Spec Ops: The Line Review: An Earnest Take on the Depravity of Man [1UP]

On paper, it almost seems blasphemous to make and action game based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. The two works are seminal commentaries on how war doesn't create victors, but rather bastard children who are forced to live with the memories of conflict for the rest of their days. How could a tale with such gravity be told through a genre of game that forces you to gun down hundreds upon hundreds of faceless enemies? But sure enough, Yager Development and 2K Games saw potential in telling this story through a video game, and thus born Spec Ops: The Line. Despite its threateningly bad title, the game delivers an anti-war experience that goes beyond what the Metal Gear Solid series has done and truly treads new ground for our medium. While it's certainly not without its own share of problems, the game stands proudly alongside its inspirations as a fantastic commentary on the duality of man. B+/A+