5. Borderlands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxaRz69I5b8 Here's a game that sets you a pretty momentous task, and says "I bet you can't do this", but of course, being the player, you can, and you do, but it's all for nothing because we don't even get to see it. The Vault is your objective in this otherwise great game, and when you finally reach it, still pretty unaware of exactly what it is and what is inside it, you kill the boss like swatting a fly on your neck, and the game ends. You never find out what was in the Vault, and given that the game was initially pitched as a one-off, that is a giant middle-finger to wave in the face of the player. It stands as probably the biggest video game equivalent of a Macguffin, given how relevant and important it seemed, only for it to be summarily dismissed at the end. It reeks of a developer being rushed to the finish line and having to cut things out, but still, how can they have ever thought this was an acceptable ending? Dreadful.
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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