10 Times Gaming COULD NOT GET ANY BETTER
2. The Truth About The Boss - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
MGS3 opens with CIA agent, Naked Snake, heading into the USSR to retrieve a Soviet scientist. After completing his mission, his boss (fittingly called The Boss) suddenly switches sides before leaving Snake for dead. After learning The Boss is going after an atomic weapon, Snake has no choice but to track and kill his former leader.
At first, this plot sounds pretty on-brand. After all, Metal Gear Solid is renowned for devising stories involving a world-ending threat that's also deeply personal to the hero.
However, nobody is ready for the ending. After putting The Boss in the ground, Snake is relieved, knowing he narrowly prevented a nuclear war.
But in the closing moments, it becomes clear the truth was far more complex than anyone could've imagined. It turns out The Boss was ordered to infiltrate the Soviets by disguising herself as a defector. However, everything changed when the Soviet leader inexplicably detonated a nuclear warhead in the USSR. To prove the US government had no involvement, The Boss took the blame and allowed Snake to kill her.
Even though The Boss was perceived as a traitor to her allies, her government, and her country, she sacrificed herself to bring about world peace, knowing history would vilify her.
Although Metal Gear Solid 3 is a work of art, few gaming moments hit with the same impact as this last-minute bombshell.