First off, what's noticible is the utterly brilliant musical orchestra. Not only allowing both quiet and gorgeous strings of the violin, but also some metal guitar riffs during the heat of battle.
Secondly, what I'd like to point out is the both the graphics and scenery. The game obviously has a nice Bioshock-like destruction but with the crushed buildings, large sand dunes and dead corpses decaying in the sun. Transformation of character is also an excellent noticible feature too. As you move through the campaign, your protagonist Martin Walker (voiced by Nolan North) falls from great heights, is shot at and eventually becomes cut up and even scarred. These feature stay with you as you progress and eventually do indeed get worse as you go.
What becomes dissappointing is the voice acting. The vocal cast is mostly actors brand new to vocal acting and with this, comes some very melodramatic scenes. While some scenes (Such as coming across civillians burnt alive by your hand) calls for some building tention, the acting becomes stale and repetitive as shouting becomes more frequent, even in quieter moments in game.
Controls, while familiar, seem quite "Gears Of War"-ish in both control of character and weapon abilities. What really appeals is the storyline. Loosely based off the 1899 novel Heart of Darkness and more attached to its sister film Apocalypse Now, Spec Ops The Line is a modern retelling of both novel and film and with it, the game develops beautifully. The plotline is shrouded in mystery as is the actions of both your squad and your protagonist, making key decision as you go along. No spoilers but pay attention to choice making and listen to your allies. While many reviewers are harsh for the ending of the game, those who have read the novel or seen the movie could make sense of the ending. Your actions and decisions shape on how you choose the multiple endings, four to be precise. To add a cherry to the top, jokes often appear to lighten the mood of the game, one for example. "Why is there so much violence?! Is it the video games? I bet its the video games..."
Mutiplayer is quite enjoyable. Not only are the maps even and hold different areas for different types of fighting, but gameplay is smooth, players drop in or out without any hassel and customization of character is quite well done. For now, the game only holds the classic multiplayer modes such as Free For All, Team Deathmatch, King Of The Hill and so on. The only issue with Multiplayer is connection; while connectivity is brilliant while in game, it takes a large amount of time for you to connect to either host or system and then wait to be place into either the loosing or uneven team. This can take up to 5-10 minutes at maximum but still is worth it if you're looking for a great match.
Like many other games, Spec Ops The Line has its cons and pros, but for the its low price, the excellence in gameplay and storytelling and right down to the very brutal and dark scenary around you. Spec Ops The Line is definitely worth your time and effort.
Out of 10, I gave Spec Ops The Line an 8/10
Good Points
+ Scenery is jaw dropping.
+ Good storyline, smooth and solid.
+ Multiplayer is addictive.
+ Multiple endings could lead to sequel.
Bad Points
- Some parts become mellodramatic
- Dying of old age to get into a single match.
Spec Ops The Line is out now for the standard price of $72
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