Spec Ops - The Line

The games as art debate is a long and convoluted one. When considering this, one must ask first that if a video game is art, what is its purpose, its genre? The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, when released in 1998, was a milestone in the development of 3D worlds. Bioshock from 2007 features one of the most stunningly realised otherworlds that truly reflected the art-deco art movement and commented on utopian and dystopian ideals from literature. Then, there is The Stanley Parable, a walking simulator that utilises the actual genre and medium of video games to comment on the art form itself.

The drive of art is to force a reaction in the viewer, be it positive or not. What if a video game seeks to appal, disgust and then actually ask if the player is having fun? So many first-person shooters have tried to portray the horrors of war, yet how many have managed to succeed without becoming a glorified shooting gallery? Spec Ops: The Line from 2012 has the answer: White phosphorus.

Inspired by the classic novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the levels of subtext in Spec Ops: The Line go so deep one could even suggest that the generic gameplay is a dig at the numerous copycat shooters of the era it was released. The ‘brown shooter’ as it was known in those days. Back then every developer wanted to replicate the success of Gears of War and Call of Duty. Interestingly, The Line’s pinpoint accurate aim and gunplay are so tight they feel mechanical, with little to no weight. Protagonist Martin Walker, voiced by video game voice actor everyman Nolan North suspiciously looks like the default cypher Commander Shepard from Mass Effect.

Walker and his two comrades (whom possibly could be read as his conscious) travel deep into a disaster-ridden Dubai searching for Colonel John Konrad (voiced by Sheridan Bruce Boxlightner, always a pleasure to hear his voice) and are slowly transformed by the atrocities they are forced to commit. By the end of the story, Walker is broken, burned and scarred as much on the inside as on the outside. His patience is gone, desperation has taken over his resolve and every kill is ‘fucking’ confirmed. To explain more would be a crime against the writing. 

A short-length campaign could be critiqued yet if the experience leaves the player deep in thought, affected, it is better to not run over time. Like the best of films, Spec Ops: The Line lingers long after completion, asking questions not just about the story’s reflection of war and violence but also of the nature of video games. Why we play them and what it, in turn, suggests about us, the players. 

The narrative and story, despite the appearance of a derivative shooter, is intentional and designed. Writer Walt Williams even suggested that the hope was that the player would believe it so and be shocked as the story progresses into something far more intense and thematically dark. And while the contents are shocking, the reaction is likely to be subjective, and the interpretation of the message fluid depending on the player.

As of 2024, the game has been delisted due to licensing and copyrights. If possible, grab this fascinating work that was often viewed with indifference when released and has since then been discussed, dissected and eventually, appreciated.