I love that this book exists. A chapter by chapter look at a cult classic military shooter game. While the gameplay itself is your usual loud murder simulator for bros and holds no appeal to me, this is the only big budget war game with a self-aware story that deconstructs the genre itself. Like all brainless military shooters, the lead character is made to kill thousands of soldiers in a day while justifying the atrocities he commits. Spec Ops makes him deal with the severe personal consequences of all of it.
My only complaint with the book is that there isn't much actual analysis. It's just a lot of "this is a detail I noticed while playing," which is still fun, because you'll want to look back at what you missed after experiencing the ending.
"The indignity of being Asian in this country has been underreported. We have been cowed by the lie that we have it good. We keep our heads down and work hard, believing that our diligence will reward us with our dignity, but our diligence will only make us disappear. By not speaking up, we perpetuate the myth that our shame is caused by our repressive culture and the country we fled, whereas America has given us nothing but opportunity. The lie that Asians have it good is so insidious that even now as I write, I’m shadowed by doubt that I didn’t have it bad compared to others. But racial trauma is not a competitive sport. The problem is not that my childhood was exceptionally traumatic but that it was in fact rather typical. Most white Americans can only understand racial trauma as a spectacle."