8 Exact Moments We Knew Video Game Characters Were Doomed To Die

6. Cole's Fall From Grace - LA Noire

By virtue of LA Noire being, you know, a noir-themed piece of fiction, most players knew leading man Cole Phelps didn't have much chance of getting out alive. Still, perhaps his virtue and annoyingly by-the-book attitude would see him come out victorious in the end... right?

Well, it turns out Cole isn't quite the goodie two shoes he's initially presented as. The top-of-his-class war hero turns out to be a bit of a rascal, having an affair with a German singer late in the game. This gets him demoted and his rise in the police force suddenly comes to an end. Even worse, it's revealed that Cole's war past wasn't quite as decorated as made out, and by following orders to send in a flamethrower unit to clear out a position, he accidentally got a bunch of civilians killed.

Shortly after these reveals, the game shifts focus to Jack Kelso, someone who served with Cole in the war (and hates his guts), who's roped into helping his former rival solve a case. It's here when you realise Cole is doomed; Kelso is charming, outside of the system and understands that the corruption can't be challenged from within. You're also playing as him now - a late game protagonist shift to highlight who the true hero of the story is.

Basically he's everything Cole isn't, and the cop's fall from grace cements a conclusion where Kelso lives, and Cole dies after learning his former ideals were flawed the whole time.