E3 offered a few new war games but few that particularly inspired me. I loved Modern Warfare 2, as everyone did, but that doesn't mean I want to keep playing it and all its clones for the next three years. I'm not chomping at the bit to play a game that for all intents and purposes looks like the same thing, stuck in the microwave and reheated. But the slightly overlooked title Spec Ops: The Line looks like it might deliver something a little different, not in gameplay, but in atmosphere and execution maybe even a plot worth talking about.

Spec Ops was a series that debuted on the PC back in 1998, After two pretty decent titles the series spent the 21st century stinking up the joint in a series of five poorly received console games released over two years that were mostly ignored. Now with a new developer, Yager Development, and a new publisher with 2K, the Spec Ops series could be ready for a renewal.

In the spirit of Battlefield BC there will be plenty of buildings to destroy in Dubai in Spec Ops and cover doesn't last long

The Line is a third person squad based shooter sent in Dubai. A terrible sandstorm has meant the wealthiest city in the world has been evacuated and your special forces unit is sent in to rescue an army colonel trapped in the city. As the game progresses things become a little strange. Your unit keeps finding dead US soldiers littered around the city and hanging from the street lights, a militia has taken control of the crumbling abandoned metropolis and the Colonel doesn't seem super keen on leaving. The game's plot and the trailers so far give me a distinct Apocalypse Now vibe (you are 'rescuing' a Colonel after all) and the little I've seen of the game has me more excited to play this than the latest Call of Duty or Medal of Honour games.

One of many rejected American Army recruitment images

Other than the narration the games other strong draw card is the sand. Yes really, sand. The physics of sand are an important part of the game with the grainy stuff covering much of the terrain. It presents obstacles and can even by used offensively, shooting out a window with sand piled against it can bury enemies and create cover.

Check out the trailer below. The game isn't due out till 2011 but so far it's my most anticipated military game out of the crop of 'yay army' shooters coming up.

It's like the New Years Sky Show only deadlier

The gameplay looks very reminiscent of Gears of War