Review

Spec Ops: The Line

Common Sense Media says

Gory military shooter tackles difficult questions about war.
Age
17
Quality
 
Learning
1
  • Positive messages0
    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 models0
    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 play3
    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. 
  • Violence5
      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.
  • Sex0
    Not applicable.
  • Language5
    Strong language can be heard throughout the game, including the words "f--k," "s--t," and "ass."
  • Consumerism1
    This game is part of the ongoing Spec Ops series of military shooters.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    Not applicable.
  • Privacy & safety1
    Serious privacy and safety concerns: This game offers an online mode with support for voice communication. Players may be exposed to inappropriate language and topics of conversation. They will also be able to share personal, private information.
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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.

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This review of Spec Ops: The Line was written by
Age
17
Based on 4 parent & educator reviews:
  • 100% say violence is an issue
  • 75% say language is an issue
  • 50% say there are positive messages
Read the reviews

Most useful reviews by all members

Kid, 12 years old
July 16, 2012
12
OK for kids & up
 
Learning3
great game
teaches kid the true horror of war and it's moral and civillan casulties
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Helped me decide (17) | Had useful details (17) | Read my mind (13)
Parent
August 11, 2012
18
Not for Kids
 
Learning3
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.
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Helped me decide (13) | Had useful details (16) | Read my mind (17)
Teen, 14 years old
August 1, 2012
18
Not for Kids
 
Learning0
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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Helped me decide (20) | Had useful details (13) | Read my mind (13)
Teen, 15 years old
August 7, 2012
18
Not for Kids
 
Dark, violent, and very mature shooter that is not for anyone under 17.
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Helped me decide (16) | Had useful details (9) | Read my mind (14)
Kid, 11 years old
August 10, 2012
18
Not for Kids
 
Learning0
not for kids
saw my dad play it and the first word i heard was fu-k. next thing i saw was an intensly bloody and disfigured soldier fall out of a banged up truck, causing the bad-mouthed reaction. i hear its good, but definately not for kids my age.
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Helped me decide (10) | Had useful details (10) | Read my mind (14)
Teen, 14 years old
August 7, 2012
18
Not for Kids
 
Very mature shooter.
Theres alot of horrific violence in this, its not for anyone under 17.
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Helped me decide (11) | Had useful details (10) | Read my mind (13)
Parent
August 7, 2012
18
Not for Kids
 
Wow, very violent and not for anyone under 17.
This game is to mature for kids and even some teens with its war topics and its somewhat disturbing violence.
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Helped me decide (13) | Had useful details (11) | Read my mind (8)
Teen, 14 years old
August 7, 2012
16
Not for kids & under
 
Learning0
Why!
This game is incredabley violent, people are shot in the head, burned bodies, hanging coarpes, and lots of profanity to.
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Helped me decide (11) | Had useful details (8) | Read my mind (11)
Teen, 15 years old
August 31, 2012
16
OK for kids & up
 
Learning1
Too Much?,Too Realistic For Young Teens?
The one thing about Spec Ops:The Line is that it is a very gory game,and the blood and battle environment makes this one of the most realistic war games i have ever played.It is a fun game,no doubt,but there is alot of language in this game,i wish they had in the settings where you could turn the language off(like MW2,MW3,Black Ops).If you want to find a decent,pretty clean war game,go look into Modern Warfare 2,that game actually has the option of turning the language off,and blood.But i think Spec Ops:The Line would be ok for a mature teen 16 and up.
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Helped me decide (8) | Had useful details (11) | Read my mind (8)
Parent
December 23, 2012
14
OK for kids & up
 
Learning3
spec ops the line
Spec ops the line. tells a emotional and fantastic story of 3 delta opreators sent to Dubai to evac civilans out of the country. it is gritty and it shows what war is really like and how it affects not only you but the people around you. you play as Martin Walker he is the leader of the squad and is squad mates are John Lugo and Alphanso Adams. once you get in Dubai you see what has unfolded. Dubai is in chaos you soon realise that you are not alone in the fight. the damned 33rd turns against you and is under the command of John Konrad who you think is your freind but he is rather your enemy ontop of that you are also fighting insurgents. this game is very good in pulling you into the story and making you think what you do before you do not like other games these days. where you just run and gun this game is a very good game and is alright for anybody that is mature enough to handle it and seeing what its like to be a soilder and be in war it teaches kids that its not good to kill other people and teaches them what goes on in our world right now i would say this is by far the most best game this year and keep in mind that it is bloody and you do see limbs off and everything else but after all its a rated m game but i beleive if your kids can handle it then let them play and if they get to sad or something or get scared just shut it off it shows them what real war is like so i suggest you show them rather than hide it from them.
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Helped me decide (3) | Had useful details (3) | Read my mind (3)
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