Top 5 “WTF?!” Moments in Video Games

Video games are fairly predictable in most respects, with storylines and gameplay that rarely break the mold of the genre.  Maybe that’s why the following five games make you want to yell “WTF?!” when you experience their respective twists in the formula.  With such originality, it should come as no surprise that these games have been touted as some of the best ever created.  Then again, not all of these moments have been deemed beneficial to the game’s success.
[Spoilers after the jump.]

5.  I was the bad guy? (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Xbox)

Amnesia is a terrible thing.  Not only do you fail to remember loved ones and friends, but sometimes you even forget that you are the most terrible dictator the galaxy has ever seen.  Such is the case in KOTOR, where mid-game you discover that your character was once the sinister Darth Revan, who almost overturned the entire Old Republic.  Even worse, some of the friends you’ve made throughout the game knew that you were the former dark lord, using your talents with the Force to accomplish their own goals.  This goes to show that you really don’t know anyone—even yourself. It does show, however, that games can sometimes upstage the scripts of the movies they’re inspired by.

4.  “Would you kindly…” (Bioshock – Xbox 360)

Bioshock was already messed up enough before you threw in the story elements, depicting an underwater society driven to its knees by greed and other questionable morals.  Your suspiciously unnamed character conveniently lands next to the entrance to this city and follows the orders of a suspicious man who calls himself “Atlas” to find and kill the creator of the city, Andrew Ryan.  Suspicious, huh?  It all comes to a head when you meet Ryan, who reveals that your character was created as a slave by Atlas to do his bidding whenever the request was preceded by the phrase “Would you kindly…”  You then experience two emotions: anger from being Atlas’ stooge, then absolute joy from experiencing such an excellently written story.

3.  So I’m the bad guy now? (Chrono Cross – PlayStation)

The Chrono series has built a reputation for messing around with the main character’s status, so maybe this one shouldn’t have caught me off guard as much as it did.  After fighting their way to the dreaded Fort Dragonia, main characters Serge and Kid finally confront and (supposedly) defeat their feline nemesis, Lynx.  There’s only one problem: after the fight, Lynx is somehow able to switch bodies with you, leaving you stranded in the form of a walking, talking cat (and thus, marked as an enemy by all of your former teammates).  Then, this now-evil Serge turns and stabs Kid.  Not only does all of this come as a complete surprise, but it also changes the gameplay significantly due to Lynx’s dark magic abilities, forcing you to relearn your strengths and weaknesses. Rarely do games change the rules in such creative ways.

2.  Samus is a girl?! (Metroid – NES)

The granddaddy of “WTF?!” video game moments, Metroid showed all male characters just how sexist we can be at times.  You play as bounty hunter Samus Aran, who is immediately established as one of the most versatile, coolest game characters created.  After fighting through the depths of the planet Zebes and giving Mother Brain a major hemorrhage, Samus removes the bounty hunter suit to reveal… a woman?!  The gasp at this realization was immediately followed by insurmountable guilt at your reaction (right, guys?), forever ending the argument that girls could not do as many cool things as guys.  Of course, the “Justin Bailey” code took it a step back by immediately sexualizing the heroine, but that’s a story for another day…

1.  Wait… Where’s Snake? (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty – PlayStation 2)

In what was without a doubt the most elaborate video game hoax in history, Hideo Kojima was able to infuriate almost every gamer by secretly abandoning series staple, Solid Snake.  Instead of letting the gaming world know that Snake would be a supporting character, only playable through the brief prologue chapter, players were simply thrust into the skin-tight sneaking suit of a pretty-boy named Raiden about an hour or so into the game.  Cue the outrage: gamers lambasted Raiden for his constant whining and the overly tedious codec conversations with his girlfriend, Rose.  Throughout it all, MGS2 was still a great game, but having to watch Snake kick ass from Raiden’s point of view caused a wound that even the splendor of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots couldn’t completely heal.