

Upon holding the prompted button, Walker enters an animation in which he stomps on his victims chest, followed by a killing blow to the head. Stone faced Walker remains composed as he stares into fearful eyes. The player is then reminded that they are still in the tutorial section when white text appears on the screen, encouraging them to ‘execute’ this man you have effectively subdued. Upon reaching the end of the closed crate, he barges the door open, sending an adversary who was holding it shut sprawling onto the sand. In the case of Spec Ops: The Line, the decision to implement an “execution” button ruined any opportunity for me to appreciate the narrative or perhaps more accurately, it was the method in which I was initially encouraged to use this ‘awesome button’.Īfter fighting through waves of enemies through makeshift corridors of abandoned cars, road signs and parts of various buildings, Walker enters a shipment crate, alone ( it seems his A.I squad would prefer not to follow him through). As of late, more and more games are experiencing this imbalance, the quality of the other aspects of a game deteriorate in favour of high quality visuals. Problems arise when the balance between a game’s visual flair and the other aspects of design is not made. This visual ‘flair’ may come in the form of an artistic style choice or specific character actions and animations. In today’s AAA video game climate, it’s becoming more and more imperative to implement a strong emphasis on visuals to compete against rival games, regardless of other decidedly important aspects of design. It’s necessary to highlight Yager and 2K Games decision to build and emphasise the game’s ‘mature’ narrative and plot, as the demo itself manages to break this structure.

While this may seem like the beginning to a review for the game, this information has been gathered from playing the demo alone.

You know the world has gone to shit when someone has gone out of their way to raise the American flag upside down. Spec Ops: The Line will be the first entry into the franchise that features an accentuation on narrative and plot. Players assume control of Captain Martin Walker who, accompanied with two other Delta force soldiers, is tasked with investigating the incident following the devastating sandstorm, and rescue a missing army Colonel. The scene from the elevated platform is eerily beautiful, a teal sky compliments the endless, orange dune covered surface a film-like visual treatment that developer Yager has adopted to accomplish their intended Hollywood style direction in their yet to be released title Spec Ops: The Line.īased upon Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now, Spec Ops: The Line promises a mature plot within a unique setting. Upon finally reaching the top of, what appears to be a dune, but is actually a sand covered freeway entrance the remaining swirls of floating sand disappear to reveal a devastated Dubai.

The player and their A.I comrades battle against gales of wind, the tail end of a devastating sandstorm that had previously brought their helicopter crashing down. Seemingly vast stretches of desert are broken apart with intermittent signs of chaos, attempted escape and desperation.
