Spec Ops: The Line

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 454 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 340 out of 454
  2. Mixed: 83 out of 454
  3. Negative: 31 out of 454
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  1. Kaden101
    Oct 1, 2012
    3
    Weak story, mediocre shooting & cover mechanics, & a cheap difficulty spike 3 chapters from the end, even on normal difficulty. It's perfectly playable, & then all of a sudden, it's not. It gets to the point that you're just stuck in a spot & if you stick your head out to take a shot, you're dead. If you don't somebody will come & kill you at close range & you can't kill them because ifWeak story, mediocre shooting & cover mechanics, & a cheap difficulty spike 3 chapters from the end, even on normal difficulty. It's perfectly playable, & then all of a sudden, it's not. It gets to the point that you're just stuck in a spot & if you stick your head out to take a shot, you're dead. If you don't somebody will come & kill you at close range & you can't kill them because if you stick your head out, you're dead. If that doesn't happen, your AI team mate gets injured & you can't help him because you can't move...if you do, you're dead.

    Basically, it's not worth the aggravation of watching the overly long load times over & over to see the end of the weak story.

    Up until the difficulty spike I would've given it a 6, but when the enjoyment goes bye bye so does the desire to play the game, & the score.

    I'm trading it in for Borderlands 2 1 chapter from the end.    … Expand
  2. sohoguy
    Jul 6, 2012
    2
    I do not understand high score at all. It's linear, standard, and pretty boring shooter. Even old Soldier of Fortune was better story-wise, so where's the catch?
  3. dexterblows
    Sep 7, 2013
    2
    Only play this pile if you enjoy getting stuck to cover, enemies that spam you with grenades, the worst shooting mechanic, and clumsy controls. Its hard to understand the developers could have been happy with these issues.
  4. Syriamn
    Oct 26, 2015
    4
    SOTL was a big disapointment. I expected much more of this game but it came (very) short in the end.
    STORY AND CHARACTERS: Kind of confusing to me. Maybe i've missed some dialogs or story narrative but i did not get why is the city that devastated and why the company went rogue and crazy...
    PRESENTATION: Very appealing visually and if it was for this there wouldn't be a problem, but...    SOTL was a big disapointment. I expected much more of this game but it came (very) short in the end.
    STORY AND CHARACTERS: Kind of confusing to me. Maybe i've missed some dialogs or story narrative but i did not get why is the city that devastated and why the company went rogue and crazy...
    PRESENTATION: Very appealing visually and if it was for this there wouldn't be a problem, but...
    GAMEPLAY: An absolute nightmare. The controls are not responsive at all. When you want to run and hide behind a crate he ends up hiding in plain sight and a total cannon fodder. I repeat, an absolute nightmare...
    ONLINE: Could not be bothered to try it...
    Very rarely i pu a game aside without finishing it. SOTL got that (dis)"honour".    … Expand
  5. Discalceate
    Aug 27, 2013
    3
    A rather mediocre cover shooter, let down by its spotty controls and schizophrenic cover system by far the biggest problem is its attempts at exploring morality. The further you go into the story, the more morally dubious choices you make. I say you make, but really the game forces you to perform these acts by simply providing no other options when progressing the story.
    However what I    A rather mediocre cover shooter, let down by its spotty controls and schizophrenic cover system by far the biggest problem is its attempts at exploring morality. The further you go into the story, the more morally dubious choices you make. I say you make, but really the game forces you to perform these acts by simply providing no other options when progressing the story.
    However what I found by far the most distasteful part of the game are the messages that start to pop up during the overly long loading screens.
    “You are still a good person”, the game tells me, in its rather ham fisted attempt at making me think about what I have done., “do you feel like a hero yet” but by far the worst “How many Americans have you killed today”.
    Excuse me?
    Now this really is a lesson that games companies are going to have to learn if they are expecting to export their games to other countries. Attempts to make me feel guilty about killing soldiers, who were trying to kill me, is one thing, but specifying that I should feel guilty because they are american soldiers? ‘Insurgents’ can be offed left right and centre with nary a moral second thought but Frith forbid an american gets harmed. That’s before you take into account the, rather large, number of civilians that you offhandedly murder throughout the course of the game. But don’t worry about them, they’re only filthy foreign ragheads so that’s OK then.
    As a cover based shooter, the game is above average. As an exploration into ethics, Yager has shown that they clearly need to take a big look at their own.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Best PS3 Game of 2012
21
#21 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
31
#31 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Push Square
    Aug 20, 2012
    80
    Spec Ops: The Line is a solid, action packed shooter that sets itself apart by demonstrating the brutal realities of war. The fragile lines of morality are easily blurred, and sometimes, only visible when crossed.
    Read full review
  2. Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
    Aug 1, 2012
    80
    While it's marred by frequent visual pop-in and frustrating checkpoint placement, Spec Ops is nevertheless a pretty significant achievement. [Sept 2012, p.79]
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Jul 16, 2012
    70
    Where Spec Ops succeeds – just – is with its themes of the end justifying the means, the ravages of war on a man's psyche and its portrayal of extreme violence. This is simultaneously its downfall as the team haven't quite nailed the execution until the final moments, where the full extent of what's happened over the last eight or so hours dawns on the protagonists. We wish Yager had teased and fleshed out the concepts sooner than leaving it to the beguiling endings; we doubt many players will bother reaching the credits. A year and half ago we might have been more impressed with The Line, but its poor presentation and boring shootouts completely let it down. [August 2012, p70]
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