History Awesome / SpecOpsTheLine

* Say what you will about the horrible things that the ending of the game reveals (stuff that rightfully belongs in the Tear Jerker and Nightmare Fuel sections of this website) but the execution of the ending is very well done. Very few endings have such a massive impact on the way you see the overall story of a video game like what Spec Ops The Line has done, once you see it you can't look at the story in the same way. TheEndingChangesEverything indeed.

* See the level set after the helicopter crash. Adams is wounded and confined to sitting down with just a pistol for his defense. Lugo is nowhere to be seen. It's up to you to mount a defense of the crash site pretty much single-handedly. With shades of ''Film/BlackHawkDown'', you come to fully embody the Special Forces credos of "Adapt and Overcome" and "No man left behind!". Especially on higher difficulties, this is ''hardcore''. Peaking out for shots on the scale of microseconds, the enemy fire is so intense that death will be frequent for you. You come to develop an expertise with blindfire which few cover based shooters have relied on thus far. Badass headshots with the DMR make you feel like a real warrior. Along with just the usual Damned 33rd soldiers, they have several [[EliteMooks Zulu Squad members]] and the constant grenades they fling makes this even more tricky. You slowly whittle down their numbers, even managing to blow away the sneaky scum who come to flank you from a weak side. Finally, a [[GiantMook Heavy]] comes out with two Zulus for support. Without your squadmates to distract him, his light machine gun will cut you to ribbons if you poke out of cover for any amount of time. So you quickly blindfire the Zulus dead, and [[MoreDakka unload all the remaining fire you have into him]], from as far away as possible. Grenades throw him off with sand plumes, and his reloads also allow you to dump accurate shots into him. As he finally keels over, defeated, it's hard not to feel an epic sense of accomplishment after one of the most thrilling, challenging sections of the game.

!!Meta

* A dark example in the White phosphorus scene. It's such a well crafted reveal that it remains highly talked about, even more than the actual game itself. It gives players such "MyGodWhatHaveIDone" that some have been reported to just stop playing altogether.
* The difficulties of the game. They are arranged thusly: Walk on the Beach, Combat Op, [[HarderThanHard Suicide Mission]], and FUBAR, the last of which is military slang for "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair". If you actually manage to beat it, you are awarded an achievement titled MFWIC, which is military slang for '''Motherfucker Who's In Charge'''. The achievement thumbnail is of a roach, [[{{Determinator}} because you've proved you're simply impossible to kill]].
* Creator/NolanNorth gets a moment when you realize just how much he was praised for some of his best acting yet. His voice acting in the final section is especially powerful, the way he puts across Walker's total transformation to an utterly bloodthirsty brute while still maintaining the same pitch. Watch the transformation for yourself [[https://youtu.be/qc9BMznBXOE here]] in a short 23 minutes of Walker’s command barks throughout the campaign. If you want an even shorter 5 minute showcase, [[https://youtu.be/8EEvd1OupVM this]] video of only Walker’s executions and combat barks.
** Bruce Boxleitner's work as Konrad is extremely well-done as well, especially as he uses the same voice as [[Series/BabylonFive John Sheridan]] to castigate Walker throughout the game. The end confrontation between him and Walker has Conrad vacillate between "friendly grandfather" to "quiet menace" simply by putting the lines in contrast with events on-screen.
*** To say nothing of everyone else's voice acting chops; Omid Abtahi showed an astounding amount of emotional torque as Lugo, ranging from humorous banter to sheer rage and panic. Christopher Reid offered a surprising amount of indignation whenever he called out Walker, clearly evidenced at the end of the game. And Jake Busey wasn't just a good source of comic relief; his deflating mood when the water trucks crashed were heartbreaking to listen to.
* The sheer amounts of SceneryPorn. It's no wonder [[Creator/BenCroshaw Yahtzee]] likes the game so much. It has its share of grays and browns, but the base palette largely consists of bright oranges and yellows, the sky is regularly visible and bright blue, and the interiors of the lavish buildings that line Dubai are ''gorgeous'', with vivid colors in both warm and cool shades applied to obscenely wealthy but ruined villas and {{Creator/Banksy}}-style artistic renderings by the locals. [[RealIsBrown Real doesn't have to be brown]], even in gritty war shooters.
* Ultimately, the game is proof that a good story never dies. In-game, all of Walker's tragedies arise because he is, for all his faults, a good person trying to do the right thing and getting back all the wrong results, and the game's unique reflection of gaming tropes and player expectations from surrounding peer material at the time ties it all up and hooks them in perfectly. Even more than ten years down the line, this game is still talked about and held up, even as indie games tout their stories as deep and complex, and even as the military genre games that ''Spec Ops: The Line'' made its muse [[FollowTheLeader have tried to be self-aware and have something to say on their own]], this game is still the one those examples are held up to.

* Ultimately, the game is proof that a good story never dies. In-game, all of Walker's tragedies arise because he is, for all his faults, a good person trying to do the right thing and getting back all the wrong results, and the game's unique reflection of gaming tropes and player expectations from surrounding peer material at the time ties it all up and hooks them in perfectly. Even more than ten years down [[JustForPun the line,]] this game is still talked about and held up, even as indie games tout their stories as deep and complex, and even as the military genre games that ''Spec Ops: The Line'' made its muse [[FollowTheLeader have tried to be self-aware and have something to say on their own]], this game is still the one those examples are held up to.

* Ultimately, the game is proof that a good story never dies. In-game, all of Walker's tragedies arise because he is, for all his faults, a good person trying to do the right thing and getting back all the wrong results, and the game's unique reflection of gaming tropes and player expectations from surrounding peer material at the time ties it all up and hooks them in perfectly. Even more than ten years down [[JustForPun the line,]] this game is still talked about and held up, even as indie games tout their stories as deep and complex, and even as the military genre games that ''Spec Ops: The Line'' made its muse of try and be self-aware and have something to say, this game is still the one those examples are held up to.

* Creator/NolanNorth gets a moment when you realize just how much he was praised for some of his best acting yet. His voice acting in the final section is especially powerful, the way he puts across Walker's total transformation to an utterly bloodthirsty brute while still maintaining the same pitch. Watch the transformation for yourself [[https://youtu.be/qc9BMznBXOE here]] in a short 23 minutes of Walker’s command barks throughout the campaign. If you want an even shorter 5 minute showcase, [[https://youtu.be/8EEvd1OupVM this]] video of only Walker’s executions and combat barks.
** Bruce Boxleitner's work as Konrad is extremely well-done as well, especially as he uses the same voice as [[Series/BabylonFive John Sheridan]] to castigate Walker throughout the game. The end confrontation between him and Walker has Conrad vacillate between "friendly grandfather" to "quiet menace" simply by putting the lines in contrast with events on-screen.
*** To say nothing of everyone else's voice acting chops; Omid Abtahi showed an astounding amount of emotional torque as Lugo, ranging from humorous banter to sheer rage and panic. Christopher Reid offered a surprising amount of indignation whenever he called out Walker, clearly evidenced at the end of the game. And Jake Busey wasn't just a good source of comic relief; his deflating mood when the water trucks crashed were heartbreaking to listen to.

* The difficulties of the game. They are arranged thusly: Walk on the Beach, Combat Op, [[HarderThanHard Suicide Mission]], and FUBAR, the last of which is military slang for "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair". If you actually manage to beat it, you are awarded an achievement titled MFWIC, which is military slang for '''[[BadassInCharge Motherfucker Who's In Charge]]'''. The achievement thumbnail is of a roach, [[{{Determinator}} because you've proved you're simply impossible to kill]].

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMXE3fulO8g No Virtues]], the theme of the last battle. It's so somber it might as well not be rock music, as sinister and dark as the path Martin has trodden to get to this point, and what's likely ahead still.

* The difficulties of the game. They are arranged thusly: Walk on the Beach, Combat Op, [[HarderThanHard Suicide Mission]], and [[UpToEleven FUBAR]], the last of which is military slang for "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair". If you actually manage to beat it, you are awarded an achievement titled MFWIC, which is military slang for '''[[BadassInCharge Motherfucker Who's In Charge]]'''. The achievement thumbnail is of a roach, [[{{Determinator}} because you've proved you're simply impossible to kill]].

* Walker, in the worst ending, ''tearing apart'' a squad of American soldiers like a OneManArmy, proving that Dubai and his delusions have swallowed him whole. Capped off with this menacing line:

* Walker, in the worst ending, ''tearing apart'' a squad of American soldiers like a OneManArmy, proving that Dubai and his delusions have swallowed him whole. Capped off wi5 this menacing line:

* That a story of this sort can exist is awesome in and of itself. To have a game like this that so thoroughly deconstructs war tropes is incredible. It shows that we can expect more out of shooters than just mindless violence, we can get the story to carefully examine what we the player are shooting at and why.

* Meta/Non-Canon Example: If you want to try out Spec Ops: The Line but are ''understandably hesitant'' to play a game where the developers [[WhatTheHellPlayer will blame you]] for [[BlamedForBeingRailroaded something]] that [[InsaneTrollLogic they made you do]], [[TakeAThirdOption here's one way to sidestep this]].
** First, buy the game ([[DigitalPiracyIsEvil or obtain it through other means]]).
** Second, observe the stop sign that warns you of what will happen if you proceed.
** Third, ''immediately stop playing'', then return and/or refund the game from where you got it. ([[DigitalPiracyIsOkay or delete if from your computer if you went for the piracy route]]).
** Congratulations! You've found a way to [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame beat the developers at their own game]] by turning the game off, ''just'' like [[ExactWords they told you to]].

* A minor one at the end of Chapter 5: Walker ends up plummeting out into the open, but he manages to save himself by grapping onto the end of a pole with ''one hand''. Say what you want about the man, but you can't deny that he's got a surprising amount of upper body strength.

* Creator/NolanNorth gets a moment when you realise just how much he was praised for some of his best acting yet. His voice acting in the final section is especailly powerful, the way he puts across Walker's total transformation to an utterly bloodthirsty brute while still maintaining the same pitch. Watch the transformation for yourself [[https://youtu.be/qc9BMznBXOE here]] in a short 23 minutes of Walker’s command barks throughout the campaign. If you want an even shorter 5 minute showcase, [[https://youtu.be/8EEvd1OupVM this]] video of only Walker’s executions and combat barks.
** Bruce Boxleitner's work as Konrad is extremely well-done as well, especially as he uses the same voice as [[Series/BabylonFive John Sheridan]] to castigate Walker throughout the game. The end confrontation between him and Walker has Conrad vaccilate between "friendly grandfather" to "quiet menace" simply by putting the lines in contrast with events on-screen.

* See the level set after the helicopter crash. Adams is wounded and confined to sitting down with just a pistol for his defence. Lugo is nowhere to be seen. It's up to you to mount a defence of the crash site pretty much single handedly. With shades of ''Film/BlackHawkDown'', you come to fully embody the Special Forces credos of "Adapt and Overcome" and "No man left behind!". Especially on higher difficulties, this is ''hardcore''. Peaking out for shots on the scale of microseconds, the enemy fire is so intense that death will be frequent for you. You come to develop an expertise with blindfire which few cover based shooters have relied on thus far. Badass headshots with the DMR make you feel like a real warrior. Along with just the usual Damned 33rd soldiers, they have several [[EliteMooks Zulu Squad members]] and the constant grenades they fling makes this even more tricky. You slowly whittle down their numbers, even managing to blow away the sneaky scum who come to flank you from a weak side. Finally, a [[GiantMook Heavy]] comes out with two Zulus for support. Without your squadmates to distract him, his light machine gun will cut you to ribbons if you poke out of cover for any amount of time. So you quickly blindfire the Zulus dead, and [[MoreDakka unload all the remaining fire you have into him]], from as far away as possible. Grenades throw him off with sand plumes, and his reloads also allow you to dump accurate shots into him. As he finally keels over, defeated, it's hard not to feel an epic sense of accomplishment after one of the most thrilling, challenging sections of the game.

** Third, ''immediately stop playing'', take the game disk out of the console and take it back to wherever you got it from for a refund, or get a Steam refund if you're a PC gamer ([[DigitalPiracyIsOkay or delete if from your computer if you went for the piracy route]]).

** Aforementioned [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-deFrlrmzU Hush]] by Music/DeepPurple is even more awesome retrospectively, as it is actually the FIRST chance for the player to feel that something is going positively wrong.

** First, buy the game ([[DigitalPiracyIsOkay or obtain it through other means]]).

** Congratulations! You've found a way to [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame beat the developers at their own game]] by turning the game off, ''just'' like they told you to.

* Creator/NolanNorth gets a moment when you realise just how much he was praised for some of his best acting yet. His voice acting in the final section is especailly powerful, the way he puts across Walker's total transformation to an utterly bloodthirsty brute while still maintaining the same pitch. Watch the transformation for yourself [[https://youtu.be/qc9BMznBXOE here]] in a short 23 minutes of Walker’s combat barks throughout the campaign.

* Creator/NolanNorth gets a moment when you realise just how much he was praised for some of his best acting yet. His voice acting in the final section is especailly powerful, the way he puts across Walker's total transformation to an utterly bloodthirsty brute while still maintaining the same pitch.

** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0mC__bGcmM Truth Revealed]]" from... you can probably guess. Once those guitars kick in, you know it's TheEnd for Walker - one way or another.

* A dark example in the White phosphorus scene. It's such a well crafted reveal that it remains highly talked about, even more than the actual game itself.

* A dark example in the White phosphorus scene. It's so powerful it's still being remembered.

* For example, during the attack on the Dubai hotel, you have the option of shooting out a massive glass wall and dump ten thousand tons of sand on an enemy army. As soon as you're done high-fiving, you remember ''these are American soldiers, your own guys, that you've '''buried alive'''''. [[spoiler:This is thrown back at your face in the final chapter.]]

** Bruce Boxleitner's work as Conrad is extremely well-done as well, especially as he uses the same voice as [[LiveActionTV/BabylonFive John Sheridan]] to castigate Walker throughout the game. The end confrontation between him and Walker has Conrad vaccilate between "friendly grandfather" to "quiet menace" simply by putting the lines in contrast with events on-screen.

In ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', every [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments Crowning Moment of Awesome]] has a WhatTheHellHero after-effect, but they still exist.

* AwesomeMusic: Almost everything the Radioman plays. From dementedly singing along with "Dies Irae" to "Nowhere To Run" and "Hush", whenever the radio fires up it almost always accompanies one of the most awesome parts of the game.

Every Crowning Moment of Awesome has a WhatTheHellHero after-effect but they still exist.

** Aforementioned "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-deFrlrmzU Hush]]" is even more awesome retrospectively, as it is actually the FIRST chance for the player to feel that something is going positively wrong.