Reddit reviews Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line

I recomend reading this aswell, after playing it: Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line

I HIGHLY recommend everyone check out this book if you want to read more:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B9P2WP6?ie=UTF8&redirectFromSS=1&pc_redir=T1&noEncodingTag=1&fp=1

Here you go

If you've played the game, its interesting to read about what he noticed and what he got out of it. If you haven't played it, the entire game will be spoiled

Have you read the e-book "Killing is Harmless"? It is a "critical reading" of the game that I thoroughly enjoyed. The Line, as a thinking experience around games and what they can be is just a magnificent thing. This book made it better.

Link to the book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Killing-Harmless-Critical-Reading-Spec-ebook/dp/B00B9P2WP6

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9P2WP6

A pro read

Definitely grab Killing is Harmless by Brenden Keogh if you were really unsettled by the story. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B9P2WP6

For those on group #1 (like me) I recommend reading "Killing is harmless" after finishing the game.

Yager did this in almost everything, there is actual character progression through the game. The squad actually looks physically beat up, the executions become more brutal, and walker's dialogue becomes more aggressive and unhinged...or more like a Gears of War character's dialogue...
I'll go ahead and leave a plug here for Killing is Harmless, easily worth the $5 if only because it is such a unique piece of game writing.

Not to derail from this particular discussion, but if you're at all interested in Spec Ops: The Line, check out "Killing is Harmless" by Brendan Keogh. You can find some great excerpts from Google.

https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Harmless-Critical-Reading-Spec-ebook/dp/B00B9P2WP6

Glad you mentioned that MGS 2 analysis, totally wanted to bring it up myself having read it recently. That same site's MGS 4 analysis could be worth a read too. While by no means the only games to inspire interesting analysis, MGS 2 and MGS 4 in particular have inspired some interesting writings because various people felt that those games' stories were (if you were paying attention) clearly antagonistic towards the player's expectations.

"Killing is Harmless", an ebook entirely about Spec Ops: The Line, could also be worthy of consideration.

The two most interesting books I've read on video games have been Tristan Donovan's fascinating history of the medium, "Replay: The History of Video Games". It is a very in-depth history that gets down into a lot of nitty gritty stuff about the birth of video games and stays very in-depth up until about the late 90s when it starts to go big picture. Still a great read.

If you're looking for something that's more of a critical piece, I'd suggest Brendan Keogh's close reading of Spec Ops: The Line, "Killing is Harmless". It's an incredible way to enhance your playthrough of what is already an incredibly emotional game. Keogh breaks down everything from the allusions to literature and film to the significance of scripted events in the game. The only advice I have is if you haven't played the game before and you try and read along as you play the game you do get hit with some spoilers as Keogh assumes you've finished the game when you're reading the book. Still def worth your time though.

You'd enjoy reading the one critical book I know on the topic of video game narratives, "Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line".

If anyone's keen on diving into the game further, there's a REALLY interesting short ebook called "Killing is Harmless" which is an in depth critical reading of the game https://www.amazon.co.uk/Killing-Harmless-Critical-Reading-Spec-ebook/dp/B00B9P2WP6

Except you have the choice not to play the game.

Edit: I'm sounding roundabout. The point they're trying to make is that when you claim you have "no choice" but to do something in a game you always have another option - stop playing. Take out the idea that you paid for the game and think more that you're just there for the experience. If you are doing something you think is wrong, why are you continuing to do it?

I'd also recommend the essay/short book Killing is Harmless which explores the game on a level-by-level basis and is a good, short read.

Now go pick up this book for 5 bucks, it's an amazing in depth analysis of the game.

https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Harmless-Critical-Reading-Spec-ebook/dp/B00B9P2WP6