Spec Ops: The Line

Name: Spec Ops: The Line
Item: Spec Ops: The Line
Rating: 3
Author: Chad Sapieha

Game review by

Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media

Common Sense says

age 18+

(i)

Gory military shooter tackles difficult questions about war.

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Popular with kidsParents recommend

Parents say

age 17+

Based on 7 reviews

Kids say

age 16+

Based on 15 reviews

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The parents' guide to what's in this game.

Educational Value

Spec Ops: The Line wasn't created with educational intent, and we don't recommend it for learning.

Positive Messages

This shooter presents terrible moral dilemmas without easy answers and brazenly questions the military's role in certain kinds of conflicts. Its imagery centers on terrible violence and death, but with the express purpose of showing the player that these things are horrific rather than thrilling. This message is seemingly at odds with the player's actions, which generally involve shooting and killing people, but it makes players more aware of what they're doing, leading them to question the morality of what their squad is doing.

Positive Role Models & Representations

The game's three lead soldiers begin as professional troops sworn to duty, but slowly transform into people who react emotionally to the horrors they see and things they do. Players wouldn't want to emulate these characters, but they may well learn something from what their actions.

Ease of Play

Standard third-person shooter controls mean experienced players will be able to hit the ground running. However, enemies are smart and bullets can be scarce, making much of the action harder than you might expect.

Violence

Players use a range of modern military hardware to attack and kill enemies in this visceral third-person shooter. Rifles, grenades, and other weapons tear foes apart, resulting in spattered blood, severed limbs, and screams. Close-range kills see players snapping enemies' necks, and slow motion effects serve to intensify the action. Players can kill unarmed civilians and will encounter heaps of corpses -- some terribly burnt -- of people already dead.

Sex

Language

Strong language can be heard throughout the game, including the words "f--k," "s--t," and "ass."

Consumerism

This game is part of the ongoing Spec Ops series of military shooters.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person military shooter brimming with graphic, blood-soaked violence. Unlike many such games, much of the violence presented here is crucial to a complex commentary that focuses on the nature and potential atrocities of morally grey conflicts and how such situations affect their participants. This pensive narrative actually intensifies the emotional impact of the horrors depicted, making it all the harder to watch scenes in which civilians are killed and trained soldiers go mad with misgivings. This is a game with extremely mature themes intended for adult audiences only.

User Reviews

Parents say
Kids say

Adult Written byjiodjflak August 11, 2012

age 18+

Amazing game, but definitely not for kids.

SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW The goal of this game is to show the moral ambiguity that comes with war. 2K (the developer of said game) has definitely gotten it rig... Continue reading

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Adult Written byAn Enigma April 29, 2015

age 16+

An Unflinching Look Into War

This is one of my favorite games not for being one with good mechanics, but because it most deserves to be played. This is a shooter designed to show how pathet... Continue reading

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Kid, 12 years old July 16, 2012

age 12+

great game

teaches kid the true horror of war and it's moral and civillan casulties

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Teen, 16 years old Written byGenericGamertag March 9, 2016

age 16+

"Do you feel like a hero yet?"

This is an anti-war game, ant it is sure to let you know that. It will show you the most horrific side of war the best that a video game can, and its pretty hor... Continue reading

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What's it about?

Inspired by the book Heart of Darkness, SPEC OPS: THE LINE is a third-person shooter in which players command a squad of three soldiers. The once-opulent city of Dubai lies in ruins, a victim of terrible, ongoing sandstorms that forced most of its inhabitants to flee months ago. The last American troops to enter the decimated metropolis simply disappeared. It’s up to your squad to discover what happened to them. However, as your trio of troops journey into the depths of the city they discover horrors that they never could have imagined, leading them to question their mission, their loyalty, and even their sanity. Outside of the story mode lie a collection of online multiplayer games that offer familiar objectives and rules.

Is it any good?

This tactical shooter is, weirdly, the polar opposite of most modern military games. It lacks the sort of Hollywood glitz and graphical polish that has come to be a signature of most games in the genre. Its cover-based shooting mechanics are clunky to the point of being occasionally frustrating. And its online mode seems more of an afterthought rather than the focus of the experience. As a game, it's below average.

However, it excels as an interactive story. The game boldly presents a variety of compellingly horrific and morally grey situations that draw players ever deeper into the twisted world that this Dubai severed from civilization has become. Part Lord of the Flies, part Apocalypse Now, it depicts some of the worst things that people can do to each other and shows in unflinching detail the consequences felt by both victims and perpetrators. Spec Ops: The Line may not be much fun to play, but there's little chance you’ll forget the dark and thought-provoking tale it tells.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about the impact of violence in media. Can violence ever serve an important narrative purpose? If yes, what is the impact on age appropriateness?
Families can also discuss online safety. How can you tell if the strangers you chat with online are safe? What precautions do you take when interacting with others in text lobbies and while using voice-enabled headsets?