For me, it's one of those games that's so memorable I'll likely never play it again.
this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2024
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It's like a movie that's held up by a decent twist
What made it so neat, though, is that that twist isn't something that's directly shown to you, but rather a dawning realization that you experience at some point during the game, and which every player will have at a different time.
It was alright. Gameplay was pretty typical. The story was neat, but it didn't really do anything for me till the fourth quarter as things started coming together.
Honestly, the gameplay was what kept me from finishing the game. It was not the best, and I felt like it really left a lot to be desired (specifically in controls and the "feel" of shooting).
Also before I get any comments about it, I've already seen the scenes at the end of the game and I'm really not interested in finishing it. I know what I'm missing, and I'm okay with that (as emotionally touching as it is).
Honestly, the ending isn't what makes that game. The ending is just the part where they explain what was going on for everyone who didn't already get it.
The two things that really make Spec Ops: The Line stand out are the stunning use of visual storytelling throughout the game, and the ways in which the game integrates player choices.
To take an example from early in the game, there's a scene where you're told to execute one of two prisoners. Because of the way the choice is presented, a lot of players interact exactly how they're told to, without ever realising that the game actually respects almost any choice you might decide to make in that moment. Kill both, kill neither, kill the gunmen instead... All those options are accepted by the story.
Comparing SOTL to something like Mass Effect is really instructive. It's astonishing how much more powerful it is simply respect a player's choices, without tying them to an arbitrary morality system, and without making every choice a clearly defined binary.
without ever realising that the game actually respects almost any choice you might decide to make in that moment. Kill both, kill neither, kill the gunmen instead… All those options are accepted by the story.
- You can't kill both.
- If you leave, you die by sniper shot.
- If you wait too long, the snipers shoot one of them.
- If you attack the snipers, both prisoners die.
All choices come down to the exact same battle. It's literally the same thing as what Mass Effect does, without even the colour-change ending. The quantum-ogre will ALWAYS be in front of you here, and in other places, it's even more obvious.
In the scene with WP, the game won't continue if you don't push the White Phosphorous button. You can absolutely keep playing, for an insanely long time without pushing the button, but you won't progress. The game tell you "Press here to meet Quantum Ogre" and won't let you past without pushing the button.
And then it tries to be all deep, by telling the player they chose to push the button. The game would be significantly more impactful if these choices DID matter. You can't place blame on a player if the ludology doesn't allow deviation.
It played like any generic third person over the shoulder shooter. It didn't have any unique mechanics or weapons that have it stand out... Aside from the one weapon you use once.
TLoU1 was that game for me. Way too heavy to play again
That's weird. 2k published it and they like money.
That's strange. Especially since it's still for sale on places like GOG and on sale at that. Hopefully this is just an error on 2K or Valve's end and it will be back up. If not then I don't really know why. I mean it's an anti-war third person shooter from 2012. Its not exactly the most controversial game anymore. Unless there's some license that expired that 2K doesn't want to pay to extend.
But why?
Music licensing shenanigans strike once again.
The evergreen digital market of today is just incompatible with the practices established back when stuff was sold in boxes and only expected to sell for 5-8 years, and every now and then we get a reminder of what happens when they don't mesh.
Thankfully GoG was still selling it and discounted it massively to allow more people to preserve it.
The real issue is that music licensing isn't perpetual. Licensing should be per person or per product, not time based.
Everyone blames the games industry, but they really should be pointing their fingers at the music industry.
This is also why seasons of TV shows were crazy expensive on DVD, have different music on streaming services, and why some shows like the Drew Carey show will never be seen again.
It would be great if we could get a law that makes these ridiculous licensing rules void and delivery medium is detached from copy permission.
I wonder if it can be even simpler: if you stop selling it (for a reasonable price), it loses all copyright protection. And that would apply to all versions of the media, so companies can't just stop selling the old version to promote sales of the remaster.
Companies would then have an incentive to negotiate proper licenses to media, otherwise their work would enter the public domain the moment that license expires.
That doesn't help a ton with music, as the songs are generally for sale. A show of game becoming public domain doesn't help a ton without music, but it may force companies to be more aggressive in negotiating rights I suppose so they don't end up in this situation.
Yup, and that's the goal. Game companies wouldn't want to lose their copyright, so they'd either have to negotiate more favorable rights or go back to older games to remove lapsed music. Either way, the game stays available.
I guess Valve doesn't feel like a hero yet...