1. Narrative
There was a time, many moons ago, when games weren't expected to have any kind of storyline. If you wanted a tale you could always go to books or movies or television. But, oh, how things have changed. Isaac Clarke isn't just shooting necromorphs in space for fun of it; he's lost in space and battling the madness that continually tugs at his coattails. Silent Hill 2 isn't just a haunted house ride where you can mindlessly run from all manner of ghouls, but a meditation of grief and an exploration of the frailties of the human mind. And the Metal Gear Solid series isn't just about a Kurt Russell knock-off sneaking about and silently murdering people; it's a condemnation of war and Kojima's personal musing on what it is to get older, to be old, with a cast of characters so broad and well-loved they're as important to some as the appearance of the Scarlet Witch in Age of Ultron is to others. And Spec Ops: The Line? It's an essay on guilt. It's a parable of blurred lines and right versus wrong, where it doesn't matter who wins because the victor will be just as lost in the blur of gray lines and the storm of sands as the person who lies on his back, bleeding out in the sun. As a gamer - and as a viewer and a reader too - I find it quite easy to invest in the characters of whatever medium I'm enjoying, and I find myself laughing at their highs and weeping at their lows. But in Spec Ops, by the time I reached the end of Walker's story, as I dragged his bruised and battered arse up that final flight of stairs, he wasn't alone in his feeling of desolation. It was like being punched in the guts; poked in the heart; tickled until it stops being funny, starts to hurt, and suddenly find you can't breathe. Yes, the end of Spec Ops: The Line is unexpected, unkind, and completely unbothered at how it tears you between elation and despair, but is it good? You bet it is. Go see for yourself and tell me I'm wrong.
Okay, that's the first in the "5 Reasons You Should Drop What You're Doing To Play" series. If you've got any opinions, hit me up in the comments section below. Next up: I'm going to be looking at From Software's critically-acclaimed Demon's Souls, and why being miserable and stuck in a game never felt so good.