*CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS*
Although often overlooked, videogames serve as a great narrative medium.
Writers can spend years creating meticulous backstories, plots and characters, so it can be easy to find yourself engrossed in the universe of a videogame.
Unlike movies, games often require countless hours of commitment. Naturally, this investment of time can create a deep emotional attachment between you and your digital buddies. Consequently, when tragedy occurs, it can be hard to stifle the tears.
Let’s not pretend, we’ve all been there. So just this once, let’s say “screw it” and embrace the tears. Grab a box of tissues and prepare to channel your inner Chris Crocker.
Top 5 Tear-Jerking Moments:
5) Homefront – Parent execution scene.
With today’s excessive use of violence in the media, it is easy to become desensitised to it all. But there is something that really hits home with the opening of ‘Homefront.’
The game is set in the near-future, with North Korea invading the United States – a scenario that seems all too conceivable.
As the opening scene progresses, you watch as men and women are rounded up and tortured in the streets.
But there is a particular moment that really strikes a chord: The cry from a child as he witnesses the execution of his parents.
The emotion in his shriek is so uncanny that it brings the scene to life.
4) Halo 4 – Cortana Dies
Halo is the perfect example of how emotionally attached that you can become with a videogame character.
Together, the Chief and Cortana have been through more than most – the blue gal has been with you since 2001.
You share a symbiotic relationship – you are the genetically enhanced ‘supersoldier’ and she is the ‘smart A.I.’ – both sharing an unconditional love for each other.
In Halo 4, the story focuses on this relationship more than ever before. Both characters are brought closer together because Cortana begins to suffer from ‘rampancy,’ the AI equivalent of Alzheimer’s (kind of.) As Cortana begins her descent into madness, you get that sick feeling in your stomach that the inevitable will happen, but you keep trying to convince yourself that everything will be O.K.
But it isn’t.
It is a testament to the developers that as the inevitable plays out, Master Chief’s emotions are clearly portrayed through the impediment of his visor. Somehow, you can empathise with his agony. As he suffers, so too do you.
You feel his weight, you feel his melancholy, you feel his pain.
3) Mass Effect 3 – Mordin’s death
There are a countless amount of moments that I could have chosen from Mass Effect 3, but to me, Mordin’s death meant the most. It is the climax in his story of redemption.
During his days with the ‘Salarian special tasks group,’ he participated in the modification of the Krogan genophage; a bio-weapon created to dramatically decrease ‘Krogan’ reproduction rates.
After realising his mistake, he is adamant on resolving his inner-conflict.
He chooses to sacrifice himself, in turn, distributing a cure. What is most poignant is that he knows that he is going to die, but he needs to make sure that he resolves what he started.
Just before he heads towards his inevitable death, he turns to you and says with a genuine conviction: “It had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong”
2) Red Dead Redemption – John’s death.
Trying to escape his old ways as a bandit, John Marston is bribed by government officials to help them track down his old gang.
Now a family man, John obliges in the hope of providing his family with a life free of danger.
After bending his back until it breaks, the game seemingly comes to a close. John has paid his dues and he can finally live in peace with his family.
After what seems to have been the conclusion, you are even given a few small missions to work around the farm. You start to think, “Boy, he’s finally found that quiet life that he always wanted.”
Just as you’re content with his story, those backstabbing bastards gun him down in cold blood.
The worst part is that John’s efforts are in vain. He only wanted to make sure that that his son, Jack, would live an easy life. But Jack regresses into exactly what John didn’t want him to become.
Jack turns into his father as he seeks to avenge his death.
Ultimately, John’s sacrifice was wasted.
1) Gears of War 3 – Dom’s Death
What is most poignant about Dom’s death is that it wasn’t entirely necessary.
By this point in the game, Dom is a broken man. After losing his wife, he has nothing left to live for.
As your loyal partner, instead of dragging you down, he decides to sacrifice himself to save the squad.
It was all that he had left in him, he was ready to die.
When the developer, Cliff Bleszinski, was asked on ‘Reddit’ why he decided to kill ‘Dom,’ he replied:
I think the seed was put in my head by a Gears fan that I met at a tweetup in NYC at Union Square months prior. I asked the folks “What do you think is going to happen in Gears 3?” and one guy said “Dom’s gotta die dude” and I replied “Why?” and he said “Stuff’s gotta happen.”
Dom’s death is a signpost of what videogames are capable of. Everything was executed perfectly: The script, the cinematography, the music. Everything.
Perfect.
Charlie Staples
New High Score 