In rare cases, Spec Ops: The Line may fail to display on monitors that do not support the screen resolution chosen by the game during hardware detection. You'll see "Invalid Mode" on your screen if this happens.
Here's one way to fix the issue:
- In Steam, go to your game library and right-click on "Spec Ops: The Line" in your menu.
- Select the "Properties" option from the menu that opens up.
- In the Properties menu, go to the "General" tab, and click on "Set Launch Options..."
- Type "-windowed" into the dialogue box (without quotes) and hit OK.
- Launch Spec Ops: The Line.
- Go to the Options menu and select a screen resolution that is compatible with your monitor.
- Tip: If you're not sure which resolution you should choose, try this: Quit the game and right-click on your Windows desktop—making sure not to right click on any specific icon—and select the "Screen Resolution" option. (That's how it appears in Windows 7. In earlier versions of Windows, this screen may appear under "Personalization" or "Display Options.") Read what it says next to "Resolution:" ; this is your current screen resolution, and is most likely what you should select for Spec Ops: The Line.
- Once you've chosen a compatible resolution for your monitor in Spec Ops, you can select "Fullscreen" in the game's Options menu.
- You may now return to Steam and remove the "-windowed" command from Spec Ops: The Line's "Set Launch Options..." screen. This will allow the game to launch in a full screen using the appropriate screen resolution the next time you start the game.