10 Times You Came Back From The Dead To Kick Ass In Video Games

He was dead...but he got better.

By Jack Pooley /

Two things are certain in video games: death and loading screens.

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That is to say, the overwhelming majority of games will punish the player with death if they're not sufficiently skilled, though there are also those occasional games where player death - whether literal or implied - is an actual part of the narrative.

These 10 games all appeared to kill off their protagonist, leaving fans' jaws hanging on the floor, only to resurrect the hero by way of sci-fi shenanigans, divine intervention, or perhaps through circumstances that aren't ever really explained.

Whatever the cause, these beloved video game heroes were all given a glorious second chance at life, another golden opportunity to gear up and kick as much ass as humanly possible, often with a neat, posthumous boost to their stats and loadout.

If video games truly are the factory where dreams are made, what greater wish fulfilment could there possibly be than getting killed (or left for dead), and being brought back from the brink to exact hellacious vengeance?

10. Commander Shepard - Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 opens with one of the most memorable death scenes in video game history, as the Normandy is attacked and Commander Shepard sacrifices himself by forcing the ship's pilot Joker into the final escape pod.

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Players are then made to watch as Shepard is blasted into the void of space and promptly asphyxiates when his suit is breached, suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the rest of the game might actually be fronted by somebody else.

But it's revealed moments later that Shepard's body was recovered by the Illusive Man's outfit Cerberus, who then initiate the Lazarus Project in order to bring him back to life.

Shepard is of course resurrected, and then remains the series' protagonist for the next two games. Regardless of the player's choices, he certainly kicks a shedload of post-revival ass.

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