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Spec Ops: The Line

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Spec Ops: The Line
Developer(s)Yager Development (single player)
Darkside Game Studios (multiplayer)[2]
Publisher(s)2K Games
Designer(s)Cory Davis
Writer(s)Walt Williams
Richard Pearsey
Composer(s)Elia Cmiral
SeriesSpec Ops
EngineUnreal Engine 3
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person shooter video game developed by Yager Development and published by 2K Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on June 26, 2012 in North America and on June 29, 2012 in Europe.

Although in the Spec Ops series, The Line does not take any story elements from previous titles. The game follows Captain Martin Walker as he is sent into a post-catastrophe Dubai with an elite Delta Force team on a reconnaissance mission, but the situation escalates into a hunt for a decorated officer named Colonel Konrad. While lead writer Walt Williams has stated that there are many influences, the premise is inspired by Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness.

The game was generally well received by critics. Multiple commentators have observed similarities to Apocalypse Now, a Vietnam War era adaptation of Heart of Darkness, in the game's feel and expression of inglorious war.

Gameplay

In specific points in the game sand can be used to kill enemies.

Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person shooter with emphasis on cover and elements of squad-based tactics. Various new weapons and equipment become available as play progresses, some dropped by downed enemies. These include several different rifles, handguns, and machine guns, some with alternate firing modes, like attaching a suppressor or using a scope; as well as grenade launchers and hand grenades. Single-player squad commands include focusing fire on a particular target and ordering medical attention for an injured squad member.[4][5]

A multiplayer mode is also included, with six competitive game types across seven maps, loadout customization, and community leaderboards and challenges. Yager describes the multiplayer as a campaign that expands the single-player experience. In addition, there will be multiple mode types with several focusing on terrain deformation and expansion.[4][5]

The game has several subtle effects as the team loses their sanity, with Walker having visual and auditory hallucinations, and his executions of enemies becoming more violent, along with his team orders and shouts becoming increasingly angry and ragged versus his original stern command voice.

Plot

Setting

Six months prior to the game, the worst series of dust storms in recorded history began across Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dubai's politicians and wealthy elite downplayed the situation before evacuating in secret, leaving countless Emiratis behind. Lieutenant Colonel John Konrad (Bruce Boxleitner), the decorated but post-traumatic stress disorder troubled commander of the fictional 33rd Battalion, United States Army, was returning home with his unit from Afghanistan when the storms struck. Konrad volunteered the 33rd Battalion to help the relief efforts, then deserted with the entire unit when ordered to abandon the city and its refugees by the U.S. government. As the storms intensified, a massive storm wall engulfed Dubai for miles, disrupting any satellite surveillance and communication, air travel, and all but the strongest radio broadcasts. The 33rd declared martial law, and struggled to maintain order amid 80 mph winds, riots, and dwindling resources. The last communication from Dubai stated that the 33rd was attempting to lead a caravan of more than a thousand civilians out of the city. The caravan never arrived, and soon afterwards the UAE declared Dubai a no-man's-land. All travel to the city was barred, the 33rd was publicly disavowed for treason, and no further news left the city.

Two weeks before the beginning of the game, a looped radio signal penetrated the wall. Its message was brief; “This is Colonel John Konrad, United States Army. Attempted evacuation of Dubai ended in complete failure. Death toll: too many.” The United States military decides to covertly send in a three-man Delta Force team to carry out reconnaissance. The team, consisting of Captain Martin Walker (Nolan North), Lieutenant Alphonse Adams (Christopher Reid), and Staff Sergeant John Lugo (Omid Abtahi), are told to confirm the statuses of Konrad and any survivors, then radio for extraction.

Story

The game begins with Walker, Adams and Lugo aboard a helicopter piloted by Adams, flying over a ruined Dubai. Other helicopters begin to chase them, which Walker attempts to dispatch with the minigun. However, a sudden sandstorm causes the helicopter to crash in the desert.

The story then jumps back to the chronological beginning, with Walker, Adams and Lugo traversing the storm wall through to the outskirts of a mostly-buried Dubai on foot. They come in contact with a group of hostile armed survivors, referred to as "insurgents", who have captured a squad of 33rd soldiers. Throughout the rest of their journey, the team hears broadcasts on homemade speakers by the Radioman (Jake Busey), a former journalist turned DJ that was once embedded with the 33rd in Afghanistan and now speaks on their behalf.

As the journey progresses, the team finds evidence of what had happened in Dubai over the preceding months, indicating that after the failed evacuation, the 33rd returned to Dubai as an occupying force and committed atrocities against the civilian population with the intent of maintaining order. Aggrieved by this, elements of the 33rd staged a coup d’etat against Konrad in protest, forming the Exiles. The CIA has been organizing the insurgents to attack both Konrad’s loyalist 33rd and the Exiles. Although there is now clear evidence against Konrad's virtue, Konrad once saved Walker's life in Kabul during the war, which inclines him to trust Konrad.

The team attempts to peacefully intervene when they come across refugees being rounded up by loyalist 33rd soldiers. However, the soldiers mistake them for CIA operatives and begin a firefight, resulting in the team having to kill fellow American soldiers, much to the dismay of Lugo and Adams. As the 33rd retreats with a number of civilian prisoners, Walker insists on investigating further in hopes of evacuating survivors and finding Konrad. The team learns that a CIA agent, Daniels, has been captured by the 33rd and is being interrogated. Arriving to rescue Daniels, they are ambushed by the 33rd and discover that Daniels is dead and that it was a trap set for Gould, another CIA agent. Gould arrives with a band of insurgents, allowing Walker to escape. Gould is captured and killed, but the team learns that they may get more information at a location called the Gate. Arriving at the Gate, which is heavily guarded by the 33rd, the team, disregarding Lugo's objections, uses a mortar loaded with white phosphorus to attack the 33rd. However, the team learns that the 33rd were holding civilians for their own safety in the coming battles and that the civilians had been killed by the white phosphorus rounds. Walker shows no remorse[citation needed], and pushes the others on.

The team discovers Konrad's former command squad, who have been executed. Shortly afterwards, Konrad begins communicating with Walker over a radio they find inside. He taunts Walker over his inner doubts and fears as tensions rise between the team, making Walker adjust his belief that Konrad is innocent. Konrad subsequently forces Walker to choose between executing an Emirati survivor who stole water from the 33rd, or a 33rd soldier who was tasked with bringing the former to justice and killed the man's family in the process. Shortly afterwards, Delta finds CIA agent Riggs leading a raid on the Underwater Aquatic Coliseum, the city's last water supply. Riggs tells Delta that insurgent control of the water will cripple the 33rd's operations in Dubai and bring peace. However, after the team aids Riggs, he intentionally destroys the water supplies and Walker learns that the CIA wanted to wipe out the entire population so that no one would learn of the 33rd's atrocities, which would cause the whole region to declare war on the United States in retaliation. Riggs, injured after destroying the water supplies, dies immediately afterwards.

The entire city will begin dying of dehydration within four days. To prevent this and organize an evacuation, the team, which is now becoming increasingly edgy and more violent, with Walker suffering from hallucinations, heads to the Trans-Emirates Building to silence the Radioman and warn the city using the radio. The Radioman surrenders and instructs Delta on how to use his PA system, but is shot dead by Lugo. Adams subsequently commandeers a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter which later crashes in the sandstorm.

As the team attempts to re-unite after the crash, Lugo gets lynched by a mob of civilians. When attempts to resuscitate Lugo fail, Walker and Adams either scare the crowd away or kill them in retribution. Walker's hallucinations are nearly constant at this point. Walker contacts Konrad and informs that he is coming to Konrad's headquarters to kill him. Walker and Adams make their way to the tower; however, the two are soon surrounded by the last of Konrad's men. Walker attempts to surrender to get inside, but an enraged Adams insists on fighting to the death and shames Walker into running for safety inside the tower.

Walker arrives at the penthouse of the tower. Konrad, who is painting a scene of the white phosphorus strike, questions Walker on his choices throughout the mission. At first, Konrad appears to be the paranoid, charismatic force behind the atrocities Walker was hoping for, until Walker finds his decaying corpse on the penthouse deck. Walker has been suffering from a dissociative disorder to rationalize the actions he has witnessed and carried out. The real Konrad had committed suicide an unknown amount of time after the broadcast that brought Delta to the city. The Konrad that Walker has been in contact with during the game is actually a traumatic hallucination that none of his team witnessed, existing only within his mind. This mental projection of Konrad appears to Walker, explaining that Walker knew he had the choice of leaving Dubai numerous times, but pushed ahead out of a desire to be a hero. To maintain his 'sanity' after the white phosphorus strike, many subsequent events in the game were distorted by Walker's mind to make Konrad a moral scapegoat. With his fantasy coming to an end now that the truth is in front of him, 'Konrad' points a gun at Walker’s head and begins counting to five.

Endings

Spec Ops: The Line has four possible endings. The player can choose to have Walker shoot himself (or allow 'Konrad' to shoot him), which results in the camera panning through the penthouse, showing Walker's dead body. Konrad's original broadcast then plays as the camera pans over the burning remnants of Dubai.

The other three endings are accessed by having Walker shoot Konrad's reflection. 'Konrad' dies and tells Walker that he can still return home, after which Walker uses Konrad's radio to request an immediate evacuation of Dubai. An epilogue after the credits roll shows a convoy of Army rescue Humvees locating Walker, who is sitting on steps near the Burj Khalifa wearing Konrad’s uniform and brandishing an AA-12. The player can either drop the weapon or open fire. Attacking will result in a very difficult battle.

  • If Walker manages to kill the entire patrol, he will radio U.S. command and welcome them to Dubai over the now clear airwaves. Walker then heads back into the remains of Dubai as the camera pans to a wide shot of the ruined city.
  • If Walker dies in the fight, he will be shown lying in a pool of blood, remembering a conversation between himself and Konrad during the war, before the fighting in Kabul worsened. As his dying body is being watched by the patrol, Walker remembers casually remarking about returning home. Konrad had replied that there was no way men like them could, stating "We can't go home. There's a line men like us have to cross. If we're lucky, we do what's necessary, and then we die."
  • If Walker drops his weapon, he then evacuates with the patrol. A soldier remarks that the unit has driven through the entire city looking for Walker, often coming across the results of the player's actions. When questioned about how he survived, Walker replies, "Who said I did?"

Themes

Walt Williams, lead writer of the game, has stated that its events are open to interpretation. His personal belief is that the helicopter crash in the sandstorm actually killed Captain Walker, and that the rest of the game is his Purgatory. Many other theories and interpretations had been discussed by the development staff, with a general consensus that Walker hallucinates about returning home if he is rescued by the patrol.[6]

The game as a whole serves as a deconstruction of the shooter genre, and in particular, games such as Call of Duty, which place the player in the role of a soldier. Critics have pointed out that the "mechanics" of the game—the actions available to the player, and the responses resulting from said actions—contrast pointedly with many mechanics of popular FPS games.[7] In particular contrast to other games of its kind, some critics believe that Spec Ops: The Line does not intend the combat to be a fun experience for the player, but rather aims to engage the player though its narrative which critiques the shooter genre for being removed from reality and providing players with an unrealistic, morally ambiguous escapist fantasy.[8]

The infamous white phosphorus strike has been the subject of much scrutiny since release. In response to complaints that the massacre was unnecessary or exploitative, Williams justified the scene for its emotional impact. The plot device was intended to evoke anger from players[6] and according to Williams, one of the game's endings is simply for the player to put the controller down and stop playing.[9]

Game critic Brendan Keogh wrote a long-form critical analysis of the game entitled Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line, analysing his experience of playing it and the game's core themes of violence in video games, American military interventionism and wars conducted via proxies.[10] The text is available in eBook format.[11]

Development

Following the release of several Spec Ops games in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the series was met with low sales and poor reviews, causing a halt to production of successive games. In 2003, Take-Two mentioned in their financial results that Rockstar Games was working on the franchise but in early 2005 the project was canceled.[12][13] It was later revealed that Rockstar Vancouver was the developer of the canned project[14] with singer Josh Homme developing the soundtrack for the game.[15]

From 2005 to 2009, the series remained largely unmentioned, with the rights belonging to Take-Two Interactive. On December 12, 2009, a ninth game in the series was announced at Spike Video Game Awards. A trailer was accompanied that depicted several minutes of gameplay and showed off the setting. A subsequent press release detailed the premise, other game features, and a possible 2011 release date. An official site was soon launched, and a new trailer was released in November 2011.[4][5]

An Xbox 360 only multiplayer beta[16] was announced for the game from 2K Games during E3 2010. The beta was shut down on November 15, 2010.

The multiplayer component of the game was created by a separate developer, and included "at the detriment of the overall project and the perception of the game," according to Cory Davis, lead designer at Yager:

"It sheds a negative light on all of the meaningful things we did in the single-player experience. The multiplayer game's tone is entirely different, the game mechanics were raped to make it happen, and it was a waste of money. No-one is playing it, and I don't even feel like it's part of the overall package - it's another game rammed onto the disk like a cancerous growth, threatening to destroy the best things about the experience that the team at Yager put their heart and souls into creating."[17]

Soundtrack

The game's score was composed by Elia Cmiral and features mostly guitar-based compositions, along with several ambient tracks. The game also features several licensed tracks, including:

Reception

Reviews of The Line have been mostly positive, with many critics praising the narrative, themes, and provocative take on violence in video games, but note that it fails to innovate or present a strong multiplayer component. IGN awarded the game an 8.0 out of 10, praising the game's dark story and visuals, while criticizing the game's control issues and unremarkable multiplayer component.[18] Game Informer gave the game a score of 7.75 out of 10, offering praise towards the narrative, but stating that the game's gunplay and multiplayer were bland and uninventive.[19] The Official Xbox Magazine gave the game an 8.5 out of 10, commending the game on its dark storyline, competent AI, and the environment surrounding the Dubai setting, but expressing disappointment with the scripted dynamic sand system.[20]

Destructoid gave Spec Ops: The Line a score of 8.0 out of 10 for its compelling story, but also criticizing the AI and calling it a "mixed bag" in its graphics.[21] GameSpot gave it 6.5 of 10.[22] G4's X-Play gave Spec Ops: The Line four and a half stars out of five, praising the game's story, and multiplayer, despite some flaws with the game's mechanics.[23] Edge awarded the game 7 out of 10, calling it "one of the most subversive shooters yet made" and commenting, "The Line... makes good on Haze's promise of morally complicated entertainment – a game that understands its own ugliness and base urges, undermining the third-person shooter even as it adheres to its formula. ... It may not be subtle, but it engages with problems that the bellicose ilk of Modern Warfare and Medal of Honor have yet to acknowledge."[24]

An article by Tom Bissell published on Grantland.com used the game to examine players' reasons for playing shooters.[25] The game was enthusiastically praised by James Portnow of the web series Extra Credits, who lauded the game's ability to express dark themes and experiences through intentionally mundane gameplay, saying, "[Yager] created the first true triple-A drama, where we're engaged through the exploration of a mental state rather than simply satisfied by achieving a goal."[26] Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation wrote a similarly enthusiastic review of the game, praising the game's themes, presentation and subversion of the player's expectations, but criticized the gameplay as unremarkable.[27] Croshaw later published an article in his Extra Punctuation column examining what made the game's white phosphorus incident so effective, "Modern Warfare got into the habit of making a shocking moment that illustrated the ruthlessness of the enemy and the resources at their disposal. It's supposed to make you hate and fear them...The Spec Ops shocking moment, contrarily, is designed to make you hate yourself, and fear the things that you are capable of."[28] In January 2013 he named it his game of the year for 2012, calling it "the most exciting thing to happen in video game narrative for fucking years."[29]

A more mixed review came from Chris Suellentrop writing in the New York Times, who praised the game's opening and underlying themes but found the level of violence and shocking material "hard to stomach", and criticized the game's lack of subtlety, comparing the game unfavourably with Far Cry 2.[30]

References

  1. ^ "Spec Ops: The Line dated for June". New Game Network. February 21, 2012.
  2. ^ "Darkside Game Studios - Game". Darksidegames.com. 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  3. ^ "Spec Ops: The Line PC system specs, demo announced". New Game Network. May 23, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "2K Games Announces its Next Big Shooter - Spec Ops: The Line". Business Wire. December 14, 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
  5. ^ a b c Ogden, Gavin (December 14. 2009). "Spec Ops: The Line details". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 28 December 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b "The Story Secrets of Spec Ops: The Line". IGN. 2012-08-03. Retrieved 2012-08-27. Cite error: The named reference "ignendings" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Extra Credits – Spec Ops: The Line (Part 1)". Penny Arcade. 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  8. ^ "Extra Credits – Spec Ops: The Line (Part 2)". Penny Arcade. 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  9. ^ http://gamingbolt.com/aftermath-crossing-the-line-with-walt-williams, Aftermath: crossing The Line with Walt Williams, July 16, 2012
  10. ^ Keogh, Brendan. "Announcing "Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line"". Critical Damage. Blogspot. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  11. ^ Keogh, Brendan. "Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line". Stolen Projects. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  12. ^ "Rockstar Hints at Upcoming Games". IGN. February 27, 2003.
  13. ^ "Spec Ops [PS2 - Cancelled". Unseen64. October 29, 2009.
  14. ^ Ian Sorensen. "Ian Sorensen - Resume". Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  15. ^ "Queens Thrill Fans At New York Gig, Reveal Video Game Plans Rockstar's 'Spec Ops' will feature tunes by Josh Homme, bassist Alain Johannes". MTV. March 22, 2005.
  16. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  17. ^ Purchese, Robert (2012-08-29). "Yager: Spec Ops multiplayer was "bullsh**" and "should not exist" • News •". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  18. ^ Dyer, Mitch. "Spec Ops: The Line Review". IGN. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  19. ^ Bertz, Matt. "Spec Ops: The Line". Game Informer. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  20. ^ Osborn, Chuck. "Spec Ops: The Line review". Official Xbox Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  21. ^ Pinsof, Allistair. "Review: Spec Ops: The Line". Destructoid. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  22. ^ Watters, Chris. "Spec Ops: The Line Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  23. ^ Kelly, Kevin. "Spec Ops: The Line Review - PC". X-Play. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  24. ^ Anon. (June 26, 2012). "Spec Ops: The Line review". Edge. Future plc. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  25. ^ Bissell, Tom (July 12, 2012). "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Shooter". Grantland. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
  26. ^ "Spec Ops:The line Part 2".
  27. ^ "Zero Punctuation - Spec Ops: The Line". Zero Punctuation. The Escapist. July 11, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "Crossing Spec Ops: The Line". Extra Punctuation. The Escapist. July 17, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help); Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ "Top 5 of 2012". Zero Punctuation. The Escapist. January 2nd, 2013. Retrieved January 2nd, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help); Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ "Spec Ops - The Line, from 2K Games, Makes Killing Personal". The New York Times. The New York Times. June 25, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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