Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Spec Ops: The Line review - Dissonance in Dubai]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/27/spec-ops-the-line-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/27/spec-ops-the-line-review/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/27/spec-ops-the-line-review/#comments Spec Ops: The Line is explicit about its intentions and inspirations, sometimes to a fault. It's truly a gritty shooter, and not because you're steering a bipedal meat chunk with a scraggly soul patch. The conflict feels isolated and inescapable, with a sand-drowned Dubai hemming in soldiers who only hope to survive and follow orders as best they can. You have permission to take this game seriously.

That's why it's disappointing, and often baffling, when Spec Ops underlines its themes with an orange crayon. The discovery of a strung-up, mutilated corpse is meant to shock, but the scene feels deflated alongside an Achievement notification that essentially says, "War is terrible. Have 10 points!"

Gallery: Spec Ops: The Line (E3 2012)

Continue reading Spec Ops: The Line review - Dissonance in Dubai

JoystiqSpec Ops: The Line review - Dissonance in Dubai originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2k-gamesdubaimicrosoftpcplaystationps3Spec-Ops-the-LinexboxyagerWed, 27 Jun 2012 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Spec Ops: The Line may face censorship; Dubai taking the 'wait and see' approach]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/17/spec-ops-the-line-may-face-censorship-dubai-taking-the-wait-a/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/17/spec-ops-the-line-may-face-censorship-dubai-taking-the-wait-a/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/17/spec-ops-the-line-may-face-censorship-dubai-taking-the-wait-a/#comments "It takes place after an unimaginable natural disaster has struck the region," says former GameSpot editor-in-chief and current video game producer Greg Kasavin, discussing 2K Games' recently revealed shooter, Spec Ops: The Line. The unimaginable natural disaster he's referring to is a catastrophic sandstorm and the region is the financially precarious Dubai. With the one-time booming city-state finding itself in something of a bust, following the global economic downturn, scenes of Dubai's world-famous skyscrapers buried in sand surely struck a nerve.

"We will have to review the game first before issuing any decision on whether to ban it or allow it," Mohammed al Mutawa, a video games censor at the United Arab Emirate's National Media Council, told The National. Juma Obaid Alleem, the director of media content at the NMC, told the newspaper that 'before a video game is released in the UAE, the NMC assesses whether it conforms with local laws and notifies authorities if it does not.' From there, we see references to "international matter" and "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" and we figure it best to take the 'wait and see' approach Mr. al Mutawa referred to.

For his part, Kasavin is playing up the setting as a "fantastic location from an architectural standpoint" but is quick to point out that "the game uses the location purely as a location." He explained to The National that 'the enemies ... in the fictional Dubai would not have any clear religious or political beliefs associated with them' and that 'none of the shoot-outs took place in mosques.' With myriad games having angered religious or national groups before - everything from Resistance and the Church of England to LittleBigPlanet and the Qur'an - the Spec Ops team has plenty to learn from. We'll know more closer to the game's expected 2011 release.

[Thanks, mister_jOBe; via LA Times]

JoystiqSpec Ops: The Line may face censorship; Dubai taking the 'wait and see' approach originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2K-GamesDubaiGreg-KasavinMicrosoftSpec-OpsSpec-Ops-The-LineUAEXbox-360YagerThu, 17 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Spec Ops: The Line not dusting up until Nov. 2010 at earliest]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/14/spec-ops-the-line-not-dusting-up-until-nov-2010-at-earliest/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/14/spec-ops-the-line-not-dusting-up-until-nov-2010-at-earliest/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/12/14/spec-ops-the-line-not-dusting-up-until-nov-2010-at-earliest/#comments Though the Bjork-filled trailer for Spec Ops: The Line may have left you eager to start shooting up a sandy Dubai, we have to recommend that you save at least some anticipation for late next year. According to publisher Take-Two, the Yager-developed shooter isn't due until the 2011 fiscal year, which kicks off on Nov. 1 of 2010.

Yes, it's a long way off, but don't get depressed! Your friends at Joystiq have a wonderful way of filling your quota for desert-based e-murder in the interim: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. With Game of the Year list time just around the corner, has there ever been a better moment to revisit the most points-laden diamond skull hunt of the year? We think not.

JoystiqSpec Ops: The Line not dusting up until Nov. 2010 at earliest originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2k-gamesdubaiMicrosoftrelease-dateshooterspec-opsspec-ops-the-lineXbox-360YAGERMon, 14 Dec 2009 16:31:00 EST<![CDATA[Lost cache of Virtual Boys discovered in Dubai]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/15/lost-cache-of-virtual-boys-discovered-in-dubai/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/15/lost-cache-of-virtual-boys-discovered-in-dubai/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/15/lost-cache-of-virtual-boys-discovered-in-dubai/#commentsFiled under:

Dubai is like the most magical place in the world. They're trying to build underwater hotels, spinning buildings and now they apparently have open worm holes that lead back in time. That's the only explanation for over 1,000 Virtual Boys being discovered in a warehouse in the Rashidia area there by a business owner. It looks like you can toss out that DeLorean you got on eBay.

38-year-old electrical engineer Mohammed Omran was stoked to hear of the new surge in product, snatching one up as soon as he could. As you read this, he's probably eye-deep in red tennis players and other headache-inducing sprites. "I was chasing it in all the shops and all the markets in Dubai Khour, but everything was always vanished," he said. "It's not an easy system to find."

That probably has to do with it making you feel like your eyeballs are melting after 10 minutes of gameplay.

[Via Kotaku]

JoystiqLost cache of Virtual Boys discovered in Dubai originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dubaidubai-virtual-boynintendonintendo-virtual-boyvirtual-boyMon, 15 Sep 2008 21:07:00 EST