10 Brutally Hard Decisions Video Games Forced You To Make

8. Withstand Torture And Be The Hero, Or Let Your Companion Die - Metal Gear Solid

Now, you can totally argue that this wasn't too hard - if you were playing on a lower difficulty. The very setup of having you bash buttons, Track & Field-style to save your lover-to-be was a great one no matter what, but on any of the higher levels, it was almost impossible.

The scene is set up to essentially let Ocelot have some fun in torturing you, and he repeatedly mentions that it'd be easier if you just gave up. Doing so means he will kill Meryl, whereas hanging on meant you'd both find a way of getting out alive. The great part was that back in 1998, we'd never seen such a cinematic presentation from a game before, let alone the notion that we actually had a choice in the matter. Hammering away at those buttons like your life depended on it, effortlessly and intrinsically connected you to the action onscreen, with consequences that - thanks to the time MGS was released - felt just as uncertain as to you as they did to Solid Snake.

Hideo Kojima would later repeat this 'smash the d-pad to stay alive' idea in MGS 4 during Solid Snake's corridor crawl, but this first time remains the best - especially if you're unaware of how the story is going to go. Let us know in the comments whether you saved Meryl, or gave up just to see what would happen!