Spec Ops is one of those games you can really only play once. Sure, you can replay it over and over, but you only get those feelings of shock, regret, and overall mindfuckery just once. Man how I wish I could go back and experience it for the first time all over again...
Ehhhhh as someone who ended up getting 100%, which involved bashing my head into FUBAR difficulty a lot, I'd argue that my subsequent playthroughs still had an effect Obviously, you know the twists, but on FUBAR, every corner could mean death. Every fight means dozens of reloads, every loading screen hits a little bit harder. I ended up just deciding on a whim to get 100% after several years of not playing, and I have to say, I love the game all the more for it You can't experience it for the first time, but quality art like this doesn't become useless on just one run through, right?
@mossy3565 I also got the 100% and while I do agree about your points on FUBAR, I just think that initial kick in the balls feeling you get after beating the game for the first time hits a bit harder than subsequent playthroughs
@@bayareasportsfan04 Oh that's true, though in my case I had long since been spoiled on the twist ending beforehand, so went into the game with that in mind I will say it was very cathartic, of leaving the suicide ending to last. It hits very different if you subscribe to the theory that the whole game is a deathloop for Walker That slow pan to a dark and empty dubai really hit me
@mossy3565 Fair enough. I went for FUBAR shortly after, so that's probably why I felt that way. Still, this game is a masterpiece and I still think about its message every time I play any other shooter games
Bizarrely, I've still yet to finish the game. I've picked it up maybe 5 times over the years since it came out and something in life always got in the way, so a year or two later I'd restart, same deal. The only memory I can pluck out right now is fighting in some big hotel kind of space, and I think one of going down into some area with lots of dead people and a lot of candles? Anyway, will finally play and finish it one of these days... life has finally stopped kicking me in the guts. All I wanted when this game came out was to play it haha
"To kill for yourself is murder" "To kill for your government is heroic" "To kill for your entertainment is harmless" Even the loading screen is harsh...
My favorite loading screen tip is a combination of two: "White phosphorus is a common allotrope used in many types of munitions. It can set fire to cloth, fuel, ammunition, and flesh." "White phosphorus is a common allotrope used in your slaughter at The Gate. It can set fire to soldiers and the innocent civilians they are trying to help."
@@MilitaristTurkcu LoadingScreenTips_046=White phosphorus is a common allotrope used in many types of munitions. It can set fire to cloth, fuel, ammunition, and flesh. LoadingScreenTips_047=Though controversial, the use of white phosphorus against personnel is not prohibited. LoadingScreenTips_094=Survivors of white phosphorus often suffer severe damage to the kidneys and liver, as well as the cardiovascular and nervous systems. LoadingScreenTips_096=White phosphorus is a common allotrope used in your slaughter at The Gate. It can set fire to soldiers and the innocent civilians they are trying to help. LoadingScreenTips_097=The US military does not condone the killing of unarmed combatants. But this isn't real, so why should you care? loading screens rub in your face every major event or decision. at first they give some "helpful" or deceivingly random info like help and weapons trivia then it slowly moves to USA ROE then to the state of Dubai by the time of which it is starting to get "slightly" disturbing like LoadingScreenTips_091=Dubai's harbor was filled with sand when storms first wracked the city. The corpses were your doing. after this point just like ingame events loading screens go full throttle on you ending with what you see in video and LoadingScreenTips_108=You can't go home. LoadingScreenTips_109=Kill a man, and you are a murderer. Kill everyone, and you are a god. LoadingScreenTips_110=This is not the time for weakness. mocking ending choices.
@@starstorm5338 my personal favorite is "If you were a better person, you wouldn't be here" No allegories, paralelisms, philosophy, nothing, just tells you how shit of a person you are
You know.... It's funny because I stopped playing for a year. Then I came back and forgot what was going on. When the loading screen said "can you even remember why you came here?" it felt surreal
White phosphorous is a common allotrope used in your slaughter at the Gate. It can set fire to soldiers and the innocent civilians they are trying to help. Do you feel like a hero yet?
@@chaospacemarine8330 I like how the game kept referencing the white phosphorus many times in the loading screen. It actually tells you something that something big might be related to it, until you really see the deal of it.
And yet strangely, It can be argued he saved them all and made his goal come true. Because how many times the 33rd, the rebels and Delta thought about pulling the trigger on themselves...
@@raulfernandez57 Ironically he did save them all, if the US army came around the 33rd would've been completely surrounded in dubai and woulda starved to death same with the civvies he opened fire on when they lynched lugo
The worst part is that the damage that Walker causes is not for evilness but his incapacity to accept the truth, or even see it. Poor man, is like one of those situations when you fuck up something, then you try to fix it but all you do is fuck it up even more.
+Fabian Oyaga (VenTuPlay) To me, one of the very best parts of the story is that EVERYONE in Dubai had this mindset; Konrad, the 33rd (Damned and Exiles), the Radioman, the locals, the CIA, Walker's Delta team...they all believed that they were doing what was right or necessary...and every single one of them only made a terrible situation even worse. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
Yeah, in the end The Lines story is a tragedy. "sigh" I know Walker did some horrible shit but I can't help but feel bad for him, for what he became. Poor bastard. :(
Vicente Morales Its definitively a series you've got to try out. If interested, start with MGS3 Snake Eater then MGS Peace Walker and when the new game comes out, play Phantom Pain. You won't regret it. You can try the Solid Snake story arc if you like it enough. your english is fine
I am just now realizing how symbolic Walker wearing Konrad's jacket really is...he IS Konrad. Not the literal Konrad, but the one he was fighting the entire time.
One of the loading screen tips representing Walker's thoughts is "kill a man, and you're a murderer. Kill everyone, and you're a god." Walker wearing Konrad's jacket could be him accepting what he is, and taking the mantle of what he made Konrad to be: a malevolent God. This makes sense if you do the "welcome to Dubai" ending.
If that powerless walkie talkie Walker picked up only appeared on his back after he picked it up... Does that make Konrad *_a literal voice at the back of his head? His conscience literally fighting himself as it sees him as the bad guy?_*
@@assdestroyer2605 "Perhaps this is an inevitable part of gaming growing up as our childish fantasies are torn from us and we are forced to confront consequences in an unfair, uncaring and unavoidable world of hatred, misery and DEATH."
What I think sucks the most about Spec Ops: The Line, is the fact that it can't be experienced in any other media format.Not a book, not a movie. What was so truly powerful about this game, was it was you. You did this. You were the player, controlling everything form the start. "None of this would have happened if you just stopped". Things like that, don't work by reading or watching someone else play it. Because it diminishes the point. Spec Ops: The Line is a narrative that MUST be EXPERIENCED, not shown or read about.
The closest game(s) which gives you the same feeling would be the Hotline Miami games. Those games give you probably the biggest feeling of, "Why am I killing these people?" I've seen since Spec Ops.
The absolutely most heartwrenching thing about this story is that everyone, absolutely everyone is only trying to do what they *think* is the right thing. Konrad disobeyed orders to attempt to save Dubai. When the evacuation failed, he tried to keep everyone safe by creating some form of order in Dubai with the military power of the 33rd. The looters fought back because they felt like the 33rd were exploiting them and treating them as slaves. Riggs doomed Dubai because he wanted to protect his country. The Radioman and the 33rd fought back because of their loyalty to Konrad. And Walker just wanted to be a hero. Look how that turned out.
This would actually be the perfect game for everyone, who sees shooters as simple shoot-em-ups. They'll stat to think for a second, before puling the trigger. Won't mean much to games like CoD or somesuch, but still.
And the raspyness and exhaustion in his tone made it much more believable, you can tell Walker now slow coming to terms with what he's done but still in denial about it
0:37 - Denial. "You did this." "This isn't possible." "What happened here was out of my control." "This isn't my fault." 0:53 - Anger. "No, everything, all of this, it was all your fault!" 1:23 - Bargaining. "I didn't mean to hurt anybody." 1:50 - Depression. "Is this really what you want Walker? So be it." 2:30 - Acceptance. "Gentlemen, welcome to Dubai."
...man...thanks for taking this segment out...I didn't realised that, until now....what if...the same exact thought process went through Konrad's head? Except that......the thought was accompanied by a bullet.
This reply by Konrad fucked me up...at this moment my critical thinking, observation skills and understanding of the game all went out of the a window....I was like," wait ..what!?!"
@P K I will be honest with you....even though I could understand every single sentence and could process everything that happened in the ending, I literally froze there. Which ended with Konrad saying his entire dialogue, and ending the scene. Just...wow.
@@Javlin95 I know exactly what you mean....I seriously wanted some reaction vedios to this final scene just like dark souls 3 final boss ..but I didn't find any. But I imagine 99% of the reactions would be either Confusingly staring at the screen with jaw dropped like me😵 or Completely frozen like you😮
"Remeber back in Kabul, John? Before things got bad? We were talking... about nothing, really. I said something about going home, and you...you said- 'Home? We can't go home. There's a line men like us have to cross. If we're lucky, we do what's necessary and then we die. No, all I really want, Captain, is peace.'"
"The truth, Walker is, that you're here because you wanted to feel like something you're not: A hero. I'm here because you can't accept what you've done. It broke you. You needed someone to blame, so you cast it on me: A dead man."
“White Phosphorus is a common allotrope used in your slaughter at The Gate. It can set fire to soldiers and the innocent civilians they are trying to help.”
“It takes a strong man to deny what’s in front of him…” “Stronger than you were.” “Whatever you say Walker… No matter what happens next, Don’t be too hard on yourself. Even now, after all you’ve done, you can still go home… Lucky you…”
Have you ever realized that when Konrad and Walker talks, when he's in the mirror, Konrad doesn't just point his gun at Walker, but the gun is pointed directly at you, the player. Through the entire game, you are Walker, but at this very moment, you and Walker are two separate people. Walker then pleads. "It wasn't my fault." "I didn't mean to hurt anyone." No, you the player were in control of those actions and Walker was your eyes. But Walker's eyes lied to you and you listened. You, the player, followed every move. Finally, when everything is revealed to both you and Walker, you come to realize... Should you both pay for what you've done? Or will continue to look through Walker's eyes? Just remember. "It takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of them." But then again, are you really paying for anything? After all of this, you can still go home. Lucky you.
Yeah... At that point, he really stops lying to himself, but still can't accept what he has done. He's completely desperate. Damn, just hearing that music makes me want to cry...
The Wolf Actually, I've noticed something interesting about that line .Remember how there are two Walkers, one on Konrad's right and one in front of him ? Well, Konrad speaks directly to the one in front of him (the player) for all but this line, where he actually turns to the Walker on his side. Couple this with the fact that, when commiting suicide, the "Player Konrad" is aiming is gun at the other...
COL Konrad: "I know the truth is hard to hear, but it's time. You're all that's left, and we can't live this lie forever. (points a gun at Walker) I'm going to count to five, then I'm pulling the trigger." CPT Walker: "You're not real, this is all in my head." COL Konrad: "Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine. *One*." CPT Walker: "No. Everything... all this... it was _YOUR_ fault!" COL Konrad: "If that's what you believe, then shoot me! *Two*." CPT Walker: "I... I didn't mean to hurt anybody..." COL Konrad: "No one ever does, Walker. *Three*... *Four*... Is this really what you want, Walker...? So be it. *Five*."
The part that guitar starts, like "dring", you feel like you passing to a different psychological state. Sadness to absolute madness. But when the guitar really kicks in you passing madness to unbearable guilt.
Just finished reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Konrad. It's clear how the novel inspired the plot of the game: both protagonists had been looking for a man that earnt the admiration of many, turning out to be a shadow of what he once was. Kurtz (Heart of Darkness' equivalent of Conrad) was also presented as a painter and the woman in his painting also played a considerable role to the story. What's funny is while Heart of Darkness focuses mostly on the human mind deteriorating because of being around the most primitive and mysterious side of the human condition, Spec Ops The Line's plot adds an extra point: even a culturally developed society can turn into that same grotesque and primitive civilization given the right circunstances. We humans didn't overcome our darkness, we just ran away from it and it will always be sleeping inside our skull until the right time comes and it takes control once again. Considering the book was published over 100 years ago, when reliable information about the human mind and psychology was almost non existent, the novel had an almost prophetic value overall. Try it out, it only took me like three or four hours to read it and I can't say I regret it.
@@riosjuly6339 it means that player cant really use this excuse. While we use tons of excuses to validate our behavior deep down we all know that we are playing this kind of games to blow off some steam among the other things. Game starts with generic arabic npc's which players were trained to automatically designate as enemy by other games - people want them dead just for that. Then whole damned 33d happens - at blind first time play through most people will hate them and really wish them dead. So yeah cant really say that we "never meant to hurt anybody" - game mock this constantly via loading screens, saying its ok since its for entertainment or since its not real and Konrad ignoring you and answering to "real" Walker instead is just a cherry on top.
"We have our orders. Any sign of life we call command. They send in the cavalry, we go home." "What happened here was not my fault." "Was it?" "None of this would have happened if you had just stopped."
sebool112 Stockholm Syndrome... or the very definition of insanity: playing again and again in the hope after if you play long enough there would be a different outcome... or you grow simply immune.
+viowave It's been long, so it's kind of weird to now see it as just a distant memory... But I appreciate the experience, and I think I will forever hold it as my most favorite game; even above Undertale, fanbase be damned. ==Worthless digression past this point, feel free to ignore.== What Spec Ops tried to achieve wasn't exactly to be life-changing experience, just a critique of Modern Military Shooter genre, *but* for someone like me, who was usually playing games like Battlefield, Call of Duty, Metro 2033 until that point, and of age 16, it was something unlike I have ever seen my whole life(I had yet to see Apocalypse Now then) that really changed my view on a lot of things. Sure, in Metro 2033, stealth and avoiding violence was a preferable option, just because it was easier to menage resources and it was a bit more interesting that way. But when I thought about how SO:TL talks directly to the player, as it is to Walker, and *what* it says is something that really... for lack of better term: hit home. I brought this on myself, because all the previously mentioned games taught me, that I do that just as a means to an end. To have fun, pretend to be a hero for a while and forget about real life moralities. But in reality, I was the one choosing to do so. Maybe not actively, just passively and subconsciously... and yet, I did choose to; allllll the way to the end, just for hope that the game will maybe tell me "At least you tried to do a good thing. Here's a medal, go home." But that was not the lesson of good intentions, it was a lesson on how far you are willing to go, if you are told that something is harmless(with full knowledge, that I can decide on my own, what is and isn't harmless). And, as it turned out, I was willing to go quite fucking long distances. I used to think that being able to endure as much as possible to meet ends was a good thing. But can I say the same after making a virtual dude straight up murder virtual hundreds? I mean, if I at least saw it coming, I could somehow justify the actions I did in the game just to learn what exactly is the lesson SO:TL tried to teach me. But no, I thought that, just because I'm told to do something, it's okay to do so. I was shaken to learn that it was me - all along - that deceived myself. And then, came the moment for the final decision. Do I deserve to die for the actions I committed? Is there going to be some form of justice? Could such atrocities be forgiven?! My answer to the game was: yes, I deserve a chance. Maybe it was monstrous to allow something like this, but repeating the same thing with more killing is not the answer. And even then, what's the point of further killing, if all the people that would be satisfied with such form of justice are already biting the dust? No, killing cannot be an answer anymore, not after all the realization. One could even raise a point that it'd be a coward's way out, instead of owning up to your mistake, even if utter monstrosity. After all the bad deeds that have been done, you can at least honor the memory of all these souls by telling their story. With you killed, their memory is forever forgotten. With you killed, there'd be no Dubai massacre, you'd just make it all *for nothing*; if it won't be a lesson for yourself, it would be a lesson for others. I'd also like to stress I couldn't repeat John's mistake. "Stronger than you were" was a very strong and fitting thing to say. Like I said earlier, admitting to your own mistake was what really makes it all worthwhile in the end. Then, the moment came, when you could just... lay down the weapons. It was so... relieving. You don't have to shoot anymore! -"How did you survive all this?" -"Who says I did?" Was a powerful piece of dialogue at the end. Walker may have died a long ago, with just a shell being left that's walking around. His brain being a sort of massive grave of memory for all the dead people. But it wouldn't have to be dramatic; the old Walker(and player), the one that would do anything to meet his ends is loooong gone. Today, Walker is reborn. That new one might also be a mere shadow of his former self, but - like Lugo liked to say - there is always a choice! You don't have to use any sort of killing machines anymore! You lied them down once and you may never have to do it again! You can stop being harmful now! You can change! Granted, I didn't fully realize all this immediately. It took me around 4 playthroughs. I was angry at the time, that I couldn't fix it, I wanted to do it once more, maybe "do something better this time". But it was never meant to be. I'm happy, though, that in the end, it all occurred in my stupid head. If you have read this whole stupid rant, thanks a lot. It was a bit personal, so I appreciate taking your time. If you didn't... well, thanks for putting a small thought and reading just the bottom line.
Never has a video game left me with such a strange feeling of emptiness, confusion, sadness, and disparity all at once. This was such a great experiance, I wish I could go back in time and play the game again, going into it with little expectations for it so I could be so surprised by it all over again. This is a great game, a real gem!
TheRubbaRazza I know what you mean...at the end I wasn't really upset...or angry...I was just...hollow. Numb. Empty. It psychologically drained me to the point that as the credits rolled, the controller slipped through my fingers. I stared at the television blankly. My mouth was slightly open. My eyes were dilated. My mom came in and found me like that and knew something was wrong. She just...hugged me. Then I allowed a single tear to roll out of my eye. As I explained this masterpiece to a woman who has never played a videogame in her life, she was dumbstruck. I think it was at that point that my mom and I both realized that videogames are, in essence, the epitome of storytelling and art. We aren't watching some story unfold in a theater or reading text on a piece of paper. We are in the story. We are the protagonist, undergoing the same torments as Walker. So as I made my choice in the end, I realized that it was time to look at gaming from another radically different perspective. Just like Walker, I finally accepted the truth. I put down Call of Duty and Battlefield...these games that glorify war and chaos. I put down the gun.
There was never a "Walker" There was never a "Konrad" There was only the player, and the hundreds of lives they took. But it's just a game, no harm in a little fun... ... Right?
Kinda like that quote from the game: "To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless." Let's say you go and play Call of Duty, and kill enemies. You kill all of them, and move on. There are no consequences, because it's just for entertainment, making it harmless. Idk, thats what I think that quote means.
Spec ops: The line is one of those games where it's honestly meant to be played once, and that first time you play it, like many great games, is an experience that will stick with you for a long while. But I think this is different, mainly cause this game doesn't want you to have fun. It wants you to think about the people you've killed, and even talks to you directly in the loading screens. Wish more games did this sort of thing, breaking the fourth wall can be a great experience if done right. Wonder if we'll ever get a game like spec ops again
A bit late, but Pathologic 2 is also what I’d call an art piece in gaming- something that challenges your idea of games and uses its gameplay experience to build the story. It’s also thematically dark.
"How many Americans have you killed today?" "Do you feel like a hero yet?" "Can you even remember why you came here?" "To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your country is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless." "The US military strongly condemns the killing of unarmed civilians. But this is a video game, so why should you care?" "You cannot understand, nor do you want to." This game will make you question everything...
"Your no savior... Your talents lie elsewhere..." ... That felt deep.... Because I always try to do good... Realising that after everything caused more blood... It really messes you up....
That's realization of what it means of using violence to a means to an end. No matter for what country, what ideals and what people you fight for, using violence as a way of achieving a result shouldn't be idealized.
Goddamn Walker! The way he turns from a professional to a mass murderer in a couple of hours is perhaps the strongest part of the game. (Major SPOILERS) At the beginning. Shoots an armed civilian: "Tango down." Late game. Shoots yet another american: "Got the son of a b*tch!" At the beginning. How Walker finishes off a fallen enemy: shoots him in the head, said nothing, out of professionalism and respect for the victim. Late game. Bashes the poor bastard's head in, or breaks his neck with his gun, saying harsh stuff like: "F***ing traitor!" Same thing can be said for his squad. Lugo plays the joker at first, but then he gets to be the silent guy, who deep down hates Walker for ordering that white phosphorus genocide. Adams' reaction to the whole Dubai situation is similar to Walker's, but at first he can pretend he's ok with it, takes Walker's orders to kill fellow Americans without hesitation (of course, he tries to convince Walker he's wrong, but hey, who argues with a superior and wins), which pisses off Lugo, who I could describe as the moral and emotional one of the three. Later Adams loses it, can't keep it inside anymore, and shows his hatred for Walker and his orders, specifically his refusal to quit the impossible mission. In the end he wants to die and gets himself killed, because he hasn't got anything to move him further, like Walker, who survives only because he believes like a stubborn guy that he can save people and kill poor old Conrad. Some things pissed me off, though: the game tells me that ammo is scarce in Dubai, yet I had plenty of bullets all the time, just when I started to feel a shortage, a new type of enemy appeared, with a new weapon. Also, for such a cool plot, the game is so short, it's a shame, but hey, that's a shooter after all. I want a new game about this asap, but it wouldn't make sense. I just want more games like this. 😃
thegamer351 What about a shooter like this, in which the characters go through an horrible war, and in the end, it is explained that its only the human nature that causes these things (*Spoiler(?)*) instead of "do you feel like a hero yet"?
BPCSlave Those agonizing screams, they echo in my mind. When I sleep at night, my dream felt more realistic than this empty shell of a peaceful life in the state. They say “What happened in Dubai, stays in Dubai”; but what I’ve experience there, the things I’ve done there, the comrades I’ve lost there. When I sleep, I return to hell, not the warm hell with horned beasts and Lucifer in Givenchy. A different kind of hell. A hell on the surface of the earth.
yeah. WHY DID I COMITIED THOSE CRIMES IN DUBAI!!!!!???!?!?!??.WHY!???????. I WLL NEVER BE SE SAME AGAIN GENERAL. WHY DID I WAS FORCE TO KILL MY FRIEND IN THAT BURNING TRUCK. i COULD HAVE SAVE HIM. I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO LEFT HUGO DIE!!!!!. WHY DID I COMITED THOSE THINGS!!!!?
Reading all these comments about how Konrad is talking to the player at the counting sequence made me realize... this scene is a hostage negotiation. Konrad wants the player to decide whether or not Walker's to blame for all this. Walker's pleading, but with the player; not Konrad. "No... everything... all this... it was your fault!" "I... I didn't mean to hurt anybody!" The player isn't deciding whether or not he/she's to blame for all this. They already know they're at fault. Konrad just wants to know whether or not they think Walker should suffer with them. He wants to see if they player thinks Walker played more of a part in their decisions than they themselves did. But why do you care? You already killed dozens of peopl- bad guys during this whole thing. How is Walker's death that different?
"Whatever you say Walker, No matter what happens next, dont be too hard on yourself. Even now, after all you've done, you can still go home." Lucky you.
There was a youtuber that said something about this game once.. "Walker isn't meant to be us, and we aren't meant to be him. Spec ops' point isn't that we, the gamer, are Walker...Spec ops' point is that we the gamer *have far too much in common with Walker.* "
I just really love how this game snuck under the radar and was bombarded for the lack of polished gameplay while the story...my god the story! Unlike anything we've seen from the modern FPS genre, completely floored...wow.. "I never meant to hurt anyone" -"No one ever does" Hero Too Late
''The way Walker sadly, but surely, says, "Stronger than you were." is very powerful in the context of having just discovered that Konrad had committed suicide. Walker has chosen life, in that sense he really was stronger than Konrad who ended his life rather than living with the consequences of his actions. It takes a strong man to affirm life even in the midst of adversity.''
This scene hit me so hard I actually started crying. I didn't know what to do. I was still trying to process what the hell was happening. In the end, I dropped the controller and just muttered "Walker deserves this. *I* deserve this." Little surprise that I didn't sleep too well that night.
“I’m sorry Walker. But you knew it would end this way.” “Your friends? Dead. The world on fire. And you…alone.” “You’re a failure.” “Finally something we have in common.”
Since a living Konrad is Walker's imagination and Walker is actually talking to himself, I'd imagine the conversation is a monologue that goes like this (Walker talking to his 'other conscience' and refers to Konrad as a third person): CPT Walker: It seems that reports of his... _survival_... have been greatly exaggerated. CPT Walker: This isn't possible. CPT Walker: Oh, I assure myself, it is. CPT Walker: _How?!_ CPT Walker: Not how. Why? I was _never_ meant to come here. CPT Walker: What happened here was out of my control. CPT Walker: Was it? None of this would've happened if I'd just _stopped_. But on I marched. And for what? CPT Walker: I tried to save him. CPT Walker: I'm no savior. My talents lie elsewhere. CPT Walker: This isn't my fault! CPT Walker: It takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of him. And if the truth is undeniable, man creates his own. The truth is, that I'm here because I wanted to feel like something I'm not: *A hero*. He's here because I can't accept what I've done. It broke me. I needed someone to blame, so I cast it on him, a dead man.
"You're not real... this is all all in my head." "Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine. ONE." "No... All this... It was YOUR fault!" "If that's what you believe, then shoot me. TWO." "I didn't mean to hurt anyone..." "No-one ever does, Walker. THREE." "FOUR..."
Tarik360 "It takes a strong man, to deny whats right in front of him." "Stronger than you were.." "Whatever you say Walker. Whatever happens next, don't be too hard on yourself.. Even now, after all you've done, you can still go home... Lucky you..."
"What now, Sir?" "What do you mean?" "The men are waiting, What do we do now?" "We complete the mission" "And what mission would that be?" *"JUST GIVE ME A GOD*... damned... radio?" "This is Captain Martin Walker, Survivors... one too many..."
@@Tarik360 Commander this is Falcon 1, I think we found him. Captain Walker? He's armed! It's ok hold your fire. I don't understand, what's he doing? Look at his eyes... something is not right Captain Walker we're here to help, but first I need you to lay down your weapon. He's not complaying. He's shellshocked give him a second. Just hand me your weapon captain, we're here to take you home. Can he even hear you? Quiet! Captain?
+Ensar Osman It's because the marketing was shit, they should've tried more to distinguish it from normal shooters. Adding cutscenes that hinted at making choices? i.e that "Justice" scene should've made it into the trailer.
+Ahmed Ghulam but that might have ruined the surprise, the goal of the developers wasn't so much to make as much money as possible, but to trick people into thinking this game was something that it was not, in order to get the best twist and reaction possible. a masterpiece won't be appreciated by everyone, but the few people, to whom it changes their lives, really appreciate it.
Lately, I've contemplated doing a Captain Walker cosplay with him wearing Col Conrad's Class A coat. Only issue is that I can't see all the ribbons and awards on said coat.
The ending to the game and the epilogue was strange, because I sat there pretty much in shock from having been able to process EVERYTHING. The whole twist, Lugo dying, adams dying. It was a crazy, but very good and well written story
Man i finished this game recently and... fuck is has so much soul, that hurts I already have played other games with emotional touch and great artistic works. Games like Silent Hill 2 , Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Limbo, and most recently, Telltale's The Walking Dead, but this one... I never wait to feel so much emotion from a Shooter game, seriusly, this is how most of the shooters should be...
+Nicolás Riveros Most shooters shouldn't be like this because if they were, the impact of a game like this would be significantly dampened - it was released into a market flooded with copycat modern shooters with highly patriotic scripted movie-like campaigns where there is no room for choice or even the illusion of it and none of the characters' actions are ever discussed in-depth. In most shooters, you are just a camera with a gun, in Spec Ops, you are a defined character following his own complicit path to destruction, that of himself and everyone around him.
I think that has to be because Metro Last Light is the sequel to Metro 2033. So you should play 2033 first to understand the story, as the plot starts with that game.
True, don't get me wrong people, Tlou is a great game but the trophy of "the edgy and bitter main character with a tragic past adopts a child and then becomes a good person" its completely burned and over used, in Spec Ops nobody's innocent, neither the protagonist or the civilians that you came to rescue, the game's story is about how people would do awful and horrible things in order to live one more day.
@@danielgaxiolalugo7414 i know, but tlou got more attention for the story just because it had the propper advertising compared with this. Everybody knows tlou as one of the greatest ps3 titles and even if they never own a playstation. This game is know by very few and the ones who know it have nothing bad to say about it.
@@andreipaviliuc1423 biased. Just fkin compare it to the previous GOTY (The Witcher 3, Wolfenstein) it is shit. And how the fuck tlou2 got more awards than the witcher 3. Holy fuck, i wonder how much they spent paying the journalists. And lastly, the devs dont give a fuck about the player. Theres thus certain time where you'll get copyrighted by the devs if you post a tlou2 gameplay
So many people look for answers. What happens when the answer is so horrific you’re better off not knowing? Another line crossed, another point of no return. Cannot live the lie any longer now that the truth is staring you in the face. Perhaps one would have been better off not knowing, or perhaps, even asking.
"John...? Is that you?" Walker stumbled towards the figure in the dark, his eyes bloodshot and breathing erratic. He had finally made it; he finally found Konrad. The man who saved his life... and put Dubai into the state it was now in. John's voice echoed a reply. "You tell me." Walker gritted his teeth and spat onto the ground in disgust. "I'm *done* playing games, John!" He reached for his sidearm, an M911, and leveled it with the approximate location of Konrad's head. The moment he got close, he'd put a bullet in that fucker's head... he'd end everything and save everyone... As if Konrad could read his mind, he replied. "I assure you... this is no game." Walker paused, contemplating the meaning of his words for a moment. Ignoring them, he moved closer and felt his chest start to tighten; why hadn't John moved? He tapped the side of the chair, and it rotated. Everything stopped. No, he thought. No, this can't be right. This isn't how it was supposed to happen. Yet the truth was staring him directly in the face. John Konrad was dead. He had been dead for who knows how long. Likely before Walker came to Dubai. Which meant... "We... were trying to help..." Falling to his knees, Walker took the gun in his hands and went dead silent. "It seems that reports of my... survival... have been *greatly* exaggerated."
this song is so good. at about 40 seconds the eerie quality just melts out of the woodwork and comes straight at your sense of confidence in your self.
I love how they time this song in the game. Right when the "I'm going to count to five, then I'm pulling the trigger." part comes on, the music intensity just like triples. You know, it's sad. And confusing. Is Walker insane from how many times he hit his head? Or is it PTSD? Or is he just good ol' plain crazy?
Mental instability in general + PTSD from Kabul + Concussions from falls and explosions + Dehydration from days in the desert + Trapped in a fucked up situation + Accidentally killing innocent people you were trying to help = Broken mind, broken man
Good lord this game was something else. To this day I still feel emotionally exhausted just being reminded of it. A perfect example of a story that can ONLY be told through a game. Now if only other shooters would learn from this.
The "you can still go home" quote by Konrad scared me a little bit because he means that we get to turn off the xbox and go do something else or play a different game. Real soldiers don't get to go home without being scarred or just insane by the things they done but you can watch trying not to laugh vid with no problem. Edit: Also in this picture it looks like he's taken responsibility and gone mad over it
One think catched my attention. At the start of the game we look like soldiers, geared up for the job, prepeared and ready. Enemies on the other hand (Soldiers of the 33th regiment) look more like marauders or renegades. As the games progresses we start to look more like a marauder and killer. At the end of the games guys form the 33th regiment look like normal soldiers but we look like complete shit. We look exactly the same as this guys at the beginning. Look how the roles reversed. We tried to save the city but a the end this guys try to save the city from us.
You are no saviour, your talents lie elsewhere. Additionally look at the standard weapon loadout and how it changes. In the beginning it unremarkable US Army standard issue gear, professional equipment. At the end it is heavy machineguns and a Desert Eagle, a gun more fit to impress someone or to play hero rather than a gun used for efficiency.
The idea, that Lugo and Adams actually are a manifestation of the 33rd is quite interesting. It would for example explain, why 3 guys can fight out dozens of other soldiers. Of course it's a game, but your idea would make the whole thing a bit more realistic. Walker, Lugo and Adams aren't really 3 guys, they are the whole 33rd taking orders from Walker. Maybe that's why throughout the game these two alway ask for your premission before doing something. Also Adams and Lugo could symbolize different parts of the 33rd. They often don't agree with Walker's decisions and especially Lugo seems to get pretty angry about that and actually kills the radio-guy without Walker's permission. So maybe Lugo is a symbol for the part of the 33rd that wasn't ok with Konrad's choises, while Adams might the the people who still supported him. Also when the civilians killed Lugo, this might be a symbol for the soldiers who got killed by the rebels and the anger, that Walker/Konrad felt about it. And last but not least: Maybe the fact, that Lugo and Adams die, but that Walker has hallucinations, in which he is the one killing them, hints on either Walker feeling responsible for their deaths or Walker literally killing his men (there were some scenes telling, that Konrad actually executed rogue soldiers) So maybe the whole mission of Walker never really existed and only happened in Walker/Konrad's mind. Konrad tried to safe Dubai, but it didn't really work and now Walker is a manifestation of his mind, wrapping up the things, that happend in the past and trying to reach Konrad to stop this madness, showing how Konrad's attempts to keep Dubai alive couldn't save it, just as Walker's attempts to rescue Dubai actually killed it. I also had the idea, that Walker and Konrad are som kind of split personalities, that Konrad/Walker developt when being in war. He created a second personality that keeps him moving instead of giving up. So Walker being rescued by Konrad in war would acutally mean, that his stronger personality saved him.
All interested ideas and all, but eh i'm not a fan of the whole Inception like theory with Konrad dreaming up Walker who dreams up Konrad. Just nullifies the experience.
***** Hassan I Sabbah excellent points. I also found it a brutal irony that Lugo, the moral compass of Delta Squad, who constantly argued against the atrocities you were committing, was the one to pay the price.
This game is a masterpiece. One of the most (if not The most) powerful emotional expereinces i've ever had playing videogames, and i don't even like shooters that much. This should be mandatory for every CoD and MoH fan.
Some people really can think that war looks like Call of Duty or some brave military film. But goddamn, most likely it's gonna be some tragic shit like Spec Ops and its not even the worst way...
Spec Ops is one of those games you can really only play once. Sure, you can replay it over and over, but you only get those feelings of shock, regret, and overall mindfuckery just once. Man how I wish I could go back and experience it for the first time all over again...
Ehhhhh as someone who ended up getting 100%, which involved bashing my head into FUBAR difficulty a lot, I'd argue that my subsequent playthroughs still had an effect
Obviously, you know the twists, but on FUBAR, every corner could mean death. Every fight means dozens of reloads, every loading screen hits a little bit harder. I ended up just deciding on a whim to get 100% after several years of not playing, and I have to say, I love the game all the more for it
You can't experience it for the first time, but quality art like this doesn't become useless on just one run through, right?
@mossy3565 I also got the 100% and while I do agree about your points on FUBAR, I just think that initial kick in the balls feeling you get after beating the game for the first time hits a bit harder than subsequent playthroughs
@@bayareasportsfan04 Oh that's true, though in my case I had long since been spoiled on the twist ending beforehand, so went into the game with that in mind
I will say it was very cathartic, of leaving the suicide ending to last. It hits very different if you subscribe to the theory that the whole game is a deathloop for Walker
That slow pan to a dark and empty dubai really hit me
@mossy3565 Fair enough. I went for FUBAR shortly after, so that's probably why I felt that way. Still, this game is a masterpiece and I still think about its message every time I play any other shooter games
Bizarrely, I've still yet to finish the game. I've picked it up maybe 5 times over the years since it came out and something in life always got in the way, so a year or two later I'd restart, same deal. The only memory I can pluck out right now is fighting in some big hotel kind of space, and I think one of going down into some area with lots of dead people and a lot of candles? Anyway, will finally play and finish it one of these days... life has finally stopped kicking me in the guts. All I wanted when this game came out was to play it haha
"To kill for yourself is murder"
"To kill for your government is heroic"
"To kill for your entertainment is harmless"
Even the loading screen is harsh...
My favorite loading screen tip is a combination of two:
"White phosphorus is a common allotrope used in many types of munitions. It can set fire to cloth, fuel, ammunition, and flesh."
"White phosphorus is a common allotrope used in your slaughter at The Gate. It can set fire to soldiers and the innocent civilians they are trying to help."
@@ThEOnLyScHoFF is that real? Fucking hell it rubs it to our face then?
@@MilitaristTurkcu LoadingScreenTips_046=White phosphorus is a common allotrope used in many types of munitions. It can set fire to cloth, fuel, ammunition, and flesh.
LoadingScreenTips_047=Though controversial, the use of white phosphorus against personnel is not prohibited.
LoadingScreenTips_094=Survivors of white phosphorus often suffer severe damage to the kidneys and liver, as well as the cardiovascular and nervous systems.
LoadingScreenTips_096=White phosphorus is a common allotrope used in your slaughter at The Gate. It can set fire to soldiers and the innocent civilians they are trying to help.
LoadingScreenTips_097=The US military does not condone the killing of unarmed combatants. But this isn't real, so why should you care?
loading screens rub in your face every major event or decision. at first they give some "helpful" or deceivingly random info like help and weapons trivia then it slowly moves to USA ROE then to the state of Dubai by the time of which it is starting to get "slightly" disturbing like
LoadingScreenTips_091=Dubai's harbor was filled with sand when storms first wracked the city. The corpses were your doing.
after this point just like ingame events loading screens go full throttle on you ending with what you see in video and
LoadingScreenTips_108=You can't go home.
LoadingScreenTips_109=Kill a man, and you are a murderer. Kill everyone, and you are a god.
LoadingScreenTips_110=This is not the time for weakness.
mocking ending choices.
The loading screens are unforgiving. It doesn't let the player off easily. After all this is your fault, you wanted to be a hero.
@@starstorm5338 my personal favorite is
"If you were a better person, you wouldn't be here"
No allegories, paralelisms, philosophy, nothing, just tells you how shit of a person you are
To get the best possible ending for the story -
Stop playing the game
Wrong, all of them are phenomenal but only of your worthy as a gamer
I can give you one better. Don’t play it to begin with.
You know.... It's funny because I stopped playing for a year. Then I came back and forgot what was going on. When the loading screen said "can you even remember why you came here?" it felt surreal
Nah. Just off yourself. At least somebody else doesn't have to do it.
@@man3son1 best ending cuz I watched explanation videos of it
Squad commands are unavailable when you're alone. No one can help you now.
White phosphorous is a common allotrope used in your slaughter at the Gate. It can set fire to soldiers and the innocent civilians they are trying to help.
Do you feel like a hero yet?
@@chaospacemarine8330 I like how the game kept referencing the white phosphorus many times in the loading screen. It actually tells you something that something big might be related to it, until you really see the deal of it.
@@Pennycilin3 like the ending?
@@hihowareyou9927 the part where you burn like, 50 civilians alive
@@NiCoNiCoNiCola oh now I get it thanks
Captain Walker perfoms "worst rescue operation ever"
Asked to leave Dubai
Funny thing right, his mission is just to scout the area, then call army. That is
"Do you feel like a hero yet ?"
And yet strangely, It can be argued he saved them all and made his goal come true.
Because how many times the 33rd, the rebels and Delta thought about pulling the trigger on themselves...
@@raulfernandez57 Ironically he did save them all, if the US army came around the 33rd would've been completely surrounded in dubai and woulda starved to death
same with the civvies he opened fire on when they lynched lugo
*Stays anyway...*
Do you feel like a hero yet?
Lmao good use of the meme
The worst part is that the damage that Walker causes is not for evilness but his incapacity to accept the truth, or even see it. Poor man, is like one of those situations when you fuck up something, then you try to fix it but all you do is fuck it up even more.
+Fabian Oyaga (VenTuPlay) To me, one of the very best parts of the story is that EVERYONE in Dubai had this mindset; Konrad, the 33rd (Damned and Exiles), the Radioman, the locals, the CIA, Walker's Delta team...they all believed that they were doing what was right or necessary...and every single one of them only made a terrible situation even worse. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
Yeah, in the end The Lines story is a tragedy. "sigh" I know Walker did some horrible shit but I can't help but feel bad for him, for what he became. Poor bastard. :(
We've all been there before...in some capacity or another, we've tried to fix something and made it 100x worse, this game was incredible.
Lugo murdered the DJ though.
AverageO I'm not even sure lugo did that before that scene happened the screen faded to white which usually means walker hallucinationing something
It seems that reports of my survival have been greatly exaggerated.
did you create an account just for this ?
Actually I've had this account for two years, but yeah, that was one of the reasons.
T-This is impossible...
Oh, I assure you, it is.
But How?
Every video game loading screen: "Press the trigger button to shoot the enemies :)"
Spec ops the line loading screen: "Feel like a hero yet?"
It is actually very generic at first, but after the white phosphorus scene when the game start to mock you
“do you feel like a hero yet?”
This game is the very essence of the saying: the road to hell is paved with good intentions
Tales from the Borderlands?
@@akilkotamarti1000
Actually that is an old saying, it didn't come from tales from the bordelands first.
It came from Karl Marx, if I remember correctly.
Thought it was paved with argent energy 🧐
LongNBui for what I found is from Bernard de Fontaine
"I...I never meant to hurt anyone."
"No-one ever does, Walker."
THREE.
*4*
Is this what you really want?
So be it. 5!
Boom
It takes a strong man, to deny what is in front of him...
Games like Spec Ops: The Line make me wish video game narratives and actors could be nominated for fucking Oscars!
and Bioshock, TLOU, and many others
video games are under rated :(
Vicente Morales You forgot Metal Gear Solid
ShyanTheLegend I haven't played that yet but i've heard that is awasome
Srry for my english
Vicente Morales Its definitively a series you've got to try out.
If interested, start with MGS3 Snake Eater then MGS Peace Walker and when the new game comes out, play Phantom Pain. You won't regret it. You can try the Solid Snake story arc if you like it enough.
your english is fine
ShyanTheLegend ok, thnks for the recommendation :)
I am just now realizing how symbolic Walker wearing Konrad's jacket really is...he IS Konrad. Not the literal Konrad, but the one he was fighting the entire time.
One of the loading screen tips representing Walker's thoughts is "kill a man, and you're a murderer. Kill everyone, and you're a god." Walker wearing Konrad's jacket could be him accepting what he is, and taking the mantle of what he made Konrad to be: a malevolent God. This makes sense if you do the "welcome to Dubai" ending.
YOU are konrad
If that powerless walkie talkie Walker picked up only appeared on his back after he picked it up... Does that make Konrad *_a literal voice at the back of his head? His conscience literally fighting himself as it sees him as the bad guy?_*
@@marialuke2116 Well, yeah, that's exactly what happens.
@@TheEmerald-pv4gn It's so good, I love it.
“Remember when shooters were about killing demons from hell? Those were good days...”
- Yahtzee
@@assdestroyer2605 "Perhaps this is an inevitable part of gaming growing up as our childish fantasies are torn from us and we are forced to confront consequences in an unfair, uncaring and unavoidable world of hatred, misery and DEATH."
@@crest2x4 **Fart noises**
That's a quote? When/where?
@@dirtypms Yahtzee Croshaw's review of the game.
This is not a hero's story.
It's a villain's creation.
Spec Ops and Code Lyoko enjoyer. What a chad
It's a man's downfall
I know you think you said something profound but you didn't.
This is a story about a man making awful choices and dying
In war, you either die a hero or you live long enough to become a villain.
Just get me a god damn....
....radio?
*chills*
"what now, sir?"..."the men are asking. what do we do now?"
***** Get me a joint, private.
[vanishses in thin air]
***** :c
What I think sucks the most about Spec Ops: The Line, is the fact that it can't be experienced in any other media format.Not a book, not a movie. What was so truly powerful about this game, was it was you. You did this. You were the player, controlling everything form the start. "None of this would have happened if you just stopped".
Things like that, don't work by reading or watching someone else play it. Because it diminishes the point. Spec Ops: The Line is a narrative that MUST be EXPERIENCED, not shown or read about.
The Stalker which is a genuine shame.
The closest game(s) which gives you the same feeling would be the Hotline Miami games. Those games give you probably the biggest feeling of, "Why am I killing these people?" I've seen since Spec Ops.
and then you remember there is an actual stop sign at the start of the game.
@@zedoctor3724 the original nier as well. it's basically the jrpg version of the line even tho it came out first.
The only thing that would make this better was if it was in VR. That would really make it seem like it was you
Phosphorus is White,
Water is Blue,
Welcome To Hell Walker, We've Been Waiting For You
Death toll: Too many...
Survivors: ONE too many
A great example of a full-circle story and of the total cognitive dissonance that Walker/Konrad feels.
one too many means he knows he is probably one of the only survivors
and he doesnt deserve it
''one too many''
The word choices in this game beats most 'cinematic story-rich singleplayer' game
The absolutely most heartwrenching thing about this story is that everyone, absolutely everyone is only trying to do what they *think* is the right thing.
Konrad disobeyed orders to attempt to save Dubai. When the evacuation failed, he tried to keep everyone safe by creating some form of order in Dubai with the military power of the 33rd.
The looters fought back because they felt like the 33rd were exploiting them and treating them as slaves.
Riggs doomed Dubai because he wanted to protect his country.
The Radioman and the 33rd fought back because of their loyalty to Konrad.
And Walker just wanted to be a hero.
Look how that turned out.
This would actually be the perfect game for everyone, who sees shooters as simple shoot-em-ups. They'll stat to think for a second, before puling the trigger. Won't mean much to games like CoD or somesuch, but still.
+Darth Revan random cod 8 year olds wont get it, theyll just get bored when they have anyone to shoot anymore
There are no good choices in war. Only bad, and worse.
Well, have you ever done something thinking you were doing the wrong thing? Most of the time everyone does what they think is best
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
7 years and the way Nolan executed the line "I didn't mean to hurt anybody" still makes me tear up.
"No one ever does walker"
It's been eight years since I heard that and I'm still crying hearing it
@@nicholaskeding9574 🤗 let me hold you
And the raspyness and exhaustion in his tone made it much more believable, you can tell Walker now slow coming to terms with what he's done but still in denial about it
Its been 11 years and it still sends a chill down my spine
In the final mission, if you use team commands it tells you “team commands are unavailable. You’re alone, no one can help you now”
0:37 - Denial.
"You did this."
"This isn't possible."
"What happened here was out of my control."
"This isn't my fault."
0:53 - Anger.
"No, everything, all of this, it was all your fault!"
1:23 - Bargaining.
"I didn't mean to hurt anybody."
1:50 - Depression.
"Is this really what you want Walker? So be it."
2:30 - Acceptance.
"Gentlemen, welcome to Dubai."
holy shit, that's a nice analysis. never have noticed that, i like how you can just complete the game and still be amazed at its details.
The five stages of grief beautiful analysis.
Well shit. I never thought of that
Fuckin AAA level experience
The deppression could also be when Konrad counts to 4 and Walker says nothing. Acceptance could also be the ending where he surrenders
-"You're not real, this is all in my head."
-"Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine... One."
...man...thanks for taking this segment out...I didn't realised that, until now....what if...the same exact thought process went through Konrad's head? Except that......the thought was accompanied by a bullet.
@@Javlin95 and he chose to end his life....wow. didn't think abt this
This reply by Konrad fucked me up...at this moment my critical thinking, observation skills and understanding of the game all went out of the a window....I was like," wait ..what!?!"
@P K I will be honest with you....even though I could understand every single sentence and could process everything that happened in the ending, I literally froze there. Which ended with Konrad saying his entire dialogue, and ending the scene.
Just...wow.
@@Javlin95 I know exactly what you mean....I seriously wanted some reaction vedios to this final scene just like dark souls 3 final boss ..but I didn't find any. But I imagine 99% of the reactions would be either Confusingly staring at the screen with jaw dropped like me😵 or Completely frozen like you😮
This is the theme that plays in my head when i get angry and accuse someone of stealing my stuff only to find out it was in my hand the whole time.
"You don't know this the whole time, so why should you care?" - Game Tip
"it seems the report of my lost item was...greatly exaggerated"
This actually holds more symbolic relevance to the game than you think
It takes a strong man to deny what’s right in front of him, and if the truth is undeniable, then you buy the item again at walmart
@@ABSolution2468this isn't possible...
*''Even now, after all you've done, you can still go home.''*
*''Lucky you.''*
"Remeber back in Kabul, John? Before things got bad? We were talking... about nothing, really. I said something about going home, and you...you said- 'Home? We can't go home. There's a line men like us have to cross. If we're lucky, we do what's necessary and then we die. No, all I really want, Captain, is peace.'"
"If Lugo survived, he'd most likely have PTSD. So, really, he's the lucky one."
What now sir?
Huh?
The men are asking. What do we do now?
We complete our mission.
"I didn't mean to hurt anybody...."
"Nobody ever does Walker."
@@GDRunny And what mission would that be sir?
"The truth, Walker is, that you're here because you wanted to feel like something you're not: A hero. I'm here because you can't accept what you've done. It broke you. You needed someone to blame, so you cast it on me: A dead man."
You're not real... this is all in my head...
@@HomoRattus Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine. One...
@@Live4Freedom23 no... everything, all this... is was you're fault...
@@HomoRattus If that's what you believe, then shoot me! Two...
@@Live4Freedom23 i... i didn't mean to hurt anybody...
Whoever voiced Lugo for this game went above and beyond, those Screams of his as he slowly breaks down through the game are etched into my head
Omid Abtahi. And he landed a role on The Mandalorian as an imperial scientist, in which he did that part really well.
@@meyers0781 He also appeared in American Gods as a Muslim man who's in a gay relationship with a Djinn. I wish I was joking.
@@bananatiergod this book was a minfuck all the way through
@@bananatiergod now that is disgusting
Seriously, “HE TURNED US, INTO FUCKING KILLERS!!” Is still in my head to this day
“White Phosphorus is a common allotrope used in your slaughter at The Gate.
It can set fire to soldiers and the innocent civilians they are trying to help.”
"You are still a good person."
What's worse is that my last name is Walker, as if the game was speaking to me
+Malachi Amir Walker Wow that had to have enhanced the whole "Talking to the player not the main character" thing the game had going on
Cool
Nostalgia Critic ought to play this game too. He's been one of those people too who believe games can be an art form
@@simple-commentator-not-rea7345 someome needs to recommend it to him, soon
Thoughts for you, Walker.
“It takes a strong man to deny what’s in front of him…”
“Stronger than you were.”
“Whatever you say Walker… No matter what happens next, Don’t be too hard on yourself. Even now, after all you’ve done, you can still go home… Lucky you…”
I'm going to like every single "Spec Ops: the Line"quote in the comments.
None of this would have happened if you'd just stopped
Do you feel like a hero yet
This is all your fault
גומא אוקו gentlemen,welcome to Dubai
"A man chooces.A slave obeys."
Whoops wrong game :)
Have you ever realized that when Konrad and Walker talks, when he's in the mirror, Konrad doesn't just point his gun at Walker, but the gun is pointed directly at you, the player. Through the entire game, you are Walker, but at this very moment, you and Walker are two separate people. Walker then pleads.
"It wasn't my fault."
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone."
No, you the player were in control of those actions and Walker was your eyes. But Walker's eyes lied to you and you listened. You, the player, followed every move. Finally, when everything is revealed to both you and Walker, you come to realize...
Should you both pay for what you've done? Or will continue to look through Walker's eyes?
Just remember. "It takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of them."
But then again, are you really paying for anything? After all of this, you can still go home.
Lucky you.
Stronger than Konrad ever was.
@@Agent1W Whatever you say, Walker.
Oh my God.
Damm bro that's deep
Cost around a buck fitty
"I didn't meant to hurt anybody" I don't know why, but this phrase made me cry.
Yeah...
At that point, he really stops lying to himself, but still can't accept what he has done. He's completely desperate.
Damn, just hearing that music makes me want to cry...
And konrad's reply of "no one ever does" seems so dismissive.
The Wolf Actually, I've noticed something interesting about that line .Remember how there are two Walkers, one on Konrad's right and one in front of him ? Well, Konrad speaks directly to the one in front of him (the player) for all but this line, where he actually turns to the Walker on his side.
Couple this with the fact that, when commiting suicide, the "Player Konrad" is aiming is gun at the other...
COL Konrad: "I know the truth is hard to hear, but it's time. You're all that's left, and we can't live this lie forever. (points a gun at Walker) I'm going to count to five, then I'm pulling the trigger."
CPT Walker: "You're not real, this is all in my head."
COL Konrad: "Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine. *One*."
CPT Walker: "No. Everything... all this... it was _YOUR_ fault!"
COL Konrad: "If that's what you believe, then shoot me! *Two*."
CPT Walker: "I... I didn't mean to hurt anybody..."
COL Konrad: "No one ever does, Walker. *Three*... *Four*... Is this really what you want, Walker...? So be it. *Five*."
The Wolf "It takes a strong man to deny what's in front of him.
The part that guitar starts, like "dring", you feel like you passing to a different psychological state. Sadness to absolute madness.
But when the guitar really kicks in you passing madness to unbearable guilt.
And that's what we call art.
Dude I fell like passing out when I listen to the first part of song
Listen to Moya-Godspeed You! Black Emperor.... It's a song that sounds almost exactly like this,it's a beautiful song check it out.
@@Lmemn I knew it sound familiar
This is basically the only track in the game's original score to use a bowed string instrument (a cello).
Just finished reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Konrad. It's clear how the novel inspired the plot of the game: both protagonists had been looking for a man that earnt the admiration of many, turning out to be a shadow of what he once was. Kurtz (Heart of Darkness' equivalent of Conrad) was also presented as a painter and the woman in his painting also played a considerable role to the story. What's funny is while Heart of Darkness focuses mostly on the human mind deteriorating because of being around the most primitive and mysterious side of the human condition, Spec Ops The Line's plot adds an extra point: even a culturally developed society can turn into that same grotesque and primitive civilization given the right circunstances. We humans didn't overcome our darkness, we just ran away from it and it will always be sleeping inside our skull until the right time comes and it takes control once again. Considering the book was published over 100 years ago, when reliable information about the human mind and psychology was almost non existent, the novel had an almost prophetic value overall. Try it out, it only took me like three or four hours to read it and I can't say I regret it.
I think it also adopted the military aesthetic from Apocalypse Now which was also inspired by Heart of Darkness.
"O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." --Jeremiah 10:23
"No matter how hard I tried, I never could escape the reality of what happened here."
“I never meant to hurt anybody.”
“No one ever does, Walker.”
One of the best shooters i've played in this life
_You Are Here Because You Wanted to Feel Like Something You Are Not_
A Hero!
Interestingly this is the only phrase said to Walker inside the mirror - not the one player controls. so yeah "you are still a good person".
@@Kurayami_13
_Is This Really What You Want Walker, So Be It?_
What Does That Mean?
@@riosjuly6339 it means that player cant really use this excuse. While we use tons of excuses to validate our behavior deep down we all know that we are playing this kind of games to blow off some steam among the other things. Game starts with generic arabic npc's which players were trained to automatically designate as enemy by other games - people want them dead just for that. Then whole damned 33d happens - at blind first time play through most people will hate them and really wish them dead. So yeah cant really say that we "never meant to hurt anybody" - game mock this constantly via loading screens, saying its ok since its for entertainment or since its not real and Konrad ignoring you and answering to "real" Walker instead is just a cherry on top.
0:00 - 0:40
"John, is that you?"
"You tell me, Walker."
"I'm done playing games, John."
"Oh I assure you, this is no game..."
*****
None of this would have happened if you had just stopped.
Robert Rocco "It seems reports of my... Survival... Have been greatly exaggerated."
"How?"
"Not how: why?"
"You were never meant to come here."
"We have our orders. Any sign of life we call command. They send in the cavalry, we go home."
"What happened here was not my fault."
"Was it?"
"None of this would have happened if you had just stopped."
SylerReek
"And ooooooonnnnnnnn you marched...
and for *what?*"
Robert Rocco "I... We tried to _save_ you!"
This game, holy shit. I couldn't play video games for a week after playing this. Absolutely incredible game.
+Jumeaux Elaine Well, me? I couldn't stop playing Spec Ops for almost a month. It was the only game I played in those few weeks.
sebool112 Stockholm Syndrome... or the very definition of insanity: playing again and again in the hope after if you play long enough there would be a different outcome... or you grow simply immune.
+viowave It's been long, so it's kind of weird to now see it as just a distant memory... But I appreciate the experience, and I think I will forever hold it as my most favorite game; even above Undertale, fanbase be damned.
==Worthless digression past this point, feel free to ignore.==
What Spec Ops tried to achieve wasn't exactly to be life-changing experience, just a critique of Modern Military Shooter genre, *but* for someone like me, who was usually playing games like Battlefield, Call of Duty, Metro 2033 until that point, and of age 16, it was something unlike I have ever seen my whole life(I had yet to see Apocalypse Now then) that really changed my view on a lot of things. Sure, in Metro 2033, stealth and avoiding violence was a preferable option, just because it was easier to menage resources and it was a bit more interesting that way.
But when I thought about how SO:TL talks directly to the player, as it is to Walker, and *what* it says is something that really... for lack of better term: hit home.
I brought this on myself, because all the previously mentioned games taught me, that I do that just as a means to an end. To have fun, pretend to be a hero for a while and forget about real life moralities. But in reality, I was the one choosing to do so. Maybe not actively, just passively and subconsciously... and yet, I did choose to; allllll the way to the end, just for hope that the game will maybe tell me "At least you tried to do a good thing. Here's a medal, go home." But that was not the lesson of good intentions, it was a lesson on how far you are willing to go, if you are told that something is harmless(with full knowledge, that I can decide on my own, what is and isn't harmless). And, as it turned out, I was willing to go quite fucking long distances.
I used to think that being able to endure as much as possible to meet ends was a good thing. But can I say the same after making a virtual dude straight up murder virtual hundreds?
I mean, if I at least saw it coming, I could somehow justify the actions I did in the game just to learn what exactly is the lesson SO:TL tried to teach me. But no, I thought that, just because I'm told to do something, it's okay to do so. I was shaken to learn that it was me - all along - that deceived myself.
And then, came the moment for the final decision. Do I deserve to die for the actions I committed? Is there going to be some form of justice? Could such atrocities be forgiven?!
My answer to the game was: yes, I deserve a chance. Maybe it was monstrous to allow something like this, but repeating the same thing with more killing is not the answer. And even then, what's the point of further killing, if all the people that would be satisfied with such form of justice are already biting the dust? No, killing cannot be an answer anymore, not after all the realization. One could even raise a point that it'd be a coward's way out, instead of owning up to your mistake, even if utter monstrosity. After all the bad deeds that have been done, you can at least honor the memory of all these souls by telling their story. With you killed, their memory is forever forgotten. With you killed, there'd be no Dubai massacre, you'd just make it all *for nothing*; if it won't be a lesson for yourself, it would be a lesson for others.
I'd also like to stress I couldn't repeat John's mistake. "Stronger than you were" was a very strong and fitting thing to say. Like I said earlier, admitting to your own mistake was what really makes it all worthwhile in the end.
Then, the moment came, when you could just... lay down the weapons. It was so... relieving. You don't have to shoot anymore!
-"How did you survive all this?"
-"Who says I did?"
Was a powerful piece of dialogue at the end. Walker may have died a long ago, with just a shell being left that's walking around. His brain being a sort of massive grave of memory for all the dead people.
But it wouldn't have to be dramatic; the old Walker(and player), the one that would do anything to meet his ends is loooong gone. Today, Walker is reborn. That new one might also be a mere shadow of his former self, but - like Lugo liked to say - there is always a choice! You don't have to use any sort of killing machines anymore! You lied them down once and you may never have to do it again! You can stop being harmful now! You can change!
Granted, I didn't fully realize all this immediately. It took me around 4 playthroughs. I was angry at the time, that I couldn't fix it, I wanted to do it once more, maybe "do something better this time". But it was never meant to be. I'm happy, though, that in the end, it all occurred in my stupid head.
If you have read this whole stupid rant, thanks a lot. It was a bit personal, so I appreciate taking your time.
If you didn't... well, thanks for putting a small thought and reading just the bottom line.
Only the very few games that could come close to the message and themes of SO:TL will be left playable...
We need some levity in this comment section.
“A local airborne insurgency has infiltrated the US Zone designated as my pants! Sir!”
Moments before disaster
Haha F
man that was the only happy line in the game
Just so you know, I like my beaches to have a 3:1 sexy dead lady body ratio. For future reference.
I prefer my beaches with a 3 to 1 sexy lady dead body ratio
This game actually made me feel sick.
Welcome to Dubai
It takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of him. And if the truth is undeniable, you create your own
You're here because you wanted to feel like something you're not, a hero
Then the narrative did its job.
Well it wouldn't if you did not continue to play the game
Never has a video game left me with such a strange feeling of emptiness, confusion, sadness, and disparity all at once. This was such a great experiance, I wish I could go back in time and play the game again, going into it with little expectations for it so I could be so surprised by it all over again. This is a great game, a real gem!
Try out Presentable Liberty. This game gave me a similar feeling at the end to Spec Ops.
i r8 8/8 no h8 its gr8 m8 dont b l8 2 ur d8 Hmmm, I'll have to take a look at that one.
TheRubbaRazza I know what you mean...at the end I wasn't really upset...or angry...I was just...hollow. Numb. Empty. It psychologically drained me to the point that as the credits rolled, the controller slipped through my fingers. I stared at the television blankly. My mouth was slightly open. My eyes were dilated. My mom came in and found me like that and knew something was wrong. She just...hugged me. Then I allowed a single tear to roll out of my eye. As I explained this masterpiece to a woman who has never played a videogame in her life, she was dumbstruck. I think it was at that point that my mom and I both realized that videogames are, in essence, the epitome of storytelling and art. We aren't watching some story unfold in a theater or reading text on a piece of paper. We are in the story. We are the protagonist, undergoing the same torments as Walker. So as I made my choice in the end, I realized that it was time to look at gaming from another radically different perspective. Just like Walker, I finally accepted the truth.
I put down Call of Duty and Battlefield...these games that glorify war and chaos.
I put down the gun.
Rolling Kneebar , more like Rolling in the Deep LOLOLLLOL amirite
Drunk Commie *sigh* XD
It takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of him. And if the truth is undeniable, *you delisted from Steam and every storefront.*
Do you feel like a hero yet? *gets the game illegally*
There was never a "Walker"
There was never a "Konrad"
There was only the player, and the hundreds of lives they took.
But it's just a game, no harm in a little fun...
... Right?
Oh hey I've seen you before
Consider yourself lucky for mark for not responding to your comment
Kinda like that quote from the game: "To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless." Let's say you go and play Call of Duty, and kill enemies. You kill all of them, and move on. There are no consequences, because it's just for entertainment, making it harmless. Idk, thats what I think that quote means.
Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two conflicting ideas simultaneously.
That got real quick...
Spec ops: The line is one of those games where it's honestly meant to be played once, and that first time you play it, like many great games, is an experience that will stick with you for a long while.
But I think this is different, mainly cause this game doesn't want you to have fun. It wants you to think about the people you've killed, and even talks to you directly in the loading screens. Wish more games did this sort of thing, breaking the fourth wall can be a great experience if done right.
Wonder if we'll ever get a game like spec ops again
Play hotline miami 1 and 2
Even though they dont have the same message, they have many similarities.
Haha i played it 7 time on advanved difficulty
The fourth wall breaks were actually kind of effective.
Should have appeared in some other games.
A bit late, but Pathologic 2 is also what I’d call an art piece in gaming- something that challenges your idea of games and uses its gameplay experience to build the story. It’s also thematically dark.
I didn't mean to hurt anybody.
No one ever does.
striderkiwi2
Three!
SylerReek
Is this really what you want Walker?
+SylerReek I'm sorry. *BANG*
all this it was your fault
thats what you believe then shoot me
"How many Americans have you killed today?"
"Do you feel like a hero yet?"
"Can you even remember why you came here?"
"To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your country is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless."
"The US military strongly condemns the killing of unarmed civilians. But this is a video game, so why should you care?"
"You cannot understand, nor do you want to."
This game will make you question everything...
+Christian Watkins "Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable sensation caused by holding two conflicting ideas simultaneously."
"Delta Force has failed in their mission. The only thing left for Walker and Adams now is revenge."
If you were a better person, you wouldn't be here
+Christian Watkins It's all your fault.
+Christian Watkins "Do you like hurting people ?"
"Suicide is most common in soldiers with ptsd"
"If Lugo was alive,he'd suffer from ptsd,so really he is the lucky one"
Mission objective in early game:
"Proceed toward dubai."
Mission objective in late game:
"Run god damn it!"
run mf!!
The truth Walker, is that you're here because you wanted to feel like something you're not... A hero.
"Your no savior... Your talents lie elsewhere..."
... That felt deep....
Because I always try to do good...
Realising that after everything caused more blood...
It really messes you up....
It happends sometimes
You make a mistake, and when you try to fix it, you screw it and make things worse
That's realization of what it means of using violence to a means to an end. No matter for what country, what ideals and what people you fight for, using violence as a way of achieving a result shouldn't be idealized.
Goddamn Walker! The way he turns from a professional to a mass murderer in a couple of hours is perhaps the strongest part of the game. (Major SPOILERS)
At the beginning.
Shoots an armed civilian: "Tango down."
Late game.
Shoots yet another american: "Got the son of a b*tch!"
At the beginning.
How Walker finishes off a fallen enemy: shoots him in the head, said nothing, out of professionalism and respect for the victim.
Late game.
Bashes the poor bastard's head in, or breaks his neck with his gun, saying harsh stuff like: "F***ing traitor!"
Same thing can be said for his squad.
Lugo plays the joker at first, but then he gets to be the silent guy, who deep down hates Walker for ordering that white phosphorus genocide.
Adams' reaction to the whole Dubai situation is similar to Walker's, but at first he can pretend he's ok with it, takes Walker's orders to kill fellow Americans without hesitation (of course, he tries to convince Walker he's wrong, but hey, who argues with a superior and wins), which pisses off Lugo, who I could describe as the moral and emotional one of the three. Later Adams loses it, can't keep it inside anymore, and shows his hatred for Walker and his orders, specifically his refusal to quit the impossible mission. In the end he wants to die and gets himself killed, because he hasn't got anything to move him further, like Walker, who survives only because he believes like a stubborn guy that he can save people and kill poor old Conrad.
Some things pissed me off, though: the game tells me that ammo is scarce in Dubai, yet I had plenty of bullets all the time, just when I started to feel a shortage, a new type of enemy appeared, with a new weapon.
Also, for such a cool plot, the game is so short, it's a shame, but hey, that's a shooter after all.
I want a new game about this asap, but it wouldn't make sense. I just want more games like this. 😃
The bad thing is that, if you knew there were more games like this out there, they wouldn't be good, because you knew what to expect.
***** True.
thegamer351 Maybe a racing game (a critic to burnout) that in the end shows what happened to the people you crashed into during the game?
***** "I didn't mean to hurt anybody".
thegamer351 What about a shooter like this, in which the characters go through an horrible war, and in the end, it is explained that its only the human nature that causes these things (*Spoiler(?)*) instead of "do you feel like a hero yet"?
We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.
Thumbs up if you came here because... can you even remember why you came here?
How can i forget? How can you forget? I bet that after all these years, you still remember, don't you?
@@Loydthehighwayman Unfortunately General, I do. Nobody can ever forget what we've left there in Dubai.
BPCSlave Those agonizing screams, they echo in my mind. When I sleep at night, my dream felt more realistic than this empty shell of a peaceful life in the state. They say “What happened in Dubai, stays in Dubai”; but what I’ve experience there, the things I’ve done there, the comrades I’ve lost there. When I sleep, I return to hell, not the warm hell with horned beasts and Lucifer in Givenchy. A different kind of hell.
A hell on the surface of the earth.
yeah. WHY DID I COMITIED THOSE CRIMES IN DUBAI!!!!!???!?!?!??.WHY!???????. I WLL NEVER BE SE SAME AGAIN GENERAL. WHY DID I WAS FORCE TO KILL MY FRIEND IN THAT BURNING TRUCK. i COULD HAVE SAVE HIM. I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO LEFT HUGO DIE!!!!!. WHY DID I COMITED THOSE THINGS!!!!?
sorry luco
Reading all these comments about how Konrad is talking to the player at the counting sequence made me realize... this scene is a hostage negotiation.
Konrad wants the player to decide whether or not Walker's to blame for all this. Walker's pleading, but with the player; not Konrad.
"No... everything... all this... it was your fault!"
"I... I didn't mean to hurt anybody!"
The player isn't deciding whether or not he/she's to blame for all this. They already know they're at fault. Konrad just wants to know whether or not they think Walker should suffer with them. He wants to see if they player thinks Walker played more of a part in their decisions than they themselves did.
But why do you care? You already killed dozens of peopl- bad guys during this whole thing. How is Walker's death that different?
Interesting point. I didn't think of it like that.
Dnt Wry
Oh my god! That puts everything into an entirely new light. I should write an article about how people can see the situation.
But it's a game, it's not real. Right?
...Right?
That's so smart and makes so much sense gg dude good comment
"Whatever you say Walker, No matter what happens next, dont be too hard on yourself. Even now, after all you've done, you can still go home."
Lucky you.
There was a youtuber that said something about this game once..
"Walker isn't meant to be us, and we aren't meant to be him. Spec ops' point isn't that we, the gamer, are Walker...Spec ops' point is that we the gamer *have far too much in common with Walker.* "
That was Raycevick’s video on Spec Ops.
"What ever happens next, don`t be hard on yourself, Walker. You at least get the chance to go home."
KaiserSpaceman lucky you
Only game that comes close to Silent Hill 2's level of storytelling
+PèreFistard pcsx2 is your friend
Edit: Mass Effect trilogy gets pretty close too
last of us would like a word
What about Bioshock?
amit banai bioshock loses it pacing and intrigue after Ryan's office and I don't have a PS3 or PS4 randomguy6679
It takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of him - that quote always get me.
Stronger than you are
@@ibnnazar7168 whatever you say, Walker.
Do you feel like a hero yet?
No i dont...not at all
I just really love how this game snuck under the radar and was bombarded for the lack of polished gameplay while the story...my god the story! Unlike anything we've seen from the modern FPS genre, completely floored...wow..
"I never meant to hurt anyone"
-"No one ever does"
Hero Too Late
"It seems reports of my survival have been greatly exaggerated."
"this isn't possible"
Vlad Dracula This whole scene gave me the chills... It was awesome... Still listening to that track gives me the same XD
Vlad Dracula Oh I assure you, it is.
Steven Ford How?
Vlad Dracula Not how, why. You were never meant to come here.
"It takes a strong man to deny what's in front of him"
and if the truth is undeniable?
You create your own.
@@GDRunny "You wanted to become something your not...........a hero"
“Stronger than you were…”
This is a masterpiece. The whole game is a masterpiece.
A true hidden gem, wish it had more exposure on release
@@crimsonmaddog4486 yeah
''The way Walker sadly, but surely, says, "Stronger than you were." is very powerful in the context of having just discovered that Konrad had committed suicide. Walker has chosen life, in that sense he really was stronger than Konrad who ended his life rather than living with the consequences of his actions. It takes a strong man to affirm life even in the midst of adversity.''
True but you literally copied this word for word from Tvtropes.
@@melvinmerkelhopper5752 did he really?
@@seamussmyth1928 Yes. Go to the Heartwarming page on the Spec Ops the Line and read the first paragraph.
It is literally coppied word for word.
This scene hit me so hard I actually started crying.
I didn't know what to do. I was still trying to process what the hell was happening.
In the end, I dropped the controller and just muttered "Walker deserves this. *I* deserve this."
Little surprise that I didn't sleep too well that night.
You are very emotional!
I can't blame you I also started crying at this exact scene
Feeling like a hero now, buddy?
I just killed konrad and dropped my gun when other soldiers arrived to rescue, there was nothing else to fight for.
“I’m sorry Walker. But you knew it would end this way.”
“Your friends? Dead. The world on fire. And you…alone.”
“You’re a failure.”
“Finally something we have in common.”
Since a living Konrad is Walker's imagination and Walker is actually talking to himself, I'd imagine the conversation is a monologue that goes like this (Walker talking to his 'other conscience' and refers to Konrad as a third person):
CPT Walker: It seems that reports of his... _survival_... have been greatly exaggerated.
CPT Walker: This isn't possible.
CPT Walker: Oh, I assure myself, it is.
CPT Walker: _How?!_
CPT Walker: Not how. Why? I was _never_ meant to come here.
CPT Walker: What happened here was out of my control.
CPT Walker: Was it? None of this would've happened if I'd just _stopped_. But on I marched. And for what?
CPT Walker: I tried to save him.
CPT Walker: I'm no savior. My talents lie elsewhere.
CPT Walker: This isn't my fault!
CPT Walker: It takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of him. And if the truth is undeniable, man creates his own. The truth is, that I'm here because I wanted to feel like something I'm not: *A hero*. He's here because I can't accept what I've done. It broke me. I needed someone to blame, so I cast it on him, a dead man.
Fajri Ahmad Didn't you post this on another vid, too?
I did
I never meant to hurt anybody....
...no-one ever does Walker.
THREE
Bonnie1020Production
Is this really what you want Walker?
SylerReek You're not real. This is all in my head.
Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine.
I never meant to hurt anyone.
SylerReek No one ever does Walker.
"I'm going to count to five, then I'm pulling the trigger."
"You're not real... this is all all in my head."
"Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine. ONE."
"No... All this... It was YOUR fault!"
"If that's what you believe, then shoot me. TWO."
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone..."
"No-one ever does, Walker. THREE."
"FOUR..."
James Robbins *instinctively pulls the trigger.*
Tarik360
"It takes a strong man, to deny whats right in front of him."
"Stronger than you were.."
"Whatever you say Walker. Whatever happens next, don't be too hard on yourself.. Even now, after all you've done, you can still go home... Lucky you..."
"What now, Sir?"
"What do you mean?"
"The men are waiting, What do we do now?"
"We complete the mission"
"And what mission would that be?"
*"JUST GIVE ME A GOD*... damned... radio?"
"This is Captain Martin Walker, Survivors... one too many..."
@@Tarik360 Commander this is Falcon 1, I think we found him.
Captain Walker?
He's armed!
It's ok hold your fire.
I don't understand, what's he doing?
Look at his eyes... something is not right
Captain Walker we're here to help, but first I need you to lay down your weapon.
He's not complaying.
He's shellshocked give him a second.
Just hand me your weapon captain, we're here to take you home.
Can he even hear you?
Quiet!
Captain?
The reason this game is underrated is probably because developers didn't pay the reviewers.
+Ensar Osman Or beacause they didn't play... They must think it's another basic shooter game.
It's more people thought this was a typical TPS and ignored it.
***** Exactly, seeing games like Call of Duty getting higher rates than this game just makes me sad.
+Ensar Osman It's because the marketing was shit, they should've tried more to distinguish it from normal shooters. Adding cutscenes that hinted at making choices? i.e that "Justice" scene should've made it into the trailer.
+Ahmed Ghulam but that might have ruined the surprise, the goal of the developers wasn't so much to make as much money as possible, but to trick people into thinking this game was something that it was not, in order to get the best twist and reaction possible. a masterpiece won't be appreciated by everyone, but the few people, to whom it changes their lives, really appreciate it.
The damage created by people with even the best intentions scare me
The path to evil is full of good intentions
"None of this would've happened if you just *stopped"*
"I don't have a choice"
"But on you marched, and for what?"
Really? Not one comment saying my favourite quote?
"You're not real. This is all in my head."
"You sure? Maybe its in mine..."
".... one."
Finish the quote.
“No matter how hard I tried, I never could escape the reality of what happened here. That was my downfall.”
“What the hell is going on?”
Lately, I've contemplated doing a Captain Walker cosplay with him wearing Col Conrad's Class A coat. Only issue is that I can't see all the ribbons and awards on said coat.
i think in the intro, when colonel conrad walk outside his tower, he walked pass by his medals. you can look them from there
and his ribbons too
Armed with an AA-12 prop and randomly saying "Gentlemen, welcome to Dubai."
The ending to the game and the epilogue was strange, because I sat there pretty much in shock from having been able to process EVERYTHING. The whole twist, Lugo dying, adams dying. It was a crazy, but very good and well written story
Apparently there was actually a DLC planned in which you'd play as Adams after he split with Walker. "Long Way Home" I believe.
@@lemonlimejames yeah Adam is not dead
adams didnt die
Literally every line in this entire scene is iconic
"There is no difference between what is right and what is necessary"
Man i finished this game recently and... fuck is has so much soul, that hurts
I already have played other games with emotional touch and great artistic works. Games like Silent Hill 2 , Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Limbo, and most recently, Telltale's The Walking Dead, but this one...
I never wait to feel so much emotion from a Shooter game, seriusly, this is how most of the shooters should be...
+Nicolás Riveros Most shooters shouldn't be like this because if they were, the impact of a game like this would be significantly dampened - it was released into a market flooded with copycat modern shooters with highly patriotic scripted movie-like campaigns where there is no room for choice or even the illusion of it and none of the characters' actions are ever discussed in-depth. In most shooters, you are just a camera with a gun, in Spec Ops, you are a defined character following his own complicit path to destruction, that of himself and everyone around him.
Black ops 2 was emotionnaly (in the missions in the 80's part)
Try Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light (The Redux versions) if you want to play more shooters with soul. They are even on sale on Steam right now.
BAkos I actually playing Metro Last Light, the atmosphere is incredible. The history it's kinda hard to follow tho
I think that has to be because Metro Last Light is the sequel to Metro 2033. So you should play 2033 first to understand the story, as the plot starts with that game.
Everybody : the last of us has the best story of all video games
Me:
True, don't get me wrong people, Tlou is a great game but the trophy of "the edgy and bitter main character with a tragic past adopts a child and then becomes a good person" its completely burned and over used, in Spec Ops nobody's innocent, neither the protagonist or the civilians that you came to rescue, the game's story is about how people would do awful and horrible things in order to live one more day.
@@danielgaxiolalugo7414 i know, but tlou got more attention for the story just because it had the propper advertising compared with this. Everybody knows tlou as one of the greatest ps3 titles and even if they never own a playstation. This game is know by very few and the ones who know it have nothing bad to say about it.
This comment has a unique spin to it nowadays.
Well.......the history of this game is a lot better that the one from The Last Of Us 2
@@andreipaviliuc1423 biased. Just fkin compare it to the previous GOTY (The Witcher 3, Wolfenstein) it is shit. And how the fuck tlou2 got more awards than the witcher 3.
Holy fuck, i wonder how much they spent paying the journalists. And lastly, the devs dont give a fuck about the player. Theres thus certain time where you'll get copyrighted by the devs if you post a tlou2 gameplay
So many people look for answers.
What happens when the answer is so horrific you’re better off not knowing?
Another line crossed, another point of no return.
Cannot live the lie any longer now that the truth is staring you in the face.
Perhaps one would have been better off not knowing, or perhaps, even asking.
people used to say
"knowledge is cursed"
the longer I live, the more I agree to it
Scp 2317
@@leesasuki'Tis the duty of the cursed to draw lines for the blessed.
If you were a better person, you wouldn't be listening to this track.
"John...? Is that you?"
Walker stumbled towards the figure in the dark, his eyes bloodshot and breathing erratic. He had finally made it; he finally found Konrad. The man who saved his life... and put Dubai into the state it was now in. John's voice echoed a reply.
"You tell me." Walker gritted his teeth and spat onto the ground in disgust. "I'm *done* playing games, John!" He reached for his sidearm, an M911, and leveled it with the approximate location of Konrad's head.
The moment he got close, he'd put a bullet in that fucker's head... he'd end everything and save everyone...
As if Konrad could read his mind, he replied. "I assure you... this is no game."
Walker paused, contemplating the meaning of his words for a moment. Ignoring them, he moved closer and felt his chest start to tighten; why hadn't John moved?
He tapped the side of the chair, and it rotated.
Everything stopped.
No, he thought. No, this can't be right. This isn't how it was supposed to happen.
Yet the truth was staring him directly in the face.
John Konrad was dead. He had been dead for who knows how long.
Likely before Walker came to Dubai. Which meant...
"We... were trying to help..."
Falling to his knees, Walker took the gun in his hands and went dead silent.
"It seems that reports of my... survival... have been *greatly* exaggerated."
Chara Dreemurr someone needs to Write a Book about this
There's already a book and it's called Heart of Darkness
War never changes, only weapons change.
-Teemo
Attempt to leave good comment ended in complete failure.
Trolls... One too many
The trollge was here
This whole game felt like a supervillain origin story.
I agree.
It takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of him.
Stronger than you. Even now, after all this, you can still go home. Lucky you
this song is so good. at about 40 seconds the eerie quality just melts out of the woodwork and comes straight at your sense of confidence in your self.
I love how they time this song in the game. Right when the "I'm going to count to five, then I'm pulling the trigger." part comes on, the music intensity just like triples. You know, it's sad. And confusing. Is Walker insane from how many times he hit his head? Or is it PTSD? Or is he just good ol' plain crazy?
Mental instability in general + PTSD from Kabul + Concussions from falls and explosions + Dehydration from days in the desert + Trapped in a fucked up situation + Accidentally killing innocent people you were trying to help = Broken mind, broken man
@@terriblehits3157 Damm
Good lord this game was something else. To this day I still feel emotionally exhausted just being reminded of it. A perfect example of a story that can ONLY be told through a game. Now if only other shooters would learn from this.
This song is perfect. When I hear it tears fill my eyes. There are no winners in war, only victims.
"If you were a better person, you wouldn't be here"
The "you can still go home" quote by Konrad scared me a little bit because he means that we get to turn off the xbox and go do something else or play a different game. Real soldiers don't get to go home without being scarred or just insane by the things they done but you can watch trying not to laugh vid with no problem.
Edit: Also in this picture it looks like he's taken responsibility and gone mad over it
“Do you feel like a hero yet?”
One think catched my attention. At the start of the game we look like soldiers, geared up for the job, prepeared and ready. Enemies on the other hand (Soldiers of the 33th regiment) look more like marauders or renegades. As the games progresses we start to look more like a marauder and killer. At the end of the games guys form the 33th regiment look like normal soldiers but we look like complete shit. We look exactly the same as this guys at the beginning. Look how the roles reversed. We tried to save the city but a the end this guys try to save the city from us.
You are no saviour, your talents lie elsewhere.
Additionally look at the standard weapon loadout and how it changes. In the beginning it unremarkable US Army standard issue gear, professional equipment.
At the end it is heavy machineguns and a Desert Eagle, a gun more fit to impress someone or to play hero rather than a gun used for efficiency.
The idea, that Lugo and Adams actually are a manifestation of the 33rd is quite interesting. It would for example explain, why 3 guys can fight out dozens of other soldiers. Of course it's a game, but your idea would make the whole thing a bit more realistic. Walker, Lugo and Adams aren't really 3 guys, they are the whole 33rd taking orders from Walker. Maybe that's why throughout the game these two alway ask for your premission before doing something.
Also Adams and Lugo could symbolize different parts of the 33rd. They often don't agree with Walker's decisions and especially Lugo seems to get pretty angry about that and actually kills the radio-guy without Walker's permission. So maybe Lugo is a symbol for the part of the 33rd that wasn't ok with Konrad's choises, while Adams might the the people who still supported him.
Also when the civilians killed Lugo, this might be a symbol for the soldiers who got killed by the rebels and the anger, that Walker/Konrad felt about it.
And last but not least: Maybe the fact, that Lugo and Adams die, but that Walker has hallucinations, in which he is the one killing them, hints on either Walker feeling responsible for their deaths or Walker literally killing his men (there were some scenes telling, that Konrad actually executed rogue soldiers)
So maybe the whole mission of Walker never really existed and only happened in Walker/Konrad's mind. Konrad tried to safe Dubai, but it didn't really work and now Walker is a manifestation of his mind, wrapping up the things, that happend in the past and trying to reach Konrad to stop this madness, showing how Konrad's attempts to keep Dubai alive couldn't save it, just as Walker's attempts to rescue Dubai actually killed it.
I also had the idea, that Walker and Konrad are som kind of split personalities, that Konrad/Walker developt when being in war. He created a second personality that keeps him moving instead of giving up. So Walker being rescued by Konrad in war would acutally mean, that his stronger personality saved him.
All interested ideas and all, but eh i'm not a fan of the whole Inception like theory with Konrad dreaming up Walker who dreams up Konrad. Just nullifies the experience.
***** Hassan I Sabbah excellent points. I also found it a brutal irony that Lugo, the moral compass of Delta Squad, who constantly argued against the atrocities you were committing, was the one to pay the price.
steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=304815738
BadDudes A-Bomb No way. NO WAAAAAYYYYY
This game is a masterpiece. One of the most (if not The most) powerful emotional expereinces i've ever had playing videogames, and i don't even like shooters that much. This should be mandatory for every CoD and MoH fan.
"The reports of my survival have been greatly exaggerated."
This isn't possible
@@isaywhateveriwantandyougot7421 “Oh I assure you it is”
You know, the person who finished this with all endings is probably the most sadistic out of all of us.
I'm currently doing that rn. I need me some achievements.
Some people really can think that war looks like Call of Duty or some brave military film. But goddamn, most likely it's gonna be some tragic shit like Spec Ops and its not even the worst way...
" None of this would have happened if you'd just stopped. But on your marched... *And for what?* "
“We tried to save you.”