LogFAQs > #951500253

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The Line presents choices throughout the story. They aren't really "moral" choices, because often the choice becomes choosing between two bad things, or a bad thing and a worse thing. And the choices don't have many long-term consequences, although a couple are referred back to later. But it does give the player some agency in how ruthless Walker is. Although, some of the worst things Walker does are unavoidable, and that is probably enough to turn a lot of people off of the game. Either enable Walker to do these terrible things, or stop playing the game. The game does let you control how Walker ultimately reconciles everything at the end. There are a slew of endings based on how you navigate the last few minutes. Walker can kill himself, either voluntarily or through Konrad's "ghost." If he chooses to live, there is a post-credits scene where Walker is picked up by the US Military. He can either accept their rescue, or fight them, which seems to be suicide and brings its own ending. But not necessarily! If you are skilled enough, Walker can murder everyone sent to rescue him, which is another ending.



I enjoy the story of the game and the unusual themes that it addresses. It dwells a lot on the horrors of war and how it can negatively affect the mental health of those who engage in it. Walker wants to be a hero and thinks that he's a hero, even as he commits despicable acts in pursuit of his own glory, and he is traumatized. It's a sharp contrast to other games that kind of gloss over what this kind of violence does to a person. You know, I just showcased Uncharted 2 as one of my favorite games ever, but that series is kind of a meme for how nonchalantly Nathan Drake shoots and kills hundreds of people, even though his killing may be justified. The Line makes it impossible to ignore this issue and not so subtly points out how nasty the whole situation is.



The gameplay itself is good. The shooting feels mechanically satisfying and there are a lot of different guns to try out. The shootouts utilize some basic squad tacticsyou can give your mates orders and they will do their best to execute. The game presents a ton of verticalitysince Dubai is buried under a mile of sand, there are many opportunities to move through, and usually down along, skyscrapers. The varied environments do a great job of keeping the otherwise straightforward shooting fresh. The Line is tough though, especially at the end, so it can be a bit of a grind at that point.



The urban wasteland of Dubai is beautifully rendered (for 2012) and fun to explore. The artists put in a ton of work and made some really stunning areas with a bunch of original art, murals, graffiti, et cetera. The loading screens in particular have great stills from the campaign that are really gorgeous, and given the difficulty of the game, you will see them enough. The game's soundtrack is pretty good and makes wonderful use of licensed music, either diegetic or otherwise. The voice acting is very professionalthey got Nolan North to do the main role, and also picked up some Hollywood actors for some of the recurring characters.



All things considered, it's a very well-produced game. Due to the subject matter, it may not be very "fun," though. And it's certainly not a game for everyone. But I really enjoyed it and found the change of pace, subversion of expectations, and disturbing narrative to be a really neat surprise and an experience worth remembering. Just not a title that I find myself wanting to play again and again.

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At least your mother tipped well