-
Follow our Instagram!
-
Curious about what we're currently doing about bots? Check out the latest updates from staff in this thread.
-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
Media Videogame Thread
- Thread starter Bummer
- Start date
A year ago i played Spec Ops The Line and i remembered that i wrote my thoughts about the game on a reddit post so i wanted to put them here
Something important to mention before starting is that the game was recently delisted from Steam due to licensing issues (mostly with its soundtrack). If you want to play it today, your best options are to find a physical copy or... other methods. That said, it’s worth experiencing in any way possible.
From the very first screen, the game lets you know this is not your average military shooter. You’re greeted by an upside-down American flag – a real distress signal in the U.S. military – while Jimi Hendrix's version of the national anthem plays, originally recorded as a protest against the Vietnam War. This attention to detail sets the tone for what's coming.
Spec Ops: The Line starts as a generic third-person shooter with all the familiar military tropes: a desert setting, a generic squad and you have a recon mission when you have to find the 33rd squad and call for reinforcements. But slowly, and sometimes brutally, the game deconstructs everything it appears to be.
It doesn’t subvert the genre by changing gameplay mechanics. In fact, mechanically, it stays very much within the framework of a standard cover-based shooter. What makes it different is how it uses that structure – not to empower you, but to wear you down.
The game consistently puts you in situations where you're forced to act without full information, with no real “good” choices. And then it shows you the consequences. It doesn’t punish you mechanically, but it makes sure you feel it narratively. You’re not given the chance to step away or make an alternate choice. You just do it, and then deal with it.
Some players dislike this – I've read comments calling the game "pretentious" or “sentimentally manipulative.” I can understand that reaction, especially if you're expecting a power fantasy. But to me, that discomfort is exactly what the game is aiming for. It's not interested in catharsis or heroism. It’s about complicity, denial, and self-destruction.
Personally, I didn’t cry or break down emotionally like some people did, mainly because i tend to unconciously separate reality from fiction and i don't get emotionally involved with fiction, and I don’t think you have to in order to appreciate the game. But I do believe it's a story that sticks with you, not because of what it shows, but because of how it implicates you as a player.
I recommend watching Joseju’s video analysis after finishing the game (it’s in Spanish, but there are good English alternatives too). You’ll appreciate just how deliberate many of its narrative and visual decisions were.
Spec Ops: The Line is far from perfect. The combat is repetitive, the AI isn't great, and on a surface level, it really does look like a bargain-bin military shooter. But there’s nothing else quite like it. It’s one of the rare games that asks not “what did you do?” but “why did you keep going?”
Something important to mention before starting is that the game was recently delisted from Steam due to licensing issues (mostly with its soundtrack). If you want to play it today, your best options are to find a physical copy or... other methods. That said, it’s worth experiencing in any way possible.
From the very first screen, the game lets you know this is not your average military shooter. You’re greeted by an upside-down American flag – a real distress signal in the U.S. military – while Jimi Hendrix's version of the national anthem plays, originally recorded as a protest against the Vietnam War. This attention to detail sets the tone for what's coming.
Spec Ops: The Line starts as a generic third-person shooter with all the familiar military tropes: a desert setting, a generic squad and you have a recon mission when you have to find the 33rd squad and call for reinforcements. But slowly, and sometimes brutally, the game deconstructs everything it appears to be.
It doesn’t subvert the genre by changing gameplay mechanics. In fact, mechanically, it stays very much within the framework of a standard cover-based shooter. What makes it different is how it uses that structure – not to empower you, but to wear you down.
The game consistently puts you in situations where you're forced to act without full information, with no real “good” choices. And then it shows you the consequences. It doesn’t punish you mechanically, but it makes sure you feel it narratively. You’re not given the chance to step away or make an alternate choice. You just do it, and then deal with it.
Some players dislike this – I've read comments calling the game "pretentious" or “sentimentally manipulative.” I can understand that reaction, especially if you're expecting a power fantasy. But to me, that discomfort is exactly what the game is aiming for. It's not interested in catharsis or heroism. It’s about complicity, denial, and self-destruction.
Personally, I didn’t cry or break down emotionally like some people did, mainly because i tend to unconciously separate reality from fiction and i don't get emotionally involved with fiction, and I don’t think you have to in order to appreciate the game. But I do believe it's a story that sticks with you, not because of what it shows, but because of how it implicates you as a player.
I recommend watching Joseju’s video analysis after finishing the game (it’s in Spanish, but there are good English alternatives too). You’ll appreciate just how deliberate many of its narrative and visual decisions were.
Spec Ops: The Line is far from perfect. The combat is repetitive, the AI isn't great, and on a surface level, it really does look like a bargain-bin military shooter. But there’s nothing else quite like it. It’s one of the rare games that asks not “what did you do?” but “why did you keep going?”
Thank you sir, I would've been lost without --- once the new MLB game starts to bore me ima get one at a time I can access and play me thinks
Same with the Atelier ____ series, love them.
Appreciate the input!
Edit* Im no Red Sox fan but I played as them in the new MLB game for my gf as she watched (Im a Mets fan) and pitched a perfect game with Garrett Crochet. --- ofc, I didn't need to give her more fuel to feed her Boston fan ego lol.
Ooh lovely Engi, I used to main him! Lemme load up mine >:)
Probably done with Eldest Souls, I finished the NG run and did some hitless challenges but I don´t think I´ll do it with all bosses. Contacted the devs to see if they were doing anything else and apparently theyre working on a "sequel" with a coop component, closer to something like monster hunter. Will definetely check it out when it drops and since they switched from 2d to 3d, i might try to apply to work with them on the game.
Well fellas, tomodachi life: living the dream is out now and I've gotta say, I really am enjoying it a lot.
Legend of Dragoon
Overall Rating: A
The Good: I knew nothing about this game when I started it. I honestly expected it to be a pretty generic jrpg experience. I will say though that this game pleasantly surprised me and has left me with that pang of emotion when a good story comes to a close. The game's claim to fame is how it does combat. Each character learns unique main attacks that require you to hit buttons with different timings. The better the attack, the harder the timing becomes. Hitting these to completion naturally does more damage but also gives you more points to access your special form. Encounters are random in most places of the game, but the encounter rate is honestly not bad at all compared to most games of the time. I never really felt like dungeons were a slog to get through. There is an overworld but destinations are set on a predetermined path. This streamlines the story and you're not spending a whole lot of time fighting random enemies while you move along. The boss battles are all pretty fair too. You can grind in this game if you want the money for some good accessories but I beat the game with stuff I found lying around and without ever needing to grind. In my adult life I greatly appreciate this. The story of this game starts out relatively basic, and even is a bit slow. But by the later half of the game you are presented with interesting twists and world lore that I found generally interesting and engaging. I also liked how it handled it's characters. I think some of the character dynamics were pretty good, and the game isn't afraid to kill off people. I can respect a game that does that.
The Bad: I'm not entirely sure on this but it felt like there might have been some issues when translating the game to English. It's not atrocious or anything, but I think English speakers will pick up on some of the weird quirks apparent in some conversations. In my opinion that is the main thing I'd critique the game on.
Final Thoughts: Overall I had a lot of fun with this game. It isn't a Chrono Trigger or an FF7, but I think it has enough going for it to stand alone as a solid title. It took me a little over a month to beat personally because I don't have as much time for games, but I ultimately clocked out at 56 hours, not too bad compared to some of the other stuff that's out there. It's only 10 USD on the PSN store, so if you're into classic jrpgs and haven't given this a go I'd definitely recommend picking it up. Till next time, ciao
Overall Rating: A
The Good: I knew nothing about this game when I started it. I honestly expected it to be a pretty generic jrpg experience. I will say though that this game pleasantly surprised me and has left me with that pang of emotion when a good story comes to a close. The game's claim to fame is how it does combat. Each character learns unique main attacks that require you to hit buttons with different timings. The better the attack, the harder the timing becomes. Hitting these to completion naturally does more damage but also gives you more points to access your special form. Encounters are random in most places of the game, but the encounter rate is honestly not bad at all compared to most games of the time. I never really felt like dungeons were a slog to get through. There is an overworld but destinations are set on a predetermined path. This streamlines the story and you're not spending a whole lot of time fighting random enemies while you move along. The boss battles are all pretty fair too. You can grind in this game if you want the money for some good accessories but I beat the game with stuff I found lying around and without ever needing to grind. In my adult life I greatly appreciate this. The story of this game starts out relatively basic, and even is a bit slow. But by the later half of the game you are presented with interesting twists and world lore that I found generally interesting and engaging. I also liked how it handled it's characters. I think some of the character dynamics were pretty good, and the game isn't afraid to kill off people. I can respect a game that does that.
The Bad: I'm not entirely sure on this but it felt like there might have been some issues when translating the game to English. It's not atrocious or anything, but I think English speakers will pick up on some of the weird quirks apparent in some conversations. In my opinion that is the main thing I'd critique the game on.
Final Thoughts: Overall I had a lot of fun with this game. It isn't a Chrono Trigger or an FF7, but I think it has enough going for it to stand alone as a solid title. It took me a little over a month to beat personally because I don't have as much time for games, but I ultimately clocked out at 56 hours, not too bad compared to some of the other stuff that's out there. It's only 10 USD on the PSN store, so if you're into classic jrpgs and haven't given this a go I'd definitely recommend picking it up. Till next time, ciao
Considering this is a PS1 era RPG, the biggest complaint being "the English script is a tad awkward in places" is honestly indirect high praise lol. Localization quality was a huge crapshoot back that that could affect even the best games in the genre. I don't think I need to elaborate on something like FFVII.
I mean, the PS1 did get a TON of good RPGs. Between SOTN, FF7, Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve, and a bunch of others I can't remember off the top of my head, I would assume that if you asked any random person to name a good PS1 game there is a roughly 90% chance that game is an RPG.
pulling out my only ball knowledge. Baroque also fits into this. I wouldn't dare call it good; from what i've seen it's a geniunely miserable experience.
It is unique though, RPG Roguelike is NOT a genre that 1998 had in spades.
This magic of this collaboration dropping in 2008 simply can't be recreated. Mario and sonic folks. Mario AND sonic.
Agreed! Yeah, those older games are honestly my favorite parts of my childhood :3
Not to mention these games were often translated by 1 (one) person (the original pokemon games included), so "awkward" is to almost to be expected tbh.
Not to rag on the critique, because it can be distracting if it wasn't done well, but just some historical context to keep in mind when playing old RPGs in general
One or two people likely dealing with a tight deadline, lacking the tools they have now (thinking about the Neosquid thing in Super Mario RPG lol), and potentially dealing with some sort of technical issue like text size limits. It's honestly a small miracle that the good game scripts turned out as well as they did when everything was working against the localizers.
Oh 100%. It wasnt' something I was unused to, but rather figured it was at least worth mentioning since younger audiences might not be aware of such things.
So was no one going to tell me that the original team behind Skylanders working on a new monster collecting indie game that’s got a 2026 release date? And that there’s already been playtests for this game? And that it’s coming out on PC in June and all modern consoles later?
For some reason I can’t find any good pictures of the game for this thread that aren’t a video thumbnail with a link attached, but I discovered while I was out of town this weekend a super cool looking game called Voidling Bound that, I’m going to be honest, this looks right up my alley. I’ve been waiting for a reason to start exploring the indie space, and what are the odds that I would just so happen to scroll upon some YouTube Short going over this far that’s apparently been a known thing for a while now?
I cannot stress enough, I only just learned about this game, like, yesterday, and yes, I’ll admit half of the appeal comes from me wanting to support a newer indie company that’s made up of a lot of the minds behind one of my favorite franchises from my childhood, but even if that wasn’t the case… you won’t have to do much to sell me on the idea of a game combining elements of Pokémon and Skylanders with a touch of Spore mixed in. And the best part? This game actually looks really good too! It’s not just nostalgia talking for once! The only reason I haven’t looked up anything else about this game yet is because I’m considering going in blind!
For some reason I can’t find any good pictures of the game for this thread that aren’t a video thumbnail with a link attached, but I discovered while I was out of town this weekend a super cool looking game called Voidling Bound that, I’m going to be honest, this looks right up my alley. I’ve been waiting for a reason to start exploring the indie space, and what are the odds that I would just so happen to scroll upon some YouTube Short going over this far that’s apparently been a known thing for a while now?
I cannot stress enough, I only just learned about this game, like, yesterday, and yes, I’ll admit half of the appeal comes from me wanting to support a newer indie company that’s made up of a lot of the minds behind one of my favorite franchises from my childhood, but even if that wasn’t the case… you won’t have to do much to sell me on the idea of a game combining elements of Pokémon and Skylanders with a touch of Spore mixed in. And the best part? This game actually looks really good too! It’s not just nostalgia talking for once! The only reason I haven’t looked up anything else about this game yet is because I’m considering going in blind!
Last edited:
Another god damn Star Fox 64 retread that is somehow even more creatively bankrupt than Zero. It is so cowardly that they just call the game "Star Fox" despite clearly ripping the entire campaign, setpieces and all, from 64. It's especially baffling because even if I love SF64, I am absolutely enamored by Sin and Punishment Star Successor, which is a game Nintendo published helped develop and shows how much design space exists for rail shooters
Oh, but this game added some multiplayer bullshit, Unreal Engine 5 hyper realistic graphics with head tracking, and a lot of extra lore! Yeah that's just what my game with intricately designed single player scoring and simple but witty characters needed.
What’s more sad is that this is how I figure out this Direct was even a thing to begin with.
Edit: “My expectations were low but holy f***”
Last edited: