10 Most Intense Moral Choices In Video Game History

8. Kill Lambert? (Splinter Cell: Double Agent)

The entire premise of Splinter Cell: Double Agent can be pretty much summed up by its title. The game has you going undercover to infiltrate a feared terrorist faction as a new recruit, and as a result the structure of each mission sees the player performing specific acts to maintain the trust they've garnered on both sides of the law.

Usually ways to gain or lose trust came from pretty small things; not doing side missions or being caught sneaking around the terrorist home base could impact your trust levels between each faction in various different ways. However all of these small choices throughout the game culminated into the most intense set-piece of the entire series so far.

When Lambert, your good-hearted secret service boss, is captured by the terrorists, the player's loyalty is put to the ultimate test. Either you take out your closest friend and mentor to solidify your position in the criminal organisation or blow your cover by granting Lambert mercy. Either way, your actions completely change the entire game from that point on.

Later titles in the series canonised the ending where Sam Fisher shoots Lambert at his own request, however at the time there was really no way you could go through with this decision without suffering through a huge amount of doubt and uncertainty first.