

Video games often trivialize the tools at an advanced army's disposal, turning airstrikes or nuclear bombs into power-ups or multiplayer rewards.

The scene remains shocking because it exposes how horrific modern warfare can be.
#Spec ops the line the battle full
This leads to the infamous white phosphorus scene, where both player and avatar unwittingly incinerate a camp full of civilians. Whereas many war shooters use cinematics and set-piece spectacles to rob audiences of agency, Spec Ops requires the player's participation. Instead, players must typically carry out his actions to proceed, whether that means leading charges, gunning down enemies or even exterminating them with incendiary weapons. In keeping with the themes of choice and consequence, Walker is rarely controlled by cutscenes. Spec Ops avoids this minefield by treating its soldiers as individuals who live and die by their own choices, not nationalistic hammers with which some poorly-characterized villains of the week are bludgeoned. Modern military shooters are often criticized, especially by players outside of the US, because they generally depict the nation's armies as heroic paragons that can do no wrong, even when they have their enemies utterly outnumbered. While the game isn't explicitly about war, its smaller scale makes it feel like a more genuine reflection of it. It's into this dangerous environment that the US sends three Delta Force operatives on a mission to find survivors, intending to send in a larger force to rescue them. To protect and evacuate the city's people, America's Colonel John Konrad volunteered the services of his battalion, only for the situation to spiral out of all control. Instead, the story takes place in Dubai, where order has all but collapsed due to ravaging sandstorms. Ironically, Spec Ops: The Line isn't technically set in a warzone despite its nature as a military game.
