10 Video Games Where You Unexpectedly Swap Characters

For the overwhelming majority of Rockstar's groundbreaking crime thriller L.A. Noire, players take control of LAPD detective Cole Phelps, though for the game's final three missions - amounting to about two hours of gameplay - the perspective shifts to his private investigator pal Jack Kelso.

After being shut out of his investigation by the corrupt police department, Phelps becomes a supporting player in the story, with Kelso taking the lead for the remainder.

This culminates in Phelps' drowning death in the game's final mission, and fans remain relatively divided today on whether or not the player switch was effective or in any way necessary.

To some, it simply robbed them of the opportunity to finish out Phelps' arc on their own terms, while others felt that Kelso, arguably a far "cooler" character, should have been the lead character all along.

Whatever your own opinion, it was certainly a big surprise.