Spec Ops: The Line review

Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" novel has often resonated through some of the blacker historical episodes of the 20th and 21st centuries with its journey into doubt and despair in desperate times. The horror at its centre was iconically captured in "Apocalypse Now" and was given a nod in the first "Alien" movie where the crew were aboard the ill-fated Nostromo (the title of Conrad's other bleak novel).

Now it's given new impetus in Spec Ops: The Line where the clue is entirely in the title. 3 Delta Force soldiers led by Captain Walker are despatched to a Dubai that has been destroyed by titanic sandstorms to locate a possibly rogue Colonel John Konrad (ah, that resonance!). He and his 33rd Infantry were supposed to be rescuing trapped civilians but nothing has been heard for 6 months apart from a faint radio message.

When Walker's team arrive, they find the landscape dramatically transformed into deep sand dunes, deep chasms and shattered skyscrapers. Amidst all the signs of former luxury they discover makeshift hovels and camps and severe devastation, with little indication of civilians or soldiers.

Within minutes, however, they find themselves fighting the very people they thought were their allies or victims of the tragedy and it's at this point that they start to question which side of the moral line they should be treading. Unusually for a third-person squad shooter in the tradition of Gears of War, it's not just about how many headkills you can rack up but also about an assault on the true evil of war itself.

In terms of gameplay, it's largely the usual formula of seek cover, blast enemies, re-arm, move on. The enemies come in waves, your two comrades can be issued orders to take out specific targets or heal each other and the AI can be quite smart at out-flanking you when ammo is running low. Checkpoint saving means you have to be canny at avoiding reckless head-to-heads, especially as three shots can put you down.

Another homage to "Apocalypse Now" is the inclusion of rock tracks played by a mysterious Radioman via a rigged PA system during the firefights. The main novelty is the ability to bury opponents under sand dunes by blasting away supports and windows but overall you'll find much of the conventional fighting in the Campaign will take about seven hours. Co-op and multiplayer modes provide a few extras to the usual Deathmatch shoot-'em-ups but the ethical ambivalence isn't as prominent here.

Ultimately you'll remember Spec Ops: The Line principally for the sour taste it leaves in your mouth at the end, after you've followed Walker and his men from one atrocity to another - some of which you have been willingly or unwillingly responsible for. As such, it will make regular fragfest lovers profoundly uneasy as all they want to do is blow away body parts without a conscience. Yet although the graphics are not up to Modern Warfare standard, the battles are often predictable and the story has a number of unanswered questions, the developers should be applauded for trying to capture the spirit of Conrad's novel in such a jaded genre.

Score: 4/5