Support NeoGAF

[Fantastapotamus]

Not really sure if "Art" is the right word here, but I can't think off anything better.
A lot has been already said about Spec Ops, I personally think it is one of the most interesting games ever made, others would disagree with that. However I'm currently replaying the game, and the Art team has done a bang up job with this game. Portraying the extreme contrast between the luxury of Dubai and the horrors of war and using it to further the themes the game tries to convey. While the actual "graphics" aren't anything special, the imagery, framing and coloring is really perfectly used to convey the mood.(sadly you can't disable the UI, so it's present in most shots)

I just really like this scene

Just in case you never noticed: You are constantly descending in this game. You end up in high places like this, but you never actually go up. You only go down.

I also really like their use of sand, which is almost always present like in this scene.

This is why Dubai is an amazing setting for this game. Cause you can put outlandish looking stuff here and it doesn't feel out-of-place yet serves as a stark contrast to the outside levels of the game.

Probably the most (in)famous scene from the game. The color scheme and the imposing two towers in the background give it an additionally ghostly and surreal feeling.

I really like how they frame the Burj Khalifa (which is the place you are heading) in this scene. How it more or less stands all alone and by itself, shining and glistening in the sun.

One last picture. I chose this to show how they fuck Walker (the main character) up. Notice how his hair is almost white now because of the sand. Like the city itself, Walker has been swallowed and consumed by it.

Now, whether you think the game is a heavy handed pretentious snooze fest or a modern masterpiece that tears down other "modern military shooters" I really think the graphics and art team did a bang up job with this game. Thoughts?

 

[MarkRenton]

excellent game!

 

[sixteen-bit]

That first one could be an arty alternate cover for the game. I remember taking a screenshot of this cutscene when playing it as well.

 

[Massicot]

I have this on PC and should really try it out in 4k someday. I haven't played it and know nothing about the port though.

I agree that the art could look pretty nice at times. Sometimes the colors look weird to me though. I dunno if it's some sort of CA or something else.

 

[Lukedoc321]

Agreed. The art design is really wonderful and adds a lot.

There's a large backlash against Spec Ops: The Line. It's one of my favorite games of all time; yeah, it "forces" you to do things, but that's the point. I don't think it's a pretentious snooze-fest at all but I understand those who disagree. But I think it gets way too much hate.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Agreed. The art design is really wonderful and adds a lot.

There's a large backlash against Spec Ops: The Line. It's one of my favorite games of all time; yeah, it "forces" you to do things, but that's the point. I don't think it's a pretentious snooze-fest at all but I understand those who disagree. But I think it gets way too much hate.

What's really funny is that Walker uses the "We had no choice" argument constantly in the game to justify his actions. It's also one of my favorite games.

 

[Alkastelca]

Also fantastic soundtrack.

 

[Bumhead]

I don't think a game has ever surprised me more than this ended up doing. I'm sure I got this for free as part of a pre-order promotion on Green Man Gaming (for BioShock Infinite, if I recall correctly?) and didn't know the first thing about it before starting. Quite the journey and not at all what I expected.

 

[Garlador]

What's really funny is that Walker uses the "We had no choice" argument constantly in the game to justify his actions. It's also one of my favorite games.

Any excuse to talk about this game is great.

No game has ever made me disgusted by my own actions. I played the game and it definitely left an impact... but arguably more after I discovered all the tiny details throughout the game that I missed.

Hallucinations that only appear for a split-second. Subliminal even. Location dissonance that makes your actions literally impossible as you only descend. Etc.

But the one that "got me" was the scene where the Dubai citizens are turning on you. The crowd of people - civilians - are upset and boxing you in. I did "what I had to do" and I shot one of them. I tried to aim for his leg or something, not to kill, but to warn them off. That only made the situation worse. It descended into chaos. But I "had to", right?

... And then I discovered you can fire INTO THE AIR to scare them away. You don't have to shoot them.

"Do you feel like a hero yet?"

... I had to think on that long and hard.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Also fantastic soundtrack.

Yep. Also I liked the licensed song Glasgow Mega-Snake.

 

[sotolongospeaks]

Not really sure if "Art" is the right word here, but I can't think off anything better.

I believe "frame composition" might be the term you're looking for.

And I agree, the visuals (and even more so, the narrative) really surprised me when I first played this game. I had no intentions of playing what looked like another grey-brown dude-bro shooter which is the first impression this game gave me. I was pretty delighted to find something that was as complex as it was fascinating, from a narrative perspective.

 

[Garmonbozia]

Nolan North is really good in the game too. He gives a nuanced performance that sometimes feels like a meta-commentary on his Nathan Drake VA part.

 

[Big_Al]

Love this game and it's probably only me that ever says this, but I think it's a genuinely enjoyable shooter as well. I found it to be a lot better than mediocre anyway which I generally find it described as, shotguns are especially great.

Anyway one of my favourite things about Spec Ops The Line is that consistent feeling of constantly going 'downwards' Like you are constantly walking further into hell and that feeling never goes away right up to the end. That and the superb colour pallette/scheme really give the game a dreamy like vibe. I think it's very impressive.

 

[Whitebison]

One of the best games of the past generation!

The game got stuck in my head for a couple of days after finishing it.

 

[Garlador]

This game... just... THIS GAME.

I remember a scene in the mall, enemies all around you. You're twitchy. Finger on the trigger. And then, bam!, someone jumps out from cover and most players will immediately open fire!... on the civilian woman just trying to escape the shootout.

This game is truly a descent into hell. That's not even touching all the different, equally disturbing endings you can get.

 

[Elessar]

Thanks for reminder. Absolutely LOVE this game.

Never realized it till now that Walker only goes down the whole game. Wow. Kinda like hell.

 

[Darkwater]

The gameplay was pretty basic and shitty, as I recall. Anyone picking it up, I'd suggest they play on Easy and enjoy the story.

 

[danmaku]

Any excuse to talk about this game is great.

No game has ever made me disgusted by my own actions. I played the game and it definitely left an impact... but arguably more after I discovered all the tiny details throughout the game that I missed.

Hallucinations that only appear for a split-second. Subliminal even. Location dissonance that makes your actions literally impossible as you only descend. Etc.

But the one that "got me" was the scene where the Dubai citizens are turning on you. The crowd of people - civilians - are upset and boxing you in. I did "what I had to do" and I shot one of them. I tried to aim for his leg or something, not to kill, but to warn them off. That only made the situation worse. It descended into chaos. But I "had to", right?

... And then I discovered you can fire INTO THE AIR to scare them away. You don't have to shoot them.

"Do you feel like a hero yet?"

... I had to think on that long and hard.

The Line has so many little details that reading commentaries and discussions really pays off. I never noticed that the characters have perfect trigger discipline at the beginning but when you get to the end they don't give a shit anymore. I noticed the dialogue changing, but not that.

 

[Oynox]

This is the video game closest to an anti-war setting I can think off.

 

[Mohasus]

I took some screenshots during my gameplay too, I seldom do that.

Too bad the game is average as fuck.

 

[Fantastapotamus]

This game... just... THIS GAME.

I remember a scene in the mall, enemies all around you. You're twitchy. Finger on the trigger. And then, bam!, someone jumps out from cover and most players will immediately open fire!... on the civilian woman just trying to escape the shootout.

This game is truly a descent into hell. That's not even touching all the different, equally disturbing endings you can get.

Totally happened to me during this play through.

The Line has so many little details that reading commentaries and discussions really pays off. I never noticed that the characters have perfect trigger discipline at the beginning but when you get to the end they don't give a shit anymore. I noticed the dialogue changing, but not that.

It's not just that. Your execution animations become way more vicious at the end. There is really a lot going on in the game, and I find that it nails most, not all but most, of it really well.

Thanks for reminder. Absolutely LOVE this game.

Never realized it till now that Walker only goes down the whole game. Wow. Kinda like hell.

They even tease you with that, but obviously you wouldn't notice it until your second playthrough. (the mission objective)

 

[PillarEN]

Totally happened to me during this play through.



It's not just that. Your execution animations become way more vicious at the end. There is really a lot going on in the game, and I find that it nails most, not all but most, of it really well.

"Jesus Walker. What did you do to him"

(right after you zip line across a building)

This game is awesome. Played through 3 times.

 

[DevilDog]

"Deep down you knew, we all had to die."

Fuck it I'm reinstalling and taking pics.

The first sign you see when you start playing:

 

[horkrux]

I don't see it. Skycrapers and a shitload of sand.

 

[Zaru]

The gameplay was pretty basic and shitty, as I recall.

In a strange case of irony, the game had to have a core of a bland standard military shooter of its time to start subverting the tropes of such bland standard military shooters.
I wonder what kind of gameplay twists could have been fun to play while subverting military shooter gameplay tropes.

 

[KiefbladeMaster]

I need to actually try this game out someday. I've heard a ton of good stuff about it on here.

 

[BlizzKrut]

Honestly it's one of the best games I've ever played, loved every minute of it, great art direction too.

 

[Dad]

This game had the most egregious case of tacked on multiplayer I've ever seen, courtesy of 2K

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Nolan North is really good in the game too. He gives a nuanced performance that sometimes feels like a meta-commentary on his Nathan Drake VA part.

Yup.
So good.

 

[Manu]

This game, along with Remember Me and Alice: Madness Returns are at the top of my list of "games that were excellent at everything except for the being a game part."

 

[Jasper Avenue]

I still feel that this will be a game that people will remember for many years. The story it tells is absolutely disturbing.

 

[AudioEppa]

This game, along with Remember Me and Alice: Madness Returns are at the top of my list of "games that were excellent at everything except for the being a game part."

🤔.. Now that I think about it, that's why it was such a good game


Welcome to Dubai

 

[sammex]

Great memorable game.

So many little details that you see but necessarily pick up on until the second play through, like having your face reflect in the screen as you're using the phosphorous.

 

[Garlador]

Great memorable game.

So many little details that you see but necessarily pick up on until the second play through, like having your face reflect in the screen as you're using the phosphorous.

It really is crazy how much is obvious on a second playthrough.

Blew my mind when I found out Lugo and Adams names were on the memorial wall...

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Blew my mind when I found out Lugo and Adams names were on the memorial wall...

Woa, I didn't know that.
That's really cool

 

[LaserHawk]

Thanks for bringing this stuff up. I really enjoyed the thematic elements of the game as I played through it, but somehow I didn't pay a lot of attention to the visuals (which is weird because usually I do).

Man, Spec Ops was a really ballsy game to develop. They took a big risk in pointing a finger at their own player, especially in the gameplay genre they chose. You would expect a risk like this to be done cheaply but the art really IS good and it supports their theme. They probably wouldn't have pulled it off if the game didn't scream "High-budget Triple-A military shooter".

 

[McBradders]

I need to dig this out and play it again. Seriously fucking great.

 

[Azih]

... And then I discovered you can fire INTO THE AIR to scare them away. You don't have to shoot them.

I shot at the ground my first playthrough. It worked. They ran. My Walker was just tired and wanted it all to just end at that point.

In my top 10. Easily.

 

[Garlador]

I shot at the ground my first playthrough. It worked. They ran. My Walker was just tired and wanted it all to just end at that point.

In my top 10. Easily.

Another was "the choice" of deciding who should die: the civilian or the soldier who both committed crimes that seemed right in the moment.

It blew my mind to find out you could attack the snipers in position instead.

 

[Agraavan]

The gameplay was pretty basic and shitty, as I recall. Anyone picking it up, I'd suggest they play on Easy and enjoy the story.

I wouldn't say shitty, but definitely basic. It didn't bother me on normal play, but man was the game completely broken and not fun on FUBAR difficult. It left a really bad taste on my mouth after slugging through the game (I know, it's my fault, but I have a trophy compulsion) having to baby sit Lugo and Adam.

For that, I second your recomendation: play this gem, but try to keep the difficult on Normal or Easy.

 

[Matheulbeuk]

Can't desagree with that thread. Fantastic image and art style. Really contribuate to that " Lost in hell " feel.

 

[antitrop]

I can't believe it's been 5 years already.

 

[HeisenbergWW62]

One of the most underrated games of last gen

 

[Xe4]

Agreed, both the art direction and story were top notch. Easily in my top 5 games of last gen. The gameplay was average, but I've played worse, and the story certaibly made up for it and more.

I made the horrible mistake of playing it on hard my first time theough, and still enjoyed it tremendously.

 

[HyperZone<3]

man, the strobe-light/mannequin shootout scene is sooooo frigging good.

I think the game is fine (if not quite exceptional) mechanically, but for that single minute everything about the game is pretty much perfect.

 

[Elitist1945]

Probably the most important game I've played - its themes/messages have stayed in my mind since it came out.

I even have artwork from the game around my house.

 

[antitrop]

man, the strobe-light/mannequin shootout scene is sooooo frigging good.

Ya, I love that scene. If the game was a little longer, I would have liked to see a few more shootouts like that. Not exactly repeating the strobing vision, but something similarly disorienting.

 

[Mister_Bubbles]

Just in case you never noticed: You are constantly descending in this game. You end up in high places like this, but you never actually go up. You only go down.

Huh.

Huh.

 

[torre_avenue]

The most distressing moment in the game was the refugee camp for me.

That moment where you're just surrounded by all these poor people, having murdered your way through their volunteer force, and then the game just says "Disperse the crowd" or something like that.

And I couldn't think of a way to get rid of them aside from mowing them down. And so I did. And only later did I realize, I could have just shot up in the air to make them flee. And I just felt the guilt; I mindlessly killed people to fulfill that objective just like I had been doing the whole time. All that surrounded me was death and I had finally become death.

 

[Falchion]

I keep waiting for this to go on sale digitally because I really want to play it.