History Fridge / SpecOpsTheLine

* Some more excellent foreshadowing: If two levels, Walker will occasionally start with a Desert Eagle, seemingly as his new sidearm, with no explanation where he got it from. Lugo and Adam also produce a Deagle from nowhere in certain chapters. However, Walker continues wielding a Beretta M9 as his sidearm in some cutscenes, in the same holster where the Deagle was supposed to be. And to top it all off, as cool as it is, the Deagle is a very impractical choice of sidearm for any situation outside hunting. Now, consider [[spoiler: Konrad's rant that Walker thinks he's a fantasy action hero, and the Deagle is ''the'' gun of choice for action heroes. Yep, that's right-he's deluding himself into thinking that he's a 1980s badass and doing the same to his comrades. A good sign that he's not the disciplined soldier he used to be.]]

* After Lugo [[spoiler: kills the Radioman during "The Rooftops"]] Walker grabs the mic and broadcasts a message to all Dubai: "You are going to be evacuated, but the 33rd needs to pay for what they done". When Konrad starts speaking and telling him that "No one leaves Dubai", listen very, VERY, carefully, and American soldier can be heard on the background talking to Walker! This means that [[spoiler: Walker was hallucinating again and while he didn´t answer the American soldier, this made Command think that Dubai indeed had survivors!]] And that´s why Walker is found by Falcon-1 at the "The Road Back" ending
* During the first encounter with the refugees, after executing the last one, Walker says [[spoiler: "I thought we were rescuing people"]] and that´s wrong in so many levels, because that wasn´t their mission, their mission was [[spoiler: to locate survivors and then LEAVE Dubai]] It goes to show that Walker was deceiving himself from the very beginning

** After the infamous [[spoiler: White Phosphorous scene, you hear them shout things like "MURDERER!" and "Let's fuckin' BURN 'em!"

* After Lugo [[spoiler: kills the Radioman during "The Rooftops"]] Walker grabs the mic and broadcasts a message to all Dubai: "You are going to be evacuated, but the 33rd needs to pay for what they done". When Konrad starts speaking and telling him that "No one leaves Dubai", listen very, VERY, carefully, and American soldier can be heard on the background talking to Walker! This means that [[spoiler: Walker was hallucinating again and while he didn´t answer the American soldier, this made Command think that Dubai indeed had survivors!]] And that´s why Walker goes home at the "The Road Back" ending
During the first encounter with the refugees, after executing the last one, Walker says [[spoiler: "I thought we were rescuing people"]] and that´s wrong in so many levels, because that wasn´t their mission, their mission was [[spoiler: to locate survivors and then LEAVE Dubai]] It goes to show that Walker was deceiving himself from the very beginning

* Some more excellent foreshadowing: If two levels, Walker will occasionally start with a Desert Eagle, seemingly as his new sidearm, with no explanation where he got it from. Lugo and Adam also produce a Deagle from nowhere in certain chapters. However, Walker continues wielding a Beretta M9 as his sidearm in some cutscenes, in the same holster where the Deagle was supposed to be. Now, consider [[spoiler: Konrad's rant that Walker thinks he's a fantasy action hero, and the Deagle is ''the'' gun of choice for action heroes. Yep, that's right-he's deluding himself into thinking that he's a 1980s badass and doing the same to his comrades. A good sign that he's not the disciplined soldier he used to be.]]

* The White Phosphorus is growing to be a bit of a BaseBreaker: Either it was a case of gloriously [[NightmareFuel and vividly]] deconstructing what so many FPS's go through easily or the incident was a nasty case of CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption. But if the above fridges are taken seriously, the latter criticism could be irrelevant; [[spoiler:Even if Konrad was right about the majority of the story's events being in Walker's head, the player still had to go through with them anyways]]. The game wasn't forcing us to do anything, it was Walker's mind telling himself IDidWhatIHadToDo!

* Some more excellent foreshadowing: If two levels, Walker will occasionally start with a Desert Eagle, seemingly as his new sidearm, with no explanation where he got it from. Lugo and Adam also produce a Deagle from nowhere in certain chapters. However, Walker continues wielding a Beretta M9 as his sidearm in some cutscenes, in the same holster where the Deagle was supposed to be. Now, consider [[spoiler: Konrad's rant that Walker thinks he's a fantasy action hero, and the Deagle is ''the'' gun of choice for action heroes. Yep, that's right-he and his comrades are deluding themselves into thinking that they're 1980s badasses and not the disciplined soldiers they used to be.]]

* It's implied that Adams [[spoiler:took out all of the 33rd's remaining soldiers before being killed.]] While this seems ridiculous, the last thing you hear as you run away is what sounds like a helicopter going out of control, followed by an explosion, implying that [[spoilers:Adams was able to bring down the helicopter, and the resulting explosion killed both him and the 33rd soldiers.]]

** Walker's reaction to his gradual awareness that his presence in Dubai is actively making the situation worse is to deny reality and embrace fantasy, shift the blame for his wrongdoing onto somebody else and push forward because he wants to be a hero, all the while growing increasingly frustrated that he cannot be the hero he wants to be. Similarly, the archetypal player will ignore the horrific consequences of their actions and insist that "it's only a video game, it's just entertainment", blame the developers for railroading them into committing horrific acts (especially the [[spoiler:white phosphorous incident]]) and keep playing the game to the end, growing increasingly frustrated when the game denies them the escapist fantasy they wanted from it.

** The development team were aiming for one of three player reactions to the [[spoiler:white phosphorous incident]], above. The third of these most closely mirrors Walker's own reaction to the event. In this case, the player realizes that it was a ButThouMust scenario and becomes just as angry about it as the characters are, and desperately seeks to shift the blame onto the developers. Lead writer Walt Williams, as quoted on the main page:

* Lugo is justifiably distraught at the use of white phosphorous accidentally killing 47 innocents, screaming "He turned us into fucking killers!" But wait…what did he refer to himself as when they first arrived in Dubai? [[BadassBoast "A hardened killing machine"]]. Hmm…

* The White Phosphorous is growing to be a bit of a BaseBreaker: Either it was a case of gloriously [[NightmareFuel and vividly]] deconstructing what so many FPS's go through easily or the incident was a nasty case of CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption. But if the above fridges are taken seriously, the latter criticism could be irrelevant; [[spoiler:Even if Konrad was right about the majority of the story's events being in Walker's head, the player still had to go through with them anyways]]. The game wasn't forcing us to do anything, it was Walker's mind telling himself IDidWhatIHadToDo!

* Captain Walker, First Lieutenant Adams, and Sergeant Lugo make up your squad. It's been pointed out that a captain would not be leading this team, nor would a sergeant be present. However, on November 16, 2005, BBC News reported that an article had been published in the March–April 2005 issue of Field Artillery (a U.S. Army magazine), written by a captain, a first lieutenant, and a sergeant. The subject of this article? The use of white phosphorous in Iraqi battles for screening breeches and as a potent psychological weapon. ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Fallujah#Use_of_white_phosphorus Source]])

* Some more excellent foreshadowing: If two levels, Walker will occasionally start with a Desert Eagle, seemingly as his new sidearm, with no explanation where he got it from. However, Walker continues wielding a Beretta M9 as his sidearm in some cutscenes, in the same holster where the Deagle was supposed to be. This seems like a case of GameplayAndStorySegregation...[[spoiler: but it isn't. Konrad's rant about Walker acting like a typical action hero makes sense when you realise that the Deagle is ''the'' gun of choice for many action movie heroes. Whenever he wields it, it's an indication that he's slowly going mad and becoming less and less of the disciplined soldier he used to be.]]

* Some more excellent foreshadowing: If you happen to lose all your weapons, you will occasionally start with a Desert Eagle, as your new sidearm. However, Walker continues wielding a Beretta M9 as his sidearm in some cutscenes, in the same holster where the Deagle was supposed to be. This seems like a case of GameplayAndStorySegregation...[[spoiler: but it isn't. Konrad's rant about Walker acting like a typical action hero makes sense when you realise that the Deagle is ''the'' gun of choice for many action movie heroes. Whenever he wields it, it's an indication that he's slowly going mad and becoming less and less of the disciplined soldier he used to be.]]

* At the beginning of the twelfth chapter, Rooftops, if the player stands around for a few moments, Walker will say, "It's Kabul all over again." which may indicate that Walker's hallucination are, in part, PTSD-induced flashbacks triggered by current events closely mirroring his traumatic memories (and then further building upon them given Dubai's own horrors).

* "Gentlemen, welcome to Dubai." Okay, so the IronicEcho is there, but— wait a minute, why is Walker walking back to Dubai? What about the remaining survivors? [[Beat(Sudden realization)]] [[OhCrap Oh]] [[KillEmAll shit.]]

* As [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw]] says [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/extra-punctuation/9810-Crossing-Spec-Ops-The-Line here]], "I think what says it all about Spec Ops is that your final choice in the game is whether or not to shoot [[spoiler:yourself in the head.]] And that you really, really have to think about it." The FinalBoss is [[spoiler:''Walker'' AKA '''yourself, the player''']]. And having spent the game observing his atrocities and his reasons for committing them, you have to decide what his punishment for those crimes will be; death, madness, or to be hauled into court for trial.

*** [[spoiler:Not just Walker, but Lugo and Adams as well, in the Room with the five burned soldiers where Walker pics up the Walkie-Talkie you can see lists of Casualties. Among them are Sgt. Lugo and Lt. Adams! That is another point showing that the Player just re"lives" the horror of Dubai, knowing exactly how it will end.]]

*** [[spoiler:Not just Walker, but Lugo and Adams as well, in the Room with the five burned soldiers where Walker pics up the Walkie-Talkie you can see lists of Casualties. Among them are Sgt. Lugo and Cpl. Adams! That is another point showing that the Player just re"lives" the horror of Dubai, knowing exactly how it will end.]]

* The Radioman's line "To infinity and beyond! Or to the storm wall. Same thing." seems like just a ToyStory reference till you see the lanyard for his press pass in the intel database. Printed on it is: "SF - Marathon 2005 To Infinity and Beyond"

*** There's another layer to the brilliance: The "Heroic" moments this scene rips at usually give you just as much choice. If you can't take the blame for this, how can you take credit for doing the same thing in Call of Duty?