5:28 “I get it. We’re meant to choose.” “Choose what? Let’s get out of here.” I love how subtly the game hints at Walker hallucinating before we even realize it.
Maybe because that statement contrasts so much with his words before. Because before he was just antagonizing you, trying to get in your head and get you to feel guilt. When you finally shoot Konrad, signifying you still deny what you did, he gives up, and tries to make sure that at least your soul can move on in peace with comforting words, in the end “don’t be too hard on yourself” Konrad does have a mentor-like influence over Walker. Maybe Konrad (the version in Walkers head) was a conscious part of Walker that understood that he did wrong, and it was its last attempt for Walker to face the truth
@@obamacheck3567 I like to think that at that point Walker was already dead, from the chopper, and that that was the actual Konrad visiting Walker from the heavens, attempting to make him accept his death, that way his "suicide" is kind of a happy ending, imo.
I hate how this effect can get ruined sometimes. On higher difficulties, the AI's aim is kinda ridiculous, and can shoot you while you're operating the mortar. If this happens, Walker will pull back from the screen and you can see him revert to some standing animation. Makes it seem less eerie if it does happen. Great detail otherwise though.
almost like you. Never caring about what you did. Those people had lives, they have families. Familiars. Something that mattered to them. Even when you could hear their screams of agony you never cared about what happened to them.
man, with all my love to Kojima and to MGS itself, this game does it better, because it seems real. It's literally real, without any bullshit that Kojima might come up with. However, MGSV is the closest one to this game.
14:40 -"Where is Konrad?" "Where he's always been. Upstairs." I just now figured out that he's using "upstairs" in the metaphorical sense, to refer to Walker's mind, the way you might refer to someone as being a little weird "upstairs." Think about the building they're in, and where both they and "Konrad" are within it. Why on earth would you refer to someone as "upstairs" when this someone is located over a hundred stories above you, and far more likely to accessed by elevator?
Asd Winxa When Konrad's chewing out Walker, he's also talking to you (the player character). Walker never had to go to Dubai, just like you. He could have stopped, just like you. He went in, expecting to be a gallant savior, just like you. His actions have only brought death, ruin, and suffering, _just like you._ In other words, Spec Ops is saying that you (the player) and Walker have far too much in common with each other. Hope this helped.
Yeah, as Konrad says "None of this would've happened if you'd just stopped" he's talking to Walker and the player. If they really wanted to save everyone, Walker could've pulled back and left the city, and the player could've just stopped playing the game. By progressing, you become guilty for Walker choosing to push forward. Walker says he didn't have a choice, just as the player would if they were blamed for something in a game, but the choice was always to just turn the game off.
I agree, i think this game is as genius as silent hill 2. I played the line this year, too late, and i thought it wasn't possible to be close to silent hill 2.. well i was fucking wrong.
That crazy bit with the heavy trooper, the flashing lights, and the mannequins was pretty much the part where I said, "Okay, he's clearly messed up somehow." I just didn't know HOW broken Walker was until the very end of the game... WOW.
+Montesama314 I knew before then before then because when if you fail to kill 'lugo' the replay is just a regular heavy and also before you use the LMG to get lugo and condrad across to the other side he trips out when killing the heavy
Except Spec Ops: The Line had originally started mindscew, plot twist shooters that is basically anti-COD. Everyone just forgets it because COD got so much hype
Gillan Baclayon Not so hyped about the new one. It's one of the most disliked videos because the community had enough to treyarch ignoring them in favour of their share holders. The only people who are hyped are the little kids who like space
I know that i'm late to this particular video, but just wanted to add: if you actually kill Lugo The Heavy (hallucination) on first attempt, his last words will be "You are the only villain here, Walker."
Not only that notice how Heavy Lugo is harder to kill compared to a regular and not only that he can kill you faster as well meaning in Walkers mind he's struggling to kill heavy(Lugo) cause he knew Lugo but the normal version he doesn't know he has no problem killing
"Where's Konrad?" "Where is always been. Upstairs. Waiting for you" Konrad is "the Man Upstairs" in Dubai... Waiting to judge Walker for what all that he did. So much things to interpret in this game it's amazing.
+Elemental Did you hear about Walt Williams' (lead writer for the game) theory that Walker died in the opening chopper scene that started the game and now he has to relieve his actions (replaying the game) over and over again Vaas: That is crazy (see what I did there?)
Out of all the moments featured hear, I liked the "Lugo" Heavy the most. To hear those rage-filled words spit at you by what was once your closest of allies is a mixture of adrenaline-pumping, nightmare-fueling and heartbreaking. The complete exchange between "Lugo" and Walker just hammers home just how much he's forgotten who he is.
Recuerda que la mitad de los malditos del 33 estaban divididos por un enfrentamiento interno, eso confundio al equipo de walker y dio ordenes equivocadas como disparar fosforo a los 33 que rescataron a los civiles del hotel de la tormenta.
Buys Spec Ops : The Line, expects it to be like COD. Expects it to be like COD, kills everything. Kills everything, plot twist is revealed, feels bad about what I did, shoots myself to kill the real bad guy. Yep this is why I'll always love this game...it spoke to me
The dead of walker isn't a good option... You killed all, the dead of walker changes something? That makes you a good person? No, that don't changes nothing.
It's also a foreshadowing to the ending. If Konrad was still alive, he would've said " Welcome to Hell,Walker.", and that's it. But he adds " We've been waiting for you", as if acknowledging that he is also in Hell - which means he was dead for quite a long time
@@MrSmallsCO No, to my knowledge they were not extremist muslims like the ones I had to look out for back in the day. Then again, anyone with a beard and desert clothes looks like a bad guy to you.
Some people don’t know that maybe just maybe when the screen fades to black in the game it’s real and when it fades to white it’s fake so in the beginning walker might have died and the rest of the game relived his life to that point so u may be playing as a dead man who is in his HECK which is a loop till he shoots himself in the end. And ends it
I just realized this, when "Konrad" says "It takes a strong man to deny what's in front of him, you see Walker's mouth moving, meaning it's HIM saying it, Konrad was never alive when Walker got reports of his survival, his mind just created it from the fact that he was going insane to begin with, that's why when you shoot Konrad the mirror breaks, it was Walker all along, creating the still alive Konrad in his head, when Konrad shoots you, it's just you shooting yourself, none of this was real after it got insane, it was just Walkers imagination.
And when "Konrad" said it takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of him, he disappears (talking about the first time he said it) which was also showing the fact that the real Konrad never survived, it was only his mental mind creating this reality.
@@help_i_cant_pee2812 I know its been 5 years but, in one of the loading screens, it says "If the Radioman now speaks for the 33rd, then what happened to Konrad?"
Onur Buken I think the game tries to cancel that by adding “there are rumors that John Konrad is still alive,” I think was the loading screen quote. You can get it as early as chapter 6 if you happen to get killed. Which is weird, everyone else in the game makes it seem like the locals and possibly the 33rd are perpetuating the idea that Konrad is alive, yet the only person to directly speak of it is actually Gould. You don’t ever hear locals say stuff like “Konrad will save us all” or “Konrad will return again.”
There were several more passive insanity moments not in this video. 1) the large flag with the picture of the girl is replaced with the face of Konrad when you first see it after picking up the transmission of the CIA member being tortured. 2) the graffiti to the left after choosing to kill/leave Riggs changes depending on which one you choose, as does the position of the statues in the building a minute later. 3) there's the reflection of a hanging man when rappelling down after first hallucinating Konrad. 4) if you die during the gunfight just after facing the Lugo heavy, or when you first find Adams after the helicopter crash then you get treated to some creepy hallucination easter eggs 5) there's a billboard with Konrad's face on it during the first chapter. This seems to make no sense, but I have a few reasons that justify it. 6) you pass a tree with leaves on it just before the white phosphorus attack. by the delta team. If you look back after passing it, the tree is now dead.
CptMonstruoso That's true, but as Rie Kumar points out, there's someone hanging at 4:12 - ie. it's not any vision Walker has, it's just a reflection of someone hanging; after all, none of the other two ropes you're rappeling on are reflected in the glass. It can still be considered symbolic that it's on Lugo's side I guess, but I think that might be reading too much into it.
***** Given the thought the creators put into this game I think it's pretty safe to believe it's intentional. I didn't speculate on whether it was a vision or not, but arguments can be made that the whole game is in fact a vision if you believe the "dying dream" theory.
14.18 I tell you, this gave me chills down my spine. It's just freaking mad yet so delicate. I'd guess what I hear (the singing) was the last thing the little girl heard before the phosporous attack. Her mother singing to her to calm her down previous their death? Oh..
Ubai Roslan Upon realizing Konrad was never alive while he was in Dubai, Walker accepts the fact that he was always a figment of his imagination, meant to justify the actions he took. Walker becomes Konrad.
James sunderland saw the pyramid head potrait in the silent hill occult society museum back when he took mary in vacation there. When he got into purgatory, he connected that picture as his pursuer. Konrad is the same thing.
None of you know what's required of a soldier, one of those requirements is making difficult decisions, making the decision that brings you home to those you care about...no matter the cost.
When 'Conrad' starts answering back to Walker after Walker's already put the handset on his back you can get a hint of what's happening. He doesn't plug in a headset or a mic, without pushing the PTT button, Conrad couldn't hear him when he talks, so how can he answer back? Just noticed this for the first time hehe.
Spoiler Alert Funny that once you know the ending the whole scene where you have to choose between the soldier and the civilian plays a whole different. I mean both Lugo and Adams are having a different conversation that Walker. They are wondering why is their commanding officer is standing looking at corpses, and he suddenly shoots one. The conversation after that makes sense, but they are all talking about different things. Amazing i just love this game.
Nope, he is in purgatory, punishing himself for his sins, until he finally opens his eyes and accept what he has done, if he is willing to pay the price.
@@MrSlendyMannn what is this theory about, can you link something to me? anyways it is obivious that the whole thing is not "real" like conrad's radio message kept playing in an infinite loop at the beginning of the game..
I prefer the ending where he kills all the evac team and he stays on Dubai, i feel like that was the perfect ending, also that last line... "Gentlemen... Welcome to Dubai".
Agree with you. still thinking that this is the canon ending. Walker accepted his fate, he`s no hero, he`s a brutal monster, he kills the rescue team, walks to his new home as the monster of dubai.
How is Walker supposed to explain what happened in Dubai to the authorities when he gets home to America (should you have chosen that ending)? Is he gonna say, "I went crazy and my conscience personified itself in the shape of, the now dead, Colonel Konrad and manipulated me in such a way that I hallucinated him to be a villain that I needed to stop. My mind tried to cope with the evils that occurred in Dubai by fashioning myself as the hero." How is he supposed to explain any of it in a way that won't get him thrown in the looney bin? My mind enjoys overly elaborate symbolism isn't a very good defense in a court room.
The way Walt Williams (script writer) envisioned it is that the whole crew died at the helicopter crash and everything after that was Walker in his own hell or purgatory. That's why when the soldier asks Walker "How did you survive?" Walker replies "Who said I did?" implying that he is already dead, and he is trapped in purgatory. Of course, you don't HAVE to agree with the script writers explanation because the story was meant to be ambiguous and interpreted however you want.
"we were helping..." is the line that crushed me the most in this game i couldn't even get the energy to fight after that the next battle scene i just calmly walked out into the middle of the field and got shot to death and then put the game down for a few days
Tee B have you played it?? Right before the Lugo heavy I literally said “I don’t want to kill anymore” almost broke down, but I had to see how it ended.
14:18 Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder where you are Up above the world so high Like a diamond in the sky Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder what I've done
20:03 that line hurts, its walker finally breaking and taking the responsibility after still trying to blame conrad and just plainly saying that he never wanted to hurt anyone, it finally broke him
It just dawned on me: "Spec Ops: The Line" Is The Line a reference to, when you are dying after attempting to kill the soldiers, what Konrad says: "There's a certain line men like us have to cross"?
***** The idea is, when men have to answer the call of duty, and do sometimes terrible things that are considered necessary, they must cross a moral line that they can never come back from. They must do atrocious things that they will have to live with for the rest of their life. That's what the line about the lucky ones accomplishing their mission and dying is about. The ones who die don't have to live with the guilt for the rest of their lives.
cd220 has it right, in the game theres a moment where you can shoot civilians or scare them off, if you shoot them you get a achievement called "The Line: Crossed." Because walker cant make up a reason for why he shot the civvies, unlike the white phosphorus where he couldn't tell if they were soldiers or not, Walker knew they were civvies, and yet he shot them. Why? Because he's fully turned into a irredeemable monster.
Commander: "Konrad, I need you to come back home. Your job is finish." Konrad: "Nah, we're heading to Dubai to save people. Who's with me. boys?" 33rd: "YEAH!" Commander: *facepalm* "Oh my god." *6 months and 2 weeks later* Commander: "Alright, Walker. I need you to go to Dubai to locate survivors and contact rescue. DO NOT engaged any farther, just leave the city once you spot people." Walker: "You got it, sir." *Days passed" Soldier: "Sir, we found Captain Walker!" Commander: "Oh good, what's his status?" Soldier: "Well, he's all alone, been shot at, wearing a dead man's clothing, and seems to be in shellshock." Commander: "For fuck sake. Does anyone listen to me anymore?"
Just noticed but at 10:56 moment you see Lugo asking for help and in trouble yet how could Walker even know that Lugo is in trouble. You find this out when you round up with adams and hear Lugo on the Mic asking for help asap. Kinda reinforces the fact that Walker is dead and is reliving his own hell of the Dubai Mission. Even after the heli sequence they look dead
Welcome to Dubai? More like welcome to Silent Hill. Don't play this game unless you want it to bring out the worst in you for a long time. Trust me, it will. If white phosphorus alone won't do it for you, watching Walker gradually become a less refined soldier will.
this game has still fucked me up. Even after 2 years later. It almost feels like I was just dropped into a war for 2 hours and then plucked out. I can only imagine how god awful it must've been for veterans of actual wars. Doing this over and over for god knows how long. The same cycles over and over again, killing people with lives, families. People who care about each other. The comradery, the betrayal. The bloodshed. No one should have to experience that.
@@GDRunny Well said. I only just finished it for the first time and it certainly made me question a lot of things. The white phosphorous scene will always stick with me, I think. I usually don’t care at all when it comes to most shooters but this one hit me hard. Seeing Walker deteriorate over time, the little details like him getting more brutal and non-caring over the game, is honestly unnerving as all hell.
i swear...the 4:05 dead bodies poses changes as you look away is the last time i will be playing this game again. upon noticing this i just cant handle any creepy stuff in this game anymore.
10:27 Maybe someone can help me out, but I DEFINITELY remember that during this scene, the helicopter that crashed into the crane during the intro sequence, instead dodged the crane and didn't crash, and Walker went "That's not supposed to happen!" I swear to God I saw this happen my first time playing through the game, and ever since then in the years afterward I never saw it again. The helicopter crashes into the crane every single time. Am I losing my mind or has anyone else on the fucking planet seen this?
Everytime I watch this video I notice something new, no matter how minor it is, like the list of names when you first meet konrad has Lugo and Adams on it. And in that same room the corpses change poses when you're not looking. Look at the middle one.
5:29 wow... Watching this with the context of how the game ends... Lugo: Choose what? Let's get out of here Adams even agrees with him... They want to get away from the corpses, they're not even reacting to the snipers... And afterwards? Adams is berating Walker not because he made a sadistic choice, but because he just saw his captain shoot a corpse... "I never seen you like this" The hints were all there... Another detail worth noting, half the time, when Walker speaks to Konrad? If you spin the camera to see Walker, you will notice he's not even moving his lips... He's hallucinating not just Konrad's voice, but also his own conversations with him... So many subtle details...
@@blackheartzerotheundergrou3225 he literally does so in multiple cutscenes where he says "This isint my fault." or in the cutscene before where lugo says "Theres always a choice." then walker responds with "No. There really isint." He's in a infinite loop where the player forces him to relive the events that made him a monster.
@@blackheartzerotheundergrou3225 Super late on this but no, I think he’s right. There were a few points in the game where Walker is staring directly at the screen. As the person somewhere above me said, he’s looking in a different direction straight after the dude says “we were helping” before he turns his head.
That game punched my soul in the dick. One of the most powerful experience I've ever had. I've replayed it several times and I still can't say who were the bad guys or even if there were bad guys at all. And that's probably what the developers intended. Every time I look at it I find a new interpretation, a new meaning to a scene. So subtle yet so brutal.
@@thewingedone1172 Walker is really the only villain here. Most of the 33rd didn't even exist, he was constantly fighting an army that didn't even exist. He caused so much havoc based on pure mental illness.
The thing that gets me is, why the hell do Lugo and Adams keep following Walker? They torched the civilians, which would have been a good moment for them to leave right there. But let's say they stick around after that. The moment Walker begins talking into a radio that's clearly broken, they should know what's happening. Everything from that point on should be clear to Lugo and Adams as Walker's insanity.
theguycalledchris Well what if Lugo and Adams already left him earlier than we believe? It may be a little farfetched, but Remember how Lugo is all about saving the people and Adams is about following their new goal. After they die/leave him, he keeps hallucinating them as a personification of his conscience trying to guide him (or guardian his guardian angels, if you wanna think of it in a more spiritual way). That's why Lugo (his humanity) is the first one to die, symbolizing that all he has left is his obsession for his goal.
theguycalledchris bro its like this walker calls the shots right so if lugo and adams keep following him and "survive" the one who will get blamed if their is witnesses is walker lugo and adams are just following "orders" per say
+theguycalledchris 2 reasons. Number one: they are part of walker, lugo being his conscience. Sort of like an angel and a devil on your shoulder. Number two: They symbolically represent friendly AI in modern military shooters, and how they have to follow the player even if said player is doing something stupid. They're part of the commentary going on in the story.
Well, if the fact that konrad has a giant aquarium in his penthouse in the middle of a desert doesn't tip walker off that something weird is going in, then I don't know what will.
+Jackson Holder He's too crazy to realize that. He didn't know how crazy he was until the end (I noticed that too but I didn't realize how far gone he was until the end)
BTW, I just rewatched the explanation at the end, no matter what you believe, the snipers are never real. This is shown by the fact that on the flashbacks at Konrad's place, Lugo and Adams react differently than when you see it. Walker is changing their reactions. Also Adams arguing with you after it, he's actually arguing with you for shooting a dead body for no reason.
Also the radio that walker picks up, in the ending, it's revealed that it was a broken radio, and it's even more clear that konrad was just in his mind
Why was Walker's team sent into Dubai in the first place? Presumably the CIA knew about Delta's mission since Gould can fire off Walker's name, unit and "I know a lot of things, Captain". So why didn't they make the effort to try and stop them before the Delta's mission was even launched and the orders handed down? Their job was to save survivors, the CIA's was to stop the truth getting out, but the CIA knew why Delta was there before Walker even made contact with them which presumably means they were given the files on Walker's team as well as their mission objectives. Didn't somebody back in the States go "Err, yeah, don't send that team in. We're doing our own stuff here".
If sandstorms hit Dubai in real life than the army would essentially be forced by pressure from the media to find out about Dubai. The CIA didn't kill them because that would arose suspicion and another probably much larger team would have to come.
The CIA actually did exactly what you mentioned, which is why Delta Force got told to not enter the city and just radio in as soon as they saw survivors.
Ya know i want to join the military, and for a year i have been thinking about what will i be if i join am i just a murder will i get ptsd i have been considering all this. Thats when i played this game. Imagine playing through a nightmare that you could be going through one day. I dont know man. I love this game so much but it causes me so much pain. I legit had a bit of trouble sleeping after this shit cause in my head im thinking about shit like this can be my reality. I still want to join i feel like the military is where my heart lies im just...scared i guess scared that a choice like this will make me end up like walker a broken husk of a man. If you actually read this thanks for your time. Edit: I wanted to leave this comment here I suppose as a record for anyone who might be seeing this. I wrote this comment at 17 years old and not to get to deep in my own past but was definitely scared of the person I would become if I carelessly made a decision that put my life and the life of others in danger. I'm 25 now and I want anyone that reads this comment to know I did join and I did go infantry I say this to say don't let fear stop you. I was scared when I made that choice you are never not gonna be scared when you fight people you are always gonna be scared too but I'll tell you I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. So don't make a decision when you are "ready" you are never gonna be just pray to Jehovah god pull the trigger and jump in you won't know until you look back 6 years later and think thank you Jehovah God I became the man I am today. I wish y'all the best.
Fear is a basic human instinct. I'll say this, if you're not sure about the military, or most life changing decisions, you're not ready. That doesn't mean you should be, or you will be, just means it's not the right decision for you now.
Dont know about you guys, but Nolan North interpretation of Walker made me play feelling the character. I sensed rage, guilty and in the end wanted to blow the fucking world out of hate of the 33rd untill the very end when we are confronted with the reality. This game stayed in my mind for days after the credits rolled out.
Could be but it also be a little detail the devs got wrong. It happens all the time in games, like how in Deus Ex you can't see the Twin Towers in New York which led to people theorizing that they predicted 9/11
GAEM Stuff There’s a very strong theory about how Walker is already dead and being forced to relive his war crimes in purgatory before he comes to terms with them.
Playing it a second time is interesting when you realize that some of Lugo and Adams dialogue is them talking about different things than Walker and he's sometimes blocking things out, or when you consider some of the craziest things from the outside perspective. For example, Lugo and Adams asked Walker why he's staring at corpses (not prisoners that Walker sees), and wonder what's taking him so long while he wastes time shooting mannequins (the teleporting heavy trooper).
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.
The survival ending isn't actually an ending guys, it's a hallucination. Every time Walker hallucinates the screen has a white transition, the screen has a white transition during the survival/solider ending. It's also been confirmed in an interview with the developers that it isn't really happening
+Derek Bartlett While I like that idea, the original commenter meant there was a white transition TO the part where Walker is in the Humvee, meaning that particular part is a hallucination. After reading your comment, I realize now that the reason behind that is that the game is basically saying "Let's face it, you're just going to play Call of Duty after this" or something like that
Wrong. The devs just said white fades mean hallucinations or lying to yourself. Walker is lying to himself that it's over because it'll haunt him forever. The final vehicle scene fades to black, so it's real.
When Walker enters the humvee, the soldier tells him he saw things, and he's definitely referring to the hanging troops and such. I agree with you that the epilogue is a hallucination, but for a different reason. After Walker decides to shoot Konrad's mirror image, he requests evacuation...but there was no way for him to do that. The storm wall blocked any radio signals except for the Radioman's tower (that's how Konrad's message got out), deeming an evacuation request impossible inside Dubai.
There is also an easter egg in the title screen. Everytime you go further into the game, the US flag becomes more damaged and the pole bent. The start you see a US soldier. Then CIA insurgent. Lastly a skeleton..
I get major Eye of Sauron vibes from that hallucination at 11:55 I still get creeped out hearing Walker scream as he burns alive in that hallucination. But listening to that eerie rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in the death loading screen scares me even more. Especially considering how dissonant it is. That is one of your burned victims, holding her smouldering corpse of a child, humming a lullaby. But it all pales to the top of the tower. If everyone up to this point was cracking the glass, this blew that glass to shards. Especially some of the depressing implications and double entendre crossing over with some of the narrative and metanarrative dialogue. And through it all, the music is so perfectly dark. At times harsh and discordant, others looming, ominous and harrowing in their damning lackadaisical tune.
I love how Nolan North added this weary daze to Walker's voice every time he talks about "Konrad" doing something evil. Like in the phrase, "It's Konrad. He did it. All of it." And "I get it, he wants us to choose." If you pay attention, he's already broken.
He was always broken because he's still traumatized from Kabul. Konrad saved Walker's life. After that, Walker began hallucinating and obsessing over Konrad.
Is the Konrad speaking to Walker actually his conscience? Also, I still think of this game's message as 'be honest with yourself - denying the truth will just cause much more harm'.
+IllusionistsBane Kind of, Konrad is like Walkers mind. As Walker constantly goes down in the game (through rappels and the like) Konrad is at the top. He is basically Walkers sanity. Or what's left of it.
I hate when these things always miss stuff out. There’s a hallucination right at the beginning of the game, in the aeroplane. There is a white flash indicating it’s a hallucination. The solider died in your hallucination, in real life he was expect you to get help. That’s why you think it’s lugo at the end of the game when in fact it’s the solider from the aeroplane. Another one, when you repel down buildings lugo has no shadow and near his end you see his reflection of him being hanged. In basic term that came from the developer, if it fades to a white screen it’s a hallucination if it fades to Black it’s not a hallucination
Very special game, this is, need more games that mind fuck the player like this. You think you're some kinda hero but no, you're a fucking monster, after the game was done, I was sat on my couch for 15 minutes just going through everything in my head, I cant remember any game doing that to me, ever!!
It's also a deconstruction of First Person Shooters, modern military shooters in particular. Mainly how, in most of those games (like 95% of them) you just shoot at everything and everyone in front of you, never questioning (never NEEDING to question) if what you're doing is really right or not, or whether the people you're mindlessly shooting at even deserve it. They just send a load of "enemies" at you for you to slaughter, and you rarely (if ever) question why. The games let you kill without consequence, and then brand you as a "hero" at the end of it. This one actually has you make some serious actions and, instead of just giving you a "mission completed", and having you move on, forces you to see the consequences of those actions, which are usually not good. I could go further into how this reflects or translates into real life, but I think I'm going to stop there.
3:08 notice how they stand right next to the radio, as if guiding Walker to where it is. In the ending flashbacks, they are stood behind the dead bodies still. Quite a nice touch to the scene
I have PTSD. It's hell. I can never sleep. I wake screaming from nightmares I have to tell myself aren't real. And terrible flashbacks. I can't imagine what war is like.....
+StrykerSoldier 15 You don´t need to have fought in war to get PTSD. It depends on your personality and your sensibility. You can get it by pretty much anything, if I would have to get it in a chronological order from the almost non existing to the highest (and worst) kinds: - Random sounds (which somehow start something in your head (as said, it is almost non existent but it can happen)) - Music, Movies, Games, Things you know about/have seen but weren´t involved - Things you were directly involved too (Started by Jokes - Accidents | Bullying | being a Victim during a crime or direct noticing a crime - War (in this case from the lowest to the highest possibility again, I use | to define those, who have the same amount of harm done). I also got PTSD but I´m happy that I rarley wake up from nightmares and can sleep, but therefore I can get mad really fast and I have to concentrate to get back to reality and don´t let myself sink into things that happened.
cant tell if this game is suppose to be cosmic horror or not. it doesn't contain alien and unknown entity. yet it drag him into insanity. just like most cosmic horror character
Knowing what Kabul did to him and how traumatic the white phosphorus scene was, it becomes unreal when you see the exact moment Walker snaps. When Lugo's voice blurs into the background, it's like reality itself is blurring for Walker. Ugh, this game.
The burning Burj Khalifa is my personal favorite scene. I just wanted to stand there for a long time. Reflecting everything that I have done, but Jager wanted me to push forward. Then I realized that the game was far from over as soon as Luca sinks and the tower burns even more.
Actually, i think they did survive the heli crash, and the hallucinations moments were his 'reality', but it shows what really happened when he 'dies'.
Moral lessons of Spec ops the line: Don't live in lies and illusions you created yourself Be rational, you aren't some protagonist in someone else's lives, only yours Don't label yourself a hero when you are in denial of things DON'T AND PLEASE DON'T BLAME OTHER PEOPLE FOR WATHEVER REASON EVER!! Don't be too hard on yourself the next time you fuck up. You always have a choice. Backing away is a valid choice as well. Own up to your mistakes and decisions Don't run away from yourself (eg. choices, responsabilities, guilt,...), it's physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, *LITERALLY* impossible. Wathever happened, In the end, you'll always be able to go home...
I love how Walker is the only one that acknowledges the Colonel talking. I didn't even realize it until the end when it shows the broken walkie-talkie. It was so obvious.
I just noticed Walker uses the same excuses. "You gave us no choice", "We tried to save you", "This wasn't my fault". During the Burning Tower Hallucination, the ending when facing Konrad. Sloppy excuses for horrible deeds
The disturbing thing is that going insane like that is happening all over the world. Pretty terrifying to imagine yourself killing dozens and still deny it and put it on someone who’s been dead for months.
I have a theory: I think the start of the game (the helicopter and taking us to action immediately) can be justified, apart from what is said about showing the delicate state of walker mind, I also thought it to meditate that everything players lived up to the part where the helicopter crashes during a storm in the final chapter of the game is a dream (nightmare?) walker. This could not be interpreted in this way if they had not gotten the opening scene of the helicopter, also after hitting the "early game" put a poster of ABOVE, so when you actually start playing with walker in this is when wake of the crash, when his purgatory starts. who's with me?
Another thing is that the cut scenes will fade to white instead of black when Walker is hallucinating. The endings where he dies fade to black, but the endings where he survive all fade to white. Also it may be nothing but I noticed when walker goes to confront Konrad, the objective is "Meet Him Upstairs" Maybe the "Him" isn't Konrad but God. After all this scene could be seen as Walker being judged for his sins.
Will Flock I think the best part of Spec Ops the Line is that they intentionally leave it up to the player to really decide whats really happening. I personally suspect that he was knocked out in the crash myself, honestly given everything that happened with Adams finally breaking down in front of Walker in the last two chapters and Lugo's death are the overall consequences of what really happened, but in walkers "dream" things are distorted. Truth is the story is setup in such we really don't know what really happened, it's up to us to really speculate. But it leaves those questions unanswered in a good way.
I genuinely love how the squad leader lowers his gun when the rescue team finds Walker. Goes to show that even though they know he's a PTSD-ridden, heartless, schizophrenic, crazy maniac that they're legitimately terrified is gonna raze fucking hell, at least a few of them are still genuinely willing to help him
