Both release the same day. Both are third person shooters. Both cost the same. Both are console ports.

Which one? I think I'd like either, but I can only afford one.

Where's the GRFS review from our Land Combat Editor?

When its released on PC... what I got it early?

both games are hugely different based on the console and demo... I'd say GRFS is more tactical... I hated the demo to the line.

jmo

and why would you wait for my review we are totally opposite on our opinions of games... you seem to hate everything, I'm more open minded. lol

Hate everything? No, I just have specific tastes that just seem to run contrary to everyone else on the planet.

I've had fun with GRFS as a stand alone game, don't go into it looking for typical GR. I like it better than the GR Online beta, the little I played that.
Like Magnum, the Spec Ops demo did nothing for me. Just another generic shooter.

Sounds like GRFS, then. Getting bored already with BF3.

Get the demo for Spec Ops and play it. Its average but may be good as a story thing. For the typical SimHQ, I suspect GRFS will be better.

Spec Ops: The Line demo available on Steam.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/50300/

Downloading it right now to check it out.

OK, downloaded the demo of Spec Ops...I will be buying GRFS definitely, even with Uplay, I'll be better off.

Now, that's not to say I won't get Spec Ops: The Line. I can see myself buying it, but not for $50. I was intrigued.

Gameplay is almost indistinguishable from GRAW...for the 360. Even down to the 360 controller commands. Virtually identical. AI teammates are fully commandable and very good at what they do.

Graphics are plainly a console port and on the low end. A very cheap graphics card would run the game at very good framerate with the eye candy turned all the way up.

Sound is really good. I liked it. Very good HD sound quality.

Here's the big yawp. Somewhere on the development team there is a person whose favorite movie is Apocalypse Now. They didn't just base their story on it, they copied and pasted. Right down to the goofy DJ on the radio making a guest appearance as Dennis Hopper. I want to hear the whole story, just not for that much money.

Ya, fun when your AI teammates don't die, fun when you throw a nade and it falls short, right on your teammates but nothing happens, ya fun to see a guard, equip a silenced handgun, head shot... safe right? nope, alarms go off and enemy flood in, fun how you can stand next to your AI with a bad guy 10 feet away, and no ones shooting, everyones waiting for you. lol

based on the demo... and that fighting your old unit, some military civil war.... stupid. IMO

At least the GRFS SP is pretty good and somewhat tactical.

Btw, Steam sale next week. Spec Ops will be $40 for sure.

And I was told there was sandstorm mechanic. Didn't even get to see that come into play except for a cutscene. I was also told there would be multiple ways of accomplishing the same mission, different methods, etc. Didn't see that, either.

I'll tell you what it reminds me of. Did anyone ever play this one?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Ops:_Red_Mercury

It was essentially an interactive movie. Spec Ops The Line reminded me of it, right now to the angst-ridden soundtrack full of bands that were just one heroin overdose away from fame and fortune.

That article pretty much sums it up neatly.

Mag was right. This one is no good.

Might get Spec Ops on pc when it's $5 and I'm bored one night. What the demo and articles have said of the story, it just sounds overly convoluted and pointless. The setting seems like something out of a Ubisoft game from 4 years ago---sand and bland. GRFS might not be a "real" tactical game, but it's got fun gameplay components built in and I think with the mission scoring will have a little more replay value. MP is catchy when you find the game mode you like.

GRFS has the Uplay crap....ugh. That's a shame.

Did anyone end up picking up Spec Ops the Line? It's on sale at Amazon Summer Sale (steam activation) for $24.99, and from the RPS review and IGN review it seems like the SP story is thought provoking and unusual for games these days.

As a big Apocalypse Now fan I was thinking of picking it up on sale, but just curious if $25 (50% off) is still too much to pay for it?

If so I will wait and pick it up when it is cheaper.

Im playing Spec op`s the line sp right now well worth $24.99. Im a ARMA player and find is to be a nice break from ARMA.Good story cant wait to see what happens next can see myself playing this more then once have not tried online yet.

You know guys, I know a really cheap combat sim to acquire.

Actually, you get paid while doing it.

The process is really simple, just walk into a recruiting office and you won't have to worry ever for what's on sale, on Amazon or Seam. Besides, it will finally put an end about your hesitation regarding the definition of the word "Tactical".

The only problem is that you will not encounter Zombies, but that's not a big loss!...Is it?

Hear ya Gunnyhighway..Did 10 years of realistic and tactical.You will NEVER play a video game that even come closet to the real thing.Entertainment is all im looking for.

I’ll take a 3rd person perspective in a tactical shooter any time as long as it simulates first person iron sight and scoped shooting with both rifles and pistols.

That’s where SOTL fails miserably ... GRFS has my vote.

I'm not a fan of 3rd person myself. It works for games where you primarily fight melee or not at all (Thief 3, Splinter Cell), but I really despise this new "cover-based shooter" mechanic. Since when did the idea of having to sit behind a wall to fight become exciting? Sure in real situations you want cover when possible, but this idea that the entire world consists of bullet-proof barriers of one type or another that you have to crouch behind while your health recovers (!!!!) is just lame.
Either you can't heal at all, or make it health packs which are at least limited.



The Jedi Master

Coming from a multiplayer perspective, I personally think the cover system in GRFS works GREAT and it’s teaching a lot of run and gunners the value of cover.

I know it’s a bit of a cheat to be able to look around corners in 3rd person when you’re not actually looking around the corner, but it sure is a fun way to make up for a general lack of visual and physical awareness that you’d otherwise have in the “real world”.

The X-Ray vision you sometimes get in GRFS though is a bit of a contentious point with me but on the whole, I’m really liking GRFS! (I dumped the Spec Ops: The Line demo after about 15 minutes).

I won't give any recommendations but...

GRFS is a nice and pleasant game - you have your team of technologically superior operators kicking the crap out of low-tech 3rd world people including Russians, Africans, Arabs... Way to go Nazi America. Ok, maybe I overdid it. In any case, this is a nice tactical game with very little sensibility in regards to geopolitical and social problems of the world. Quite a few of my friends find it racist and maybe that is why I wrote, what I wrote. From the gameplay standpoint, it's just nice to relax over it after a hard day's work.

Spec Ops on the other hands is... a bad game. The gameplay itself is rubbish. Nothing we have not seen Gears of War do better. On the plot side of things... Well, let's just say the whole moral choices thing is overrated. You have like maybe two situations where this is given to you. However, being a fan of Joseph Conrad's writing, I could not walk indifferently past it. It's perhaps the first 'Heart of Darkness' inspired game, and the adaptation is not bad at all. Plotwise, it's a good study of madness derived from what we all gamers feel at times - the need to be the hero. It's also a good study of how America goes to war nowadays - they go in with good intentions, and turn everything upside down. I believe this is the only game out there, that shows that good intentions can do more harm than the bad ones. If you get to thinking about it after finishing the game, it's really striking.

Gameplay is better in Ghost Recon, plot is better is Spec Ops, but if you are just looking for a good tactical shooter, go for Arma 2 or the old Ghost Recon. And if you just want a good shooter with a good plot - Max Paybe 3 should be what you choose.

I've recently tried the demo of Spec Ops: The Line. And while the game mechanics aren't something that hasn't been seen in the countless other shooter out there, I think the presentation and atmosphere is quite good. It's an entertaining game. Not worth the full price to me. But I'd pick it up for maybe 15 or 10 bucks.

Did you know that GRFS was developed by Ubisoft Paris. PC was port by a company in Russia I believe. So, the "Nazi America" statement was uncalled for.

Anyone calling someone else a "Nazi" and putting "Nazi" and "America" in the same interjection, can only be someone born after 1950 and oblivious to European and American history...Way to go stupidity!...Your post is the typical example of where freedom of speech interlace with freedom of lack of education!...I wish I was as free as you are!

The word, stupidity, doesn't even come close , here. Comparing this country to one that that started a war that consumed the lives of millions, operated death camps and was led by a phsycopath...because of the way a game is played?
Anyway, I find that I can't "get into" a third person shooter. Maybe it's because you aren't the person you are playing. You're just moving him around like a toy soldier. I've tried them, and it doesn't work for me. The new Medal Of Honor title looks good to me. And I love the Frostbite 2 graphics engine.

Fighting Russians is racist??



The Jedi Master

I'll give a quick review of the SP portion of both games (on PC):

First of all, neither are tactical shooters. Neither are realistic. Forget what GR used to stand for, FS is only a hair more tactical than Mass Effect.

Spec Ops The Line is a rather generic, uninspired shooter. Though there is one saving grace: The story is actually not that bad. Things get progressively stranger and more tense as the story goes on. I looked forward to cut scenes and learning about the story more than I did for the gameplay.

Movement is quite awful. Your character is not that responsive and moves a certain distance no matter how long you hold down the W key. This makes for imprecise movement and can often get your character killed. Weapons are boring to use as well. The gameplay truly get tedious. The game is extremely linear, so there is not much re-playability. The overall campaign comes in at 7-8 hours. It runs great on my PC, though the graphics are nothing impressive. The look rather average, maybe a bit dated in some aspects such as weapon textures.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier is much the same. Generic and feels uninspired as well. The story is rather awful. If you played HAWX 2, CoD MW2 or similar games you'll know the story as it is 90% the same. Cut scenes do little to add to the story.

Gameplay wise, it is also linear. Though, in a few select areas on certain missions, you get the option of taking down enemies silently or loudly. But the game mechanics are extremely simplified for such options. Essentially, you start shooting bad guys which will 95% of the time automatically alert everyone within 2 seconds. Or, you launch a drone and get AI team mates to silently take down up to 3 targets at a time by marking them.

The maps, while more open than Spec Ops, are still linear with no option to flank enemies, get behind or encircle them. There is only one way to go: forward. Gunplay is a bit better, though still rather bad. Don't expect realistic weapon modeling. You can customize your weapons, though half of them are unrealistic modifications or don't behave realistically. For example, a suppressed 12.7mm sniper rifle is still entirely silenced for the bad guys. Movement has similar issues to Spec Ops. Try sprinting and turning your player. Again, you player turns a fixed amount even if you want to stop. And you player moves to the left/right when sprinting. This can cause you to run into objects and anciently go into cover. Sprinting in a straight line is actually a chore in this game.

Aside from marking targets and getting your team to take down up to 3 enemies at the same time and ordering them to revive a wounded team mate, there are no squad commands to be seen. Even things such as door stacking and breaching are done for the player. You stand in a circle, and the game takes control away from the player. Sometimes after you enter the building you have the option of aiming and shooting yourself, though this is typically in slow motion.

The mission briefing is non-existent. You get a few lines about the terrible story, and a single line, maybe two, for what you are supposed to do in the mission. No insertion options, no loading out of team mates (only for yourself; limited as well), no pre-mission maps, nothing.

Graphics are rather decent, though on the final mission the frame rates are extremely low (15 or so). Otherwise it runs fine.

There is also a co-op wave based mode with 5 maps which can be played online for co-op. The campaign took me roughly 10-12 hours. Almost twice as long as Spec Ops.

Which is better? To me, its a wash. FS has overall better gameplay, is longer, and has better graphics. Though the story is far worse and there are some minor bugs.

Actually, that wasn't a quick review.

Considering neither of the games are tactical shooters, I will recommend some better 3rd person shooters:

1) Mass Effect series. Superb story, even if the 3rd one fails to take into account some of your decisions from the previous games. Shooting combat is good in ME2/3.

2) Dues Ex: Human Revolution. 1st/3rd person game, but with an excellent story and great gameplay. I actually found it more tactical than Spec Ops and even FS.

3) Max Payne 3. At first I didn't like the moving mechanics, though after playing it more they are not so bad. Nice story, well done game. PM me if you want a PC copy for cheap.

4) Alan Wake. Great story, overall the game is very good in just about every way.

Spec Ops: The Line: $7.49, it activates on Steam.

http://www.gamefly.com/Download-Spec-Ops-The-Line/5004056/

Now that's a rocket ride to the discount rack.

After playing the demo I still wouldn't pay that for it.

Yeah I started the demo and its just junk. Maybe someday we'll get a tac revival and games will be like the original Rainbow6, Spec Opts and Delta Force.

Takedown maybe...



The Jedi Master