15 Greatest Ever Video Game Anti-Heroes
4. Martin Walker - Spec Ops: The Line
Spec Ops: The Line is a truly brilliant piece of storytelling. In the world's alternate present day Dubai has been almost completely destroyed by a series of dust storms and many people remain trapped there. Colonel John Konrad lead an attempted rescue alongside the 33rd Battalion.
You play Captain Martin Walker, who enters Dubai alongside two fellow Delta operators (Adams and Lugo) in an attempt to find Konrad and his unit.
Walker must make some hellish calls in order to keep progressing forward, and whilst an amount of violence and deadly decision making is warranted, nay, expected, it seemed that Konrad had actually been committing atrocities against the remaining Emirati populous.
Walker is determined to uncover the truth, even after killing some of the 33rd Battalion, and pushes on. This is where they begin to make many questionable decisions under false pretences, including destroying the only remaining water supply in the region and killing unarmed hostages. Later Walker even resorts to using white phosphorous on what he believes is a large group of enemy soldiers.
These 'soldiers' are discovered to be innocent refugees, including children. From here, the message of the story begins to reveal itself: it's not Konrad riddled with PTSD and committing war crimes, it's you. Captain Martin Walker.
The 33rd Battalion were trying to save these civilians, and you have brutally murdered them all. Spec Ops: The Line is a brilliant narrative insight into how PTSD can affect your perceptions.