10 Video Game Heroes Who Are Actually Terrible At Their Jobs

3. Martin Walker (Spec Ops: The Line)

spec-ops-the-line-4Job: Delta Force Team Operator "We€™re not supposed to be here, so let€™s do this one by the books, okay?€ That simple line at the beginning of Spec Ops, uttered by Walker himself as he and his teammates enter Dubai, is representative of the character€™s conflict throughout the entire game. After the first hour or so of gameplay, technically the team has discovered what happened to the 33rd battalion so their reconnaissance mission is complete, but Walker refuses to turn back. He has an overwhelming, illogical desire to find John Konrad, the leader of the battalion. What happened to €œlet€™s do this by the books,€ Martin? Walker€™s inability to turn back€”even though he realizes to some degree he and his teammates don€™t need to be here€”seals the fate of his team. Even worse: his desire to help the survivors of Dubai only results in death on a massive scale. €œDo you feel like a hero yet?€ Konrad mocks Walker (and the player) later on in the game. Indeed, there has never been a protagonist so profoundly bad at being the savior of a video game. And maybe, just maybe, that€™s a good thing for all of us.
 
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Javy Gwaltney is an aspiring author, screenwriter, and essayist from South Carolina. He also likes to write about video games. You can find his articles on those at Bitmob and Whatculture! If you like, you can follow him on twitter: https://twitter.com/JavyIV