Spec Ops: The Line (2012) (PC) (Yager Development)
0With its anti-imperialistic coup d'états and disastrous American interventions, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) seemed to be both the first and last modern shooter to tackle real-world issues and at least to some extent question the use of violence in international conflicts. However, at the beginning of a perilously protracted development cycle Yager Development rather courageously set themselves the task of reintroducing moral ambiguity into gaming's depiction of contemporary military conflict, and the recently released Spec-Ops: The Line is the result of their efforts.
At first glance, there's almost nothing about the game (apart from the striking Dubai setting) which distinguishes it from other military shooters since the gameplay itself is very traditional. However, there are early signs that the story is going in some ugly directions, and I know that respectable reviewers such as RPS's Alec Meer have ended up being rather impressed by how the game ultimately deviates from the genre's narrative norms and expectations. Needless to say, I'm intrigued and can't wait to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes...
Rock Paper Shotgun's review:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/06/29/spec-ops-review-pc/