10 Video Games That Mock You For Paying Attention

Spec Ops: The Line is one of the most memorable military shooters ever made, a seemingly ordinary entry into the genre which delves progressively into terrifyingly meta territory as protagonist Captain Martin Walker's mental state unravels.

This is embodied in quite ingenious fashion through the game's loading screens, which while initially offering up the expected gameplay tips, gradually mutate to taunt the player for the very act of playing the game.

Some of the more provocative screens contain text such as "Do you feel like a hero yet?", "None of this would've happened if you had just stopped," and "This isn't real, so why should you care?"

While they're easily missed if you're not paying attention or simply not expecting the text to be anything more than the usual generic hints, those who do notice are effectively being mocked for their own compliant bloodthirstiness.

That the game was bought by people looking for a fun, brainless military shooter and it effectively thumbed its nose right back at them is Spec Ops' true genius.