Another Top 10 Shocking Moments in Video Games

By the third game in the series, one of the Carmine brothers dying was basically a tradition. The third entry in the franchise was nearing completion, gamers voted by purchasing different shirts for their Xbox live avatar to determine whether or not Clayton Carmine would survive. By saving Carmine, however they were indirectly sacrificing one of the game’s most beloved characters, Dominic Santiago. Dom gets one last chance to visit his wife’s family grave in a heart-wrenching scene, before heroically sacrificing himself by driving a truck into a gasoline tanker, causing a tunnel to collapse, simultaneously crushing himself and the enemies.

K, so you think you’ve beaten a game, only to discover that you’re only at the halfway point, and have to beat it again to get the best ending. The “fake ending” trend started with games like “Ghouls & Goblins,” but no game did it better than “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.” That’s right, reach the top of the castle and then the whole thing get’s flipped upside down. Brilliant plot twist or massive game filler – either way, you won’t be forgetting this.

Wheatley seems like such a nice, friendly AI at first. Rule #1 of living in the future: never trust artificial intelligences! Unfortunately, just like GLaDos before him, Wheatley is corrupted by power and becomes the game’s antagonist. In the final battle, Chell looks up and notices that big, white moon through a hole in the ceiling. One portal later, and Wheatley, Chell, and everything else are blasted onto the moon. Only thanks to GladDos does Chell make it back alive through the portal, but those few moments of zero-G redemption are glorious!

After spending the whole game tracking down the serial killer known as “The Origami Killer,” it shockingly turns out that all of the answers you were looking for happened to be right under your nose. Several different characters are suspected of being the murderer, but nobody really expected the hard-nosed detective Scott Shelby. Turns out that Scott is the one who experienced the traumatic death of his brother as a youth, slowly turning him into a crazed killer – depending on your choices, Scott either faces justice, or escapes a free man.

Things get complicated towards the end of “Bioshock: Infinite,” with alternate realities and jumping through tears in the time-space continuum, but there are two main shocking reveals: #1, Elizabeth is actually Booker’s daughter. #2, there are two specific strains of reality in an infinite sequence of possible strains of existence: one where Booker accepted a baptism, and one where he didn’t. The Booker you control comes from the reality where he didn’t accept, and the reality where he did accept it, well, he changed his name to Comstock, became evil, and founded Columbia. So that means, to kill Comstock, Booker must sacrifice himself.

If you’re going to survive a Russian gulag, you need a buddy to watch your back. Alex Mason’s buddy is Reznov, a long-time prisoner who first appeared as the Russian CO in “Call of Duty: World at War”. Reznov helps Mason escape the prison and in the following years, helps Mason during his unauthorized assassination missions on three leaders, Dragovich, Kravchenko and Steiner. But, it turns out that Reznov died in prison, and brainwashed Mason so he could carry out his unfinished business. Mason’s buddy during the assassinations is actually just a figment of his imagination, allowing Reznov to pull the strings from beyond the grave.

There are several shocking near death experiences in “The Last of Us”, including when Joel gets impaled on a steel spike (OUCH!), but nothing compares to the bleak and harrowing opening scenes when he sees his daughter Sarah get shot as he is trying to carry her to safety. Those opening scenes set the tone for “The Last of Us” universe, filled with uncompromising bleakness and people surviving and prospering by any means necessary. The game isn’t afraid to explore places of extreme emotional darkness, as Sarah’s death ultimately turns Joel into a hardened, bitter individual filled with guilt and resentment over what could have been.

Somehow, the developers at Obsidian managed to out-gross the TV show’s already pretty damn gross source material in “South Park: The Stick of Truth.” There are dozens of shocking moments to choose from, including watching your parents have sex while you fight underwear gnomes, but one moment stands above the best. In order to abort a deadly ‘snuke’, your party shrinks down and crawls up Mr. Slave’s rectum. Yes, there is a part of the game that takes part in Mr. Slave’s colon, including many fecal themed enemies to beat up.

Picking up where the first game left off, Commander Shepard is out in space keeping the galaxy safe when all of a second a single blast from an unknown enemy ship breaks the Normandy in half. As Shepard scrambles to save the ship’s pilot, Joker, he doesn’t leave himself time to escape and is blasted into space as the Normandy comes apart. What would normally be the cliffhanger finale leaves you realing before you’ve even seen the first title – wetting your appetite for the amazing game to come.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Gary Beat the Pokemon League before You
“Pokemon Red/Blue” (1996)

Jenny’s Death
“The Darkness” (2007)

Death of The Joker, Hugo Strange and Ras Al Ghul
“Batman: Arkham City” (2011)

Ravio is Lorule’s Link
“The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds” (2013)

When it was first revealed, gamers around the world expected “Assassin’s Creed” to be a relatively straightforward historical drama adventure. What they DIDN’T expect was for Ubisoft to pull a bait-and-switch and throw the game’s setting on its head. It turns out that “Assassin’s Creed” was actually a complex science-fiction opus, where the protagonist, Desmond, delves into the memories of his ancestors to track down the location of the “Pieces of Eden,” powerful artifacts that the evil corporation Abstergo are also after. Admit it, this is one piece of Creed Mythos you weren’t looking forward to with each iteration…

Agree with our list? Did we forget any surprising video game moments or twists? For more shockingly awesome top 10’s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.