"Spec Ops: The Line," the hero mentality, and PTSD through the fourth wall

Upon first glance, there isn't much about Spec Ops: The Line that sets it apart from other shooters in the genre. And in a genre oversaturated with games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and a handful of other giant series, there is a pretty expected formula to the story. I've played quite a few Call of Duty campaigns in my day, and I can't say any of them really stick out in my memory as having a groundbreaking war story, commenting on the absolute horror of it all. I think this is partly due to the games prioritizing the gameplay over the story--which is fine, in most cases. These series' are mainly created to cater to a multiplayer audience, rather than some chilling single-player narrative experience. But because of that, the games of this genre can feel great to play--and that's about it. It feels good to shoot the bad guys. You feel heroic because you are the hero.

https://thegatewayonline.ca/2018/02/spec-ops-the-line/, Captain Martin Walker marching through the remnants of a white phosphorus attack that he conducted.

What Spec Ops: The Line does a bit differently is this very idea: the messaging--who is heroic in war, who are the bad guys. The game is not afraid to ask these questions to the player directly. But it starts out similar to how one might expect, especially to those familiar with the genre.

Prior to the events of the game, the worst recorded sandstorms in the history of Dubai resulted in instatement of martial law following bouts of riots, insurrections, and numerous atrocities committed by the "Damned 33rd." The player is eventually sent (playing as Captain Martin Walker) to Dubai as part of an elite, three-person Delta-Force team for reconnaissance, to simply report if there are any survivors, and then get the hell out.

Things quickly do not go to plan, though. The American 33rd are constantly at odds with the Delta team, due to the 33rd never realizing that they are there to help. Almost immediately, the 33rd views Delta team as the enemy. The events of the game continue to spiral into more conflict--the 33rd continue to round up civilians, torture and kill CIA agents, and yet Walker is determined to help. Each time he does, tensions only seem to worsen, as does Walker's mental state. Unlike other games, the events of Spec Ops: The Line is driven by Walker's mental state in a very literal sense. In what I would consider the turning point of the game, Walker is forced to use deadly white phosphorus to clear out an area heavily guarded by the Damned 33rd. However, upon clearing out the defenses, Walker realizes that these people were not a part of the 33rd, but unarmed civilians being housed by the 33rd (pictured above). From this point forward, Walker's mind is essentially shattered, and what the player sees in the game is what he sees, however unreliable that is.

By the end of the game, it's revealed that almost everything that Walker was seeing--the 33rd surrender, even the main antagonist Konrad, were all hallucinations. Walker has just been attempting to rationalize his actions, to remain a "hero." But I gotta say, it didn't feel very heroic to kill all of those people. And the game knows this too.

The game utilizes tip/hint screens while the game is loading between areas, and the player might expect to read things about different game play mechanics, helpful reminders, or little facts about the setting. And Spec Ops: The Line does do this--until Walker begins to hallucinate. As if Walker's mind bleeds into every corner of the game, these hint screens start becoming more and more accusatory and off-putting. From slightly worrying text like "white phosphorus is a common allotrope used in many types of munitions. It can set fire to cloth, fuel, ammunition, and flesh" and "the M134 minigun fires an impressive 3,000 rounds per minute," to flat-out fourth wall breaking messages like "Dubai's harbor was filled with sand when storms first wracked the city. The corpses were your doing," and "if you were a better person, you wouldn't be here." But, in what I think encapsulates the theme of Spec Ops: The Line, as well as the mental anguish experienced by Walker, these hint screens will eventually ask you "do you feel like a hero yet?"

Spec Ops: The Line flips the traditional war narrative seen in many video games of the same genre. I haven't seen a game delve so deeply into the mentality of military personnel so effectively--and I think that's why this game stuck out to me so much. This is a war game, and its also a horror game. A lot of Walker's reactions, especially later in the game, can be attributed to symptoms of PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). Angry outbursts, hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks--all of these symptoms can be traced directly through Walker's actions or through the game itself. The medium of a video game allows the player to occupy a mind being torn apart by PTSD in real time. The player can see through Walker's eyes that war and violent conflict isn't a thing to be glorified, but to be feared.

"To kill for yourself is murder. To kill for your government is heroic. To kill for entertainment is harmless."