10 Video Games Way Weirder Than Advertised

Spec Ops: The Line is absolutely a case where keeping the weirdness out of the marketing was a good idea artistically, rather than simply for more cynical commercial reasons.

Publisher 2K Games marketed the game as a totally typical, even generic third-person military shooter, enough that it earned little hype pre-release and seemed like another me-too exercise in militaristic fetishism.

But once reviews for the game dropped, it became clear that Spec-Ops had far more on its mind than merely tooting the U.S. Army's horn.

The story is intensely focused around the impact of war on those involved in it, both the direct victims of American imperialism and the psychological toll that such violence inflicts upon the U.S. soldiers themselves.

Clearly heavily inspired by Apocalypse Now, Spec-Ops uses some highly disturbing moments - such as the infamous white phosphorus sequence - and some devilish sleights-of-hand to make the player question their own participation, blindly following objective orders just as a real soldier does.

Sadly this cerebral element may ultimately have been the game's commercial undoing, as despite its bro-shooter veneer it was a financial failure.