I remember I played through this game for the very first time back in 2016 on Suicide mission when I was in college. I remember thinking that this was a game that couldn't be experienced the same way a second time. I remember thinking that suicide difficulty was hard and that parts of the game just felt slightly unfair like you weren't supposed to keep going past that point. That the game had won. Well after I finished the game once on what was a fairly challenging difficulty I unlocked FUBAR difficulty which is essentially equivalent to Legendary difficulty on Halo (but probably a little more unforgiving). I told myself some day that I would go back and play through FUBAR and beat the game once and for all collecting every achievement as well. Well fast forward to 2024 and I hadn't done that but I did start achievement hunting on games I had completed because I don't have all the same free time or extra money to spend on new games and I have QUITE the library if I do say so. Anyways I see that Spec Ops has actually been taken off of Steam and that no one can play this game unless they have already purchased it like myself or they have the hard copy on PS3 or 360. This kicked me into thinking well what better time than now to complete this game fair and square. Its waited almost a decade for me to come back so I might as well give it a shot right? Well it turns out this was the hardest thing I've ever done since fighting Raam with my buddy on Gears back when we were in grade school. This game made me angry every time I would advance past a checkpoint that had me stuck for hours I was thinking about giving up. I thought suicide mission was hard but this was just unfair at times. But every time I got mad I would turn the game off and take a break for an hour and come back later with a clear mind and I would get through the part that I was stuck on in one to three attempts. Sometimes I needed to wait until the next day to attempt it again but I always came back because I was determined to see it to the end. My determination paid off in the end and I had completed the game on FUBAR and gotten every other straggling achievement in about a week. To wrap this up I know that most people won't have the ability to play this game themselves and may just look up the plot online or watch someone play through it on youtube but I promise you it is not the same. If you have the opportunity to play through this story yourself DO IT! Games like this are not and can not be made ever again. It's amazing this one exists at all and with the way COD and Rainbow SIX have gone now that they look more like FortNite than the games I remember growing up the message in this game hits harder than it did back when I was in college. Don't let the mission turn you into a monster. Don't lose sight of whats important. Don't lose yourselves out there.

I genuinely believe this is the best military shooter in terms of its story telling, something most military games now put the minimal focus and effort into. I don't think spec ops the line will ever be topped in that regard. This game PERFECTLY does the "cinematic story telling" that blurs the lines between movie and gameplay that many games try to accomplish.

I also don't believe any other game will ever release similar to this for its (obviously) brutal elements in the story. I'm never one to cry "Awh woke gaming! Gaming gone PC!" but this game holds some very serious and hard hitting scenes that genuinely absolutely would not fly today... Despite being a very important part of warfare. The game gives me major The Big Red One (movie) vibes for how it also showcases the gross/bad side of war, which makes me absolutely adore it.

The one thing I'll say is it is obviously a little dated and shows in some regards. The controls aren't the most intuitive to today's standards along with graphics (while still holding up quite well due to the art style, it still) slightly showing it's age. It's very easy to get pass though as it'll immediately hook you in.

I truly wish there were more war games like this. Its truly a beautiful experience untouched by any other military shooter. If you haven't tried this game out yet... Youre genuinely depriving yourself of one of the top moments in gaming history of story telling.

What a game