10 Video Games You Didn't Know Were Based On Books
3. Spec Ops: The Line
Based on: Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Just like Francis Ford Coppola’s legendary movie of madness at war, Apocalypse Now, the hugely controversial Spec Ops: The Line also took inspiration from Conrad’s novella Heart Of Darkness. The book depicts a Mr. Kurtz, driven insane while staying in Congo, setting himself up as a god for the locals.
While Apocalypse Now transplants the story to Vietnam, Spec Ops: The Line took it to the Middle East. It’s interesting in that all three ‘versions’ of the story are very different narratively, yet keep the key themes intact.
Humans are brutal. War is brutal. Humans at war can and will do the worst things imaginable.
Despite some great mechanics and fluid cover shooting, the game is not fun. Nothing about it is supposed to be enjoyable, but instead a stark depiction of the reality of warfare, and how little ideology means when the bullets start flying.
The harrowing tale is even told through the game’s menu, as the city becomes more desolate, the American flag more tattered. By the end, the flag and city have been burned to ashes, just like the humanity at the heart of the game.