Video games aren't known for their narrative prowess, despite the efforts of such tear-jerkers as Telltale Games' The Walking Dead or Naughty Dog's The Last of Us. On the whole, games are about interactionagency, choice, engagementand are often too concerned with visuals and gameplay mechanics to make time for a decent story. For every Portal or Papers, Please, there's a generic high fantasy adventure in which you are the only one who can slay Evil X and rescue Kingdom or Princess Y. Of course, even a lackluster plot can become genuinely gripping when we, the player, are at the helm, actively deciding how things play out. This is fortunate seeing as how the majority of games would crumble if held to the same standards as, say, novels, simply because they contain fewer details by design. Despite this edge, many games still flop when it comes to storytelling. For all their voiceovers and cut scenes, they're a trainwreck from start to finish, culminating with endings that spend far too much time up their own butt and far too little in reality. Here are the most offending of those endings; the most nonsensical, unbelievable and just plain stupid endings 21st century gaming has to offer. (And yes, there will be spoilers.)
A freelance games writer, you say? Typically battling his current RPG addiction and ceaseless perfectionism? A fan of horror but too big a sissy to play for more than a couple of hours? Spends far too much time on JRPGs and gets way too angry with card games?
Well that doesn't sound anything like me.
