In anticipation of - Spec Ops: The Line - Vurtax Blog -
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In anticipation of - Spec Ops: The Line

At one point, did you stumble across a game you thought looked amazing, but when you go to talk about it no one even seems to have heard about it? (pretty sure, a lot of people here have an underdog they're pumped for.)

That's pretty much how I feel about Spec Ops: The Line. On the surface it looks like a typical third-person military shooter. But underneath is a lot more than one could expect.

The first time I heard about this game was when I sadly actually felt like watching 2009's Spike VGA's. And I would've totally regretted wasting my time had the premiere trailer to The Line not made an appearance. Ever since then I've been scavenging the internet every now and then to see if anything new comes up about the game. But in my talk with the developers themselves, Yager said they would be revealing more sometime in 2011 (I asked them in December or something.)

So what does this game have offer that the others do I [not] hear you ask?

Well the first thing I have to bring up is the setting, The city of Dubai is like the world's trophy in a sense. Architectural marvels that I honestly have a hard time describing them more as anything but Alien-like. But if you were wanting to be a tourist of the city you'll be disappointed. The city has been buried by a series of apocalyptic sandstorms and destroys much of it's beauty. While leaving many buildings left standing to look out of place in the once bustling metropolis.

If the threat  of the occasional sandstorm doesn't seem to bother you, the multiple factions of bandits, terrorists, and possibly some insurrectionists might do that. Notice how they decorated the arclights as well as mark  their territory with makeshift defenses.

The setting sets up well for the games story, a founding of Delta force; John Konrad was apart of evacuation efforts before the sandstorms came. When he was ordered to leave, he refused insisting him and his men stay behind to help the people that couldn't get out in time. After weeks of no contact, the Army fears him and his men ended up dead, until a weak distress signal is picked up.

A team of three Spec Ops Soldiers (the player being one) are sent in to find Konrad and his men and pull them out. You play as Captain Martin Walker (voiced by Nolan North) and lead your teammates through the mess in hopes that Konrad is out there before either everyone's moral breaks down or the factions break your spine. And from what Yager is implying, Konrad's reasons for staying in Dubai might've not been so clear cut as one would've hoped.

The game features a choice system I have yet to see in a a shooter outside of Mass Effect (although that's an RPS.) And those choices don't end up with GAME OVER TRY AGAIN screen either. You have to live with the decisions you make and your squads behavior (and likely more) will reflect that.

I'm eagerly awaiting to hear more about this game as it's suspected release date (This Summer) draws closer.

But I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's cheering for an under-the-radar title, so tell me, what game are you excited about that no one else seems to be excited for?