10 Video Games That Gut Punch You In Act One

6. Nuclear War - Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The Last of Us
Infinity Ward

Up until Modern Warfare, the Call Of Duty franchise was mainly known for being a WWII shooter series. But when that was bringing diminishing returns, they created Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and effectively changed the gaming landscape forever.

And there's no moment that best encapsulates that than the infamous nuke scene.

Near the end of act 1, your character and a bunch of other army guys stage a raid on a terrorist cell because, well, they got a nuke, and that really shouldn't continue.

That's the kind of plan that really can only end badly though. Don't believe me? You don't have to, because the game proceeds to cut the cord holding up that little sword of Damocles, ending act 1 with a nuclear warhead going off and killing everyone.

Except for your character, of course, who has just barely enough time to crawl out of the wreckage of his helicopter and see the mushroom cloud climbing up into the sky before succumbing to his wounds - not to mention enough radiation to give someone superpowers - and dying.

Contributor
Contributor

John Tibbetts is a novelist in theory, a Whatculture contributor in practice, and a nerd all around who loves talking about movies, TV, anime, and video games more than he loves breathing. Which might be a problem in the long term, but eh, who can think that far ahead?