Spec Ops: The Line
- Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows
- Price: $59.99
- Genre: Third-person shooter
Common Sense Media says
Gory military shooter tackles difficult questions about war.
- Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows
- Price: $59.99
- Genre: Third-person shooter
Spec Ops: The Line gallery
What parents need to know
Positive role models
Ease of play
Violence
Sex
Language
Consumerism
Drinking, drugs, & smoking
Privacy & safety
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.
What kids can learn
Subjects
Social Studies
- global awareness
Skills
Thinking & Reasoning
- strategy
Collaboration
- cooperation
- teamwork
What Kids Can Learn
Spec Ops: The Line wasn't created with educational intent, and we don't recommend it for learning.
User reviews
Parents say
Kids say
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?
QUALITY
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.
Families can talk 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?
Game details
| Platforms: | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows |
| Price: | $59.99 |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Developer: | 2K Games |
| Release date: | June 26, 2012 |
| Genre: | Third-person shooter |
| ESRB rating: | M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language (PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360) |
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QUALITY
great game
teaches kid the true horror of war and it's moral and civillan casulties
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QUALITY
NOT FOR KIDS!
This is not a game for kids, people are shown hanging from ropes, heads explode when shot, and blood and gore coats the floors and walls, its not for kids at all theres some pretty messed up stuff in here.
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QUALITY
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 right. The gameplay is standard third-person shooter(I.E find cover, pop out of said cover and shoot any exposed insurgents), but the real focusing point of this game is the story. You play as Walker, a member of a three man Delta Force team sent in to a sand-stormed Dubai to find out what happened to "The Damned" 33rd Batallion, find any survivors, and find out what really happened to colonel John Konrad, the leader of the 33rd Batallion. This game prides itself on some of the choices that are presented throughout the game. In this game, there is no clear-cut right or wrong choice. For the sake of explaining the content, there will be spoilers ahead. At one point in the game, you are standing above someone pinned down by a truck, revolver in hand. You are given the choice to either walk away, and let the person die in agony, or further compromise your own morals by executing him. The whole point of the game is to show the moral ambiguity and hard choices that come with war, taking inspiration from the book "The Heart of Darkness". The way the story interacts with the player is quite amazing, making you actually feel bad for decisions that you didn't have any control over (*SPOILERS* there is one scene in particular that sticks out in my mind. At one point in the game, you arrive at an enemy encampment. You are then given the choice to either take the army head on, or use white phosphorus to take everyone out easily. The results are extremely graphic and will make you genuinely feel bad for a decision that you really did not have any choice but to make, as it is one of the most crucial points of the plot). It does character development extremely well, showing the breaking points of each of the soldiers, and their downward spiral towards insanity. Each decision is reviewed at the end of the game, and there are three different endings depending on what you did in crucial moments of the game. All that being said, if you are easily offended by language, this game is not for you. The language worsens as you play through the game (understandably, as the soldiers are forced to make harder decisions, and live with the consequences), to the point where almost every line you hear f--k or s--t. With all that, this game is definitely not for kids. It is an extremely graphic depiction of war, and probably should not be viewed by anyone under the age of 17.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much swearing
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