Finished Spec Ops The Line last night, and still thinking hard about it. DAT TWIST. All the endings are great. It surpassed my expectations from all the hype around its story, because it's all directly tied to gameplay. The grey moral choices where you're still given complete freedom to have the alternative option of not doing anything. All the little attention to detail like melee executions getting more drawn out, menu screen changing based on progression, "star spangled banner" getting more noisy, Walker's facial damage reflecting level progression. The design decision of fallen enemies writhing in pain, so the player has to make the choice of either going for the brutal executions to get ammo in tight situations, or wait it out to show mercy. This is directly tied to how limited the ammo can be, unlike most military shooters.

This is the perfect way of storytelling or "ludonarrative" in videogames, and this style needs to be adopted more instead of relegating storytelling to cutscenes (which was just a technical reason back in the day). Adam and Lugo will constantly react to your moral decisions and one of them might be pretty angry throughout the remaining playthrough. I appreciate the GATE moment not being up to choice, it makes for a legitimately gruesome "what have I done?!" moment that twists the usual power fantasy bombing runs in Modern Warfare where you see the consequences. That horrific image of the mother holding her child will be forever seared into my head.

I should have expected the twist, but damn now I need to play it again to see if it all fits together (and possibly look for the holes).

I've played other games this year that also have great stories:

Journey

Dear Esther

Darkness 2

(still need to finsh Resonance)

But I think The Line's affected me the most, because of a few reasons. The fate of Walker's character at the end. The character development of your squad, and of Walker especially where Nolan North sells it as this man slowly growing insane and ferocious (when he says "reloading" later on, it's downright creepy). It does something quite different from Apocalypse Now with its twist, so it's not as predictable. Also, first military shooter with a story that turns the whole genre on its head. We don't need to pine for Six Days in Fallujah to be made now to be the shooter where I actually care where my bullets land, we've got this.

I haven't played The Line yet, but for me I'd say The Walking Dead is my favorite story this year so far. Even though there are more episodes coming, the incredibly emotional character moments and moral narrative choices really affected me. I think The Darkness 2 and Journey had very good stories too.

I'm about 3 hours in. Chapter 7 or 8 I believe? Really enjoying it and Im starting to see things are getting tense between the soldiers.

Also I gotta say I enjoy the gameplay. The thing that's different is your weapons are powerful. There are no spongy enemies ( except the armored guys) and that just feels different. Idk gameplay is nothing different but I enjoy it. Cannot wait to see more

Also I don't give a fuck what you say, Nolan north plays his part excellent. Sounds a bit too drakey? Maybe. But overall he builds a great character

This game did nothing for me. The gameplay was dull cover-shooting. The story is old-hat. The choices were a bit too invibisle to me - often times I felt like the game told me to do a specific thing when in actuality I had a choice (the white phosphorus comes to mind).

Then to throw in that I finished the entire game on Normal in 3 hours? No thanks. To each their own, but this game is getting far more hype than it deserves.

@ascholzk said:

...The Walking Dead is my favorite story this year so far...the incredibly emotional character moments and moral narrative choices really affected me.

It also does a WAY better job of giving the player a feeling of cognitive dissonance. This is a very arcade shooter with too much gratuitous violence to give it's moral dilemma theme any weight.

Spec Ops beat the hell out of Uncharted 3 for me in every single way so that's a damn good point in favor of it. The reasons for this comparison should be obvious.

I'm just annoyed that this game seems to be doing what nier did (make you feel like a terrible person for playing it) but no one cared about Nier :( I'm sure this is good, just yah.

@Animasta:

I cared about Nier. I cared about Emil dammit. I cared about Kalil and P-33... they made me do it. I didn't know....

@Animasta said:

I'm just annoyed that this game seems to be doing what nier did (make you feel like a terrible person for playing it) but no one cared about Nier :( I'm sure this is good, just yah.

I loved Nier, but it was a niché game. And classified as JRPG. Not a good reputation to begin with. It'll remain one of my favourite games though, a rather unique emotional experience. The part about the two brothers got me the most, sub-story wise.

I liked Journey because it told a great story without saying anything, that along makes it really stand out to me.

@buckybit said:

@AssInAss: While I agree about Journey, Darkness 2 and DEAR ESTHER (ok, that latter, wasn't a game, but we need more stories told in game-engines?), I have to disagree with you about Spec Ops: The Line to some degree.

IMHO, this game lacks of very basic and important premices any story should provide the reader OR player with. I tend to agree with Garnett Lee from Shacknews, who expressed his criticism in the latest Weekend Confirmed 119 Podcast, featuring Adam Sessler.

I do like the term "ludonarrative" and I know what you mean by that. It does work in favor of this game, to some extend. But - on the other hand - you are never sure when you have the freedom to choose and when not?

Like @ds8k: I had the same issues. Early on, I was trying to NOT shoot "enemies". Either the game did not allow me to choose a different path or I was punished (=killed) for not killing somebody. Why are they "enemies" at all was never clear to me.

The story lacks of motivation. Who am I? Why am I leading 2 men alone without a clearer objective then just to 'rescue' the people of Dubai? Why is there no communication with my command after the first encounters and things started to go wrong? Where is my backup? Where is my plan B? Why is there no concrete 'search and rescue' mission? I started killing the 33rd instead starting to search for a n s w e r s.

I get that it was part of the storyline to have me NOT ask questions and keep killing. But, in the end, you cannot BLAME me for doing that, if you don't really give me a choice? Phosphorus or bullets makes no difference in the end?

If the game is going for realism, then it has to have plausible answers to those questions?

I do get the 'idea' Yager was shooting for. It is interesting. It is bold ... but also, rather badly executed - again, IMHO.

And then, there is the game, the way the developers wanted it to be, but we will never find out. Because, according to the lead designer Cory Davis, the team had to make significant changes to the story after focus testing the game.

Good post. The white phosphorus bit is the only sequence with no choice, that's a linear decision to show Walker's character deteriorating and to have the endgame reveal with Konrad's painting. Other than that, I was pretty clear when I had choices. The very first enemy encounter with the insurgents on the bus, one of them gets fidgety and shoots first if you wait, so you have right to attack them and label as "enemies" to set up the twist that they're just rebels fighting against the 33rd.

You're Captain Walker who has previously worked with Konrad in a Kabul mission, and when you hear the distress call from Dubai from 2 weeks ago, you decide to go there with Adam and Lugo for a rescue mission but really Walker's obsessed with Konrad and just wants to see what happened to him as a favor for saving him in Kabul. It's obvious Walker doesn't have a clear objective and is doing this for personal reasons rather than a genuine need to rescue civilians. It's not a concrete 'search and rescue' mission because it has become civil war as civilians have taken arms as rebels and labelled as "insurgents".

Why don't they keep in contact with higher chain in command and ask for backup? Good question, that might be a logic hole. I need to play it again to see if they call for backup. Or it could be justified that Walker doesn't want anyone else to know what he's about to do on this "mission".

Darkness 2? Really? I love the characters and the dialogue, but the story was kinda predictable, especially the ending twist. It was entertaining all the same, but it's not what I'd hold up high for its story material.

@buckybit said:

@AssInAss: I just mentioned this in some other forum. I DID have to shoot somebody 2/3rds into the game. Some soldier, who knew me by name. He was lying on the floor bleeding and at the end of his little dialog, he slowly raised his pistol. I was convinced, this was a perfect moment to flesh out my motivations or the plotline of the story, if it all wasn't just a McGuffin to begin with, of course. If I did not shoot him, he shot me. Game over.

There's another scene, where one of my guys was kept hostage, gun to his head, inside a building. All I was allowed to do was to take the sniper gun and shoot the other guy. Many scenes like this, where I would have chosen NOT to shoot, just because the story (rather my motivation) was STILL not clear to me in this game (of course, this was deliberate, as we now all know).

Starting the game, I was prepared to explore the game, but from the get go the game mechanics let me to believe, this is another dumbo CoD. Shooting is the purpose of a shooter. So I did it. Not 'every' time, but there was no 'real' choice, since the path was already made for Walker (and the player). Maybe I have to play it a couple more times, in the future.

You see my angle? I don't mind the game being 'clever' to some degree, but it leaves me empty. I feel played, which - again - could speak for the game; yet it feels cheap. To me, at least.

Which soldier are you talking about that calls out your name, the one that you zip-line into that you hallucinate as Adams? Or Riggs pinned down by his truck? Which chapter?

About your team being taken hostage, why would you choose not to shoot? Both Adams and Lugo would've died, and game would be over. Maybe they could've added an outcome there where one of them gets captured while the other is set free, and you live by that decision but that was I think the point of the first decision where whether you choose Adam's save civilian decision or Lugo's save soldier decision.

There is quite a bit of the game playing you, yes, that seems intentional that you're forced into some outcomes that aren't nice and those left an impact on me (and quite a few others). Those I chalk up to establishing Walker as more of a villain who's mind is so fractured that he can't discern any morals and needs to create a Konrad substitute as an easy blame for his horrific actions.

@buckybit said:

@AssInAss: Why is there no communication with my command after the first encounters and things started to go wrong? Where is my backup?

Asked the lead writer about this and he had this to say:

About back-up, Adams in Chapter 7 asks for an evac team, but Walker says helos would cut them down.

"...there's two answers to that."

So,...what was the 2nd answer?

I also don't buy the storm wall as a plausible explanation. There's only a few instances in the game where there's actually sand storm conditions.

@ascholzk said:

I haven't played The Line yet, but for me I'd say The Walking Dead is my favorite story this year so far. Even though there are more episodes coming, the incredibly emotional character moments and moral narrative choices really affected me. I think The Darkness 2 and Journey had very good stories too.

Yeah my vote goes for The Walking Dead (so far, but I think they're going to continue this great streak), Journey or The Witcher 2.

@ds8k said:

This game did nothing for me. The gameplay was dull cover-shooting. The story is old-hat. The choices were a bit too invibisle to me - often times I felt like the game told me to do a specific thing when in actuality I had a choice (the white phosphorus comes to mind).

Then to throw in that I finished the entire game on Normal in 3 hours? No thanks. To each their own, but this game is getting far more hype than it deserves.

This game got no hype at all, dude.

An average score of 7.5/10 from review sites and users is hardly hype. More like a cult following from a handful of members on most forums that chat about it, and primarily due to most shooters not having a story anything like it. Even though I feel the gameplay doesn't fit the story, I do give it credit for originality.

Also, play it on Fubar if you can beat it on Combat Op in a few hours. It's not the game's fault that you played it on such an easy mode that you could comfortably hide behind cover while popping out to shoot. On Fubar you don't always have that luxury.

@AssInAss said:

@buckybit said:

@AssInAss: Why is there no communication with my command after the first encounters and things started to go wrong? Where is my backup?

Asked the lead writer about this and he had this to say:

About back-up, Adams in Chapter 7 asks for an evac team, but Walker says helos would cut them down.

@Frag_Maniac said:

"...there's two answers to that."

So,...what was the 2nd answer?

I also don't buy the storm wall as a plausible explanation. There's only a few instances in the game where there's actually sand storm conditions.

It's laid out pretty clearly in the very end, guys.

@AssInAss: I had a feeling you'd be into this game, being intelligent and all.

One of us.

One of us.

One of us.

The community forming around The Line is pretty cool, if I can be honest. Everyone knows exactly what Yager accomplished are in awe from it. Eventually history will remember this game in a very fond light, even if it doesn't sell millions of units now.

I still hope it will, though.

@Oldirtybearon:

You can count +1 from me :]

@iAmJohn said:

@AssInAss said:

@buckybit said:

@AssInAss: Why is there no communication with my command after the first encounters and things started to go wrong? Where is my backup?

Asked the lead writer about this and he had this to say:

About back-up, Adams in Chapter 7 asks for an evac team, but Walker says helos would cut them down.

@Frag_Maniac said:

"...there's two answers to that."

So,...what was the 2nd answer?

I also don't buy the storm wall as a plausible explanation. There's only a few instances in the game where there's actually sand storm conditions.

It's laid out pretty clearly in the very end, guys.

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

The hallucination of Konrad chastises Walker (and the player by proxy) after he discovers Konrad's corpse for spending the game trying to feel like something he's not - a hero. That his drive to rescue everyone and single-handedly save Dubai destroyed everything and cost him the lives of his squad and 5,000 survivors. They make it pretty clear that they can walk away and get help the entire time, but Walker's arrogance leads them down the same path that killed Konrad and the Damned 33rd. He disobeyed orders and forced Delta Squad into a war they couldn't comprehend, and instead of turning back he blamed others for the blood on his own hands which fueled his Hero Complex even more.

That's a really good summary, Walker is clearly disobeying orders and the game is really about him trying to desperately be a hero, when he's anything but when he decides for the player there's no choice but to use the White Phosphorus and other actions later on.

@AssInAss: In the late game loading screens, you know what I mean. Did you get the feeling that the tool tips were written to sound petulant and mocking? That's the tone I got from them. Like they were tongue in cheek. Especially "You're still a good person."

@Klei: The numerous threads claiming this game has the best video game story ever would beg to differ with you.

@Frag_Maniac: I assume you're talking to me? I played the game on Normal and beat it in three hours. Although I normally play games at the highest difficulty available, the only reason I played this game was to see the life-changing story people were raving about.

@ds8k said:

@Klei: The numerous threads claiming this game has the best video game story ever would beg to differ with you.

I think you should google what '' hype '' means. '' Hype '' doesn't exist once a product is launched. Hype is before a product is launched.

@Klei: hype - promote or publicize (a product or idea) intensively, often exaggerating its importance or benefits

I'm sorry, but where am I wrong?

Man. This game is good. Didn't go into it for multiplayer. Just a single story and it delivers. Granted the controls got me killed more than enough times. But a great story trumps getting murdered every once in a while.

You havent played Xenoblade Chronicles yet so no.

@Oldirtybearon said:

@AssInAss: In the late game loading screens, you know what I mean. Did you get the feeling that the tool tips were written to sound petulant and mocking? That's the tone I got from them. Like they were tongue in cheek. Especially "You're still a good person."

"Do you feel like a hero yet?"

"You cannot understand, nor do you want to."

"Can you even remember why you came here?"

"Walker's obsession with Konrad has brought nothing but destruction - to Dubai and his squad."

"This is all your fault."

It seems to be pretty much an internal dialogue/diary inside Walker's mind talking to himself.

I just finished it after buying it half off from Amazon, and.. wow. I played it on Normal, took me about 7 hours to get through, marathoned across two nights. I don't know how I feel about this game, other than I feel dirty. I'm still trying to make sense of it.

@theimmortalbum said:

I just finished it after buying it half off from Amazon, and.. wow. I played it on Normal, took me about 7 hours to get through, marathoned across two nights. I don't know how I feel about this game, other than I feel dirty. I'm still trying to make sense of it.

that pretty much sums it up for me. only i played it in one sitting. I know i liked it, but maybe not taking much of a break and playing it in one go, was a bit sensory overload for me.

Yeah it's clear Walker went bonkers, that much is obvious, but at the start of the game they have him acting like he knows something is awry and suspects bad intel, yet he makes no attempt to send a SItRep early on.

Just the fact that the devs erroneously claim one of the reasons for no attempted communication with HQ is the storm wall when in fact 90% of the game (including the start) is in good weather conditions points out obvious flaws.

I understand the premise of the story, but it's weakness lies in there not being enough going on early in the game to flip his lid so suddenly, coupled with the fact that the non stop relentless killing somewhat defeats the moral dliemma of the story.

One of my first thoughts on my 2nd play through after seeing how the story ends, is that Walker in that early scene where he says "I thought we were here to rescue people", could just as well be taken as him starting to lose his mind more from simple sun stroke than what was going on battle wise.

As I've said before, it's a story that gets praise because it skates by on the fact that it's unique to the shooter genre and has some rather gripping shock value, albeit forced upon you. It certainly lacks polish in some respects though.

@ds8k,

You did kinda scoff at the game for the short length, yet you didn't really try it on the hardest level. I also felt the reason given didn't make sense. The story is the same regardless of difficulty level you play on. Anyone used to playing on the hardest level as you say shouldn't be so distracted by it that you miss story details. And for the record, "Normal", which I assume you're intending to mean default difficulty level, is actually designated Combat Op in the game menu, like I said.

@Frag_Maniac: I had no interest in playing on a harder difficulty. My opinion of the game wouldn't have changed - it is still an incredibly short game with too high of an asking price and a "been done" storyline. What would playing on Hard have done? Add another 30 or 60 minutes maybe? Whoop-dee-doo. It's still too short to warrant $60. Maybe other people will take longer with this game, but when I've blown through half of a game in an hour, there's something wrong.

And for the record I don't care what arbitrary name the developer gave to difficulty levels.

@ds8k said:

@Frag_Maniac: I had no interest in playing on a harder difficulty. My opinion of the game wouldn't have changed - it is still an incredibly short game with too high of an asking price and a "been done" storyline. What would playing on Hard have done? Add another 30 or 60 minutes maybe? Whoop-dee-doo. It's still too short to warrant $60. Maybe other people will take longer with this game, but when I've blown through half of a game in an hour, there's something wrong.

And for the record I don't care what arbitrary name the developer gave to difficulty levels.

Wow you're so wrong.

I played it on Suicide Mission from the start, and it forced me to play smarter and experience the "grind" as the characters did. By the end of my one-sitting 10 hour marathon of The Line, I was as frayed and shell-shocked as Captain Walker was. There was a point where I was actively yelling at the TV during executions because I was pissed off, and you know what? I'm still not sure why. There's something inviting about a game allowing you to lose control and revel in the madness of it all. Spec Ops doesn't penalize or coddle you, which I find refreshing. I made the choices I made and I felt like a dirty, awful person for it. It wasn't the game telling me that, it was my conscience emerging from the insanity of Dubai and, like Walker, asking myself what the fuck I had done. By the epilogue I was numb and in a daze. I watched the final scenes roll unable to function for a moment, until the credits kicked in and I snapped out of it.

As for the "Been done" story, that's irrelevant. We can argue semantics over how every story is, at its core, one of four archetypes. We can even say that Spec Ops was heavily inspired by Heart of Darkness, and it was, definitely, but what Yager achieved with that inspiration in the medium of video games is something that can't be spat on. Apocalypse Now was a good movie, but in all of its wonderful cinematography and haunting depictions of soldiers slowly going insane, it didn't make me feel it like Spec Ops did. That's why Spec Ops: The Line is a powerful game that deserves every ounce of praise and recognition it gets. I wasn't watching someone go insane, I was going there myself. I came away from The Line numb, awed, and with a better understanding of how easy it is to make that one, fatal slip and "cross the line."

I paid $59.99 for Spec Ops: The Line and I cherished every bit of it. It's a shame you apparently can't see why this game is a milestone.

There was a story in Journey?

@Oldirtybearon:

Nice read.

@Oldirtybearon: My opinion is wrong? My experience is wrong because I was able to clear the game faster than you?

Look, it's clear that you enjoyed the game. That's fine - I'm not trying to say you're bad for liking this game. I like plenty of games that other people shit on. My experience with Spec Ops was a mediocre one. That does not mean I'm wrong at all. This game is a B-shooter that tried to do more than the genre allowed. It's an OK story wrapped in boring, over-done gameplay.

Calm the hell down Walker.

@Frag_Maniac said:

Yeah it's clear Walker went bonkers, that much is obvious, but at the start of the game they have him acting like he knows something is awry and suspects bad intel, yet he makes no attempt to send a SItRep early on.

Just the fact that the devs erroneously claim one of the reasons for no attempted communication with HQ is the storm wall when in fact 90% of the game (including the start) is in good weather conditions points out obvious flaws.

Maybe I'm wrong, but the sense I got was that the sandstorms aren't a localized issue - they're happening all over Emirate and not just in Dubai city, but the end result is that it's created a wall/dead zone around the city where the only communications that can potentially break through the storm wall is the Radioman's equipment (and we all know what happens to that). Essentially. Dubai is in the eye of the storm; things are generally peaceful (though storms continue to occasionally blow through) but they're surrounded on all sides, hence why the 33rd is still unable to lead an evacuation after six months.

The Walking Dead takes the trophy

@ds8k said:

@Frag_Maniac: I had no interest in playing on a harder difficulty. My opinion of the game wouldn't have changed - it is still an incredibly short game with too high of an asking price and a "been done" storyline. What would playing on Hard have done? Add another 30 or 60 minutes maybe? Whoop-dee-doo. It's still too short to warrant $60. Maybe other people will take longer with this game, but when I've blown through half of a game in an hour, there's something wrong.

And for the record I don't care what arbitrary name the developer gave to difficulty levels.

It took me 8 hours and cost me like £15. Hard mode definitely is a lot harder than normal I take it if it took people 3 hours or so. I think the whole thing had more of an impact on those who played it on the easier mode and took less time with it, by the looks of these threads. Although tbh why you're getting aggressive about it you not liking it I do not know.

@ds8k said:

What would playing on Hard have done? Add another 30 or 60 minutes maybe? Whoop-dee-doo. It's still too short to warrant $60. Maybe other people will take longer with this game, but when I've blown through half of a game in an hour, there's something wrong.

And for the record I don't care what arbitrary name the developer gave to difficulty levels.

Apparently you're not aware of how atypical, smug, and yet feigned it sounds for you to on the one hand complain about how quick your play through was, and on the other not be the least bit interested in anything harder than the default difficulty level. I guess you'll never know how Suicide Mission or Fubar feels, because you simply lack the balls to try it despite tooting your horn about how quickly you can shoot your way through the game. Most that brag like that insist on playing on the hardest available difficulty level their first play through, in which case it can take considerably longer. It also doesn't just add some play time, the challenge obviously makes the experience more palpable.

As for the details on the monikers given to the difficulty levels, you followed up my saying you played it on one of the "easier" modes by clarifying you played it on "Normal", as if to point out that you weren't playing on the "easiest" mode, Walk on the Beach, which I'd already guessed. However, for the record, using the ACTUAL dev name for the modes tends to avoid such confusion, which was my point. Of course you chose to answer in defense anyway though, because I'm sure, like the complaint about the length, somewhere in your sub conscience you know you're in denial a bit.

@iAmJohn,

Yeah I kinda thought that was their unexplained explanation if you will, but it doesn't really make sense. The weather in your immediate surroundings through most of the game is clear enough to see any distant storms kicking up around the city, yet instead they show you clear skies and skyscrapers off in the distance to show off their graphics. You can't have it both ways and expect it to be believable.

@Frag_Maniac: Wow man, chill the fuck out. I don't have the balls to try it? I'm not here to brag about anything - playing the game on a higher difficulty would do nothing but artificially lengthen the game. There's no getting around the fact that I was able to casually finish the game in three hours on Normal. I can easily point you to my achievements where I've finished Hard Reset on Insane and all the Call of Duty games on Veteran. It's just a matter of not being interested in playing another third-person cover-based shooter.

In what world is the middle difficulty NOT considered Normal by everyone? I never said I played it on an "easier" mode. My very first post in this thread says I finished it on Normal. And what exactly am I in denial about?

I didn't day you DID say easier, I said I said it was an easier mode, because it is in fact one of the two easier difficulty modes, plain and simple. It keeps coming back to the fact that your rant sounds pointless because harder modes always means longer play time AND an exciting vs boring level of challenge. Anyone that's played COD games on Vet ought to know that.

Kinda funny how you keep tossing ought smug comments like "casually" finished it, "been done" storyline, "artificially" lengthen, etc, yet you can't even handle someone telling you to man up and play it on the harder modes if you're so good. It's clear you've been speaking with conceit and contempt in the first place, so the Hard Reset and CoD comments aren't surprising. Nor is it surprising that they are actually very ho hum arcade shooters. So why your ragging on this one doesn't make much sense really, or the fact that you suffice with the default mode after playing the others you mentioned on the hardest mode.

@Frag_Maniac: Sorry, the first sentence of the second paragraph was a bit hard to follow and I couldn't tell what you were getting at.

I didn't toss out any smug comments. You're reading far too much into my comments here - I said I casually finished it to convey that I was not attempting to speed-run the game. Also, what is smug about saying playing on hard would artifically lengthen the game? It's the truth, and it's exactly what you're telling me to do. Play it on hard because then it will last longer. I'm trying to say that making the experience last longer will change nothing, and might actually affect my opinion negatively.

Man up? Christ, are we talking about video games still? This isn't some dick-waving contest. I brought up Hard Reset and CoD because those are two games I chose to play on the hardest difficulty. Hard Reset because I enjoy that style of game (I'm an old-school arena shooter fan) and CoD only because I've always played them on Veteran, and it'd be wrong to change now. Plus they're really not that hard. Nobody has ever come out and tried to claim that either of those two games had "stories of the year," and if they did, I'd be the first person to call bullshit on that. I sufficed with Normal on this game because playing yet another cover shooter does nothing for me and I have no previous commitments to focus on.

Have you stopped to think that the game wasn't so hard for me because I'm playing on a PC with mouse and keyboard? I see you're an Xbox guy. Had I used a controller for this game it probably would have taken me more time to beat. My opinion, however, would still be the same and would still be valid.

Why has this so deeply offended you? You're on the internet. I have not punched your mother in the face. Chill the fuck out. It's a video game. Guess what? People have differing opinions.

You go on about how you played Hard Reset and CoD on the harder modes, yet that's somehow NOT artificially lengthening them? You are so full of contradictions and nonsesne it's clear you're speaking more out of disgruntled angst than common sense. You even implied at one point third person shooters aren't worth playing. After all you've said there doesn't appear to even be any reason for you to have bought the game, or did you? For that matter, what's the point of your hanging out on the forum of a game you clearly don't like? Do you think you're going to convince all those that do that it's not worth their time too? You come here whining like a troll and tell ME to chill out, really? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds. What I've said above was not anger, mere facts. You're the one spouting troll speak.

@Frag_Maniac: I never said it didn't artificially lengthen those games, now did I? I did say that playing CoD on Veteran is tradition and Hard Reset brings me back to the Painkiller/Serious Sam days, so playing on Insane brought a certain level of enjoyment. I have no attachment to the Spec Ops: The Line series, so playing on a harder difficulty gives me no greater enjoyment. I'm not full of contradictions - you're the one implying them.

I did not imply third person shooters aren't worth playing. I implied that cover-based shooters aren't worth playing. Reading comprehension.

I don't know... Binary domain had a pretty pimp story line.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@ascholzk said:

I haven't played The Line yet, but for me I'd say The Walking Dead is my favorite story this year so far. Even though there are more episodes coming, the incredibly emotional character moments and moral narrative choices really affected me. I think The Darkness 2 and Journey had very good stories too.

Yeah my vote goes for The Walking Dead (so far, but I think they're going to continue this great streak), Journey or The Witcher 2.

The Walking Dead for sure.

@ds8k: @ds8k said:

@Frag_Maniac: I never said it didn't artificially lengthen those games, now did I? I did say that playing CoD on Veteran is tradition and Hard Reset brings me back to the Painkiller/Serious Sam days, so playing on Insane brought a certain level of enjoyment. I have no attachment to the Spec Ops: The Line series, so playing on a harder difficulty gives me no greater enjoyment. I'm not full of contradictions - you're the one implying them.

I did not imply third person shooters aren't worth playing. I implied that cover-based shooters aren't worth playing. Reading comprehension.

So why would you even bring up artificially lengthen as an excuse not to since you're now implying playing harder modes on those other games was also "artificial"? Like them or not, artificial is artificial. You also did use the term third person when referring to not wanting to play "another third-person cover-based shooter", and in highlighting the word another, you kinda made it sound like they're all the same. No reading comprehension problems here, I'm seeing what you're saying verbatim and responding accordingly.

I also don't have a problem with people giving their opinions, but when it's full of nonsense bias I do usually comment on it. Doesn't mean I'm angry about it as you imply. I've played arcade shooters myself like Serious Sam and Painkiller, but I outgrew them several years ago and I do comment when I see people imply such games are more interesting than ones like this. Hey, it's a public forum, you should expect that.

I still don't see that it even makes sense for you to spend so much time on the forum of a game you feel isn't interesting to play. Surely if the game is that boring it's forum would be every bit as much so, hence the trolling reference, which is also an observation, not a comprehension problem.

To me, this game is the best story of the year. I haven't played everything this year, but this is one of the coolest stories in video games ever in my humble opinion.

If you are a fan of good stories in your video games, Spec Ops: The Line is a must play!