Spec Ops: The Line

 Xbox 360
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 395 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 320 out of 395
  2. Mixed: 52 out of 395
  3. Negative: 23 out of 395
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  1. RedBike
    Jul 3, 2012
    2
    I was kind of looking forward to playing this game. But now that I have finished it on the hardest difficulty setting, I can say that this is the worst game of 2012 so far. Extremely disappointing would be an under statement.

    The game is essentially one big escort mission. Your two buddies constantly get killed. I do not think that I died on my own accord at all through the entire two    I was kind of looking forward to playing this game. But now that I have finished it on the hardest difficulty setting, I can say that this is the worst game of 2012 so far. Extremely disappointing would be an under statement.

    The game is essentially one big escort mission. Your two buddies constantly get killed. I do not think that I died on my own accord at all through the entire two playthroughs. It was always one or both of my buddies getting killed, forcing me to try and rescue them, and getting me killed in the process. When you design a game where your buddies gets hurts, make sure that you can control them so that you can hold them back from harms way. You can't have the buddies rushing forward all the time to get hurt. And make sure that when you are saving them, that you are invincible during that procedure. Also when you rescue your buddy, the camera spins around so much that you become disoriented and gets you killed.

    For a game that makes you die so often, and so swiftly, make sure that the loading times are short. The loading time for this game is atrocious, even when it is installed on the xbox 360 hdd. I've spent more time watching the loading screen than playing the actual game.

    Do not have unskippable cut scenes. Why do people still make games that forces you to watch stupid cutscenes. I've seen it once, and I don't want to see it again. And do not put forced save points before a cutscene. This is what happens. I die. Watch loading screen. Watch cutscene. I die. Repeat. This is poor game design.

    Why does it take a whole clip to take down a baddie, when all it takes is one bullet from a baddie to kill you? The unbalanced nature makes your bullets pretty much useless. Especially when they are in such a short supply. If you are going to make a game that requires lots of bullets to kill a baddie, give us more bullets. If you only provide small amounts of ammo, make it so that the enemies die in one shot. This isn't a 3rd person shooter, it's a 3rd person hider because you spend most of your time hiding behind cover waiting for your buddies to take our the enemies. And why have a cover where your enemies can shoot you? It makes the cover system useless. There are also lots of 'traps' where it looks like you can take cover, but the game doesn't allow you to.

    The controls are also super sluggish. It takes forever to take cover, come out of cover or do anything. And it only take one bullet to kill you. This is what happens. I take cover behind something. Enemy throws a grenade. The time it takes for the game to take you out of cover so that you can run away from the grenade is longer than the grenade fuse so you die. Sometimes, the grenade icon doesn't even show so you die anyway. Enemy nade spam was extremely aggravating.    … Expand
  2. Pericles83
    Jul 17, 2012
    3
    I will ask you something... Is it worth pay 60 dollar for a game that the only thing is good is the story and nothing more? This game is too short (about 5 or 6 hours long), too linear, extremely generic (if you played gears of war 1,2 or 3 , army of two, kane and lunch you already played this game) and have a multiplayer that dont bring nothing new to the table. Overall a deception.
  3. PurgeTheXenos
    Oct 29, 2013
    0
    A game that sells based on letting you commit fake violence while screaming about the immorality of said fake violence. Take the 'moral' choice and don't even buy the game.
  4. techeddenman777
    Jul 31, 2012
    4
    After playing this game, I can't believe the scores it has being given, based seemingly solely on the fact that it has a story that is a twist on the norm for a shooter. I found it to be endlessly repetitive...walk to the next area, get behind cover, kill the enemies...repeat. The only break from this monotony is when the controls don't work and you get killed...and this happens frequentlyAfter playing this game, I can't believe the scores it has being given, based seemingly solely on the fact that it has a story that is a twist on the norm for a shooter. I found it to be endlessly repetitive...walk to the next area, get behind cover, kill the enemies...repeat. The only break from this monotony is when the controls don't work and you get killed...and this happens frequently and is extremely frustrating. On the plus side, the level design is interesting and I liked the sand effects. The story was unique in that it made you sort of feel bad for enjoying playing the game and killing everything in sight, which, let's face it, is the point of this game genre.
    Besides the boring game-play, I was also disappointed by how short the game was. I don't know exactly how long it was, since I got killed a lot due to the crappy controls, but I would guess it was about 3 hours. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise though. I was glad when I completed the game and had little desire to replay it. I'm only glad I decided to rent it and not plunk down the full retail price to buy it!!    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

83
#83 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2012
27
#27 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2012
33
#33 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 59 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 59
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 59
  3. Negative: 0 out of 59
  1. Eurogamer Portugal
    Aug 11, 2012
    70
    Spec Ops: The Line turned out to be a genuinely nice surprise, is designed for people over 18, not only by the constant shooting scenes but also for the tone, mature theme and psychologically demanding posture.
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  2. Hyper Magazine
    Aug 8, 2012
    100
    From around the halfway mark onwards, The Line is a gripping, at time harrowing, and unforgettable experience. [Sept 2012, p.66]
  3. Console Monster
    Aug 6, 2012
    85
    It may not be winning any awards, that's not to say that this is one of the most captivating shooters currently available to Xbox 360 users. The morality of your choices has never been so well presented as they are in Spec Ops: The Line and for that reason alone it's a game that everyone should experience, if only for a few short hours.
    Read full review
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