Penetrating the Heart of Darkness: Capt. Martin Walker, 10.0 out of 10 based on 5 ratings

He hated all this, and somehow he couldn’t get away.

Note: The following contains spoilers, you have been warned.

“The mind of man is capable of anything.”
-Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

The duality of the human race is often a common trope in any form of fictional media. Mostly stemming into a form of moral dualism, the classic “good vs. evil” scenario is so prevalent in modern media that its practically a cliché of itself at this point. Such themes have been explored for years, but perhaps the most complex and morally macabre is the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

The tale of a man sailing down the Belgian Congo during the days of imperialism, Conrad’s story shows the duality of human nature and how a person can be good and evil at the same time, offering a real sense of what makes human beings morally ambiguous. It is this sort of moral complexity that boils down to perspective of the characters through their actions and reactions, breathing life into other common archetypes such as the anti-hero and the tragic villain.

Many of these themes also bleed into the descriptions of the world. Heart of Darkness contains beautiful yet dangerous landscapes; deep jungles filled with danger at every turn, yet majestic in their descriptions by the protagonist Marlow. In between are small “settlements” of imperialistic camps that serve as a dark reminder of the evils of imperialism, showing the “pillaging” of the world. The entire atmosphere helps sell the story, creating a sense of impending chaos as the world around Marlow grows darker and dangerous, a stark contrast to the more majestic descriptors the jungles of the Congo have during the day.

Perhaps the most important aspect is the symbolic treatment of the character of Kurtz. A man who essentially succumbs to his darkness, Kurtz fashions himself as a “god” among the natives, a man who wishes to never be found within the Congo jungles. Because of Marlow’s fascination with Kurtz, he attempts to make contact with him and bring him back to civilization, only to find that Kurtz, half deranged and severely ill by the novella’s end, is beyond “saving.” Uttering his famous last words before dying, Kurtz shows the complete transformation of how man can become fully savage and deranged. This, coupled with the thesis that moral ambiguity is more true to mankind, makes the Heart of Darkness a modern classic.

Of course, waxing poetic about a 110 year old novella for a few paragraphs may seem like a strange way to open an article pertaining to a Delta Squad Captain, but without the brief description of the themes of Heart of Darkness, the rest of this episode would be mired with esoteric thoughts. The Captain in question, of course, is Martin Walker of Spec Ops: The Line, perhaps the most pretentious game I have ever played, and keep in mind I liked Mass Effect.

Walker is part of a three man Delta team to investigate the remains of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates after a major sandstorm essentially cut off the city from civilization. Another objective is to ascertain the whereabouts of a Col. John Konrad, the man in charge of the evacuations in Dubai and also a former company commander whom Walker served under. At first glance, Walker and his two compatriots, Adams and Lugo, are dealing with a routine mission of search and rescue, but very quickly the situation goes south, to the point where the entire Delta Squad are soon fighting for their lives against the 33rd Battalion, an army regiment under the command of Konrad.

In a case of unfortunate circumstances, Walker and his team are essentially in the wrong place at the wrong time, at least at first. Information gleamed from random tape recordings of the “Radioman,” a eerily laid back DJ whose voice is heard throughout Dubai, showed that the 33rd occupied the city after the failed evacuation, and conducted brutal atrocities, such as executions and murder, to maintain a semblance of order in the now decrepit city. Members of the 33rd rebelled and formed a group of Exiles, essentially causing a civil war to erupt within the ruins of Dubai.

The before and after of Martin Walker, the degradation of his physical appearance becomes more bloody and piecemeal as the game goes on.

Walker and his men press forward, attempting to stop Konrad and his iron rule within the city. Along the way however, it becomes increasingly clear that Walker and his men are slowly becoming unhinged by the violence surrounding them. Early in the game we see them as clean cut, professional looking soldiers acting by the book and staying calm and collected, even in combat situations. But the final acts of the game, Walker and his team are ragged and disheveled, bleeding profusely from wounds and shouting expletives wantonly, almost resigning to a sense of pure enjoyment of their handiwork.

This is just one aspect of Spec Ops that supplants Walker as a dynamic character; his overall change visually during the game. It is a physical representation of the metamorphosis from light to dark, shown in the wear and tear Walker receives while in Dubai. This sort of physical degradation is almost analogous to how the characters of Kurtz and Marlow begin to, or have already, eroded into a sort of “savage” version of themselves. It is also a subtle tip to the hat to Walkers eventual fate, that of a man effectively embracing his own personal heart of darkness.

In fact, Spec Ops: The Line is ridden with symbolism that grant Walker and his journey more weight. The opening sequence, for example, shows Walker at the helm of a helicopter gun, shooting down other copters in the sky just as a sandstorm kicks in and knocks Delta Squad into the sandy sea. It is a great action moment, one that rivals Call of Duty in terms of spectacle, but it is without context. Later, the very same scene plays out in-game, to the point where Walker has a moment of déjà vu regarding the whole scenario. And by this time, numerous events have transpired to slowly crack at the very psyche of Walker’s state of mind. In particular note is perhaps the games most chilling scene, the white phosphorus strike.

After reaching a cordoned off entrance into the inner city of Dubai dubbed “the gate”, Walker and his team find a mortar and rounds of white phosphorus, a weapon of immense mass destruction that was used against them previously in the game. Realizing that this weapon is their only option of pressing forward, Walker fires several mortars into the throng of 33rd soldiers below them. After the bombing, he and his team move slowly through the chaotic scene around them, only stopping to realize that innocent civilians were also caught in the blast.

It really is a chilling moment. Walker, fixating for a moment on a woman holding a child, both of them burned and mangled beyond recognition while Adams and Lugo argue over their choice in firing in the background. In many ways, this is the moment that breaks Walker, that penetrates his darker nature deeply. For it was after this moment we see the signs of Walkers physical transformation manifest fully, as he tries to vainly claim that their actions were forced. “They will pay for this.”, despite the fact that he himself pulled the trigger.

It is also a subtle commentary at the modern shooter conventions as well. Unlike how the No Russian mission in Modern Warfare 2 was done to shock players for killing civilians, yet slyly commentate on the differences between realistic and fantastical violence. Spec Ops, in contrast, takes the same approach and makes such an action both haunting and degrading to the player, saying that even fantastical depictions are demeaning. It is not fun to use drone cameras to strike bad guys with an incendiary weapon, especially when your enemies are U.S soldiers and civilians. It is played seriously, and as a result it changes Walker, disturbing him deeply while forever embracing his own darkness.

Much like The Heart of Darkness showed the atrocities of imperialism and, in Joseph Conrad’s view, the destruction of the world for progress. Walker’s actions in Spec Ops: The Line, essentially echo such thematic elements through the subversive use of common gameplay mechanics in the AAA war shooter. The spectacle of Spec Ops is gone, replaced with real death, and the game knows it. From that point forward, the loading screen mocks your very purpose for playing, reassuring the player sarcastically that its all just a game, simultaneously chastising you for playing it. It also changes the meaning of the games opening in the helicopter. No longer just another moment to entice players into spending money on large action sequences, now it serves another purpose with context, it shows the final stand for good Walker has before a near-fatal crash.

All of this, of course, gears up to an unforgettable finale. Jumping ahead to the games endings, we see Walker, battered and broken, walking weakly into the penthouse tower where Col. Conrad is stationed. His cohorts Lugo and Adams were killed, as were most of the 33rd battalion. The city itself is in shambles, and the remainder of the water supply was destroyed by the CIA, which Walker unknowingly assisted in their plans after an infiltrating CIA operative named Riggs promised that the water would be used to maintain peace within Dubai. The situation is grim, and Walker is close enough to death to be uncaring about his own fate.

Much like Kurtz in the Heart of Darkness, what Walker goes through in his meeting with Konrad is more of a reflection of his own self, rather than what he once was. After finding the body of the deceased Colonel, slumped in a chair with a self-inflicted gun wound, Walker finally realizes the truth about the whole ordeal; that Konrad was not behind the events in the game at all, and that Walker himself, made these events up.

The reveal shatters the expectations of what Konrad really is, an in many respects shakes the core of the player, rather than Walker. Completely unhinged, Walker learns the truth that this manifestation of Konrad is his savage side. A boogeyman created to go forward instead of going home, a chance to be a hero where there is none. Konrad was a delusion Walker falls prey to, a reason to not cast the blame of his actions on himself. We see the hallucinations mount, the moments of insanity creep up on Walker as he slowly comes to terms with who the true murderer in Dubai really is. Himself.

The endings to Walker’s story are varied and open for interpretation, each of them essentially bittersweet in tone at best, and cynical at its worst. The lead writer of Spec Ops, Walt Williams, has even gone on record saying that the endings are all Purgatory for Walker, who he believes died in the helicopter crash witnessed in the games prologue. It is open to interpretation if Walker hallucinates being rescued, being shot or even murdering a squad of U.S soldiers in the epilogue, but considering the choices made beforehand, it is likely that rescue or survival is not possible at that point.

But what is profound is that Walker, despite his behavior, shows how morally complex a human can be. His actions, despite intentions, can be seen as an evil act, one that rivals the savagery that Kurtz alludes to in the Belgian Congo. Walker is essentially Kurtz, irredeemable except upon his own death in many ways, but not fully at fault of his own emotional state because of the horrors he has witnessed. In other respects this actually makes Walker the villain of Spec Ops, with Konrad acting as the protagonist urging Walker to turn back before he continues, only winning in Walkers death by his, or his own hands.

In the end, it comes full circle for Martin Walker. He is a character with character because we see the transformation, both subtly and overtly, as he penetrates his own heart of darkness. The game is a viable tip to the hat of Conrad’s work, and in its own right shows how vile real warfare can be, in a video game world glutted with war shooters. In truth, it shows how even the most righteous of heroes can be delusional, unapologetic lunatics in their own ways if they succumb to that duality within.

Thank you guys for reading this weeks episode! If you have any questions or comments please leave them below, or contact me at my email at Robert@blisteredthumbs.net, or via twitter @LinksOcarina. Until next time.

Spec Ops: The Line Review

By Johnny Maloney

While reviewing Spec Ops: The Line, the normally civilized Johnny submitted some insane ramblings about a snail on a razor's edge, and something about "growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate." We cleaned it up a bit before publishing.

Sage Reviews - Spec Ops: The Line

By Bennett The Sage

Even in the blinding bright desert, the Heart of Darkness still beats...