Spec Ops: The Line Video Review

From reading some of the comments this game was obviously sold with a motive. Most likely the fact that it makes you feel like war is a terrible thing (I mean do people really need a video game to tell you that?).

But the whole point of a video game review is to make a decision on how the game works overall.

Above all a review is the opinion of the reviewer. Just because they disagree with you doesn't make the review any less valid. 

I hated Skyrim. Doesn't stop me from writing a review about it though.

lol @  gamespot and their knowledge about games... pathetic... 8/10 easyyyyyyy for spec ops

this game has taught me a very important lesson. That war is bad. Every other modern war shooter seems to think the opposite.

this game is simply the BEST war game I have ever played, and I have played a LOT war games

Did gametrailers and gamespot switched reviews? Because the typical MP sucker bullshit it's here and misses the point of the game, and the gametrailers review apropiatte (hard to believe huh?).

Spec Ops: The Line is one of the best games I've played, of course is not by any means perfect but it deserves way more than this. Looking at this pitiful review makes me sad for Yager. Granted, I'm thinking on making a review about it, even if it's old news by now.

Im really disappointed of the superficial nature of this review

Mul - TAY - player . 

If you want a good description of what Spec Ops is, watch Errant Signal on youtube talk about it, be warned tho, spoilers abound.

Spec Ops: The Line is named Yatzee's game of the year. Shows how much this review is pretty much focused on just surface value.

For a game to take such risk with its narration and themes, then deliver them in a genre which is over-saturated by cliches; the score given is an insult to the developer and publisher. The game is not perfect, but it did a better job then the reviewer by a long shot.

I still remember how this game was announced on this site. It was december and it was met with no entusiasm at all since it was a shooter that looked far from special. Then some time later hooked me with the story premise. I just finished this game and let me tell you this is a great example of what I want them to be. Gameplay wise Chris may be somehow correct, but I liked the gunplay, specially the explosives. If you like shooters but respect stories, hell, like 'em in your game, get this by all means.

Just finished this game 30 minutes ago after purchasing it on the Steam holiday sale. This is quite possibly one of the worst reviews I have ever seen.

Granted all the points made are valid. The shooting is a pretty straightforward cover-to-cover run-and-gun. The enemy NPCs are fairly constant (but I'm pretty sure battlemechs or alien harvester drones have no place in this atmosphere just for the sake of the combat being more "remarkable"). The movement is a little clunky. The shooting is not quite as good as other AAA third-person-shooter titles... but all the mechanics are functional. Maybe not best-in-class, but certainly functional.

Besides, harping on a few technical issues COMPLETELY misses the point of this game. The story presented here is pure art and a sharp criticism of your typical "Rah-Rah-America" shooter (that we see released WAY too often nowadays). This reviewer should have considered commending the game for what it accomplished, rather than measures up against superficially similar titles.

Take a look at that Penny Arcade review linked here. It offers a much better perspective on this game (and should help you determine if this game is your cup of tea... because I'm not claiming it's for everyone). In my opinion, if you buy games just for the multiplayer or game mechanics, maybe there are some better options for you. But if you enjoy hard-hitting storylines that make you think and question fleeting morality, you OWE IT TO YOURSELF to disregard this review and buy Spec Ops.

A 6.5 score is a complete travesty. Perhaps GameSpot should spend less time consulting the thesaurus to needlessly pad their vocabulary and more time actually playing the games they review.

Holy crap, what a terrible review! The reviewer couldn't be more wrong about the game...

What a shitty review, this game deserves more.

shit review is shit one of the great underrated games of this gen the game needs someone who thinks about the story not a cod zombie player.

This is the exact reason why when I look for a GS game review, I check the review, then I check the comments. Because 9 out of 10 times, it's the comments that have a better perspective on all aspects of the game, not just mechanics, not just story, NOT JUST THE FUCKING MULTIPLAYER. Getting so sick of the multiplayer part of games being a big factor in score. I dont play FPS's to kill ppl online, I play them because some of these games have really epic stories to tell.

Cmon just say that they made one damn good storyline

http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/spec-ops-the-line-part-1

A much better review, that doesn't miss the whole point of the game.

All I have 2 say... http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6021-Spec-Ops-The-Line

have the game but need a new vga card (since my 9500gt is dead) which is out of stock....

I cannot absolutely wrap my head around that there's this constant recognition about the stark contrast between gameplay and narrative but, somehow, it's never accepted as the intent of the designer, something to be taken for its own merits and measured against the intent of the story.

This game is so much more than its gameplay, even so much than its surface story.  This is a truly important game and it's a shame it's suffering because of comparisons to the very things it set out to highlight.

the review was completely off the mark. aside from a few issues with cover, this game was SPECTACULAR. the story especially was some the most brillian one i have seen from this genre recently. i think gamespot or specifically Chris has been looking too much for a cod clone. this is most DEFINITELY neither like cod or gow.

the game is alot of fun...this is the problem with these gamesites anymore.its an action adventure fps and its looks sweet on a pc @1080p max out graphically...you should give this one a try if you like this genre...i would have gave it an 8 for story telling,a 10 for graphics which wereawesome to look at,a 9 for mechanics of the game,the aimig was alittle off sometmes but headshots were satisfying.the music and sound was great gave it a 10...length of game around 7 hrs,rip off for 60 bucks,10-12 hrs would have been nice score that a 6...so i would have scored it an 8.6...damn i dont get these low scores all the time.why would you damn every game out there.this is why the old schoolteam of amespot was so much better at this but chris hates every game anyway ...lol

wow looks great

 I just finished this game last week. I won't get into "what score it should have" bu i will say this...

A video game IS NOT just its gameplay elements.

Spec Ops:The Line has one of the most personal, tense, STORYLINES I've seen in a shooter in the last decade, with a twist you wont see coming.

Bottom line: if you were bored with the combat of Gears of War 3 but just played the campaign to see "how it ends", you OWE it to yourself to play(not necessarily buy) this game.

My opinion is that this game deserves a better score!

Chris, you just gave a 6.5 to (one of) the best game of the genre... 

1- You say that the only thing you do is getting from cover to cover and shooting... well... it is a shooter, what did you expect? Muffins? In Gears of War you do exactly the same and in MW you don't even have a cover system (I will be using these 2 games a a comparison from now on).

2- MW and GoW (at least the first one) take less than 7 hours to complete.

3- GoW has some story behind but MW is just a "kill that guy that has a tendency to blow things up" story-wise.

4- Neither in MW or in GoW you can choose what to do.

5- Both in MW and GoW there are no consequences for your actions (there are in Spec Ops), and there is no "character progression" (characters in Spec Ops evolve and their relation changes drastically).

6- Ok, Spec Ops does not have the best multiplayer ever, but neither does MW (GoW multiplayer is pretty good).

7 - It is a matter of opinion if Spec Ops is better or worse than these two games that have an average score of 9.5... one thing it is certain, the review is biased.

Once again I think that you guys rate the games based on the amount of money each company gives you for advertisement... 

I must not be very particular ? first of all this is a 3rd person game and that is my favorite ! and I played this on "suicide" mode and really did not have that much time to criticize the actual game play , I found good cover plenty of ammo and nice effects to mess with the enemy , I would rate this above fair that's for sure ..

I Close My eyes and think this is the review for Mass Effect 3, just walk cover and shoot everything that moves and the end dont have nothing to do with your ???decisions at least their are not trying to sell you Smoke is TPS, What you want? Spec ops is as well made game a correct chooter and if you like TPS is a MUST HAVE for you GS is losing credibility for me...... for me this game is an 8. Sorry for my English

Hotdarn.

I don't feel this review gives the game the credit it deserves. First of all it IS a 3rd-person-cover-based shooter so why would you expect anything else -.-This game is more about making you think about right and wrong, the story is what drives it forward. It may only be 7 hours long, but keep in mind that it is not the length of a game that determines it's value. It's different. And I like it.

well i agree with the 6.5 since you choices don't really make a difference accept for the very end. and it had bugs Lugo got stuck 2 times and i had to reload a checkpoint, not to mention waypoints not updating. 

These points are all valid, but at the same time, the game wasn't trying to do what the reviewer thought they were doing. The game was meant to be linear and that you don't have a choice, for the sake of the ending. If you haven't played this game, it is just simply inexplicable until you complete the game. And even though the combat was repetitive, the AI were brutal enough along with the highly detailed areas that you fight in to keep the combat very interesting. The twist explains everything.

I think the reason that many 3rd person shooters lately gets such mediocre reviews is because they are being compared to the benchmark set by the Gears Of War franchise.It's because the reviewers have experienced the refinement,fluidity and fun of Gears Of War so when something isn't as good, they feel that it's bad.What they forget to realize is that the Gears series are so good because it was given time to evolve.Epics Games improved each sequel so everytime when people played a sequel,they felt that the gameplay was refined and done better.The mediocre reviews of many TPS games today such as Binary Domain and The Line cause them to have low sales and then the low sales prevent the developers from making a sequel and thus makes it impossible for the game to evolve into something great.I'm not saying every reviewer compares TPS games with GOW but many people compare it without them knowing.

This was game was good and the storytelling was great.Also, one of the best twists in a game ending imo.

I think what Chris doesn't really get is: The main character here is not a personification of you as a player... you are more like what's left of his morality and honour... you are supposed to question his actions or find them outright revolting. I find that pretty powerful storytelling.

I finally got the game and am enjoying it a lot!! The characters are phenomenal and the story is amazing!! WTF is this review on about???? 

Was a great game don't no why they rated it so low!

The review says it is bad, but the game is good. I would not say that it is awesome. But still it is good. The Infiltration applied in this games is really thinkable. Nice graphics and good shooter. I am experiencing a new Gen-Game. Gamespot my love, pls change the review for this game atleast to two points more.

Heard it was only 5 hrs long.

we shouldn't focus so much on the number at the end of the review. the opinion and reasoning behind the review is the main point.