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Let's Play Spec Ops: The Line Together! - Week 2 Finale!

SilverWindSilverWind Registered User regular
edited October 2015 in Social Entropy++
Welcome to the Community Playthrough of Spec Ops: The Line: For Grownups

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD661k1UpvQ

"The most exciting thing to happen in video game narrative for fucking years." - Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw

"One of the most subversive shooters yet made.” - Edge Magazine

“Set My Brain On Fire” - PC Gamer

"It's not often you see a survey with one right answer, but, Specs Ops is the right answer." - darleysam


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What the heck is Spec Ops: The Line?

Spec Ops: The Line is a game about a guy taking a much-needed vacation in Dubai.

Actually no, it isn't. But I've never played the game myself, so I'll just pull up this summary from Wikipedia:

In Spec Ops: The Line, the player controls Captain Martin Walker, who is sent into a post-catastrophe Dubai with an elite Delta Force team on a reconnaissance mission, where they find dead American soldiers. Upon the finding, Walker declares that the team's mission has changed, and that they will search Dubai for survivors.

OK. So why are we playing it now?

Because it was the most popular 'short game' pick in the SE++ Game Club poll we held last week. And I hear the story is pretty darned interesting!

Community playthrough?

Yes, this community playthrough is sort of like a book club. Each week, we'll be playing a segment of the game together. Because the SE++ Game Club is for adults and other people with busy schedules, we have divided the game into short sections for your convenience.

Where can I play it?

PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Mac, Linux... so just about everywhere, I guess! Here it is on Amazon, and here it is on Steam.

So what do we talk about in this thread?

The idea is that as we play the game we'll talk about the parts we're playing through. Feel free to discuss and play further into the game than is outlined in the schedule, but if you do so, please keep the discussion in spoiler tags. For the first couple days of the week, you may want to put critical moments for that week in spoiler tags too, as many people may be playing through this game for the first time.

When does this nonsense start?

TODAY TODAY TODAY!

Do I need to sign up?

Naaah. :P This game will be short, so just dive right in.



THE SCHEDULE

This is a 2-week playthrough.

Week 1 (October 2 to October 8)
From the start to clearing The Gate

Week 2 (October 9 to October 15)
To the end!

Easy peasy. :D



What's next in store for the SE++ Game Club?

By popular vote, the next game will be Final Fantasy Tactics (either the original or the War of the Lions version). That playthrough begins on October 23, so snag a copy if you don't have it already!

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Posts

  • FaranguFarangu I am a beardy man With a beardy planRegistered User regular
    The thumbnail on that Youtube video has been one of my favorite character poses for a while now. He nails the People's Eyebrow so well.

    Out of town for a wedding this weekend, I'll put up my thoughts once I clear the Gate.

  • A duck!A duck! Moderator, ClubPA mod
  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    417 master race

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    I love this game

  • StiltsStilts Registered User regular
    One thing I actually really love about Spec Ops is the aesthetic, especially once you get into Dubai proper.

    These huge, ostentatious skyscrapers cut up through the sand like blades of glass feel imposing from afar. But when you're inside them and see them empty, full of sand and in complete disrepair, they feel pathetic and tragic.

    It's easily one of the most striking settings I've found in a game in recent years.

    IKknkhU.gif
  • Johnny ChopsockyJohnny Chopsocky Scootaloo! We have to cook! Grillin' HaysenburgersRegistered User regular
    Oh man, someone new playing Spec Ops: The Line. Talk about a game that I wish I could experience for the first time again.

    ygPIJ.gif
    Steam ID XBL: JohnnyChopsocky PSN:Stud_Beefpile WiiU:JohnnyChopsocky
  • SLyMSLyM Registered User regular
    I was sure I owned this game from one steam sale or the other. Oh well, I'll be back for fft

    My friend is working on a roguelike game you can play if you want to. (It has free demo)
  • WybornWyborn GET EQUIPPED Registered User regular
    About 90 minutes into the game, just got to Chapter 5

    That's an interesting game so far. It's definitely setting me up as one of the bad guys in this four-pronged (so far) conflict. I am just killing everyone. I did manage to not kill a civilian when she came running at me with her head down, because the palette on her clothes was different than the soldiers in that area, but I almost shot her!

    I wonder how many people shot her.

    dN0T6ur.png
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    I think I'm going to play through this twice. I'll try to kill as few people as is possible, and then I'll do a "slaughter everything" playthrough.

  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    Hah, was not expecting to see my name attached to a quote up there.
    Better tell my parents I finally made it.

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  • WybornWyborn GET EQUIPPED Registered User regular
    edited October 2015
    Well I got to the stopping point

    Huh

    What would have changed if I had let Largo take the shot and save Gould? Would information from his mouth about his people have made Walker approach that situation differently?

    Wyborn on
    dN0T6ur.png
  • A duck!A duck! Moderator, ClubPA mod
    I'm going to spoil something that doesn't give plot information, but might damage a surprise from the second half of the game.
    If you're cruising through without any deaths, try letting yourself get killed every now and then, especially late game. It's worth the trouble. If you're getting killed on the reg don't worry about it.

  • CorporateLogoCorporateLogo The toilet knows how I feelRegistered User regular
    I forget the timeline of this game, does this week include the willy pete sequence

    Cause I have some thoughts about a line of dialogue from that sequence

    Do not have a cow, mortal.

    c9PXgFo.jpg
  • A duck!A duck! Moderator, ClubPA mod
    I forget the timeline of this game, does this week include the willy pete sequence

    Cause I have some thoughts about a line of dialogue from that sequence

    It does.

  • MadicanMadican No face Registered User regular
    Wyborn wrote: »
    About 90 minutes into the game, just got to Chapter 5

    That's an interesting game so far. It's definitely setting me up as one of the bad guys in this four-pronged (so far) conflict. I am just killing everyone. I did manage to not kill a civilian when she came running at me with her head down, because the palette on her clothes was different than the soldiers in that area, but I almost shot her!

    I wonder how many people shot her.

    Finally, my Elder Scrolls habit of constantly waiting for someone to attack me first to determine if they're friendly or hostile will be a boon and not a detriment.

  • WybornWyborn GET EQUIPPED Registered User regular
    A steak! wrote: »
    I'm going to spoil something that doesn't give plot information, but might damage a surprise from the second half of the game.
    If you're cruising through without any deaths, try letting yourself get killed every now and then, especially late game. It's worth the trouble. If you're getting killed on the reg don't worry about it.

    Let me tell you buddy.
    That helicopter attacking sequence where you have to run killed me about half a dozen times

    But yeah in general I die fairly regular

    dN0T6ur.png
  • OlivawOlivaw good name, isn't it? the foot of mt fujiRegistered User regular
    Wyborn wrote: »
    About 90 minutes into the game, just got to Chapter 5

    That's an interesting game so far. It's definitely setting me up as one of the bad guys in this four-pronged (so far) conflict. I am just killing everyone. I did manage to not kill a civilian when she came running at me with her head down, because the palette on her clothes was different than the soldiers in that area, but I almost shot her!

    I wonder how many people shot her.

    That thought you have is exactly what Spec Ops is about

    There's a moment I had near the end of the game that felt like the culmination of everything the game was trying to convey and it was so god damn brilliant

    I can't wait to see how you react to it

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  • FaranguFarangu I am a beardy man With a beardy planRegistered User regular
    Thoughts:

    The concept that this game reminds me most of is a carnival hall of mirrors. Right at the title screen - showing an upside down flag, ruined architecture and a distorted anthem - the game tells you to expect twisted visions and perversions of comfortable concepts. You start the game, and for the first two or so hours you're seeing what you expected to see - serviceable (yet bland) gunplay, soldiers marching forward to help other soldiers, supreme moral authority to pull the trigger, and a sense that this isn't competing well with the CoDs and BlOps. To the massive credit of the dev team, the gunplay gets juuuuust to the edge of not worth repeating ad nauseum before the game starts telling the message it wants to tell, playing off of the expectations it had just spent the prior 5 chapters establishing.

    We're soldiers marching forward to help other soldiers!...by shooting US soldiers.
    The gunplay works yet isn't quite satisfying...and yet you keep playing, while your avatar continuously says that there's no choice but to press forward.
    You start the game with the moral high ground...yet every chapter has you descending both physically and mentally.
    This game isn't CoD...I felt better playing that game. It was fun. This is something different.

    The mirrors start to get more and more warped. By the time you've cleared the Gate, you can hear something different in Walker. There's no more banter within the team. Your enemies don't refer to you by "Tango" or even "Threat", but "Murderer". And you stand in front of an even further descent, the charred corpses of victims behind you. The game tells you to obey. And most did.

    As I said in the poll thread, this game goes dark, and the Gate is just the start. If you've made it this far, you're likely committed to see how it ends, for better or worse. Like Walker says, sometimes you really don't have a choice.

  • StiltsStilts Registered User regular
    Spec Ops may be the least jingoistic shooter ever created, and for that I very much appreciate its existence.

    IKknkhU.gif
  • WheatBun01WheatBun01 Face It, Tiger Registered User regular
    Replayed this once before going in blind, got to the Gate just now.

    Very much looking forward to the back half where everything falls apart for Walker.

  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    Ugh, I don't think I'm gonna have a chance to do this. Surgery for the dog ate up most of my weekend, and I've got a couple real busy weeks at work

  • DidgeridooDidgeridoo Flighty Dame Registered User regular
    Blegh, my copy still hasn't arrived! >:[

  • WyvernWyvern Registered User regular
    I just made it out of the hotel place where the civilians were being rounded up. I don't know how far that is relative to the Gate. I'm mostly just waiting for the other shoe to drop, since I know generally what the structure of the game is like from old discussions.

    I'm glad one of Walker's sidekicks had the decency to suggest trying to negotiate, even if Walker himself didn't give a damn. He sure doesn't think much of shooting down hundreds of people for highly ambiguous reasons!

    Switch: SW-2431-2728-9604 || 3DS: 0817-4948-1650
  • Dyvim TvarDyvim Tvar Registered User regular
    edited October 2015
    This thread has finally given me the impetus to get around to playing Spec Ops. I picked this up ages ago in a bundle of 2K stuff but just never got around to playing past the first five minutes.

    Holy shit this game. Just got to chapter 9, the Gate was certainly some shit. I mean, I knew what was going to happen and figured that knowledge would adequately steel me against everything. It really didn't.
    Wyborn wrote: »
    Well I got to the stopping point

    Huh

    What would have changed if I had let Largo take the shot and save Gould? Would information from his mouth about his people have made Walker approach that situation differently?

    I saved Gould, you don't get any intel from him so I don't imagine it changes anything. Maybe the interaction between Lugo and Adams afterwards is a little different?
    I tell you one thing, it definitely makes you feel the weight of the decision that you make. Or at least I felt like it did.

    Dyvim Tvar on
    Everyone is different. Everyone is special.
  • FaranguFarangu I am a beardy man With a beardy planRegistered User regular
    Wyvern wrote: »
    I just made it out of the hotel place where the civilians were being rounded up. I don't know how far that is relative to the Gate. I'm mostly just waiting for the other shoe to drop, since I know generally what the structure of the game is like from old discussions.

    I'm glad one of Walker's sidekicks had the decency to suggest trying to negotiate, even if Walker himself didn't give a damn. He sure doesn't think much of shooting down hundreds of people for highly ambiguous reasons!

    Think you have another 60-90 minutes, depending on how frequently death happens

  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    Ha, wish I'd seen this thread

    I binged this game over the last two days, because out of nowhere I was like "I want to play an interesting game and I own this"

    I finished it last night and am still not sure exactly how I feel about it.
    Some of the themes felt like they weren't addressing me, personally, since I don't play many shooters, and that lessened a lot of the impact.

  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    Yeah, I saw your first posts in [chat] mentioning that you were playing it and I was like "hm, I should probably @ her about that" and
    then I ended up not remembering to do that
    sorry

  • ShivahnShivahn Unaware of her barrel shifter privilege Western coastal temptressRegistered User, Moderator mod
    That's ok, I enjoyed the binge and found the thread on my own. Everything works out, if we all just shirk all responsibility :P

  • SilverWindSilverWind Registered User regular
    This week has been The Busiest Week Ever, but thankfully come this weekend I should be able to sit back and actually load the game. :P

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  • WyvernWyvern Registered User regular
    I was a little behind in the last half of the week, but I got caught up and made it through the gate.
    I knew from overheard discussions that there was a thing with white phosphorous, but I was never clear on the context. It was a lot more clever than I was expecting, I have to say. Dehumanizing the enemy with the targeting computer view was a great touch. I totally called the trench being filled with civilians, though.

    Actually, to be honest...initially I fired a shell in the trench on purpose, not thinking much of it other than that it was a target-rich environment (and knowing there's no way to not use the white phosphorous either way). But then I IMMEDIATELY realized that that was a terrible idea and reloaded from the checkpoint. But they make you do it anyway, of course.

    Meanwhile, Walker continues to have absolutely no idea what his objective even is, except to Keep Moving Forward and Fix Everything Somehow.

    Switch: SW-2431-2728-9604 || 3DS: 0817-4948-1650
  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    Yeah, I can definitely see why some people would not want to play through this game again. I mean, it's good, but it throws really dark, and there aren't really any moments of levity to break it up. I can't even say I was having a particularly good time while playing it, but I'm definitely going to play through it again once I'm done.

    The only thing about this game that made me smile, was that Nolan North clearly does other voices aside from Walker, so there were definitely times where Nolan North was yelling at Nolan North.

  • DidgeridooDidgeridoo Flighty Dame Registered User regular
    Holy shit

    Okay full disclosure, I had to have a steak! play through the game while I watched because a) I suck at shooters and b) The FF12 playthrough has absolutely ruined me for camera controls, and Spec Ops does not have an option to invert the X axis. Constantly attempting to aim and having the camera go the opposite of the intended direction is a recipe for a very dead player character.

    We got to The Gate and I had to call it off. I don't have the stomach to see this game through to the end. Steak summed the rest of the game up for me since he's played it before. Altogether it sounds like a game that I greatly respect for what it's trying to say and how it says it, but I have no desire to experience it.

  • MadicanMadican No face Registered User regular
    You wanted a palette cleanser from FF12, you got a palette cleanser.

    I keep dying in the hotel because I run out of ammo and then I'm just making angry faces at a lot of people shooting me.

  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    Didgeridoo wrote: »
    Holy shit

    Okay full disclosure, I had to have a steak! play through the game while I watched because a) I suck at shooters and b) The FF12 playthrough has absolutely ruined me for camera controls, and Spec Ops does not have an option to invert the X axis. Constantly attempting to aim and having the camera go the opposite of the intended direction is a recipe for a very dead player character.

    We got to The Gate and I had to call it off. I don't have the stomach to see this game through to the end. Steak summed the rest of the game up for me since he's played it before. Altogether it sounds like a game that I greatly respect for what it's trying to say and how it says it, but I have no desire to experience it.

    I do not blame you at all.

    I will say, the game gets even better in hindsight. It's good as you experience it, but once you let it stew and reflect on just what they did, and how they chose to do it, and even when (mind you this is a game that came out right in the middle of all the Medal of Honors and Battlefields and Gears of Wars and Call of Duties, which makes it message and methods that much more impressive) it becomes extremely powerful.

  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    Madican wrote: »
    You wanted a palette cleanser from FF12, you got a palette cleanser.

    I keep dying in the hotel because I run out of ammo and then I'm just making angry faces at a lot of people shooting me.
    Performing executions gives you bonus ammo. Handy for when you're low.

  • DidgeridooDidgeridoo Flighty Dame Registered User regular
    Javen wrote: »
    Didgeridoo wrote: »
    Holy shit

    Okay full disclosure, I had to have a steak! play through the game while I watched because a) I suck at shooters and b) The FF12 playthrough has absolutely ruined me for camera controls, and Spec Ops does not have an option to invert the X axis. Constantly attempting to aim and having the camera go the opposite of the intended direction is a recipe for a very dead player character.

    We got to The Gate and I had to call it off. I don't have the stomach to see this game through to the end. Steak summed the rest of the game up for me since he's played it before. Altogether it sounds like a game that I greatly respect for what it's trying to say and how it says it, but I have no desire to experience it.

    I do not blame you at all.

    I will say, the game gets even better in hindsight. It's good as you experience it, but once you let it stew and reflect on just what they did, and how they chose to do it, and even when (mind you this is a game that came out right in the middle of all the Medal of Honors and Battlefields and Gears of Wars and Call of Duties, which makes it message and methods that much more impressive) it becomes extremely powerful.

    Putting this in spoilers just in case people haven't had a chance to play through The Gate yet:
    The way the game handled the white phosphorous was ingenious. Having your character guide the blasts through an aiming reticle and neutralize abstracted targets was very reminiscent of many modern games which have you bomb the fuck out of a target through a computerized system and then that's the end of it.

    Then they make you walk through the result of what you ordered.

    Again, extremely effective message and I respect the developers greatly. Waaaaaaaayyy too awful for me to continue playing.

  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    Didgeridoo wrote: »
    Holy shit

    Okay full disclosure, I had to have a steak! play through the game while I watched because a) I suck at shooters and b) The FF12 playthrough has absolutely ruined me for camera controls, and Spec Ops does not have an option to invert the X axis. Constantly attempting to aim and having the camera go the opposite of the intended direction is a recipe for a very dead player character.

    We got to The Gate and I had to call it off. I don't have the stomach to see this game through to the end. Steak summed the rest of the game up for me since he's played it before. Altogether it sounds like a game that I greatly respect for what it's trying to say and how it says it, but I have no desire to experience it.

    Also going to spoil this, because I kind of talk about this scene and the rest of the game:
    from previous threads, where people would get to The Gate, say they knew what was coming, go on through and then complain about how the game forced them to do it... you actually kind of 'beat' the game. Like, the overriding message the game seems to want to give is "you must enjoy this, because you keep going". Everyone keeps going to the end, but you always have the option to stop, and nobody ever takes it. So well-done!

    forumsig.png
  • WheatBun01WheatBun01 Face It, Tiger Registered User regular
    Finished it! I basically did the opposite of everything I picked when I played it a couple of years ago.
    I had Walker make a choice on who to save with the "people" strung up, the thief and the soldier. Before I simply had him walk away from it and nothing really happens because he's imagining it all. I didn't save Guld whereas before I did, and I let Walker live instead of having him shoot himself. None of these choices really effect the narrative any, but I appreciate that they let you flesh out how you play just a bit. Great game, I almost definitely won't ever play it a third time though. I don't think I could stomach it.

  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    edited October 2015
    darleysam wrote: »
    Didgeridoo wrote: »
    Holy shit

    Okay full disclosure, I had to have a steak! play through the game while I watched because a) I suck at shooters and b) The FF12 playthrough has absolutely ruined me for camera controls, and Spec Ops does not have an option to invert the X axis. Constantly attempting to aim and having the camera go the opposite of the intended direction is a recipe for a very dead player character.

    We got to The Gate and I had to call it off. I don't have the stomach to see this game through to the end. Steak summed the rest of the game up for me since he's played it before. Altogether it sounds like a game that I greatly respect for what it's trying to say and how it says it, but I have no desire to experience it.

    Also going to spoil this, because I kind of talk about this scene and the rest of the game:
    from previous threads, where people would get to The Gate, say they knew what was coming, go on through and then complain about how the game forced them to do it... you actually kind of 'beat' the game. Like, the overriding message the game seems to want to give is "you must enjoy this, because you keep going". Everyone keeps going to the end, but you always have the option to stop, and nobody ever takes it. So well-done!
    Maybe, but I fucking hate it when games do this. 'Oh you could stop playing anytime hurr durr'. Developers making that kind of meta commentary on the people playing their game are the worst, because if everyone took their advice, they'd suddenly have a really bad game. Obsidian did the same thing with the Lonesome Road DLC, chastising the player for having to explore everything and do every quest, despite that being the entire fucking game. 'Just turn the game off' isn't a decision that's supported by the narrative. You'd have to allow for the player to actually just say 'nope' and peace out of Dubai.

    Javen on
  • MalReynoldsMalReynolds The Hunter S Thompson of incredibly mild medicines Registered User regular
    Javen wrote: »
    darleysam wrote: »
    Didgeridoo wrote: »
    Holy shit

    Okay full disclosure, I had to have a steak! play through the game while I watched because a) I suck at shooters and b) The FF12 playthrough has absolutely ruined me for camera controls, and Spec Ops does not have an option to invert the X axis. Constantly attempting to aim and having the camera go the opposite of the intended direction is a recipe for a very dead player character.

    We got to The Gate and I had to call it off. I don't have the stomach to see this game through to the end. Steak summed the rest of the game up for me since he's played it before. Altogether it sounds like a game that I greatly respect for what it's trying to say and how it says it, but I have no desire to experience it.

    Also going to spoil this, because I kind of talk about this scene and the rest of the game:
    from previous threads, where people would get to The Gate, say they knew what was coming, go on through and then complain about how the game forced them to do it... you actually kind of 'beat' the game. Like, the overriding message the game seems to want to give is "you must enjoy this, because you keep going". Everyone keeps going to the end, but you always have the option to stop, and nobody ever takes it. So well-done!
    Maybe, but I fucking hate it when games do this. 'Oh you could stop playing anytime hurr durr'. Developers making that kind of meta commentary on the people playing their game are the worst, because if everyone took their advice, they'd suddenly have a really bad game. Obsidian did the same thing with the Lonesome Road DLC, chastising the player for having to explore everything and do every quest, despite that being the entire fucking game. 'Just turn the game off' isn't a decision that's supported by the narrative. You'd have to allow for the player to actually just say 'nope' and peace out of Dubai.
    It wasn't just a commentary on their game, though; it was a scathing commentary on the genre in general. The best selling games of that console generation were gung-ho, online focused hyper-military games that celebrate an Us vs. Them mentality when it comes to the cannon fodder.

    The Line doesn't have an us or a them. You start by fighting insurgents. Then you fight the soldiers you were sent to save. Then you fight the CIA, who backed the insurgency and the troops. You're playing a game in a genre where the central characters are indiscriminate killers, but the Bad Guys are always Bad.

    Walker even acts as such, despite the increasing insanity of his actions. When you stop playing at The Gate because you don't want to kill all those people with WP, you are winning.

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