Deaths in video games are a fairly common occurrence, with the huge number of shooters and role playing games the story is often progressed by the death of a character. I decided to list my top ten deaths in gaming. I have only picked from games that I have played and I have tried to stay away from new releases. That being said, there will spoilers so read on at your own risk.
No. 10
Sarah – The last of Us
In such a gritty hopeless game as The Last of Us there are plenty of deaths that really pulled at the old heartstrings but I think the saddest death in the game was one of the first. The death of Sarah, Joel’s daughter was a tough one. Even though this is in the prologue I admit to being devastated for Joel. After escaping the hoard of infected and getting to the illusion of safety I hoped for a safe haven. It sets the tone for the entire game. There are no happy endings.
No. 9
Salem or Rios – Army of Two
The 40th day was, in my opinion the best Army of Two game. The moral choices you take through the game don’t have much of an overall effect, other than getting better weapons for being a baddie. The choice at the end of the game, for me was hard. I had played it through taking the good options; I opted out of getting better weapons so people may live. The last choice the game throws at you is, for me, one of the hardest in any game. Take vengeance and kill the man who has cost you so much but damn the entire country to a fiery death, or save those innocent civilians but kill your best friend. Goodbye Rios. Sorry dude.
No. 8
Nicole – Dead Space
Through the convoluted, terrifying and confusing game the biggest WTF moment for me was at the end of Dead Space. Not only did I realise on the last level that the first letter of each chapter spell out “Nicole is dead” but the moment when you find out that the one reason you travelled to the hellship, this pool of damnation, Nicole, was already dead. The hallucinations and mind screws the game delivers is immense but I felt a huge loss when this particular penny finally dropped.
No. 7
Roach – Modern Warfare 2
I think that the Modern Warfare games don’t get enough credit. By and large these games have amazing single player story lines that get completely ignored in favour of the multiplayer. The scene when you assault a house in the forest as Roach still stays with me. You accomplish your mission and have saved the day, as you reach the helicopter that will take you to safety, after surviving a siege, mortar attacks and hundreds of enemy soldiers your own commander takes out a massive hand cannon and puts a hole in your chest. As you bleed out and get dragged away you can hear the faint warnings of Captain Price coming seconds too late. The image fades with you being tossed in a ditch and being set on fire. The last sight is your murderer disappearing through the flames. Tell me that’s not rough.
No. 6
Piers – Resident Evil 6
The Resident Evil franchise isn’t scared about killing off their characters (although most of them tend to come back again and again like a Lenard Cohen song), but at the end of the “Chris” campaign I admit to getting a lump in my throat. Piers, the co-op companion, is with Chris in an underwater Umbrella lab. Things don’t go too well for him and during a boss fight he gets his arm sheared off. To save his commander and to complete the mission Piers infects himself with the Javo virus and grows a massive electrified talon. During the last cut scene you can see he is in a very bad way. Chris fights with the controls for an escape pod, he helps Piers up and as they stumble to the pod Piers stops. He thrusts Chris into the pod, hits eject and saves his friend one last time. When Chris makes it to the surface he opens his hand to see Piers’ “B.S.A.A.” badge that had been ripped from his arm before Piers sacrificed himself. It was a truly touching moment to see the monster Piers was turning into still cherishing his duty. Brilliant!
No. 5
Meryl – Metal Gear Solid
I first played Metal Gear Solid when I was still in primary school and I wasn’t exactly the dexterous gamer that I am today. Meryl’s death was devastating to a young tickles. The worst part about the death is that it was entirely my fault, if you can pass the torture QTE she will survive. Alas my chubby little fingers couldn’t manage it and in my weakness, I condemned her to death.
No. 4
Mordin Solus – Mass Effect 3
Mordin’s death in Mass Effect 3 was a tough one for me. It is avoidable and if you have a high enough persuasion skill you can save him and keep your troops for fighting the reapers. When I first played through it though I didn’t, it meant that I had to choose between the army of Krogan that could very possibly turn the tide of the war and watching a character that I actually really liked die, Mordin was just trying to make up for his past sins. It’s a sad death as you see him striding through explosions to cure the genophage.
No. 3
Noble 6 – Halo Reach
It ends as it began; with a broken helmet abandoned on the ground. Halo reach is a hell of a game and has some keenly felt losses in it. For me the best, and worst, of these is the death of Noble six (you), the last surviving member of Noble squad (with the exception of Jun the sniper) and very possibly the last human soldier on the planet. Noble six stays behind to cover the Pillar of Autumn’s escape. Reach ends, Halo begins. Expect that’s not the end of the game. Once you have played the hero you then have to go back into the battle. The only objective: Survive. As you take hits and your health gets low, cracks and bullet holes appear in your visor. Halo reach won’t let you finish this game alive. The last scene is the helmet cam showing your inevitable death. Goodbye Bungie. Well played.
No. 2
Dog – Fable 2
Number two on my list is your trusty companion your friend and family; the dog. This little guy saves you from a maniac’s bullet in the late stages of the game. After this douche killed my dog I swore to myself I’d kill him. You do have the chance to revive your dog once you beat the game but for those few hours of play I felt devastated.
No. 1
Dominic Santiago – Gears Of War
Surprisingly the saddest death I’ve witnessed comes from possibly the most testosterone filled beefcake-fest around. Dominic Santiago, one of the main characters from the Gears of War series and the person your co-op buddy controls, makes one hell of a sacrifice. Dom has had a terrible time of things throughout the Gears trilogy, he had to blow his wife’s head off in the 2nd instalment and never really recovered from that. During a fire fight in his home town Dom and the team get caught in the mother of all ambushes. Dom stands alone on a platform blasting away at the swarm around him when he runs out of ammo. Dom bails from the position and gets into a truck (why he couldn’t just drive it over to where everyone else was and have them jump on I’ll never know), and he high tails it through a tunnel to safety. Marcus calls after his friend demanding to know what he’s doing….. Dom turns the truck around and floors it. As he’s hurtling towards a massive combustible canister he speaks to his late wife. It’s at this point the controller fell from my hands as it dawned on me. Seconds before the impact all the sound from the game dims and we have an instrumental of mad world, the song that accompanied the very first Gears of War trailer. Time slows and everyone runs for safety. As the explosions begin to fade Marcus struggles, trying save his oldest friend but it’s too late. The scene would be heart-breaking no matter what game it’s in but I think that because it is in the world of Gears, because it was so unexpected and touching that it deserves to by my number one
