Recent reviews by Chickie Sasso

"Gentlemen....welcome to Dubai."

This is the quote that I find myself repeating as the end credits roll in Spec Ops: The Line. Since the game's release in 2012, I have spent small amounts of time dabbling within the game's demo that was released for the Xbox 360 as well the full release for when I purchased it here on Steam, but the game never captured my attention enough to commit to finishing it and I often found myself lost behind the confines of chapter 3 upon attempting to replay it and properly asserting myself back within the story. Yet, the other day I chose to gamble once more on the prospect that is Spec Ops: The Line and I am glad that I did, for this time I finished it. Many believe that The Line is its own entity, despite having the Spec Ops title tacked onto it. Spec Ops is a long running franchise that had its start on the original Playstation as a semi realistic tactical shooter that served to immerse players within the various different roles of the military. As the franchise grew, each installment grew more formulaic than its predecessor, as the last Spec Ops title to release was Spec Ops: Airborne Commando in 2002, which was a top down shooter. Fast forward a decade and here we have The Line. The shell of Spec Ops: The Line is a generic, third person, cover shooter with bare bones squad mechanics. Ever since its inception the Spec Ops franchise has attempted to set itself apart from the rest of the cannon fodder military shooters on the market and The Line upholds that creed. While the game's shooting mechanics are generic as can be, the differentiation comes in the form of its story, the horrific yet realistic imagery that it portrays, as well as the effect that this hell has on protaganist Martin Walker's mental state. Throughout the game, the player is taken on a journey as Delta Squad attempts to do good by the people they were ordered to rescue. Upon the opening of the first chapter, the game's credits list each of the developer's names as one would expect, but at the end, the subtitle "Special Guest: *insert player's name*" displays on screen. That is where the heart of The Line lies, within the choices you as the player make. For the choices are not Walker's or even that of his squadmates, but of yours and the player must suffer the consequences of those choices and actions because of it. Spec Ops: The Line is a meticulously crafted piece of media and deserves to be played by hardcore audiences, avid gamers, and even bro dudes racking up killstreaks. Well done.

I have played many games in the short near 20 years of my life, but no game has captured my imagination, my yearning for adventure and wonderment of the bizarre quite like New Vegas has. While considered relatively dated by today's standards, the game still holds up. If you have played a Bethesda published RPG in the past, whether it be Fallout 3 or 4 or even Morrowind through Skyrim, you know what to expect here. Although, there is something quite different when it comes to this game in particular, it can be felt in the radioactive air. This game was not developed by Bethesda, but rather by Obsidian Entertainment, comprised of many of those on the developement team of the original 3 Fallout games, Tactics included. While remaining faithful to Bethesda's engraved roleplaying formula, the team at Obsidian paid proper tribute to the world's source material, something in which many would dispute that Fallout 3 did not. While I do enjoy Fallout 3 & 4, there will forever be a special place in my heart for Fallout: New Vegas as my favorite game of all time.