Valve is exceptionally good at adhering to the rule of "show, don't tell" and the Half Life series is a great demonstration of that. Gordon Freeman's unwavering silence allows the player to imagine his motivations and personality. The story unfolds around you. The environment serves to narrate the story more than even the dialogue, it requires you to pay attention and notice the graffiti on walls, things like that.
The first Half Life, especially, is great at guiding you through the environment without feeling like it's carrying you. It's not a sandbox, but it's not exactly linear, either. I've spent a good period of time mastering getting to places I had no reason being. Too often in more recent games "puzzles" amount to little more than adding a step between "walk up to door, walk through door". Half Life, on the other hand makes you think the same way you'd imagine a theoretical physicist would think: you're not a super soldier with Wolverine-esque regenerative abilities, you're just a really smart guy who's lucky enough to have a really awesome suit.
And a crowbar. The crowbar is key.
The problem is, the story can drag. There's a thin line between "careful narrative pacing" and "boring", much like the line between "not releasing a game 'till it's ready" and "obsessive compulsive attention to detail" (Valve doesn't have a reputation for the best sense of timing...). At a certain point you have to think, why the Hell is Gordon doing this? I mean, he's just some dude. The G-Man didn't even tell him his mission was, he just froze his ass and set him loose in the future. You ask these questions, but the game answers with only madness.
This man is clearly a master strategist.
The thing is, games that you used to think were awesome and represented everything the medium is supposed to be, often don't stand the test of time too well. What used to seem varied and engaging would be intolerably derivative now, which is true of anything really. It wasn't that the game is boring, just a lot of sections are just too long. That might be because I'm used to NONSTOP X-TREME THRILLS. Even so, it's hard not to feel there's some fat that could be trimmed. So, I decided to put a pin it it and move onto another game with a (presumably) good story.
The conversation I had with Valve when I left without finishing Half Life 2 was pretty awkward, though.
Valve: Isn't this cool? Look at the physics! You like puzzles, don't you, Jake? You like having to use your brain a little, right Jake? Not like that stupid tramp Call of Modern Battle Duty Medal: Warfare Honor Ops.
Me: Oh yeah, definitely. It's a really great change of pace... Hey, I dunno, but I was just thinking. Maybe we could, like...develop a character together sometime. You know, just to mix things up.
Valve: What? What are you saying?
Me: Nothing, I just thought... Uh...I just thought it'd be fun to move the story forward or something. I guess uhh... I feel like we're ready.
Valve: What, you don't like a story to unfold at its own pace? You wanna rush things a long? You want some convoluted, nonsensical excuse to just blow stuff up? Or maybe you'd rather I just give you a bunch of cut scenes. Is that it?! Is that what you're into now, Jake? You want me to dance for you like some kind of slut?!?! You want me to be more like Konami, is that it?
Me: No no no, I really appreciate what you're doing. It's just that... I mean...It's a dystopia. There are oppressive overlords, and a scrappy, ill-equipped underdog resistance. It's really well-crafted and immersive, honestly. I really like it, the story. I really like it a lot, and it's a really great example of a classic setting, but I mean... I think I feel like I get it. We can move on now. You can only leave so much up to the imagination, you know? I feel like we've been spinning our wheels.
Valve: Oh yeah? The sequel I spent four years making? You think you know better? I get it. I'm just not good enough for you, no I got it. And I'm not supposed to be hurt. Yeah fine.
Jake:.... You know that's not what I meant. Listen... I'm gonna... Uh...I'm gonna go out for a pack of smokes. I'll be back later, don't wait up for me, baby. We'll work this out later.
Valve: Wha- Don't you walk out on me-
*Ctrl-Alt-Del*
The video game equivalent of pushing your date out of the car... at speed.
In it's own way, The Line is very similar to kinds of games Valve makes, in that it's a twist on an old formula.
See what I did there?
I haven't finished the game, but I want to get my initial thoughts down before I forget. Now first of all, if you have any intention of playing this game and haven't yet, play it now. If you can't play it yet, continue reading and I'll let you know when/if to stop to avoid ruining it for yourself. I'm not usually one to really care if a game's plot gets spoiled for me, but Spec-Ops: The Line has made me realize that's because the plots of most games suck. Do your best to isolate yourself from this game until you play it, which should be soon.
Like most people, I've played a lot of beige-colored, cover-based wartime FPS. You step into the shoes of a grunt if it's a WWII game, or a more elite soldier in a modern warzone. You see terrible things, sometimes you do terrible things, but it never really gets to you, because you know what's going to happen. There are good guys, there are bad guys, and the good guys win. We expect these games to present the world in a very binary way. There's a comfort in that, especially if what you want from your games is a chance to unwind, turn your brain off, and stroke your America boner.
This is where I'd make an "America boner" joke if I were tasteless.
You're welcome.
I'm not going to get into a big discussion of whether or not video games are Art, because they are. For my purposes, video games are just as much art as movies or TV; with their own conventions and standards like any other medium. A teen movie is outrageous and contains gratuitous nudity, just the same way a beige FPS takes us on a guided tour of how cool military hardware and war are. I'll probably talk more about that in a future post. It's an interesting topic, just not right now.
You've probably heard that The Line lures you into thinking you know what's going on. Yeah, the premise is pretty novel, the 3rd person view is unorthodox, and the dialogue is unusually well-written; but the bad guys are bad guys, you aim the reticule at the bad guys, and the banter between your squad members and your character seems to serve the same purpose as in any game like this- humanize an NPC so you can pretend it's emotional when he dies horribly later. It all just seems like a nifty little variation on the standard formula, a little twist made in an attempt to stand out in a horribly over-crowded market. That said, it sets itself apart pretty quickly.
You play as Cpt. Walker of Delta Force. Along with the class clown Lugo, and your second in command, Adams. The three of you are sent to Dubai, six months after the city is completely cut-off from the outside world by the worst sandstorms in history.
The first few sequences make you think that the big twist is that you're an American Tier 1 unit fighting [Record Scratch] a rogue American battalion. It's really an incredibly effective way of luring you into a sense of security. That first twist is presented so proudly that it seems to fit the standard model of AAA game releases. Front-load everything at the beginning of the game, because gamers are stupid and will lose interest if it's not cranked up to 11 constantly. It plays like the developers are just yelling "See! How edgy is that? A rogue American Battalion? What if that happened in real life? Isn't that morally ambiguous? We are so deep."
And you just nod and say "Oh yeah, so deep. You've really challenged how I view right and wrong. Yeah...so interesting..." while you just can't wait for dinner to be over so you can do all the things with her explosions you're imagining.
Girls? Oh, no, I was looking at the C4 planted on
that strategically important funnel cake stand.
I even knew that was going to happen. I read/watched enough reviews to know that this game was more than that, and it still got me.
Usually when a game deals with morality you at least know what you're doing. When you're forced to make a decision between the "good" action and the "bad" action you know which is which. Then the game adds, for good measure "War is Hell. See? I'm not shallow. I told you."
The Line doesn't just demand you make a moral choice, it forces you to decide if the means justify the ends before you even know what the ends are. You have to make decisions without knowing everything, or even a little, about what's going on. You find yourself in a situation where something undesirable is going to happen no matter what, and you have to decide which undesirable thing you want to happen less. Your decision doesn't mean you'll succeed necessarily, just that you're now working towards that goal.
Walker does bad things, you do bad things. But your hand is forced. You may "always have a choice" but that choice is often "do something terrible, take a wild guess at what's 'right', or die". And when you think you're the only sane person left in a world gone mad, your death means more than just you not being around anymore. Even more unsettling, is that even doing "the right thing" can turn out to have horrible consequences when you don't have all the information- which is always.
I like my efforts in games to be as futile as they are in real life
What it breaks down to is that the story isn't the action. It isn't Walker's squad's attempt to retake Dubai from Konrad's troops. Yes, that's what's happening, and there are some interesting twists, but the conclusion of that plot line isn't what I'm anticipating. The story is in Walker's head. As his mind, conscience, and body become more and more battered as the game progresses, you can feel him rationalizing. Instead of the ethics of the situation becoming more clear as you learn more about what exactly is happening in the city "what's right" becomes less and less certain, and in response Walker's purpose becomes more and more singular. The objective is evolving in Walker's mind. It's gone from "Look for survivors, find Konrad if possible" to "Figure out what the hell is going on. Find Konrad" to "Evacuate the city. Relieve Konrad of his command" to "Make the 33rd pay for what they've done. Kill Konrad". There's been one scene that even has me intrigued that Walker's reliability as a narrator might be called into question soon. Especially since I forgot the game is actually introduced as a story Walker is telling, which I think was intentional.
Again, seeing as I haven't finished the game yet, I can't really make any conclusions about where all this is going, and how far Walker is going to be pushed. But, I can't wait to find out. Best case scenario, the ending is miserable and leaves me thinking. Worst case scenario, everything is tied up with a pretty little bow, and Good wins out over Evil, like always.
Is this game fun? Geghhhh.... Yes? I guess. I'll decide on that in my final review. Even if it isn't fun, it's good. Very good. So far. It all hinges on the ending.
In any event, I'm enjoying it a lot more than Half Life 2... But don't tell her that.
