Launch Station: Spec Ops: The Line

In an incredibly crowded genre like the first/third person shooter genre, games like Spec Ops: The Line can easily fall under the shadows of genre heavyweights like Call of Duty and Battlefield.  Sometimes this happens for good reason.  Sometimes it causes gamers to overlook what was a pretty good game.  If Spec Ops: The Line falls under the former or the latter, you will just have to try the demo or pick up the game, which just released today.

In Spec Ops: The Line, you play as Captain Martin Walker, accompanied by a Delta Force bravo team,  on a mission to rescue a U.S. Army Colonel by the name of John Konrad trapped in the sandstorm ravaged city of Dubai.  This is not your standard search-and-rescue mission as Walker and company must battle unknown enemies and the forces of nature.  Spec Ops: The Line really focuses on using the natural sandstorms of Dubai to change the game.  Spec Ops' engine randomizes when and where sandstorms start, which makes the game very unpredictable and the environment very dynamic.  Sandstorms can unlock or close off different areas of Dubai or can be used to change the tide of battle.  Spec Ops: The Line's other big selling point is its' mature story that dives into the dark side of war.  To reinforce the mature story, there are realistic choices interspersed throughout the game where there is no defined good or bad choice like in other games.  All the choices fall under different shades of grey.  For those to take the Spec Ops experience online, The Line also features a class-based multiplayer mode.

Honestly, I am not a huge shooter fan so Spec Ops: The Line has not done much to excite me.  For shooter fans, Spec Ops: The Line looks like an interesting shooter that does enough to differentiate itself from the giants of the genre.  It should keep shooter fans busy until the next big shooter hits the market.  If you are a big shooter fan or really enjoyed the demo, Spec Ops: The Line should definitely be the shooter to pick up this summer.