SPEC OPS: THE LINE (Zero Punctuation)

[@mbazzanella6400]

A friend recommended this to me. He said "Have you played Spec Ops?" I said "Eh, I don't like military shooters that much." He said "Neither does Spec Ops. You'll get along great." He was right.

[@arthurdurham]

That's the best review I've heard 😂

[@aidanchilders9043]

"We did it, Patrick! We saved Dubai!" *entire city burns in the background*

[@rammsteinrulz16]

'Murica 😂

[@Jaquation]

More like we did it Lugo we saved Dubai

[@benwasserman8223]

It is just weird seeing Yahtzee act so... serious reviewing a game. Way to go Spec Ops, you broke Yahtzee

[@titanjakob1056]

Ben Wasserman well it broke me if you play it will brake you

[@railtracer611]

FART NOISES

[@stevenchoza6391]

Ben Wasserman Spec Ops: The Line is like Ivan Drago and there's no Rocky to save our asses.

[@Xeo_Aligarde]

Ah found it. The only ZP video where Yahtzee was serious.

[@crimsondynamo615]

*THHHHHHHHHPT!*

[@rddlegacy4114]

Personally my Favourite line in this game was "Do you feel like a hero yet?"

[@catiseith]

"You're here because you wanted to feel like something you're not..."

[@chillidari-9392]

CaitSeith "a hero..."

[@JT-ho6rp]

"How many Americans have you killed today?"

[@Frikgeek]

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

[@EliasDublin]

"This is all your fault" & "Do you feel like a hero yet?" 😳😢

[@alexthiesenhausen821]

One of the best parts of SO:TL is its subtle change in the loading screens. They start out like" the scar-h has an effective grenade launched on it but limited ammo capacity" then as the game progresses it changes to things like "you are still a good person" and "how many people have you killed today?" Beautifully done.

[@derpydolphin1648]

I hope you realize that those are examples... he/she isn't saying it's a binary change from one to the other, just saying that by the end, that's what the loading screens have gradually progressed to. Also, I also loved how they did that. Another example is the radio and sniper in the main menu that get more and more screwed up as you complete story missions.

[@lindholmaren]

+900bot After *that one* zipline sequence I just fucking freaked and shot the guy, then later when I had finished the game and was looking on youtube I saw that if you hit the execute prompt you fucking SMASH his head into mulch and I just kinda went "oh, I guess that would have been a pretty good indicator of his mental state besides the vivid hallucinations"

[@carlosbaldellou]

+TheFlaming VelociRaptors One subtle thing is that you always go down in the game. You always start on top of somewhere and have to go down from there. Always down to hell.

[@marcusjustinius5385]

Alex Thiesenhausen don't forget joe the sniper in the main menu

[@mhtate3626]

SPOILER SCREEN (the game has been out for a few years though so, really? Anyway) "If Lugo were still alive he would likely have PTSD. So really, he's the lucky one." For context, you only get that screen if you die during the final assault after you kill the heavy that walker thinks is Lugo. This game didn't make me feel like "omg I'm such a monster" but that was the most cutting message among a few others. (Konrad's note to his family, the final audio journal from the radio operator, etc)

[@bboythekidstudios]

"It was like I played Modern Warfare 2 airport scene with every civilian replaced with Bambi's mom." Could not have summed that part up better.

[@Alfie_D2049]

I'm pretty sure there's a mod for that.

[@Ramsey276one]

That explains that line in the Appabend review!

[@arkuos8361]

The only issue I have with that scene, is that you cannot do anything *but* that. Like, you can literally AFK there for hours and nothing will happen, nor is there anyway around it. You cant hop over the railing or something like you could earlier, nor can you shoot your way out. Its a bit railroad-y is me point

[@LostInTheClouds]

Isn't that kinda the point? As Yahtzee mentions in the video the game makes you feel disconnected from Walker on purpose. What easier way to do that than force you to massacre a bunch of innocents.

[@readein]

@@arkuos8361 *spoilers* That scene is pivotal to the plot. If you were able to to choose a happier option then the ending would make a lot less sense. If this game had the option to not be the bad guy then it would be absolutely terrible, and negate why he's reliving his experiences in hell/own personal hell while dying from the crash. We all secretly wish we could save those civilians, but it's not worth ruining the game's story.

[@TheWolfcast98]

If you kill some animals right at the start of the game you get an achievement That was the last time I laughed while playing spec ops the line

[@ashtonyounts9958]

You stole a joke from NerdCubed! Congratulations!

[@TheWolfcast98]

Ashton Younts WHAAAAT NOOOOO maybe

[@GameMonkies]

me to

[@Allison-qk1ws]

TheWolfcast98 Turns out those animals were seeing eye animals for the blind in Dubai.

[@TheWolfcast98]

Adam Bomeisl Ha

[@olliezoop]

this game is dripping with subtlety, stuff like your reloads becoming progressively sloppier and kills becoming more and more brutal, as well as little tricks the loading screens and shit play on you to subconsciously make you feel a bit crazy

[@RedneckPrincessofTacticoolness]

It’s genuinely genius

[@MechWarrior894]

I guess I take pride on filling suffering enemies' full of lead rather than execute them. Walker continues to look away with every execution, I think I've preserved some sanity.

[@dragonhunter2343]

The sniper in the menu also changes after every mission but I don't see many other people notice that.

[@yeetthebeatout6906]

And less trigger discipline

[@garretdziuk823]

You also never go up. Ever level is a literal descent into hell.

[@Skythikon]

When I recommended this game to a handful of friends I described it as, "Silent Hill of Duty."

[@JohnDoeL337]

Nice, hehe

[@titanjakob1056]

Skythikon with white phosphorus, skinning people alive, torture, decapitation, ptsd, and modern shooter that's the describe it

[@DrownedInExile]

With the Sand replacing Silent Hill's Fog.

[@gagejohnathan9641]

@@DrownedInExile I saw a wmg on tvtropes saying Dubai had become exactly like silent Hill.

[@zlatko8051]

Beautifully said.

[@archon_maenad]

This game actually made Yahtzee pause. This is the first and maybe only Zero Punctuation video with a period in it. I’m shook.

[@bibniebt]

I consider Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now and Spec Ops: The Line to be a trilogy of the same story spanning across generations, genres and settings, a story that impacts each new generation on the most intimate of levels. It forces the generation to be self-aware, and to go into the world not as a bitter jaded sociopath, but as someone who understands the value of life and cares in spite of the horror, without falling victim to naive trust in the establishment or in human nature. *fart noise*

[@NathanCassidy721]

The funny part about that is that it is such a long story that it changes mediums with the first story starting as a book and the final story ending as a video game.

[@NathanCassidy721]

@Guy Mcface It's not ridiculous considering the developers THEMSELVES cited that Heart of Darkness was the basis for their narrative.

[@nahuelahpa1881]

no

[@missbelled6700]

@@NathanCassidy721 Let's take an extreme example. Say I take a steamy shit, wrap it up and flatten it in some foil, and say that Ghirardelli chocolates was the basis for what I've done. People would rightfully call that a ridiculous comparison. I don't think Spec Ops is a steamy shit, I think it's pretty average but bold for the time it came out. But it's not exactly a timeless masterpiece of its medium in the way that Apocalypse Now is, since it is very much tied to a particular part of history. The message is so uniquely critical to gaming culture circa 2010 that if you're not caught up in gung-ho military-game jingoism of that time, the message comes across as preachy and sophomoric for reasons that our man Yahtzee laid out 7 years ago now.

[@NathanCassidy721]

@@missbelled6700 Spoken like someone who hasn't played or heard discussion on the Last of Us, Part 2. Which is pretty much does what you're claiming Spec Ops doesn't do. Thing is, Yahtzee even brought up Spec Ops in his review of it and lays out how it works as a story. Even if you know nothing about that era of gaming, it's still an intriguing narrative on a man's slow harrowing descent into madness that holds up pretty well despite its age. I think the reason you're not seeing the connection is you're making the same mistake many have made with video game storytelling: Comparing interactive story-telling with passive story-telling.

[@AINGELPROJECT667]

5:00 You know that when Yahtzee has to stop himself mid-rant and *_sigh_* that shit's fucked up. Damn.

[@illCMAC]

Literally the nicest review he's still ever given.

[@losersbecomewinners2043]

Ever see his Portal review? He doesn’t have a bad thing to say about it

[@NebLleb]

*fart noise*

[@aztn19]

Or his Undertale review? Or Paper Mario: TTYD?

[@AnInsaneOstrich]

i remember seeing an advert of spec ops the line and thinking "oh god, this is probably another medal of honor warfighter like thing." boy was i wrong.

[@srbrant5391]

So _very_ wrong.

[@christianbethel]

Same.

[@christianbethel]

@@sportsjefe Makes sense to me.

[@Doom_Hawk]

Absolutely, and that is really the point. It gets marketed as another generic military shooter and then slaps you in the face with it. Love this game.

[@ravenof1985]

thats what EVERYONE back then thought, it got next to no review time or fanfare because it looked like a poor clone of the big franchises, when in a narrative sense it was far superior

[@Tounushi]

Player: "I had no choice, the devs wrote this!" Walker: "I had no choice, Konrad ordered his soldiers to resist!"

[@captainfunktastic2255]

Devs: "You always had a choice. You could have put the controller down, and walked away. But you didn't, did you?"

[@Ally5141]

@@captainfunktastic2255 you buy the game to play it. Not to "put the controller down".

[@captainfunktastic2255]

@@Ally5141 and therein is the choice. You chose to buy the game. You chose to kill everyone. You. Chose. You could have chose to put the controller down. To go outside. But you didnt. So everything that happens after you start the game is your fault.

[@Ally5141]

@@captainfunktastic2255 as I said, you buy game to play it. Your entire point that player should feel bad about what they did during this game is wrong. Game doesn't give your any real choice, it lies to you that your choices matter, but in reality they don't. If you imply that player should feel guilty over things he has no control over then that's pretty much reminiscent of the gaslighting in a relationship. And no, putting controler down doesn't count, it's not a decision inside the game's world. That said it would be interesting if quiting the game during one of those "choices" gave you an actual "good ending". In my opinion it's either: 1) player has no real say in the story except the very ending and shouldn't feel guilty for the actions of the character; or 2) devs didn't go far enough with the idea of interacting with the player. Doki Doki Literaturę Club level of meta interaction with player would be cool to see in a shooter.

[@lsq7833]

" okay developer, you won. Give me my money back."

[@bossfight1]

I was subjected to guilt MILES before the "bad thing"; during the bit early on, where we were clearing out a crashed airplane, I was moving forward when someone bolted around a corner. I only realized it was a local woman fleeing for her life AFTER I'd put a bullet in her head. I was left staring at her, shrieking, "I DIDN'T MEAN TO, GODDAMMIT!! I DIDN'T MEAN TO-O-OOOOOO!!!!!" amidst all the shooting.

[@SpiderandMosquito]

Maximus-Kanic "The US army does not condone killing unarmed civilians. 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." "This is all your fault."

[@krwawyrzeznik]

Really? I just smiled and said"hehe...bitch."

[@nukm4]

Michal Lewinski You're the type of gamer we desperately try to distance ourselves from every time video game violence comes up in the media in relation to a school shooting.

[@omarjuarez6180]

Darcy Harcourt Are you serious? And even then, where did you come up with that assumption?

[@mandyberry4488]

Omar Juarez Because smiling and saying hehe bitch in response to a scene which is supposed to invoke feelings of guilt and shame would suggest the guy lacks empathy, which is the defining characteristic of a psychopath, which is precisely the kind of person who goes on to participate in a school shooting.

[@TheKsalad]

Even that last fart noise sounded depressed.

[@danielcantiego9374]

I feel obligated to remind you of this comment 9 years later

[@titanjakob1056]

Who ever made the story deserves a fucking raise

[@TheAwesomeBomb]

the writer is basically out of work as we speak

[@titanjakob1056]

Kyle Rogers why do you say that

[@titanjakob1056]

Kyle Rogers oh ok I don't have twitter though so ya

[@TheAdrixzProductions]

Well it's based Heart of Darkness, a book, so it's not entirely original anyways. Also, the writer is now writing a script for the new Battlefront

[@Poadiup]

well hes not head writer for battleFront 2 which is 95% of the reason im looking forward to it

[@TroPy1n]

"you hardly kill any foreigners" Not if Lugo is to be avenged..

[@chefrowlet]

ho man, my first playthrough....

[@DinnerForkTongue]

Damn, guys. Don't bring up my first run of it either. It hurts to remember how I swept the mob left to right with SAW fire, starting with a middle-aged lady in a black veil. I justified it with "if you assault an armed force, you're a combatant", a gross simplification of the rules of engagement. The worst part is, I can't let go of that.

[@Snubbs]

As much as i wanted to, i instead tried to just spook them off. I didn't want to let off a shot in the air in case adams took it as a sign to fire, and i didn't want to hit anyone because a regular punch could knock a fully-armored ex-soldier on his arse, so i tried to push through them, got knocked down to half health and died when somebody threw a small pebble.

[@basdk1995]

wait, you mean to tell me I didn't have to mow down those refugees? thanks for making me hate myself even more

[@tuskinradar8688]

that was probably the darkest part of my experience, because unlike the "bad thing" where I was simply ignorant of who I was doing it to, I knew exactly who I was aiming at, and while at first I didn't want to fire at them, I looked back and I saw that I was trapped in this crowd, and that getting through them was my only option, I tried to just walk through but was pushed back taking damage in the process. Just then I saw something thrown at me and thought it was a grenade, and so I had to protect myself by umm, dispersing the crowd. not only was it not a grenade, but once they started running I kept firing, if I only needed to fire to get them out of my way, why did I keep firing? why did I think that a stone was a grenade and then keep firing out of a mechanical response to a threat that wasn't even there?

[@BusaLova]

You know Yahtzee, nothing in your video would have happened if you had just stopped.

[@terriblehits3157]

Your post got 47 innocent likes. Someone has to pay for your crimes Busa. Who's it gonna be?

[@harkness1720]

Terrible Hits HE TURNED US INTO FUCKING COMMENTERS!!

[@wh3nderson95]

HARKNESS WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!!!

[@info7809]

i fucking tried everything to stop using the morter it was my second playthrough i knew what was going to happen there was nothing i could do

[@noble300000]

Yes there was. You could have turned the game off. Turned around and walked away. But you just had to keep pushing forwards. Complete the mission. Do you feel like a hero yet?

[@pokemonmanic3595]

"You're here because you wanted to feel like something your not. A Hero.": -Spec Ops. The Line Suck it CoD and Battlefield.

[@diegokaqui60]

@Xenomorph Captain Vex Ghost of the brony community that s real lifr for you.

[@diegokaqui60]

@Xenomorph Captain Vex Ghost of the brony community i haven t finished the game yet. Im in the part we look for thw cia guy. Bur in real life you can t take an army with 3 people. Sometimes you are stuck and need to use the napalm in a forest. I havent got to the part yet.......but taking difficult decisions is part from far. That or you die. The game is trying to make a point, they have to do it somehow.

[@diegokaqui60]

@Xenomorph Captain Vex Ghost of the brony community that depends of the situation pal. Havent gotteb there yet but surrendering woud be dead, retreating must have been impossible and a desperate crowd would bash your head with a machete if desperate enough. I have seen it in my country. Believe me. Sometimes it gets that bad. My country has a long line of atrocities commited during terrorism time. Hundred of clueless farmers just marching to death because of how desperate they were. Literally crushing their bodies with a car because they sided with the terrorists and wouldn t let the soldiers retreat. Even when shooting.

[@diegokaqui60]

@Xenomorph Captain Vex Ghost of the brony community you would be surprised. Im yet to go there but the situation seems plausible.

[@faffywhosmilesatdeath5953]

@@diegokaqui60 sorry to necro this post, but it's hilarious to me. The point of the game is NOT "anything is acceptable in the name of survival" it is "what atrocities are you willing to commit in the name of what you deem necessary?" Captain Walker is the villain, a well-meaning man who starts out as a grim determined hero, but spirals into villainy nonetheless.

[@Acdcrulez5000]

It takes a strong man to deny what's right in front of him.

[@terriblehits3157]

That phrase was said very bitterly.

[@dayp68gaming20]

no it takes a strong man to admit what's in front of him

[@Jackoosh1]

Stronger than you were

[@John-uw2je]

or a dumbess

[@SneakattackMTG6833]

Acdcrulez5000 this would not happened if you'd just stop

[@anone.mousse674]

You are still a good person.

[@Justin-Theobald]

Anon E. Mousse really I felt bad in the game no matter what I tried to do even with the games different endings I felt like the scum of the earth

[@Zero60133]

Even now, after all you've done, you can still go home...

[@chrislss8]

There are only two choices, wrong, or worse.

[@wearsjorge55]

Nope. Captain walker ignored orders with minutes of the game starting in an effort to prove himself and become some dis allusioned war hero and ends up dooming everyone in Dubai, he masacres half of it, gets rid of all the water, the list goes on

[@chrislss8]

However, he drags you, the player, through the game. It's trying to tell you that even though you've done all these things as Walker, that you are still a good person.

[@gooey4347]

"We thought you died in there, Walker." "Who said I didn't."

[@fist-of-doom487]

"This is all your fault!" "How many Americans have you killed today" "He turned us into fucking monsters!" "None of this would have happened if you just stopped. This was your fault, you caused all this. Are you happy? Are you proud? It takes a strong man to deny what's in front of him. The fact of the matter is this happened because you wanted to feel like something you aren't: A Hero." This game isn't just talking to the character, they might as well be looking right at the screen when they say it. They understand what players want in a game, to be the badass that saves the day, the unstoppable hero. The game takes those expectations and throws them at your face and tells you how pathetic that is. This is war and all you care about is looking cool, you monster?! This game is more accurate than any other army shooter game in existence. Those that die, die seeing pain and suffering that no person wants to see or can be imagined. Those that live become so damaged that they are only a shadow of themselves, at some point something in you just... Breaks

[@tbone9474]

Pretty well summed up :)

[@chubmouse]

Indeed. I liked the Extra Credits episode you technically quoted as well.

[@fist-of-doom487]

+Hamster McBot What's Extra Credits? Sounds like some sort of school project.

[@Elias110194]

Fist-of-doom Your comment, it's just like what they said on one of their episodes about Spec ops.

[@fist-of-doom487]

Weird. Well their are easily over a million people in the world odds are someone is going to end up saying or writing something in a similar way.

[@pokemonmanic3595]

As much as I love Undertale, Spec Ops was the first game that made me feel like a monster

[@Spartan322]

+pokemonmanic3595 I only watched the game and I still felt like a monster.

[@acceptnosubstitutions4353]

+pokemonmanic3595 Actually, OFF was the first one to make me think

[@Willie_Pete_Was_Here]

+pokemonmanic3595 Spec Ops: The Line was the first game I thought about when I played Undertale. Spec Ops: The Line is a game about choices, but the player makes relatively few choices in the game, although the game makes the meta-point that playing the game is the biggest choice the player has made. Whether or not that's a valid point is subject to much debate. I think Undertale does the choice thing better because it's a game in which you don't have to kill a single soul. In The Line, choosing not to kill won't advance the game at all. While The Line requires you to do what it asks in order to advance, what sets it apart is that it then makes you question if following the instructions of the game itself is the right thing to do.

[@stanley1698]

+Will-A- Wisp OFF seemed like Undertale v0.5 to me, anyone else?

[@vickilacroix6410]

+pokemonmanic3595 comparing undertale to spec ops is inherently wrong, because they're fundamentally different games. undertale's goal with the "feeling like a monster" feeling is to rebuild it with warm fuzzy feelings, and spec ops is to shit on the shriveled corpse of egoshooters.

[@BrickBardo9782]

"If you were a good person, you wouldn't be here."

[@rundom32]

I love/hate those loading screens.

[@BrickBardo9782]

The creepiest loading screen I got was, after the dead squad mate shows up as a heavy and taunts Walker, I died before I reached the next checkpoint. The loading screen had no loading symbol, no tip/mocking message, just a flickering silhouette of that painting Konrad made, while little kids sang "twinkle twikle little star"...And it only happened that ONE time. Never again, for the rest of the game.

[@rundom32]

I also dies there, I was stupid and didn't get into cover fast enough, and I just assumed it was a scripted death. Like there was no way to win that fight the first time. I wonder if you can actually kill that heavy, and I wonder what would happen if you can.

[@BrickBardo9782]

Funnily enough, I did kill that heavy, but died when I entered the building behind him...

[@BrickBardo9782]

"This is all your fault."

[@UnstoppableAW]

Your eyes are opening for the first time. It hurts, doesn't it?

[@dragenfire68]

like surgery with out pain killers.

[@balalaikabestgirl925]

+John Konrad John? its that you?

[@UnstoppableAW]

+Zed Ulteo A Nisman You tell me.

[@balalaikabestgirl925]

i'm done playing games, John.

[@iliaPayne]

+John Konrad YOU DID IT ! ALL OF IT !!!

[@olzhas1one755]

"I didn't mean to hurt anybody" "No one ever does, Walker"

[@usul573]

Some sick bastards sure do lol

[@Rehteal]

Strange thing about those lines, if you look at Walker's reflection, his eyes aren't directed at Konrad. He's looking at you when he says it's your fault. Note that Konrad is talking to the camera the whole time, except when your reflection says "I didn't mean to hurt anybody." This suggests that Konrad isn't saying that to you, and this is the first time in which Walker and the Player are split from one another. When you point the gun at your reflection, *only* the reflection puts the gun to his head. You the player are making Walker the character kill himself.

[@bobcooper82]

I'm currently playing this... holy shit it's good but beyond unpleasant.

[@Kemonokami]

Rc Cooper "You are still a good person."

[@PuppetierMaster]

+Ryse Up Don't compare Smell of Dooty to an actual game, it hurts my head now and you've made me bleed out of my ears.

[@WitheringintheDark]

+Ryse Up "I would LOVE to see the reaction once people found out COD will stop its production" I would continue to not care. But primarily for reasons you've outlined; too repetitive now. That and that the SP portion of the newer ones seems like it's a tacked-on afterthought and I really don't care for the MP, at all.

[@garrellcable]

"Do you feel like a hero yet?"

[@McBenjiii]

+Rc “Tattooless Metalhead” Cooper I just finished it half an hour ago. The story was hella' awesome. :3

[@RazgulTheKind]

This game made me feel so many emotions. I hope more people experience this masterpiece.

[@RazgulTheKind]

***** Serious mindfuck right? So many ways to interpret the story - and none of them are good :( Also if you ever play it again, take note of the screen fades. Whenever the fade is black that means the event being faded into happened, if the fades are white however it means it happened drastically different to how the player envisions it, or it simply never happened. Playing through again with that knowledge made me realize how many minor and major details I had missed. It was like the missing puzzle piece.

[@VagueDrake]

***** There are really no good or bad endings per say in this game. "Suicide" is what I would call the "just" ending, since, let's face it, Walker kind of deserved it. Or, maybe, suicide is the coward's ending - Walker could not muster the courage to face justice for what he has done. I myself finished the game twice. On my first playthrough, I just went with what my gaming reflexes told me to do - shoot anything that moves. As a result, Walker apparently goes absolutely nuts and murders the team that was sent to rescue him. That ending, however, made me almost physically sick - I just had to re-play the storyline and try to get a better closure. Equipped with my knowledge of things to come and a walkthrough, I got the ending that I think could be classified as "good" - Walker is still a lunatic, but he gets to go home. Whether he will have to face any repercussions for murdering hundreds, if not thousands, people, or if he gets to live the rest of his life as an insane wreck of a person he is - that remains to be seen.

[@LowLevelPro777]

*****(LE MORE SPOILERS) The worst moment in that game is finding out I basically carpet bombed that group of civilians with that one charred corpse's hand sticking up, desperately pleading for me to stop as I just kept bombarding the compound over and over again, letting the soldiers die alongside the innocent people. Then walking through the rubble to find those bodies, charred beyond recognition as they were frozen in states of screaming agony and clawing at each other to escape the miserable pain and suffering that I had inflicted onto them, all because I wanted to stay safe up away from the enemy soldiers... And that one hand, clawing at the sky, begging for it to end... *Fart*

[@habboaddict2]

Queen Chrysalis This is two months later, but at the end of the cutscene where Walker goes home, it fades to white. Whenever the game fades to white, it means that what's depicted is just a figment of Walker's demented imagination. So he never really goes home.

[@ThePeteriarchy]

***** Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I read that it was either when he's hallucinating or when he's lying to himself, so he could literally have gone back home to the States, but psychologically felt he'll forever be trapped in Dubai.

[@JHaru777]

Seriously though, I completed this game on normal in one day and it was such a trip. It started off normal enough but as it kept going I felt myself getting angrier. When I did the "bad thing" I felt sick and angry about it and gunned harder for the people I thought were bad, but when you get to that ending though... it all just hit me like a ton of bricks. I was shocked, confused, maybe in a bit of denial, until I just gave up at the very end and resigned myself. You know a games good when you get invested like that and you feel so rung out you just need a damn beer afterwards. XD

[@zackeryr97]

Is the bad thing the White Phosphorous?

[@JHaru777]

Zackery Rodick Spoilers but yeah. XD

[@angryGinger62]

Zackery Rodick dude, i felt like i got kicked in the dick when i found out who i was bombing... and the mother and child.... oh god

[@JHaru777]

***** Did you? There was a choice to simply not play the game or fight back. And the more you participated and played the game, the deeper you got into madness and moral bankruptcy. If we were playing the last shred of conscious in the main character's mind, we were powerless to stop him unless we chose not to play as he grew to no longer separate reality from his own psychosis. Then again this is all a more deeper, psychological meaning attached to a video game when people get their own interpretations out of it.

[@JHaru777]

***** Right? Ugh, it was a game that just wore on you mentally. It was so good. XD

[@Usernamesdontmatter1]

I feel like Yahtzee should be in charge of writing achievements for a modern shooter at least once. I mean the first achievement would be loading the game called "Dumbass": 'You actually payed money to play this game. You fucking tosser' and the last story achievement would be something like I have lost faith in all of humanity

[@Barholtworld]

perhaps he could then also write some nice story things, which will again make you hate war an shit

[@Foreseer117]

I think this game is one of the most powerful pieces of modern media and art out there. Many people say they are still waiting for the Citizen Kane of gaming yet completely overlook this. The horrors of the human mind are on display in the most grounded way possible. The genius of the game is the darkness wrapped on an easily digestible shell, you don't know what's wrong until it's too late. Of all the amazing, and I use that term lightly, moments in this game it's the little touches that get you. A good portion into the game you are given the option of executing two men. One stole water rations for his family, the other killed the man's family but he only did so under orders. Who do you choose? When you get to the end you understand what that choice means but in the moment you must weigh your options. I did what don't think most people know about, I shot the snipers who were waiting for me to choose. The two men died in the crossfire but I believed I had done the right thing. That is truly your first step into the madness. Most FPS games hardly tackle the atrocities of war but SO: The Line forces you to confront it, forces you to experience hell. As you descend further into depravity you will undoubtedly question yourself, and the game tries to reassure you, 'You are still a good person', yet in the next breath chastises you, 'Do you feel like a hero yet?'. This leads to the player ultimately coming to grips with the terrible things they've done, and for what? A man back home and a medal that gathers dust, never mind those whose life bled into that godforsaken sand. Never mind the mother clutching her child in a desperate attempt to safe them. Never mind that there was always a choice. There is always a choice, in the moment it might not seem like it but after the dust settles you have to live with the choice you made. You have to live with the blood on your hands, haunted by the sights that are forever burned into your mind so that every second is a nightmare. War is hell. And hell is human. Humanity feared the monsters they believed lurked in the trees, lakes, mountains, and deserts, but the true monster, the one we should all fear, is the monster inside each and every one of us. The darkness that claws and howls to be let loose, the beast that begs for blood, we all have it. Some are more in touch with it and give in, while others are scarred and forever changed by giving into their demons and living with the consequences. Spec Ops explores that beautifully and it can't be praised enough.

[@MrDarthvader2101]

Wow. I need to play this game.

[@Foreseer117]

Darthy24567 If you have the time and stomach for it it is a truly unique experience. I suggest to anyone, mind they can sit through sometimes graphic imagery. It's honestly the most emotionally disturbing game out there, almost a horror game.

[@MrDarthvader2101]

Foreseer 117 Thank you very much for the warnings. I prepare myself.

[@Foreseer117]

Darthy24567 Then good luck. You're going to need it.

[@HellbirdIV]

Or it's just a shallow, poorly designed third-person shooter with clunky controls, stupid AI and a main character whose actions only make sense once he's revealed to have been a psychotic madman the entire time, by the understanding that crazy people's actions don't actually have to make rational sense or follow a meaningful structure. Spec Ops: The Line is a shit game for twats, it plays like arse and its twists are either predictable, nonsensical, or both. It overuses blatant and cartoonish levels of emotional manipulation to make the player murdering civilians seem deep and meaninful when in reality it is just a generic cutscene and another checkpoint on your journey through the bland brown and gray shooting gallery. Oh no, some civilians died because the game wants to smack me in the face with its "WAR IS BAD! FEEL SAD NOW!" message and doesn't let me continue playing until I burn them all alive? Well, too bad for them, bored now, let's go fight some ARMORED enemies to add a degree of actual challenge to this bore-fest! Woo! It says so much about how shallow most gamers are when this game blatantly rips off one of the most famous movies of all time with a ridiculously heavy-handed message and it gets praised for how "good" the story is. Have you never watched a movie in your lives? Have you never read a book? Is it truly *that* shocking and revolutionary that war is bad in a story? Fuck, even Call of Duty 4 did it better with a single scene and Modern Warfare 2 did it better with a single mission, and in the latter you at least had control of your actions instead of the game telling you that you did a bad thing because you did the only thing to make the game move forward. If the only way to "win" Spec Ops is to stop playing it.. Well, good job! I did in fact never play it again after the first playthrough. Because I was just that bored.

[@Beastleviath]

That last fart was a work of genius

[@gctypo2838]

It really bums me out that this game never got the attention it deserved. And even then, most people just dismiss it for the railroading. As Yahtzee pointed out, that's the point. Spec Ops isn't a story about your choices so much as the act of choosing and its meaning. How many times does Walker bring up not having any choice? As Konrad says, "none of this would have happened if you'd just stopped." If you'd closed out of the game, not finished the story, you'd have been absolved of any guilt for what you've done. But the player keeps going because they want to feel like a hero. How many games praise the player for making the "heroic" choice that they are railroaded into? Wouldn't that praise not also invalidated? The point of Spec Ops is that if you accept praise for saving the innocent in other games, who are you to deny the guilt over the atrocities you commit here?

[@cheatsenabled1662]

Who says we play because we want to feel like a hero? "Stop playing" is not a valid choice in a game. If you pay money for a game, you want to actually get something in return for the money you paid. And if you then say "Don't buy it", well, first, how were we supposed to know what happens in the game before we buy it without watching someone else play, or something? It's not reasonable to present a choice entirely outside the game world like that. If you stop playing, what does it matter? Everything you do in a fixed-narrative game has already happened from the start in a sense. Only those responsible for the creation of the game can have any blame, except there's not really any "blame" to assign here, because it isn't real. Nobody really gets hurt. It doesn't matter what the game says, it doesn't matter if it tries to make you feel guilty, because you have nothing to feel guilt over. You just followed the path already set out for you in a fictional world with fictional characters who cannot, by definition, suffer due to your actions.

[@Repicheep22]

​@@cheatsenabled1662 It's pretty clear that you are someone who does **not** project yourself onto your character when playing a game. And so, Spec Ops is not for you. For those of us who **do** project ourselves onto our characters, when we act or make choices in a game, we suspend our disbelief and act as those we are the player character and they are us. We make choices from our own perspective, as though we were in the player character's shoes, and we choose to forget that everything is predetermined. To you, pressing W and shooting are equivalent to turning a page in a book, it's just what you do to progress through the story, and for the game to tell you that you did a bad thing is like a book yelling at you for reading it. But to us, it's an active choice we make, and when we find out that every choice we've made has backfired spectacularly, we feel like crap, but we welcome that. The reason the story works for us, but not for you is because we look at what happens through the lens of the gameplay and story, while you look at it through the lens of objective reality. Neither perspective is right or wrong, but to say the game's "Stop playing" choice is not valid betrays a failure to understand who the game is talking to.

[@cheatsenabled1662]

​@@Repicheep22 Projecting yourself onto your character is one thing. The game outright labelling you, the player, as the perpetrator of A Bad Thing when you couldn't even be aware it was going to occur unless you were already spoiled on the plot is frankly ridiculous. As others have said previously, for things like this to have an impact you actually have to have a legitimate choice in the game on the matter. You can't just be forced into performing the action, then the game yells at you afterwards for doing the only in-game action available. If it was possible to complete Spec Ops without incinerating civilians, and the game made it a point to notify you of that fact any chance it got after you did it the wrong way, perhaps that would be slightly less unreasonable. Slightly. Personally, I found the game trying to guilt you after the Bad Thing to be rather amusing. I've just spent however long previously gunning down anything vaguely "human with gun" shaped, and now you want me to feel bad because I accidentally killed other people, albeit in a more painful manner? Sorry game, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. Just because those other people were trying to kill me, it doesn't make their lives worth less than the civilians. However, to not become The Amazing Full of Lead Man, I had to be proactive and provide them with free samples of lead before they decided to attempt the same on me. However, I feel no guilt about it whatsoever, because none of them existed as real people in the first place. I have enough real worries in the real world that are real to care about virtual men made of lots of triangles having a health value change to zero due to me moving my mouse and clicking on them for a while.

[@francoisweinmann646]

@@cheatsenabled1662 I think you view it too narrow. I mean yes, if you don't want to immerse yourself into Spec Ops, fine. Then yes, virtual men just had their health value changed to zero because you klicked on them. But if you look at it that way any medium is kind of useless. Books are uninteresting, movies too, video game stories too.

[@dozergames2395]

@@Repicheep22 this game just made me feel like a terrible human for barely caring or seeing it all as collateral The white phosphorous came close but the game gave no better option to clear the area that I saw I woulda gone house to house In the end it just felt like I took my hand and dealt it as well as I could I never made a bad decision with all the information I normally had just enough to make my bad decisions look like they may have a good outcome

[@Komnen0s]

This is all your fault.

[@benl2140]

+Komnenos If that's what you believe, then shoot me.

[@nicholaslaw8673]

+900bot na I'm feelin pretty subpar

[@themysteriousfigure0]

+Komnenos You're still a good person.

[@MrTombombodil]

+Komnenos How many Americans have you killed today?

[@repodan12]

My fault? You're your own demon Walker, am I in control...or are you?

[@ldmt1995]

Was Yatzee the greatest game reviewer I've ever seen? Well I don't know, this one time he convinced me to buy Spec Ops the line so maybe I'm biased...

[@gronndar]

***** But the facts don't lie. The reviewer is a fucking hero.

[@gametv9on]

***** Hah! I see what you did there.

[@GoldmansNephew]

It was Yahtzee who's review persuaded me to buy Saints Row 2.

[@hermit_36]

This comment is genius.

[@MrEffectfilms]

+ldmt1995 its the only game he's ever reviewed where I pretty much agreed completely with him.

[@JustinCage56]

Walker in my view had some of the best character development in recent game history. He went from a generic modern fps soldier to a crazed genocidal animal with such great pacing. I give so much praise to Nolan North for bring out his character and I praise the writing crew with such a incredible story.

[@bdconrad4787]

5:00 HOLY SHIT HE TOOK A BREATH!

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

This game does that to you.

[@Valiordruid]

Zelousmarineinspace After the WP scene, I literally turned off my monitors and just stared at a blank wall for fifteen solid minutes thinking: "Fuck me, I really am a terrible person."

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

TimeKeeper25 no you

[@WanderingIdiot81]

"Fun, Fun, Fun!"- Yahtzee They should put that on the box.

[@lionheart6176]

what if the rogue american soldiers are all the stereotypical fps players in COD

[@TechLikeABoss]

That's actually not a bad idea. A game that shows how shitty the gaming community has become

[@dethcon5002]

+Seth Harper When I played the game I got killed at one point and I could've sworn one of them was teabagging me. hmmmmmmm...

[@snuffles5897]

One of them accused me of a hacker and claimed to have slept with my mom... In a 6 year old's voice

[@lionheart6176]

those kids are in need of an old fashioned spanking. its funny to act all well mannered when in front of a squeaker.

[@brano13177]

I think walker and his men are the deconstruction of what a COD protagonist would actually look like in a grounded, real life setting.

[@matthewthiele6020]

Would you kindly?

[@RobbieGoldy]

Would I kindly what?

[@Er404ChannelNotFound]

Andrew Ryan I think it's a line from Bioshock Infinite and to explain it, it'd be spoiled

[@TechLikeABoss]

Yes master

[@jovialgiblets4465]

FirstName LastName odds are he knew that given his username

[@Er404ChannelNotFound]

Jovial Giblets Oh, didn't notice that

[@ZergrushEddie]

"You're here because you wanted to feel like something you're not: a hero."

[@A_Friendly_Robot]

My exact words when finishing spec ops the line: "well, fuck, I'm just going to go off and have a lay down"

[@eoinflaherty9374]

I yelled "I'm a monster!" and went to the corner to think about what i done.

[@theawesomegamer3428]

***** 2salty4me

[@Wowfang]

Thomas Davis Someone missed the point.

[@jovialgiblets4465]

Mr. Jack A$$ its just his way of coping with the trauma

[@Monika-di7vv]

Mr. Jack A$$ After finishing it back in 2013, that's exactly what I did.

[@seanwang6143]

I appreciate how Yahtzee took the time and effort to not spoil the White Phosphorus scene, only for every other journalist and gamer under the sun to spoil it immediately before any of you got a chance to play the campaign! (including myself!)

[@MohitMhapuskar]

That's how impressive this game is. Till date this is the only game that made the great Yahtzee Croshaw himself, pause for breath.

[@Tsuwamomo]

Maybe it's not chastising you for doing what it told you, but for being fine with it while it was telling you.

[@Valiordruid]

Even if you weren't fine with it. Because you still did them.

[@Tsuwamomo]

but you were definitely fine with it because you bought the game in the first place

[@Valiordruid]

Tsuwamono I'm not sure most people understood that this game was going to be as intense as it was.

[@Tsuwamomo]

but they probably thought it was another spunkgargleweewee; the COD suckers and the like

[@Valiordruid]

Tsuwamono Good god I dearly hope not. If that's the attitude those crazy motherfuckers have than I fear the day when one becomes president of the US and nukes Finland because a political commentator called him weak.

[@RandominityFTW]

This was, by far, the most horrifying video game experience I've ever had. 11/10, would be brutally traumatized again. If anyone here hasn't played this game yet, go play this game and prepare to loathe yourself.

[@UltimaJC]

Huh, a game where the enemies aren't some shade of brown or drinking vodka.

[@zachscarbrough2727]

INCONCEIVABLE!!

[@UltimaJC]

UNIMAGINABLE!!

[@NancyTiddles]

IMPOSSIBRU!!

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE!!

[@Cirebocaj]

Well, a majority of the world is a shade of brown, and a large chunk of those who aren't are prone to chugging vodka. It's statistics, really.

[@Carlos-ln8fd]

Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling of holding two opposing beliefs at the same time

[@Carlos-ln8fd]

@BTIsaac Lol maybe some people don't have it

[@ryanpeacock9004]

In college (for marketing), they taught me that the best way to ease cognitive dissonance is to add value to justify what you've made a person do. A person experiencing cognitive dissonance tries to justify why they did what they did. "I was going to need new shoes anyway." "McDonald's is cheap, fast and convenient." "I needed a new video game to play during the pandemic." "This was Konrads fault. We had no choice." "They killed Lugo! I tried to walk away but they didn't let me!"

[@SadButter]

Did this review feel too depressing for you? Click the gear icon on the bottomright corner of the videoplayer and set the speed to 0.5, then rewatch the video. That should fix it.

[@HonoraryAperture]

Thank you, RandomGuy.

[@SadButter]

Arstotzkan Civilian You're welcome. Glory to Arstotzka.

[@Josh-xt2ig]

Class

[@Allison-qk1ws]

Arstotzkan Civilian Uh oh, it looks like you don't have a proper seal on your passport. Unless you want to pay me a nice bribe I'm going to have to ask you to go with these nice men with guns to the building where no one ever seems to come out of (save for the nice men with guns).

[@Allison-qk1ws]

Just look at the box art. Walker looks like a deranged ax murderer. You know shits gonna get dark.

[@trustworthytim4762]

I think that clunkiness in the gameplay was intentional, to instill this feeling that something is very wrong with Walker, and the entire situation.

[@thegeneralissimo470]

ditto.

[@CrashBandicoot4Ever9]

The Generalissimo On another note, it could also be what people would actually feel like in an intense battle. Most people wouldn't be able to handle all the pressure and would move around a lot clumsier and clunkier than usual to get to where they needed to be. You wouldn't see a bunch of dudes shooting at you and go, "Oh yeah, alright! Let's murder 'em all!" and then proceed to skate around the battlefield with the grace of a gazelle and the glee of a 5 year old boy with a sugar high.

[@MeepChangeling]

Sir Tanky Unless you are very anti-scocial hate humans to begin with and are oddly the type of people the military will not let join despite the fact that it would be a really good outlet for murderous rage some psychotic people have.

[@CrashBandicoot4Ever9]

Kyle Rhulain I think it has to do with working together. Sure the person might be an amazing fighter and may be very good at killing the enemies, but if they can't work with the rest of their squad it runs the risk of causing the mission to fall apart. We like to idolize and glorify the mythical "One Man Army", but in reality that type of person would have to train themselves to their very limits and specialize solely in killing and maiming other people to even attempt to be the next Rambo. That type of person doesn't know when to stop, there's a line that soldiers run the very real risk of crossing, something this game reminds us.

[@MeepChangeling]

Sir Tanky Point, but this is a time when we are nearly capable of lab growing actual super soldiers, and actually do have powered armor. (Yes we do, USMC TALOS Project check it out) I'm just saying that we need to reprise our idea of a soldier. We could start pumping out Master Chiefs in a very small number of years f we wanted and aggressive psychotic tendencies could be used to form the base of physiological conditioning.

[@warmachine5835]

Eight years later, this still holds up, and I don't think the experience has been replicated.

[@InfinityBassCannon]

Every time I finish this game again I go watch this video to make me less sad and to remind me that other people appreciate the amazing impact this game has.

[@DinnerForkTongue]

Great going, man. I can barely get past the first helo sequence now without my hands trembling to hell and back.

[@RaidsEpicly]

How many times have you played it? Just from the descriptions and reading tvtropes it already feels like a lot to handle, there's no way I'd be able to finish it.

[@InfinityBassCannon]

@@RaidsEpicly Like 3 times. It is a lot to handle but the ending is FANTASTIC

[@greaterdanemark2397]

One of my favorite parts is how executing downed enemies gets you more ammo and grenades than letting them bleed out or stand back up, it rewards you for being brutal and they only get more gruesome as the game goes on. Really sucks you into the gameplay loop until it yanks the collar and you realize you’ve bashed the head of someone who you’d probably be serving with under different circumstances just so you can have more ammo

[@DinnerForkTongue]

I ran through the game once, but I couldn't bring myself to execute anyone. Had a bad time with ammo, but I felt _slightly_ less horrible.

[@CaptainAardvaark]

The best part about the story is the way the game makes you make the final decision to do the bad thing. It lets you try to not do it. You want to not do it. But you fail every time, and in the face of insurmountable odds, you give in and agree to do the bad thing, putting the blame for it squarely on you. Also I sell this game to friends as the game that made Yahtzee get so introspective and serious that he had to add random fart noises to lighten the tone.

[@wander7317]

Me: alright I've heard a lot about this game, apparently it's really deep! Might as well give it a try! *Loads up game* 6 hours later: I'm still in the kitchen shovelling ice cream in my mouth and crying like a B*ITCH!

[@titanjakob1056]

Masterofpuppets same thing but the ice cream thing did not happen but me drinking cases of pop and crying my eyes out

[@nieildilsonsouza4747]

oh please... spec ops ain't that "mind breaking", see the final of the video, it's yahtzee actor training...

[@titanjakob1056]

Nieildilson Souza have you played it

[@happygrunt4789]

But then the color of that vanilla ice cream reminded you of the incendiary weapons you used to kill all those people.

[@NathanCassidy721]

Know what you mean. I just beat it today and I HAD to go out for a walk to deal with the guilt.

[@The_Almighty_Jimmy]

I just finished it and jesus he's right on all points I swear it's the first time that a game manages to traumatize me

[@Khoros-Mythos]

"In some ways it's a rather grim exploration of the relationship between player and player character. Are we really in control of Captain Walker or do we merely represent the last vestige of self-awareness in his increasingly damaged mind as he railroads us into committing atrocities, and our distrust and fear of him grows in parallel to that of the men in his command as he weakly tries to rationalize to both them and us until we feel as disconnected from him as the rest of reality." Wow, this gave me a whole new appreciation for this game.

[@I_am_ENSanity]

I really did like this game. Decent mechanics, good story, not cmpletely wothless AI partners, it really was worth the $15 I spent on it.

[@i_just_got_here]

Hi there from the future, Yahtzee just named Spec Ops: The Line his 7th Best Game of the Decade

[@terriblehits3157]

Captain Martin Walker's War Crime Simulator 2012 [GONE WRONG] [SOCIAL EXPERIMENT]

[@nicolasriveros943]

i just finished this game some months ago. Now i can't hear the words " white phosphorous " without feeling sick... "11/10 IGN TOO MUCH SAND"

[@franzsanders9573]

I think this is Yahtzee's best review. While it isn't that funny, it actually has him really analyzing the game and talking about its flaws and merits, and showcases just how the game actually affected him to his audience.

[@TheFacelessStoryMaker]

I get why it's called The Line. It's in reference to people's moral lines of good and evil. You often hear the saying "You crossed the line" in response to an evil act. This game is all about morality and whether the crossing of the line is our choice or just following orders.

[@chrish3969]

I'd phrase it more like: at what point would you refuse to follow orders that you feel are immoral and unjustified? It's not about whether the choices on offer are morally "good" (here's a hint: almost none of the choices in this game would be the kind of thing you'd brag about if you want friends). It's not even about the responsibility for crossing "the line", because you are always in control. Whether you play the game to completion isn't up to the game, just like any order a general gives doesn't HAVE to be followed. There's consequences for not doing it (not having the complete experience of spec ops: the line, disobeying a superior officer, etc) but it will always be your choice. It's about "the line" itself. What will you never do, even if the consequences for not doing it are severe? What lines would you never cross even in a consequence-free environment (a game)?

[@TheShadow7771]

It's telling that the first thing you see when you start the game is a STOP sign.

[@JoeytheJoeyX3]

I don't feel like a hero. Not in the slightest. ;_;

[@331coolguy]

There are no heroes around hear

[@Slender_Man_186]

+JoeytheJoeyX3 War, is hell!

[@Vashtanerada477]

I played through this game again after not touching it for the better part of a year. I already considered it among my favorite games of all time, but I wanted to try something different. I went back and played the entire game through to the end, and any time a character said the word "you"- referring, in theory, to Walker- I took it as being addressed to me, the player. I.e. when Lugo screamed "This is your FAULT, goddamn it!!" and "HE TURNED US INTO FUCKING KILLERS!", and other such lines, I put myself in the mindset that they were speaking through the TV screen, directly at me. And Christ, it's like playing the game for the first time again. I remember one particular part when Lugo's screams of blame and fury made me pause the game and run to my toilet for fear of vomiting. This game made me feel terrible the first time I played it... this last time, I put down the controller during the end credits absolutely disgusted with myself, actively despising myself. A video game can break through my normally okay self-esteem and make me feel like the worst of humanity. That is a game that deserves every ounce of praise it gets, and more.

[@Dwarf_Ninjas]

Couple months after Spec Ops is labelled an amazing game (had it for a while, never brought myself to play it), figured I gave it a try. Knew it was about PTSD, knew it was trying to make you think it was a COD MW shooter, and thought it would spoil the game for me. No, It didn't. Even knowing the basic things about Spec Ops, it is... unbelievable how much it takes you. How much it takes away from you. I wasn't expecting a happy ending. I was prepared to be miserable playing. I expectations were met and exceeded. Holy fuck.

[@joeallen3388]

What got me and SPOILER. Was when there was the 2 guys hanging and you had to pick one to let live, and the other to kill, a hard moral choice ether way. Only after realising that I could have saved both by shooting the ropes. It made me feel shit, and made me think, just because a charicter told me I had this choice, just because it was a game I didn't question it, even though it was the bad guy giving me the choice I felt there was no other way of progressing.

[@mjc0961]

You can shoot the ropes and save both? Augh, why the fuck didn't I try that?

[@Allison-qk1ws]

Spoiler Don't worry, those two guys were rotting corpses and Conrad wasn't telling you shit. Walker was just having a batshit hallucination before going on to blanket a whole town with chemical warfare and rape a puppy in front of an orphan who saw his whole family get tortured to death by Walker.

[@ifgmbtf]

SPOILER I actually didn't want to kill either of them. Instead I covered behind a car wreckage, and ordered the guys to shoot at the snipers on one side, while I shot at the snipers on the other side, but it didn't make a difference. The snipers shot both of them first (the guys hanging), and then started shooting at us.

[@ChadVulpes]

SPOILER I think it's made on purpose after the WP scene. After the WP you actually don't have a choice over anything. And that might be why you thought that is the only way.

[@Lettermanization]

I killed the US soldiers instead trying to save them but they all end up dying instead. I tried to play the hero only to betray my own countrymen and I didn't save anyone but myself. When Konrad asks, "Do you feel like a hero yet?" I replied "no" out loud because I felt the decisions I made weren't really worth it to take revenge on Konrad. When all I could think about was getting revenge, I forgot my mission, my mission was to save civilians but I ended up killing them instead. In fact, after the helicopter crash I asked myself, "What was my mission again?" Then when I got to Lugo hanged up by the civilians, I remembered it was about revenge rather than saving. I mowed every one of those fuckers for Lugo and I never had second thoughts. I thought they deserved it. Lugo was my squadmate, my family, and he went through everything I went through.

[@Cyan-hide]

During the white phosphorus section, you can see Walker’s reflection on the monitor as he’s bombing the camp. It’s a really powerful moment because it mirrors the player. You, the player is as much in control of the situation as Walker is. Both of you are killing people behind the screen, disconnected from themselves and the massacre they are committing. And then, the coup de grâce once you leave the screen and go down among the ashes, you and Walker start rationalizing to absolve yourself of blame and guilt. For Walker, “It wasn’t me, it’s Konrad’s fault.” “We had no choice, it was the only way.” And you “It’s a video game, this isn’t real.” “It’s not my fault, I had to do it to progress.”

[@MultiHydralisk]

I love these videos. But seriously if I'm ever going to write an essay on political theory, I will simply scroll through these comments. 0_0"

[@MrJetairliner100]

This is what Spec Ops has done to all of us. Including Yahtzee. It sent us into a horrible depression of realizing what awful people we are.

[@carefree4all1]

MrJetairliner100 And I'm cool with that.

[@walruspictures]

I felt genuinely guilty when I played through this game.......

[@LordSlothra]

"How many Americans have you killed today?"

[@Usernamesdontmatter1]

Lord Slothra I killed 20......then I played spec ops the line.

[@Vintodrimmer]

I did not. Honestly, I was rather disappointed. After all the hype and build up about the story and guilt and atrocities you just kill some Americans and civilians with white phosphorus after which you are supposed to feel bad about that. The ending was rather unexpected, even though the idea of him doing all that and konrad being some alter-ego was prominent after the second hallucination. So overall I was quite let down. But overall experience was nice. Provably because I don't usually play military shooters.

[@walruspictures]

Eichhorn Hey, to each thir own opinion. But idk, Im kind of an empathetic person, I felt that the graphics were decent enough to immerse me in it. I also felt it had a strong message which goes against virtually every videogame out there. You don't "win" spec ops, you complete it.

[@Vintodrimmer]

Well, I can understand you but I certainly don't agree. In my opinion you don't win anything unless it's competitive multiplayer type, but even in that case you simply win or lose rounds. Mostly because games for me are experiences or stories. Some have a definitive end and some don't. I was immersed in "the line", but lack of options and unbelievable linearity kinda blurred the message. Maybe that's intentional and probably I may have felt something if it was really my decision but in current state I was disappointed, because protagonist is a moron. But you are completely right by stating that to each his own.

[@roetheboat1]

This was one of the few games where I literally felt shocked and slightly sick at the actions. I generally don't like 3rd person cover based shooting, but I felt that the gameplay was sufficient. Actually, the first time my cover was destroyed kind of shocked me. The rather standard gameplay also helped to suck me in, and made me do things that I was used to from other games. Then it would turn the tables on me. But the way you can make choices in this game was actually incredibly refreshing. You didn't have a lot of time to think about your options. You had to make the decision quickly. And it wasn't always made clear what you could do. There were several times where I thought I would try to think outside the box, and discovered that I was able to. . . SPOILERS . . One of the most memorable moments for me was when I was surrounded by all of the angry civilians just after they had killed Lugo. You couldn't walk through them. I was so certain that I would have to kill them, and so I just kind of fired my gun up in the air, and then heard Adams shooting. I thought that because I had fired my gun, he had opened fire on the civilians, but he had actually fired his gun into the air and the civilians all ran. I had been so CERTAIN that I would have to kill them, that I was shocked that it allowed me to NOT kill them. I loved how the characters got angrier and angrier as the game when on. The ending actually surprised me (I'm usually pretty good with predicting twists). The first white phosphorus scene was done incredibly well, and THE white phosphorus scene (you know which one) actually got to me. I had been enjoying blowing up all the soldiers, and when I saw a big clump I was like "Woohoo! Die, you bastards!" And then I found out what I had done.

[@PhirePhlame]

So I hear, the devs confirmed that the railroading was on purpose - itself and the frustration it causes actually being a part of that meta commentary on the stereotypical fps, alongside (or perhaps as part of) the whole "lose yourself in the shooting and then get your choke chain yanked" aspect.

[@leon2550]

"Do you feel like a hero yet?"

[@wafflemadness199]

leon2550 no.

[@Ic3monkey420]

This game has the reputation as a PTSD simulator.

[@NixodCreations]

For a game of similar effect (albeit with a different goal to SO:TL) Try a game called Red Orchestra 2. It's a WWII eastern front shooter (a multiplayer one, so no story), but it too has a reputation as a PTSD simulator. Except that the horror you commit is much more guilt inducing, because your guy's actions are not story driven, they're your actions. Seeing a guy flailing about on the ground with all his limbs blown off and screaming for his mother because you lobbed a grenade at him is much more disturbing.

[@Ic3monkey420]

Nixod I do say my good sir, I have indulged in said game. But I'm glad others know of gems such as that. I shall also recommend a gem by the name of "Hidden & Dangerous 2 Sabre Squadron."

[@Mttapple]

Half speed: drunk Yahtzee trying to forget his sin

[@MTH3h3l0l]

this is a game I would welcome a remaster simply for the fact it will stay alive and available for everyone to experience

[@shanezingaro5204]

I rented this game a couple of days ago with the intent of experiencing its amazing narrative and overall depressing atmosphere but you see that is where I went wrong. Since I already knew it would be very good, I tried too hard to get immersed, and when you're trying too hard to let it get to you its not going to get to you at all. Basically, if you are going to play it forget everything you've ever known about it before you pick it up.

[@wesselstienstra7020]

4 bucks on steam today, just bought it. Lets see what this is all about

[@ZobmieRules]

+Wessel Stienstra We'll await an update. :P

[@Kulob_2025]

And?

[@nickcarbaugh4301]

Do you feel like a hero yet?

[@kinerino]

+Nick Carbaugh Looks like he comit suicide

[@Kulob_2025]

Or suïcide commited him.

[@cpob2013]

ptsd simulator 2012

[@guguigugu]

best game ever remember: "you are not a bad person"

[@D4K44R1]

"Do you feel like a hero, yet?"

[@MiosPanties]

+D4K44R1 "If Lugo were still alive, he would likely suffer from PTSD. So, really, he's the lucky one."

[@Crawldragon]

This is still by far my favorite review in the Zero Punctuation playlist. It's refreshing to see a game that takes itself seriously and gets rewarded with a genuinely thought-provoking video.

[@TheBlackKakashi]

One of my favorite things about this game was the dialogue change between the characters as you process through the game.

[@Lolfire]

10 years ago. Fuck I'm getting old.

[@HazardSJ]

I played through trying to do everything to not be an arsehole, such as saving civilians or killing the soldiers and not using the mortar, or shooting the snipers and not the two prisoners, but everytime my hand was forced, I kept saying to myself: 'It's alright, it's not my fault, the game is forcing me to do this,' everytime I said that, I began to hate myself a little bit. By the end of it, I was really feeling like a cruel and psychotic empty shell, with Konrad's words piercing through me deeper than any bullet; 'You brought this on yourself.'

[@Railstarfish]

+Blind Kumiho That sounds a lot like what Captain Walker was doing.

[@TheStargatefan12]

This is really late, but I think one of the developers said somewhere that one of the endings is the player just turning the game off midway through because he doesn't want to do that shit.

[@janermaher]

I actually managed to kill the snipers instead. Didn't save them but then again...

[@BenjaminSteber]

You tried to tell yourself what Walker was always telling himself, that you didn't have a choice. "You're no hero."

[@grindorblackout1986]

Walker is aware he is in a video game. He wants to be the good guy so bad, but he knows what`s coming He hopes this time around (if the purgatory theory is true) it`ll be different, but every time, it`s the same thing. Take this into consideration for how he reacts to every ending. Why he doesn`t even say anything in the "Kill everyone" ending such as announcing a reload or a confirmed kill, because he`s exhausted with the whole affair and doesn`t even want to pretend anymore. It`s why he sighs relief when you give up your weapon if you choose to at the end, but says "Who says I survived" because he knows it`s going to start all over again like it did a million times already. No part of this game is happy for him because he knows it`s coming, he knows he can`t stop it and he lies to himself every time that it`ll be different...fuck, I just made myself really sad

[@Sphynra]

Wow, you just made the game even more depressing

[@Allison-qk1ws]

So he's a super depressing and dark version of Deadpool.

[@ChadVulpes]

lasarousi "And if the truth is undeniable..."

[@ToxicWolf1132]

Deadpool can be depressing sometimes...

[@alexwoody357]

Will the circle... Be unbroken... By and by... By and by...

[@Roknikus]

It really was a good game. The gameplay was just a bit too monotonous at times, but the story was fantastic. I wish we had more games like this.

[@FabricioKMS]

Only Yahtzee can make me laugh with fart noises after my mind got raped by this game ...And i think i'm misspelling something

[@HereticDuo]

"An unfair, uncaring & unavoidable world of HATRED, MISERY & DEATH!" Also known as the xbox live community.

[@thesaltycrusader]

4:51 "YOU DIDN'T WASH YOUR HANDS" Oh how that joke aged so well yet so wrong in today's situation

[@SpankSandwitch99]

when a Game surprises yahtzee to this extent, it's definitely something worth playing

[@Accostrophe]

I just finished Spec Ops, like literally just closed the game after I completed it. I loved it. Amazing story. Feels galore.

[@herp_derpingson]

I always play a game a few times over but I could not do that for spec ops. I. JUST. COULDNT. PLAY. IT. AGAIN. I am not a very emotional person, but this game brought me to my knees. I will never forget this game.

[@TheHongKongHermit]

But it does make a difference that the antagonists are American. The biggest army in the world is American, the Americans send military force both overt and covert to conflict zones the world over, and the overwhelming majority of all war shooter games feature the player as a heroic American combatant. Yes, the details of the story would be just as successful if it featured any other nationality. But the overall impact only carries the punch that it does because it pushes back against and subverts the 99% of media heading the other way. The political aspect of the game cannot be overlooked because it does tie into the real world imperialist/interventionist actions of the US military, and how very often it causes more harm than good. Making a game that shows US troops being in a foreign country may not be a good thing is a far braver and unconventional position than making a game showing Russians/Chinese/Whoever in the same roles. Also, the fundamental theme of the game is that WE are the real monsters. It doesn't work if the player, instead of being us is just yet another variant of them. Obviously this requires a bit of association, "we" being the characters traditionally shown as heroes. Particularly in the US, soldiers are lionised and applauded, not for their actions but simply for being soldiers. No matter how anti-war you are, you've got to make it clear you "support the troops". It's borderline cultlike.

[@effigytormented]

THe largest army in the world is China's . . . just saying.

[@samashe2339]

effigytormented I believe what he meant by biggest is strongest.

[@effigytormented]

Bob Jones Actually I said largest army, not most powerful. They have the largest body count in sheer ground force numbers.

[@samashe2339]

Bob I wouldn't be wrong bob. I didn't mean effigy said they were the strongest. I was talking about the guy who started this. He said they have the biggest army and I was informing effigy that he probably meant they have the strongest.

[@effigytormented]

Saam Ashenayi Nope, just numbers relative to size, due to population.

[@TheDuckClock]

So just like Yahtzee I despise Spunkgargleweewee shooters like Call of Duty and Halo. Yet on his recommendation I picked this up. And upon finishing this game the 3 words I kept slowly kept repeating myself: HOLY ... FUCKING ... SHIT ... HOLY ... FUCKING ... SHIT This is prime quality storytelling right here. Hell I was more emotionally attached with this game than I was with Bioshock Infinite. Yes the gameplay is pretty "meh" and at times the controls are pretty clunky, but given the fact that I picked up the game for $20 I think it was money well spent.

[@johnlimzhiyue]

To be honest, the "meh" gameplay is important. If the gameplay was fun, it would destroy the story. Imagine a game like Saints Row trying to give a serious plot, but you get to do all the stupid things like beating people with dildos. If spec ops had fun gameplay, the gameplay and story won't really mix well

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

*+Boldie Strawburry* Amen

[@johnlimzhiyue]

***** Not sure, I've heard from a video source (I think Extra Credits, go KZbin and type "Extra Credits Spec Ops: The Line") that they say the bland gameplay enforces the feeling of killing people without thinking. Since you are so bored of the gameplay, you become numb to the fact that you are killing your own people (in this case, since Captain Walker is American, and he kills US Soldiers). This adds to the realization that you are doing something so wrong, but you are having a "meh" feeling about it. Like it is a chore Also, I heard this why the devs made the gameplay feel like 2008, but I'm not sure

[@Valiordruid]

Just as a side note, you can't really classify Halo as spunkgargleweewee, even Yahtzee has admitted it. The whole premise of that genre of games that Yahtzee classified is that they're extremely (to the point of being uncomfortably restrictive) linear, way too fucking easy because of all the NPCs helping you, and have chest-high walls, iron sights and a two-weapon limit. Halo is linear, but nowhere near as linear as other spunkgargleweewee games. Like I said, even Yahtzee admits this in his review of Halo 4, where he says he could never accuse it of belonging to the genre, because Halo lets you drive vehicles around at your leisure or just stomp around on foot with a variety of weapons to swap around and play with. Halo's also quite difficult on Legendary or even Heroic if you aren't used to it, and in addition to that it has neither chest-high walls/cover mechanics or iron sights.

[@NotSatanDisguised]

That last fart.... I cried. I cried like I just played Spec Ops the Line with a conscious.

[@francoisweinmann646]

For me the point where I started to feel as the bad guy was actually before "the bad thing" happened. I think it was pretty early when you overhear two rogue soldiers just idely chatting about their life back home, and you need to killthem to move on. I agonized quite a bit, before I put a bullet to their head, thinking "We need to get on, the mission needs us", but had heavy moral qualms. Two chapters later (after the first time you man a machine gun turret), one rogue soldiers was dying, and the game flashed the "execute enemy" prompt for me, which I just idely pressed and looked content as Walker killed him with the butt of his rifle. Seconds later it hit me. This guy had its life back home too, as much as the two soldiers on whom I had heavy moral qualms to kill. Spec Ops really doesn't force you hand many times, it is just on you to be good, or... well, not be a good guy.