It’s time for another Retro Ad Replay article! This is the series where we head backwards in time to reminisce and celebrate the anniversary of some of the most significant moments in gaming. If you find yourself wanting more content like this, be sure to visit Mandatory.com.
In this June 26 edition of Retro Ad Replay, we’re shooting back eight years to when Spec Ops: The Line first launched on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. That’s June 26, 2012. Created by Yager Development and published by 2K Games, Spec Ops: The Line initially seemed like just another military shooter, but those who made it to the late-game know that it quickly turns into a mind-bending experience.
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If you’ve somehow managed to avoid the game until now, and you don’t know any spoilers, we’d urge you to stop reading and play through it. Then come back and catch up on our review and the game’s E3 2010(!) trailer.
The original GameRevolution Spec Ops: The Line review awarded the game a 4/5, praising it for “Conrad inspiring Konrad,” the “strong narrative,” having “multiple endings,” the “late-game visuals and set pieces,” and “competent mechanics and multiplayer.”
Here’s a snippet from the GR review:
THE LINE deals with the realities (and un-realities) of war and conflict heavy-handedly, appropriately, seeking to impart some knowledge on the gamer that you are not a hero. No, you are a violent, murderous individual with a penchant for death and destruction. Somewhere in there, you’re a soldier.
Too often, military first-person shooters glorify the actions that only seem “good” because of their label. The loading screens in SPEC OPS make direct reference to this. Late in the game, after you’ve lost all sense of your humanity and seen the atrocities of war first-hand, the game asks you point-blank: “Do you feel like a hero?”
Take a look at the Spec Ops: The Line E3 2010 trailer embedded below:
