[UPDATE] 2K reveals rumored third-person reboot of tactical military shooter set in Dubai; F.E.A.R. alumni at German studio Yager developing; new trailer inside.
This year, the Thanksgiving holiday began with rumors that 2K Games' Boston studio was resurrecting the moribund shooter series Spec Ops. That rumor turned out to be only half true.
Tonight, following a teaser trailer at the VGAs, 2K Games launched the official Web site for Spec Ops: The Line. However, the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC reboot of the tactical shooter franchise is actually in development at German studio Yager, which employs alumni of both F.E.A.R. and the Splinter Cell series.
As indicated by a trailer leaked earlier this year, Spec Ops: The Line follows a group of commandos battling rocket-toting terrorists in the ruins of Dubai in the aftermath of a disastrous sandstorm. The teaser reveals the game as a third-person shooter with a heavy emphasis on cover, a la Gears of War. Judging by the trailer, though, players will find their cover circumvented by threats above and below as they explore the wreckage of Dubai's towering skyscrapers.
According to a description on the game's Web site, which also has the teaser trailer, Spec Ops: The Line will occupy a moral gray area. According to the official description, its story "challenges players' morality by putting them in the middle of unspeakable situations where unimaginable choices affecting human lives must be made."
The teaser trailer also had a voice-over track that depicted a US officer being talked to by what appears to be a former commander who has apparently gone rogue. "In war, our choices have consequences," says the voice. "But make no mistake, captain--this isn't war." In the trailer leaked earlier this year, a sinister bald figure appeared in shadow in a similar manner to Apocalypse Now's villain Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando.
No release date was given for Spec Ops: The Line. However, its existence means that 2K Boston's new shooter is once again a mystery.
[UPDATE] 2K has since released a new trailer for Spec Ops: The Line, which is the same as the trailer that was leaked earlier this year.
[UPDATE 2] 2K has since released a full press release describing the game's story. The company's description of it is below:
"Spec Ops: The Line unfolds within the destroyed opulence of Dubai. Once the playground for the world’s wealthiest elite, Dubai has fallen victim to a series of cataclysmic sandstorms. The city’s ultramodern architecture lies half-buried under millions of tons of sand. The very sand that blankets the city plays a marquee role in altering combat situations and serves as a powerful but unpredictable force that will both help and hinder players throughout the course of the game.
While most people have fled the now-barren wasteland before the sandstorms swept through, U.S. Army Colonel John Konrad and his loyal squad remained behind to protect those incapable of escape. Unable to reach anyone in Dubai after the storm hit, the U.S. Army feared Konrad and his team dead until they picked up a weak distress signal and launched a rescue operation. As U.S. Army Captain Martin Walker, you and your elite Delta Force team are sent to infiltrate the treacherous region to bring Konrad home."
The orginal Pub and Dev was Ripcord and Zombie,lol at the time Unreal Tournament was a hit,a year or so later SOF 1 and 2 ruled though lets hope this one is well thought out! The last spec ops(pc ver.) rated on GS was given a 5.6 Spec Ops II: Green Berets, The story dosent sound all that bad. ??? but this means no artic terrain mostly desert maps, and why Dubai O well guess we will see!
how can a 3rd person view be realistic? you can see around corners without ever exposing yourself. HAX!
Sounds great! FEAR and Splinter Cell knew how to establish an immersive atmosphere (for me at least), so having 'alumni' from those two franchises might help. Regardless of any credit they may (or not) deserve, the trailer seems to point in that direction. Should be worth checking out!
mannnn look what they did to dubai!!!im from there......its true this is what is going to happen unless the govt does something to kick out the terrorists who supply the finances from there
Looks like a game like Battlefield or Call of Duty or Tom Clancy, but with cooler action and not always standing like a robot. I've never played the previous titles, so I hope this game is well made.
Sounds good, but the stills from the trailer aren't very visually impressive. Guess I'll have to watch. EDIT: After watching, I'm not sure what to think. This could be really good, but it looks weird too. I think it was the music...
The Spec Ops Series for PS1 were awful. Hope this will be better, i'm looking forward to it. Great Trailer too.
I watch this during the VGA's and I wasn't very impressed. Looks like a Gears of War clone to me.
I heard about this, like 3 years ago, i hope that time was used for development and to correct everything bad that made the Ps One's Spec Ops games subpar.
looks good,hopefully theymake this into a great game.i want a game other then cod,gow,and halo to be played online.i hate all three of those.i want a new shooter with a long story
If this is half as good as the PSone Spec-ops then.....................it will be the new worst game ever.
I see this game being banned in Dubai. Seems like all these modern shooters have arabs or Russians as the enemy. Not that I'm complaining.
funny how most people bashed the game in the first video, now everyone wants it. looks like the developers have some grudge on dubai.
I actually enjoyed this trailer..I've seen the one on the vga's and that was the first time I ever heard about this game.
Vojkan80001 Posted Dec 13, 2009 4:03 pm GMT "GEars of war wasn't first game with cover system. They took cover system from Killswitch and camera angle from RE4" You're absolutely right. But Killswitch was highly repetitive. I stopped playing it after a couple hours. The "cover system" I was referring to was that similar to KS when I made my comment. Not the one in Metal Gear. Metal Gear focused mainly on stealth cover, not action cover. It wasn't until the last MGS installment that they even veered away from it being a stealth heavy game.
This looks great, love the whole atmosphere, definitely looks like it will be an intense game with a strong story.
This game gonna be AMAZING the Scenes in this video gives that dark feeling like RE5 and the intensity of the ghost recon scenes and the gameplay remind me of Killswitch wit the graphics of killzone thats a perfect combination seem very promising and its not even a finished product yet 1st day buy for me!!!
Why is it that all new shooters are military based? I guess it isn't so bad, I like stories that revolve around wars, but I really want to see unique ideas... Like Darksector, despite certain aspects.
Can't believe they are bringing back the whorable spec ops name, just call this game desert sand and I'll buy it. throwing spec ops in the lable made me almost skip the video entirely.
Awesome, I would really like to see the smart story-telling combined with military type of combat.
Chris packs up his gear and heads to Dubai for this review of Spec Ops: The Line.
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