Spec Ops: The Line. Have you tried it yet?

[Rude as HECK]

I finished the campaign not long ago, and I must say, it made me sad.

I did enjoy the game; while gameplay wise it was just a regular third person shooter- albeit a decent version of that familiar formula- it really was the plot and events that made it interesting. I was playing with no spoilers at all, meaning the last hour or so especially was quite harrowing for me.

 

[Zhukov]

Also also, the swearing got a bit ridiculous. Yes, real people swear. Yes, some swear a a lot. Yes, real people swear even more when stressed. But when your dialogue has a fuck in every sentence you're just trying too hard.

Either you have the most well-behaved Army friends in existence or no Army friends at all, for all mine, fuck is the go-to word.

Need a noun? "Fuck(ers)"
Verb/Adjective? "Fucking"
"Aw man, I know I don't narrate commas and pauses, but I'm feeling low on fucks said, so I'll use 'Fuckin''!"


Spec Ops' dialogue was pretty much accurate, as far as fucks are concerned. Real people swear, but Many, many Army people swear a metric fuckton.

During my stint in the army (the Australian army, that is) the go-to word was "****". Everything and everybody was a ****.

Even I started saying it after a while.

However, we didn't say it in literally every single sentence.

The older blokes who weren't trying to prove anything didn't swear much either.

 

[Unsilenced]

From what I've seen it looks really grimdark. I'm all for dark and gritty, but this looks like a game that really, REALLY wants to be the edgiest thing ever, which isn't good.

"OMG BURNING BABIES DEAD PUPPIES SHOOT UP AN ORPHANAGE DEATH AIDS RAPE DARKNESS SUICIDE AAAUUUGHHHH!!!"

If anyone who's played the game knows this to be not the case, please tell.

 

[Fidelias]

Well, I've been playing it, I've gotten through a good portion of it (I think), and it's definitely an above-average game.
It's well thought-out, the dialogue is pretty good (even though, yes, there are too many swear words in there) the gameplay isn't stellar but it gets the job done, and the atmosphere is excellant.

However, I'm not sure I would recommend it to people. It's kind of funny, because the reason why I can't stand playing it for too long is actually an accomplishment for the game. It makes you think. It puts you in lose-lose situations, where the characters react realistically to what happens. The bad guys aren't stereotypical cackling bastards, they actually believe what they're doing is right, and I can't completely blame them. Each kill makes you feel like you're committing a sin, each time the enemies call you 'monster' you almost agree with them.

It's a great game, but it's just not a lot of fun. Especially later on when you find out, well, I'm not going to spoil it.

I guess my view on it is; It's a great game, and definitely a step forward for the shooter genre, but it's hard to continue playing and getting immersed in it without feeling kinda depressed.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

I played the demo and enjoyed it, the three man squad had cliche interactions, but the voice acting made it clear that they cared about each other and that made me happy to see.

The combat was intense and interesting, though I really didn't care for the rail-shooter section at the beginning.

From what I've seen it looks really grimdark. I'm all for dark and gritty, but this looks like a game that really, REALLY wants to be the edgiest thing ever, which isn't good.

"OMG BURNING BABIES DEAD PUPPIES SHOOT UP AN ORPHANAGE DEATH AIDS RAPE DARKNESS SUICIDE AAAUUUGHHHH!!!"

If anyone who's played the game knows this to be not the case, please tell.

From what I've seen and read about, it's trying to emulate Heart of Darkness which was pretty dark, I'll have to play the full game before I judge whether it fails or not at that emulation.

 

[Tony2077]

i'm in a fps slump right now so i have to know for sure it'll be interesting and long enough for the price. i don't really have that problem with sci fi shooters for some reason

 

[Deimateos]

Also also, the swearing got a bit ridiculous. Yes, real people swear. Yes, some swear a a lot. Yes, real people swear even more when stressed. But when your dialogue has a fuck in every sentence you're just trying too hard.

Either you have the most well-behaved Army friends in existence or no Army friends at all, for all mine, fuck is the go-to word.

Need a noun? "Fuck(ers)"
Verb/Adjective? "Fucking"
"Aw man, I know I don't narrate commas and pauses, but I'm feeling low on fucks said, so I'll use 'Fuckin''!"


Spec Ops' dialogue was pretty much accurate, as far as fucks are concerned. Real people swear, but Many, many Army people swear a metric fuckton.

When I was in the army (the Australian army, that is) the go-to word was "****". Everything and everybody was a ****.

Even I started saying it after a while.

However, we didn't say it in literally every single sentence.

Australia being ranked much higher in education probably helps a lot, being anywhere from 13-20 places higher on the index than the US.

The USA's Army has a pretty low bar to entry too, you only need a 31/99 on the asvab test to join up (thought most score around 50). Add to this the fact that the asvab is more or less placed around a high school sophomore level, getting a 31/99 on it means the tester would be the guy for whom remembering their own name is the high point of his day. Scores like that, even at the average score, don't make for very creative cursing.

Just about every Army guy I've known or met uses fuck like they're keeping demons at bay.
I don't like saying it, but the Spec Ops guys are about on par with the lingual skills of many in the real US Army.

The older blokes who weren't trying to prove anything didn't swear much either.

For a number of older US Army guys that's true too (unless they're a drill sergeant), but a lot still lay it on thick when stressed.

 

[Unsilenced]

I played the demo and enjoyed it, the three man squad had cliche interactions, but the voice acting made it clear that they cared about each other and that made me happy to see.

The combat was intense and interesting, though I really didn't care for the rail-shooter section at the beginning.

From what I've seen it looks really grimdark. I'm all for dark and gritty, but this looks like a game that really, REALLY wants to be the edgiest thing ever, which isn't good.

"OMG BURNING BABIES DEAD PUPPIES SHOOT UP AN ORPHANAGE DEATH AIDS RAPE DARKNESS SUICIDE AAAUUUGHHHH!!!"

If anyone who's played the game knows this to be not the case, please tell.

From what I've seen and read about, it's trying to emulate Heart of Darkness which was pretty dark, I'll have to play the full game before I judge whether it fails or not at that emulation.

See that's the thing though. Is it dark, or just really trying to be dark? I've seen some spoilers about it which make it sound like it leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Amnesia was brutally dark, but it did it through subtle ways. You only read about atrocities and the rationalizations that were made to excuse them. It was left up to you to imagine the horrified looks on [redacted]'s victims.

Compare that to something like "No Russian," which can pretty easily be made hilarious. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kj4x3lyEM0]

...

You know what? That's actually a good test for grimdark. "Could you set it to Yakkity Sax?"

 

[Lovely Mixture]

See that's the thing though. Is it dark, or just really trying to be dark? I've seen some spoilers about it which make it sound like it leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Right, and I understand that. What I was trying to say (albeit horribly) was that in trying to be legitimately dark (as a homage to Heart of Darkness) it may inadvertently come off as forced to some people.

Amnesia was brutally dark, but it did it through subtle ways. You only read about atrocities and the rationalizations that were made to excuse them. It was left up to you to imagine the horrified looks on [redacted]'s victims.

Yeah I wish more games could learn from Amnesia.

Compare that to something like "No Russian," which can pretty easily be made hilarious. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kj4x3lyEM0]

...

You know what? That's actually a good test for grimdark. "Could you set it to Yakkity Sax?"

I tried my best not to laugh and failed. But what CAN'T yakkity sax make funny?

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

I played the demo...it was ok but it wasn't great. I was expecting more from the gameplay, it plays exactly like any other shooter, the story is interesting but I think a tad too militaristic for me, not my thing unfortunately...not a fan of the whole hyper realistic shooty shooty army games

 

[ElPatron]

it was just going to be a cookie cutter, boring, bland, brown cover based shooter.

And it was that. I defend games as a perfectly legit storytelling device, but it's not a book or a movie - it's prime method of engaging the player is the interaction.

If the gameplay is bland and mediocre a good story doesn't save it as a videogame.

Plus, the story is not that great. Again, I defend games as storytelling devices but that doesn't mean that any story better than Call of Duty is going to be good. If it was a movie, Spec Ops: The Line would not get great reviews.

My problem with the game is that it combined elements from videogames and movies. If you combine them you will get something that is not quite as good as either.

Also also, the swearing got a bit ridiculous. Yes, real people swear. Yes, some swear a a lot. Yes, real people swear even more when stressed. But when your dialogue has a fuck in every sentence you're just trying too hard.

It's very realistic. My father served in the Air Force, which means I go from 0 to Potty Mouth in a second when shit gets real.

not a fan of the whole hyper realistic

If Spec Ops The Line is hyper-realistic then Need for Speed: Underground 2 is a racing Sim.

Australia being ranked much higher in education probably helps a lot, being anywhere from 13-20 places higher on the index than the US.

The USA's Army has a pretty low bar to entry too, you only need a 31/99 on the asvab test

I don't think it has to do with education, the cultural background is much more important. I knew people with good education that came from shit places and shit parents. And let's face it, no matter how politically correct you want to be the armed forces are sometimes the best way out for people who come from shit places.

Round up the offspring of the average working class in any major city and give them guns, and you have the soldiers at the end of 28 Days Later.

Doesn't matter, get any highschool graduate of any cultural and economical background and they'll be swearing like a truck driver at the end of one week of bootcamp.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

I may get it for my birthday, along with Batman: Knightfall Part 2.