I was taking a look at the Winter sales from Steam and I came across a jewel at an almost free price: Spec Ops The Line a 3,99 dollars (-80% discount) until January 5. It was released on June 29, 2012, developed by Yager and Darkside Game Studios, and published by 2K. As of this writing, it has 185 recent Very Positive reviews and 24,915 overall Very Positive reviews.
It may sound old and even “old”, but I’m going to say it: action games are not made like before. Spec Ops: The Line and Max Payne 3 not only have in common the year of release, but also that they were over the top in a good way. They don’t cut a hair. They are raw and tough, like a classic action hero.
Spec Ops: The Line, where the older ones play
There are very few video games that present war campaigns and that are really good. Metal Gear Solid, Call of Duty y Gears of War they usually occupy the first positions of all the Tops. the campaign of Battlefield 3 manages to save himself and… some specific chapter of Battlefield 1 and V. Little more.
Spec Ops: The Line It is usually one of the great forgotten, despite being one of the best and not being in a franchise. It is a unique game that dared to jump rope of morality…but really skip it, not like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) has. Targeting civilians… please, I come from No Russian.
What is Spec Ops: The Line?
2K presents us with a third-person shooter set in a modern Dubai devastated by a catastrophic sandstorm. The US sends its soldiers to help evacuate the city, but the storm takes the lives of the majority of citizens and the army. After 6 months, you are sent to locate survivors and find out what is happening. War and madness awaits you.
The gameplay is very fun and does not stray too far from what has been seen in The Division, Ghost Recon Wildlands and Gears of War, for example. The scenery design is great, it plays with vertical and horizontal changes, and it has dynamic weather with random sandstorms. Besides, the setting is sublime. So that we understand each other: it’s cool at a playable level.
The story is what makes Spec Ops: The Line special, as it tries to show the raw and bitter side of war
And if you think I’m exaggerating, Walt Williams, writer of the game, responded on Twitter why there wouldn’t be a sequel:
Because it was a brutal, painful development & everyone who worked on it would eat broken glass before making another. Also it didn’t sell.
— Walt Williams (@waltdwilliams) October 3, 2017
Because it was a brutal, painful development and everyone who worked on it would rather eat broken glass than make a sequel. In addition, he did not sell either.
The war has been reflected in a thousand ways in movies, series and video games. For many years and in the most common way it has been done through heroism. More recently, they have begun to influence and delve into the authentic effects of the war: Spec Ops: The Line is an example, like movies and series like No news at the front, 1917, The Forgotten Battle, Midway, The Pacific, blood brothers…
The White Phosphorus controversy: the harshness of war
Anyone who lived Spec Ops: The Line will remember the great controversy of the White Phosphorus. The scene is horrible. Consistent with the message of the game, but horrible until the last. Worthy of letting go of the controller and crying. impossible to digest for anyone who has a modicum of empathy. It rivals in horror with Nothing Russian… but more.
The scene begins like any other: as part of the Delta Team, you reach a balcony and prepare to shoot the enemy taking advantage of the height. Before starting, the delta team sees that they have White Phosphorus* at their disposal.
*White phosphorus is a waxy solid that burns easily and is used in chemical manufacturing and smoke-emitting munitions. Exposure to white phosphorous can cause burns and irritation, and damage to the liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, and bones, and can cause death.
A is produced debate moral (one of many) between your character and another partner. The partner doesn’t want to use it despite being outnumbered, but your character (protagonist) insists. The shooting begins. You can’t even get your head out of cover. Then you start using the mortar with the White Phosphorus. You’re using a black-and-white top-down laptop (like Call of Duty’s drone and plane missions), so you don’t see the horror you’re causing until after the fight is over.
After the fight is over, Spec Ops: The Line forces you right through the middle of the horror you’ve caused with the White Phosphorus. Only a person without a soul could get through this part of the game without their hearts breaking. I’m not going to tell you what else happens, play or watch the video.
This scene is one of many turning points for your character’s state of mind… and for yours. Years later, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 opened its campaign with a tribute to this scene.
The controversy was inevitable and the debate is the same that we have seen in Nada de Ruso and Picadilli of Call of Duty, The Last of Us 1 and 2 and in many other video games that have dared to hold the players responsible for their actions.
So… what happened to Spec Ops: The Line?
Spec Ops: The Line It has become a cult game for all lovers of war campaigns in first or third person shooters. It never had a sequel, despite the insistence of its fans and the many rumors. The words of Walt Williams, the game’s writer, were not a joke: it neither sold well nor would they go through such a development again.
Will there ever be a sequel to Spec Ops: The Line? I don’t expect it nor is it necessary. That does not mean that it did not leave sequels in the players who enjoy and suffer every time they play, whether they are new or veteran. Using White Phosphorus in video games became as delicate as airports after Nothing Russian and antiheroes after The Last of Us.
It is 4 dollars on Steam. Less than the cost of a Kebab menu with potatoes. If you’ve never played it, do yourself a favor and give it a try. If you played it years ago, come back. The years change the perspective of many things.
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