The real power in these decisions comes from their severity. Your decisions aren't as trivial as whether to man a turret or ride shotgun. They involve your alliance to your country, to your men, to humanity. Though these choices you face may offer two (or more) equally negative results, the decisions are so serious that it is challenging not to feel as if you have actually made them in real life. I frequently felt tinges of guilt and remorse as I played Spec Ops: The Line.
The Story
Spec Ops: The Line is set in Dubai, one of the world's most luxurious cities. Ironically, this luxury is surrounded by a formidable desert climate. The story of the game riffs on this juxtaposition of setting and imagines what would happen if this city—a global center of wealth and recreation—were decimated by monstrous sandstorms. Most of the population has attempted to escape, but a military squad, led by U.S. Army Colonel John Konrad, has stayed behind to assist those who needed help in the face of the disaster.
Without any word or signal of survival for six months following the fall of Dubai, the world thought that Konrad and his men had died. Then, out of the dust and ruin, a distress signal was discovered, and a search and rescue crew was sent to save Konrad and as many other survivors as possible. Playing as U.S. Army Captain Martin Walker, you are the leader of that crew.
(Minor spoilers) The single player campaign begins as you and your men are flying in a helicopter around the wasteland that used to be Dubai. Immediately greeted by hostile aircraft and (after a flashback) hostile ground troops, you quickly discover that things are more complicated than anyone expected. Konrad and his men aren't the only ones in the city, and it's not clear whose side anyone is on.
Controls
Just as it takes a while to get your mind around what's happening in Dubai, there is a bit of a learning curve for the controls. Other than a few exceptions, the game is a third-person shooter, a perspective that I almost always enjoy less than first-person. Similar to the gameplay in Gears of War, most of your movements as Captain Walker involve seemingly endless repetitions of running, taking cover, vaulting over cover, and running again.
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