The squad-mate AI is another very well-done feature of
Spec Ops. Lugo and Addams, your trusty pair of underlings, are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves in almost any battle. You’ll be far into the game before you’re likely to have to revive them, and even then it won’t happen too often. Even better, they can be easily directed to focus their attacks on any particular target.
This enables you to effortlessly eliminate an enemy and it’s very possible to go entire fights without actually having to get your hands dirty at all. Sniper Lugo can even be relied on to take out distant targets. The AI's usefulness makes the segments where you’re separated and left to fend for yourself particularly perilous, as without them watching your back you have to pay a lot more attention to your surroundings.
Ammo is a valuable commodity in Dubai and you’ll burn through most of your reserves pretty quickly in extended gunfights. It’s usually better to change weapons regularly, discarding any empty weapons in favour of the half-empty ones dropped by dead enemies.
The usual assortment of guns is up for grabs - assault rifles, sniper rifles and shotguns for starters and rocket and grenade launchers later on. The variety of different models each differ slightly in their power, recoil and accuracy, and some can be equipped with silencers so you can stealthily make your way through certain areas. The shotgun in particular is a lot of fun, though you’ll have to work extra hard to survive if you’re getting up close enough to use it properly.
It’s not worth getting too attached to your equipment thanks to the numerous occasions where you’re stripped of your current weapons. Generally leaving you only armed with a pistol, these parts can be very difficult as you are forced to contend with waves of better-armed enemies while trying to safely acquire one of their discarded guns without leaving yourself open. These sequences are few and far between, but they become increasingly challenging as the game goes on.
The multiplayer mode offers nothing too revolutionary, though there is at least a decent number of modes to try out. Winning matches and earning experience unlocks more weapons for you to outfit your character with, so if you’re a perfectionist or collector then there’s plenty to achieve if you’re willing to invest the time. Multiplayer doesn’t really play to
Spec Ops’ strengths that well however, and you’d be hard-pressed to get anything out of it that you wouldn’t be able to find in any other online shooter.
Spec Ops is a frantic, fun and smooth game that’s ultimately lifted up by its great story and compelling character development. That said I can’t help thinking a lot of the story’s impact will be lost on anyone who is familiar with
Heart of Darkness or has seen it’s fairly popular film adaptation
Apocalypse Now!.
It’s still a great story and
Spec Ops does a great job of putting a fresh spin on the premise and keeping you invested all the way through, but if you know the big twists in advance then it can’t help but feel somewhat neutered at first. It eventually builds to a brilliant conclusion no matter what ending you get however, and serves as a refreshingly different take on the genre. There’s no glory in war in
Spec Ops: The Line.
Pros
+ Brilliant story-telling.
+ Great squad mate AI.
Cons
- Erratic difficulty curve.
- Doesn’t everybody know this story?
SPOnG score: 8.5/10
