragedy in CT this past week. Blowing dudes heads off, especially American soldiers didn't give me that, "Fuck Yeah!" emotion that I usually get from killing locust in Gears or Zombies in L4D.

It is just a smarter game than those two. And I mean it's approach and story is smarter. L4d is leagues ahead the other two in terms of gameplay and actual "thinking" of how gameplay should work.

 

[antitrop]

"DO THE WORDS FRIENDLY FUCKING FIRE MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU GUYS!?"

Lugo had the best lines in the game, throughout.

 

[ErikB]

There's a 90's FMV adventure game that I can't remember the name of where that is actually the ending to the game.

Spec Ops: The Line is the only game I have ever regretted buying, because I really don't want games with the mission statement of accurately recreating the feeling of being berated by your mother for playing video games when you could be doing something more productive to catch on.

 

[sonicmj1]

Spec Ops: The Line is the only game I have ever regretted buying, because I really don't want games with the mission statement of accurately recreating the feeling of being berated by your mother for playing video games when you could be doing something more productive to catch on.

Have you played more than an hour of it yet?

 

[ErikB]

Have you played more than an hour of it yet?

I don't wanna be lectured at.

:0)

 

[antitrop]

I don't wanna be lectured at.

:0)

I think you overestimate your own point. It's not overbearing, but rather tastefully done.

 

[antitrop]

I would also like to mention that Spec Ops: The Line is currently 50% at $14.99 for the Steam Winter Sale.

It's likely to be 75% later, though.

 

[News Bot]

Ignore ErikB.

Fantastic game even though the actual gameplay is rather so-so for the most part. I don't buy the whole "intentionally mediocre gameplay to send-up other mediocre action titles" observation, though everything else is fantastic and really makes the whole thing a great experience. I'd usually say I'd like more games like it, but I fear that this type becoming popular would lead to over-saturation and a general loss of focus. Then it would just be mediocre action title with overblown violence.

 

[CHEEZMO™]

"DO THE WORDS FRIENDLY FUCKING FIRE MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU GUYS!?"

Lugo had the best lines in the game, throughout.

"Well for future reference I prefer my beaches with a 3:1 sexy lady dead body ratio."

Genuinely laughed out loud when I first heard that, which is incredibly rare for me with a game.

I want a Lugo game.

 

[Teggy]

How many Americans have you killed today?

 

[antitrop]

"Well for future reference I prefer my beaches with a 3:1 sexy lady dead body ratio."
I want a Lugo game.

"Lugo, do you even hear the shit coming out of your mouth?"

As good as Lugo was, Nolan North really did an incredible job with Captain Walker, as well.

 

[volpone]

Spec Ops: The Line is the only game I have ever regretted buying, because I really don't want games with the mission statement of accurately recreating the feeling of being berated by your mother for playing video games when you could be doing something more productive to catch on.

The fuck. Did you completely misunderstand the game or are you being deliberately obtuse?

And the game handled its themes pretty conservatively. If you're angry at a piece of media for trying to tell you some kind of truth well then, I guess it's good you're a fan of videogames. I assume you avoid the news then?

 

[params7]

The more I hear about it the more I can't wait to play this. Will it go further than 50% of on steam soon?

 

[sonicmj1]

Anyways, Spec Ops is supposed to make you feel that way. I didn't have as intense a reaction as you did, but I was still pretty shellshocked.

I wouldn't want too many more games like it (the contrast is the whole point), but there are definitely some things people could learn from it.

 

[1871]

I don't wanna be lectured at.

:0)

What a depressing message. I guess you don't read much, or watch movies that have any idea worth thinking about.

Spec Ops is my absolute game of the year.

 

[CHEEZMO™]

"Lugo, do you even hear the shit coming out of your mouth?"

"No I do not sir. I find it messes with my rhythm."

Lugo <3

I was so pissed with what happened to him. Why couldn't it be the other dude? I can't even remember his name.

 

[Refreshment.01]

I picked this up on one of the gamefly PC sales for $5 a few months back after hearing that the story was worth experiencing...

On the day I bought it, I booted it up, and put in about 90 minutes before finding it pretty boring and being distracted by other games.

Between yesterday and today I went through the whole game and I honestly felt disgusting as a gamer through much of the play through. I think a major part of it is related to my feelings about the tragedy in CT this past week. Blowing dudes heads off, especially American soldiers didn't give me that, "Fuck Yeah!" emotion that I usually get from killing locust in Gears or Zombies in L4D.

The choices that you are making were also interesting and I was surprised about the amount of choice I had (like shooting warning shots into the sky instead of the crowd), even if it did not matter in the end.

Then there were the scenes with dozens of people hanging from light posts...And the major event of you killing all the innocent civilians...Not just by shooting them, but burning them alive. Throughout the play through the most I could play is 30-45 minutes at a time because of how over stimulating and graphic it was.

All of that had a much bigger impact on me than the final reveal, that you basically were the, "bad guy."

Having just put the controller down, I feel sick to my stomach and have no interest in playing another shooter anytime soon. Maybe I just need to spend a few weeks dedicated to the SNES and my portables...

How did you guys feel after finishing the game? Am I just overreacting?

Sorry but i don't believe for a second you got "sick" for playing this game, guess you are exagerating to give some extra impact to your post.

There are more graphical disturbing games. Related to this, i feel like Spec Ops wasn't as efective because
of how tame the depection of violance was. It needed to be more graphic and crude.

Didn't he got banned precisly for missbehaving in another of thread about this game. And he keeps coming? What's up with the obsession? And the magic is working again, thread highjack confirmed.

 

[Ikuu]

Loved the game, also liked how they don't show all your options and let you try something to see if the game allows it.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

"Lugo, do you even hear the shit coming out of your mouth?"

As good as Lugo was, Nolan North really did an incredible job with Captain Walker, as well.

North was fantastic. I loved how Walker degenerated over the course of the story, his voice really gave it weight as he was coming apart on his way to being fully unhinged.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

'Spec Ops: The Line accurately recreates the feeling of being berated by your mother for wasting your life playing video games instead of doing something more productive'

Spec Ops: The Line is the only game I have ever regretted buying, because I really don't want games with the mission statement of accurately recreating the feeling of being berated by your mother for playing video games when you could be doing something more productive to catch on.

I don't wanna be lectured at.

:0)

I'm having the worst feeling of deja vu.

 

[NinjaBoiX]

That's a spoilerific OP right there!

I know it's an LTTP, and most folk in here will have played it, but still, could've tagged them.

I've played it before, so it didn't bother me, but some people like to dip into these threads to see some opinions to decide whether it's worth a shot. Just sayin', the spoiler button is free!

Anyway, I thought it was slightly below par, both mechanically and technically, but the story was well told, and it had a decent soundtrack. Worth a play, and I'd play it again.

 

[antitrop]

Sorry but i don't believe for a second you got "sick" for playing this game, guess you are exagerating to give some extra impact to your post.

There are more graphical disturbing games. Related to this, i feel like Spec Ops wasn't as efective because
of how tame the depection of violance was. It needed to be more graphic and crude.

You sure about that?

 

[ErikB]

The fuck. Did you completely misunderstand the game or are you being deliberately obtuse?

And the game handled its themes pretty conservatively. If you're angry at a piece of media for trying to tell you some kind of truth well then, I guess it's good you're a fan of videogames. I assume you avoid the news then?

Largely, I'd rather not have to suffer through a wave of games intended to give you grief for playing them.

Find a theme other than the value of playing video games please.

 

[UltimateIke]

You sure about that?

Yeah, the white phosphorus scene was pretty rough.

 

[Meccanical]

You sure about that?

Pretty tame.