A 'Sequel' to Spec Ops: The Line

[NorthernStar]

Though I loved Spec Ops: The Line to death, I wouldn't ever want them to make a sequel, mostly for reasons already stated above (it would ruin the impact, Spec Ops was awesome as a standalone story, etc.).
I am, however, very curious what the writer of Spec Ops (Walt Williams) and the devs (Yager, I believe) are going to do next. Will definitely keep an eye on those guys.

Also, there are so many different questions as to what's actually going on in Spec Ops

Spoiler

Is Walker really experiencing all this? Is he stuck in his own kind of Limbo? Does he get out?

I love this ambiguity about the game, I love that we're not sure what the heck is happening (though there are some pretty strong hints in game). A sequel would potentially ruin the mystery of the original.

 

[BoredAussieGamer]

Like Bioshock, I can't see how you could get a sequel from Spec ops: the Line. The Line was about pulling the rug from under your feet and subverting your expectations. And in the sequel, that's exactly what we'll expect, ruining all of what made The Line so good.

 

[ShakalakaNoire]

I would personally love to see a military shooter that is to Full Metal Jacket what Spec Ops: The Line was to Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now, now that would be frightening as hell or you could make a game that looks at the aftermath and how most soldiers had a hard time fitting back into society e.g. First Blood, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

Nah not a full sequel, but I'd like to see a game that has some of the aspects of The Line set in a different conflict. (we need a good Vietnam game, for one...)
As a few guys are saying though, you don't want it to be too much like The Line, that'd just ruin the point as it was the kind of thing to be taken on it's own. But if a Line-ish game does come out, I don't want to see it be super drop dead serious all the time, there's way too many games like that already. In particular, drop all notion of the whole 'if you want to prevent the atrocities, stop playing' thing and make it play less like a 3rd person shooter from 10 years ago.
Spec Ops: The Line did the whole grim, morally ambigious hell thing very well. We'll probably never see another game top exactly what it did, so instead of trying to basically recreate it in a different style, it'd be better to instead take some aspects of it and use them in something else. I get that The Line isn't meant to be a fun game, but if you essentially just remake it, what the hell's the point? Why not play The Line?

My perfect game at this point would be some mish-mash of The Line, Bad Company and Fallout. If a shooter comes out that manages to be fun to play and also has something to say about what the player is doing and experiencing without taking itself too seriously, with a good dose of player options and influence on the world, then I'll be pretty damn happy.

 

[Saviordd1]

Spec Ops was perfect the way it presented itself, not only would a sequel (even if spiritual) piss on its own message it just comes down the the fact that there's nowhere to go with it. The game told what it wanted to tell, that's all there is to it.

 

[fix-the-spade]

1)Wouldn't that be a prequel

2)Would't that just be a video game version of Apocalypse Now, which technically is already the source material for Spec Ops: The Line.

1) No, but also yes. It would be a prequel as far as the internal canon goes. But it would be a sequel, the same way ODST and Reach are sequels to Halo 3, despite taking place before hand.

2) No, since Cnl Konrad's intentions were never anything else than good. Kurtz is evil in Apocalypse now, he's out for nothing more than bloodshed by the end. Konrad in Spec Ops is the closest things to a hero, he and his men are the only ones in the game trying to help the civilians of Dubai, but sees his actions subverted by infighting and outside forces, with which he is unable to cope (ultimately leading up to his radio message and... you know).

I don't think it would work too well as a game though, the theme of everything you do making it worse regardless of the intention is pretty well covered in The line.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

I loved spec ops, i loved the setting and the story. As for a sequel? Would love one but i know they could fuck it up. Maybe they could do one in afghanisan? Maybe that would work. But the The Line story is finished.

 

[Smurf McSmurfington]

I'd like a game, any game, from that studio. I wouldn't want a sequel to Spec Ops: The Line, because it probably wouldn't be as good, or it would be a rehashing of the old theme, which may or may not work, but the real issue is that there are so many themes that could be explored through gaming, and the wonderful team, Yager Development, that made Spec Ops: The Line is evidently very well suited to handling that.
My point is that a sequel would be a bit of a waste, even if it turns out to be great.

 

[cutecuddely]

A direct sequel to spec ops the line would be disastrous. It is over. Nothing more can be said about it. Walker's story is over. You also run into the bioshock problem that it does not need a sequel. When Bioshock ended it was over. Bioshock 2 was only to pounce on an idea that sold and sell it. A new game in the spec ops series with the depth of the story, and although the line did throw down its trump card, that's not to say a story of the same depth and possibly even the same emotional impact couldn't be in another game in the spec ops series. There's lots of comment about Vietnam which is an era of horrendous atrocities such as agent orange or napalm.

 

[bandit0802]

I would welcome a spiritual sequel to this, but I'm not gonna demand one. I'd be really interested to see what the writers do with it. My only rule: it can't be something like "Spec Ops 2" or "Spec Ops: The Line 2". It has to be just "Spec Ops: *insert new subtitle here*".

 

[bandit0802]

You also run into the bioshock problem that it does not need a sequel. When Bioshock ended it was over. Bioshock 2 was only to pounce on an idea that sold and sell it.

I agree. Bioshock: Infinite promises to be good because it's not copying the first one. Infinite has similar themes and mechanics (which is ok), but it's got new characters, a new setting, a new plot, and is related to the first one in name and themes only.

 

[The White Hunter]

Spec Ops: The Line is already the bastard child of an ancient shooter franchise. It's a rare positive example of the game industry's phobia of new IPs causing them to tack an old brand's name onto a completely unrelated sequel.

Kind of like what Konami did with Lords of Shadow?

OT: Nah not really, it's fairly well contained and I don't think the story demands a sequel and the mediocre gameplay certainly doesn't command a sequel.

 

[Abomination]

Spiritual? Yes.

Actual? No.

Walker's story ended at the mirror, one way or another. There's no way he would find himself on a battlefield-- okay, there's no way he would be on a battlefield in the United States Armed Forces - after what happened to him in The Line. Unless it was some crazy Meet The Pyro from TF2 type of game where he's going postal... which would be "neat" in a "oh gods why am I playing this?" kind of way.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

While I adore Spec Ops (in fact I honestly think it's the best game of this generation) a direct sequel would really damage it's message. A spiritual sequel though, something that does what Spec Ops did for a different subject, I would love to bits. Some deep themes, a good narrative, intergrating gameplay into story, etc etc. Imagne all that in, say, Silent Hill. Maybe Spec Ops could pull what Final Fantasy did before it got shit, changing the location and sotry every time, but still keeping some elements and themes.

 

[blackdwarf]

No. Some games are perfect on their own and a sequel would only be an useless add-on that adds nothing to the story. I loved Spec ops, but I really don't want a Sequel for it. Spiritual maybe, but when one of your main features of your game is, that it is a spiritual sequel from Spec ops, then everyone would kind of know what to expect, and that will hurt the experience.

Games that will try to do something similar would be great, but they should stand on their own, not trying to relate themselves with other works.

 

[Vkmies]

Spec Ops as a tactical shooter franchise is now dead. Take that series and move it into a Bioshock type of a idea, where general feel and theme of the whole thing is what gives it it's personality.

Change places, characters, wars, situtations, time periods, everything. Keep inventing new hooks for those stories. That's how you keep the series fresh, interesting and MEANINGFUL. That's how these guys would turn me into a fan.