I just bought Spec Ops completely out of the blue without any previous indication.

Why? I just noticed it was developed by Yager Entertainment!

A few years ago there was this incredibly awesome game called Yager (hopefully soon on GOG). And it was made by those guys. It was an unbelievably well designed and fun game. It had a sequel hook but I thought the dev had gone under, because I never heard from them since.

It was so good, that I just shelved out 25$ for a game I hardly know about just to support the devs.

I honestly have no clue about the game (but I will report back later this week) but I just needed to get this out.


Additionally, I want to raise awareness about the old Yager game, which doesn't even had a wishlist entry. Shame. on. you. all.

http://www.gog.com/en/wishlist/games/yager

Alright, between all the awesome reviews regarding the "darkness" of this game I'm finally sold. Max Payne 3 is back up to 40 USD now, not willing to get that and the 30 USD Rockstar Pass, so I'm gonna just get this, it sure sounds like they deserve it.

There's been several video reviews and some write ups on PA Report and elsewhere about this game and they all have one thing in common: you are not glorified for what you are doing, it makes you feel bad (if you're human), and the game manages to avoid jingoism almost completely. This is amazing for a modern military shooter.

Do we play video games to feel bad? ;-) (I suppose sometimes, if we're looking for that kind of "experience," like people who play survival-horror games...)

I finished it yesterday, in (pretty much) one sitting. It's about 5-6 hours long on normal difficulty.

In terms of gameplay it's a Uncharted clone, but a bit less polished. The strength of the game lies on the storyline and atmosphere though. The narrative is captivating, shows the true cruelty and madness of war, and there are some very small details (like small choices you make during the game) which shape the endgame accordingly.

For the same reason books like Lord of the Flies and movies like Cabin in the Woods are an "enjoyable" experience. Sometimes our brain needs something engaging that forces you to ponder the experience, and sometimes you need something mindless (my current mindless game is Shoot Many Robots).

Why did I never heard or read about this YAGER game before?!

Seems to be decent. Voted for it.

I agree. It's almost a shame that it's marketed the other way, however. Seeing the TV commercials, you'd think it was another me-too COD wannabe.

RPS has what I find to be a pretty balanced review of the game. Anytime a game world gets compared to Rapture, it has my attention.

Also @SimonG, I voted for your beloved Yager ;), just 'cause I like you so much.

Okay, pulled the trigger on Spec Ops The Line, hopefully will be enjoying it after work.

I was under the impression that it was yet another Spec Ops: The Line was yet another modern-ish jingoistic military shooter, and never looked further than that. That review really got me interested in it.

I played the demo. While I found some of the combat effects (The blood was weird looking) lacking, the overall gameplay was fun and the story from what I saw was pretty good. Hopefully I can buy it on Amazon in a few days before the supposed Steam Sale for summer hits.

I got it and played the demo... seems pretty rough around the edges but there is quality there.

I wanted to say that its a German dev and that would be usually a good sign of "anti-jingoism". Then I remembered Crysis ...

Edit:

And a note on Yager. It appears the PC version of that game was never released outside Europe. A real shame. I still got my disk at home. It went into the "bargain bin" really fast after release. I still remember that those graphics were really well made and smooth. They ran perfectly on my already dated machine, which impressed me even more.

Gah Spec Ops The Line is a game that I would drop the money for full price to support the storytelling, which video games really need to improve on.

Spec Ops is a really good game. Absolutely zero buyers remorse on my end.

Your thread made me watch some videos, and I TOTALLY want this game as soon as it drops some.

The videos I saw made it look like an *instant* classic. Thank you SO much for finding this gem!

I feel like I was watching nothing but "300" and "Legionnaire", and someone just gave me "Gladiator"!!