Next up on our tour of 2K Games at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo is their 3rd person war shooter Spec Ops: The Line. As I made my way into the viewing room it was almost like being transported to a broken down palace in Dubai. Once again 2K Games went over the top to make sure their rooms were themed for the game they are showing. The lights went down and we were greeted by a couple of the games producers and off we went into the war torn desert…(cont.)
Check out the rest of the story and some screenshots, after the break!
(cont)…Spec Ops is based in a sand filled Dubai that has been left uninhabitable by a horrible sandstorm. The land is filled with rebels and insurgents vying to take a part of the land. Huge palaces now serve as headquarters for some of the most ruthless armies in the world. You are a Spec Ops solider sent in with your team to hunt down an American general who is running one of the main faction in town…The 33rd Platoon.
The demo started with the Spec Ops team entering one of the broke down palaces being used as a base by some looters. The game is a 3rd person shooter and the action was fast and furious from the start. You can either order your team to do specific commands or if you want to take the less strategic route they will simply just assist you. As the player made their way through the palace they came across some Intel that alerted them to where this person they were looking for is located. Once exiting the palace the developer made his way into the sand filled world. One interesting thing that was told to us is the player can use certain sand environments to attack the bad guys. If you noticed a sand dune over some groups a well-placed shot may just drop that entire dune on a group of baddies.
According to the developers the game is full of scripted events and has a real focus on story. They want the player to make moral choices that will; affect the way things play out. This seems to be a running theme this year with shooter games at E3.As the demo continued we made our way to a location and encountered the 33rd Platoon for the first time. This situation showed off the cover system and the use of blind firing that is widely used in most 3rd person shooters. The 33rd Platoon members were taken out and on we went to a pretty rough scene.
The scene consisted of your target being held at gunpoint. You have orders not to fire but what choice do you make? Do you wait it out and see what happens or fire that sniper shot to rescue your target. This is the type of decision that can change the story for the player. In this case they chose to fire and all hell broke loose until they had their target safe in their hands. The question is are you really safe in the middle of the war?
The devs ended the demo session and had some time for a little Q&A. There are tons of weapons in the game including the ever popular sticky grenade. The sticky grenade can provide some hilarious moments as bad guys run around blowing up their friends. What they really want you to feel is the up close and personal battles instead of watching from the outside. One interesting revelation is that there will be a team based co-op mode. This could add some more fun to the game as player with your friends is always a plus. Not to mention that multiplayer will be a part of the game with a beta starting in the near future.
Spec Ops: The Line is an interesting take on the third person war shooter. If the story is compelling enough I can see the game getting a lot of play time especially with the moral choices players have to make. This is one title to keep your eye on as it releases in 2011 for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
