Why I love Spec Ops: The Line

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD661k1UpvQ

It looks like a second rate CoD clone, and in many ways it is. The controls are outdated, and unwieldy, game play is basically the same no matter what you have equipped, and it's not fun. Yeah, I said it, the game is not fun to play. If Borderlands 2 is ice cream, then this is Brussels sprouts-or something, you get the idea. I don't explain half as well as Extra Credits, so if you want to hear more about that check out their videos here and here.

What I'm going to be talking about and analyzing is the story, and how it affected me.

WARNING: LONG POST AND MASSIVE SPOILERS

I'm going to be going through some of the big scenes, and talking bout my take on them and the choices I made. If anyone has played the game, or has an opinion on one of these feel free to leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.

WHITE PHOSPHORUS

Yup, we're starting with a whammy.

Even on my second playthrough this part game me jitters.

I went into this section knowing what would happen (a white phosphorus attack on troops ends up hitting civilians). That didn't help at all. It made it almost impossible to take the final step, knowing what it would result in. It's a visceral scene, and it's painful to watch. There is no alternative, and you can't skip it. The player is presented with a no win scenario. The only way to avoid it is to quit the game. If you want to advance you have to commit an atrocity. Though it is virtual, it is by the player's hand. I know that when I was making my way through it I felt some measure of devastation. It's breathtaking.

WHY DO WE TRUST KONRAD WHEN HE COMES ON THE RADIO?

Ok, maybe trust isn't the right word. Why do we do what he tells us to do?

Because other games have trained us to do it. Here's two alliterative examples: Borderlands 2 and Bioshock. In both games characters talk to us over the radio/ECHO, and we follow the instructions of these disembodied voices without a thought. If they tell us to jump off a cliff, we jump (or not, you do get more XP), if they ask us kindly to do something, we do it. It's a slightly more advanced Pavlovian response, and most gamers have it.

SOLDIER VS THIEF

"The civilian on the right stole water-a capital offense. The soldier on the left was sent to apprehend him. Which he did...killing the man's family in the process...This is an order, captain. Who lives? Who dies? Judge these men, or pay the price of insubordination"

Yes, there is a revelation about this but right now I'm focusing on the choice in it's own context.

I chose the soldier. In my mind I could understand a person stealing water to live, but not massacring a family as punishment. But this isn't the really important aspect of the scene. There is a third option: the player can choose to shoot at the snipers. In essence there are only two options obey the orders Konrad gives you, or disobey. I chose to kill one of the men, and so did many other people. Because the voice on the radio had given us an order. He handed us authority, made us the judge of people who we had not need or right to judge. What does it say about humans that we will take this authority when it is offered, but will later pass it off as "I was ordered to." For people like me who chose to "judge" think about your choice, then think about World War 2.          It's not a self esteem booster.

LUGO SHOOTING THE RADIOMAN

This is Lugo, the guy who, when asked if he "ever actually hear[s] the sh*t coming outta [his] mouth?" responds "No, I do not, sir. I find it messes with my rhythm." He's the one who is the most disturbed by what is going on around him, and has the most violent reaction to the white phosphorus scene. But now he's shooting a guy after calmly talking to him moments before. It definitely shocked me. Lugo is the character that actually shows the extreme mental wear of the journey. Adams is, admittedly, hard to get a read on and we're meant to feel from the beginning that something is a bit off with Walker, but Lugo seemed like the every-man character, he was becoming more cynical as the game went by, but at this point he seems to have just snapped.

DID YOU SHOOT THE CROWD?

You can see Adams in the background, ready to attack the crowd.

At one point Walker and Adams are separated from Lugo, and when you find him again he has been ambushed by a group of people who have hanged him. Though Walker tries to resuscitate him. Lugo is dead. At this point the crowd turns to Walker and Adams and the player is presented with a choice. If you panic, you're likely to just hit the right button and end up shooting the crowd. I knew about this event before playing the game, so I knew that I could fire into the air and the crowd would disperse. Despite this, I've seen plenty of "let's players" end up shooting into the crowd, thinking that is what they are supposed to do. It's a moral choice similar to the one with the two men, and I think a person's choice definitely says something about them.

Well, I think I've talked about this enough for one post. My next one will be talking about the multiple endings and their implications, as well as the circular storytelling that takes place in each one.