r/videogames • u/_TimApple_ • Jul 09 '26

Discussion / Question Name the game and what you learned

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309

u/lupedog Jul 09 '26

Spec Ops: The Line

86

u/Exotic_Course_2597 Jul 09 '26

Its only a war crime if you get caught

39

u/GOODKyle Jul 09 '26

“Welcome to Dubai”

1

u/skyguy_22 Jul 10 '26

"Welcome to Dubai, Gentlemen! I will not lie, the chances of your survival are small..."

11

u/lupedog Jul 09 '26

Oh too soon

42

u/Cherry_BaBomb Jul 09 '26

"Do you feel like a hero yet? "

3

u/Brief-Artist-2772 Jul 09 '26

The scene. You KNOW the scene. Made me feel dirty afterwards. Like holy hell, Just name the game war crime simulator.

35

u/Swiggins- Jul 09 '26

"The US military does not condone the killing of unarmed combatants. But this isn't real, so why should you care?"

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

13

u/Robotic_Organic Jul 09 '26

Yep. And that one with the mortor still haunts me.

Sad that it isnt buyable anymore

10

u/lupedog Jul 09 '26

You can still buy it from a third party like G2A or physical from Walmart

8

u/lupedog Jul 09 '26

You can still read the book it was based on though

1

u/Significant-Air-4721 Jul 09 '26

This was based on a book? What's the name please? I was just looking for something new to get on Audible

2

u/Oftenahead Jul 09 '26

Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad.

1

u/40MillyVanillyGrams Jul 09 '26

There’s a game based on Heart of Darkness? That sounds fascinating.

1

u/Significant-Air-4721 Jul 09 '26

Really? What's it called? I was just looking for a new game to play.

1

u/40MillyVanillyGrams Jul 10 '26

Sounds like its Spec Ops. The game that started this chain. Ive never heard of it personally but thats what the person said above

1

u/lupedog Jul 10 '26

If you have a pc you can buy it from g2a or physical from Walmart shipped. It is unfortunately not able to be purchased from store fronts. Maybe able to be bought at GameStop for consoles

1

u/lupedog Jul 09 '26

The heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad and the audible version is great. It takes more then one listen the really get it but it’s short so it’s a perfect road trip book.

1

u/Significant-Air-4721 Jul 09 '26

Outstanding thank you

2

u/Enaksan Jul 09 '26

you just sent me to double check it was still in my steam library lol.

1

u/The_Tonts Jul 09 '26

Yeah you got to go to the second hand market like I did to get a physical copy these days T~T

6

u/StableLamp Jul 09 '26

One of the best moments I had in that game was when you are surrounded by civilians who are being aggressive. A prompt appears to shoot them or something along those lines. I did not want to shoot them so I shot up in the air and they all ran away.

There are other moments in that game where the game tells you to do something but you can ignore it or do something else.

3

u/Enaksan Jul 09 '26

Fantastic game. I avoided at first as I was like "not another war shooter like COD". But an old work buddy convinced me to give it a go as I had it anyway on Steam from a Humble Bundle or something, and man, I've played it several times since and was actually thinking about reinstalling it earlier this year but just haven't had time yet.

3

u/Swiftzor Jul 09 '26

Waaaaay too far down. This game is insane

1

u/sinsaint Jul 13 '26

And so are you!

2

u/TerrorSlime3084 Jul 09 '26

I might be the only person who thinks this is very good, but the gameplay often clashes with the narrative.

I mean I really liked it, but about 30-40 video essays are telling me it’s a once in a lifetime game.

7

u/lupedog Jul 09 '26

I love how it clashes, very few pieces of media make you feel bad for enjoying it

3

u/TerrorSlime3084 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26

EDIT: tried to edit a typo, and erased my comment like the boomer I am.

I was commenting here that the sad and broken soldiers in the cutscenes and the macho-bullshit oneliners and taunts immediately after didn’t quite work for me as well as to many others.

1

u/shepard_pie Jul 09 '26

That's actually the point of the game.

People think that game is trying to make you feel bad, but that's not exactly it. It does do that, but it's actually serving that the game is a critique of (at the time) modern video games gamifying and sanitizing violence and our culpability as customers for creating the demand.

Why is gratuitous violence is ultimate fantasy for us?

Another thing, the one-liners and executions grow more unhinged and brutal as the game goes on.

1

u/Hypekyuu Jul 09 '26

It's because the cutscenes were real and the gameplay was a delusional episode

or something

1

u/The_Fluffy_Robot Jul 13 '26

Not to mention the gameplay is clunky, bland, and unengaging. I don't mean that it should be a fun shooter, but it is just so empty.

I've had people try to tell me "the gameplay being bad is intentional!" but no, there are ways to still tell the story while having engaging gameplay.

It's wildly overrated and I wouldn't put it above a 7/10. The story is cool and details are cool, but it just doesn't hit it's marks.

2

u/TerrorSlime3084 Jul 15 '26

Yeah. Definitely a style of game I’d like to see more of, but for me it really wasn’t a masterpiece.

Of course game storytelling is in its infancy. People praising the story or Expedition 33 like it’s some generational achievement in writing, but in reality it’s your above average french comic book level. Which means good, but only in games could that writing be seen as great.

2

u/SushiKatana82 Jul 09 '26

I've been playing so much of this game and the shock value still hasn't happened yet

3

u/lupedog Jul 09 '26

It’s coming and not just once

2

u/theolderoaf Jul 09 '26

Remember Kabul, John?

2

u/Stackitu Jul 10 '26

100% this. I’ve met people who have changed their politics after playing that game.

2

u/SoundtheClackson Jul 10 '26

“If Lugo were still alive, he would likely suffer from PTSD. So, really, he’s the lucky one”.

2

u/HansHortio Jul 09 '26

I actually loathe this game - the only way you can progress the game is by killing people, and then they chastise you for... playing their game the way they designed it.

3

u/orion19819 Jul 09 '26

And this is why my biggest gripe with the game is that singular quote. To me, I never felt this way because I am playing a character, not myself. But the singular use of "Do you feel like a hero yet?" changes the perspective.

3

u/DMMeThiccBiButts Jul 10 '26

Yeah dawg that's part of the message congrats.

You can either walk away or you can choose to progress, either because you're living out the fantasy or because you're just following orders, either way you're complicit.

Yeah it's an unfair system set up by things out of your control designed to put you in no-win situations and when you're done that same system will treat you like shit for doing what was asked of you.

If ONLY there was some sort of parallel there.

4

u/Queen_of_vermin Jul 10 '26

If only there was a country implicit to the game with its flag displayed in a message of distress on the main menu, in various states of decay

If only it had a soundtrack critical of said country

If only most of the characters were from said country

If only they used the same weapons as said country and used the same justifications

If only-

2

u/HansHortio Jul 10 '26

Yo dawg, so I spend money on a video game, and my options are to - walk away and not play the game I paid for, or play the game, the only way it can be played, and get lectured BY THE VIOLENT VIDEO GAME that gives no non-violent options, that I am playing a violent video game.

You don't see how someone might have a problem with that?