[quote name='azrael888']I don't get how you guys can recommend this game for the story line..it made absolutely no sense...there was not anyway to progress without going down the book that they wrote out for you. It just felt like a bunch of liberal propaganda at the end. Totally made me feel like an asshole. Also

!!!! all of you for telling me shooter of the year 2012.
BTW, why tell me to stop playing the game? (in game dialogue) over and over and over and over and over..wtf? why did I pay to play it? buncha dicks.
TL;DR Hate this game for it's story line. Apparently I'm the only one.[/QUOTE]
Spoilers ahead.
You feel like an asshole? That’s the point. You (either as the main character or person controlling him) wanted to be a hero and set out to save the city and not only did you fail but in the process you did terrible things, essentially the exact opposite of the goal. These events wouldn’t occur if you stopped at any moment or if you hadn’t played the game but you can’t know that until it’s too late, and then there’s always the hope that you can undo or make up for your actions. The goal is to be a hero, but your method of achieving that goal is to kill hundreds of people and destroy infrastructure…not very heroic. Yes, you can’t really avoid doing the wrong thing but that's the only way to get the point across. I see it as the developer showing you that choice in games is an illusion because in any game you are just doing exactly what the designers wanted.
The interactivity of the game is used against you, similar to what Bioshock did, in order to make an impact and get you to think differently. The game keeps telling you to stop with dialogue and in loading screens, and what did you do? You kept playing because you thought “I won’t die this time” or “I can save my squad mate” or “I want to see the end” which mimics what the main character is thinking, even if your thoughts are for different reasons (most likely: I paid for a game, I’m going to play it). It’s a clever and unique trick that sets the game apart.
I won’t argue “best of the year” type stuff because that’s opinion, but the story is the main reason anyone should play this because the mechanics lack the polish of other shooters, and the Dubai setting is under-utilized. The game is overrated, however, the story, message, and little innovative touches (like the squad dialogue changing as the mood shifts or using replaying sections to emphasize that Walker has gone crazy) make Spec Ops worthwhile.
I also don’t see this game as being political at all. It just happens to use soldiers to tell a story and convey ideas.