Think you're always playing the good guy? Yeah right. A little simplification is all it takes to show up the moral bankruptcy and social deviancy lurking within the game plots we all know and love. Boil things down to their basic narrative elements, take away the play-bias, and a dark side will bubble reekingly to the surface of even the most innocent story. Read on and find out the kind of horrors you've really been partaking in in the name of heroism.

Article originally published in June 2009.

A sleeper agent causes the downfall of a rightful ruler, collapses the local social structure, then leaves and takes young girls with him.

A man lures attractive women to his home on false pretenses. They like it, decide to stay and remove their clothes.

A zealous military man kills visiting foreign dignitaries.

A has-been former star reacts violently to the cancellation of his contract.

A mentally divergent 39-year-old man earns the trust of a terminally ill 14-year-old girl and other disaffected children. He then takes them far away from home.

A young girl is sexually abused, then treated with prejudice and contempt.

A troubled youth with delusions of military glory gains control of a terrorist group under false pretenses.

A disgruntled employee murders his boss and co-workers before attempting suicide. He earns a promotion.

A scientist bungles an experiment with horrific results and greets the repercussions with violence.

A disgraced former scientist wages a campaign of terror against the government and endangers the populace with the sabotage of a power reactor.

A military man uses pronounced physical advantages to kill thousands over religious differences.

A serial murderer claims repentance through religion, but goes back to his old ways as soon as money is short.

An irresponsible drunk causes gross damage to public property, then makes his offspring clear up his mess.

A youth steals historical artifacts and descrates ancient monuments, then assists a notorious thief in doing similar.

A government puppet kills wronged military veterans.

An out-of-work children's entertainer scrabbles in the ground for food.

A disaffected loner embarks on a killing spree. He also sexually harrasses a female colleague. He is known to enjoy videogames, anime and internet use.

An obese compulsive eater gains a sense of empowerment through drug use.

A foreign invader enslaves indiginous people. Many die doing his bidding.

Children snare wild animals and train them to fight each other in order to gain the respect of their peers.

An employee breaks professional protocol and causes the destruction of company property.

A headstrong young royal brings trouble to his country in the aftermath of overseas aggression.

A gun-toting American visits a developing nation and loots valuable natural resources while shooting defensive natives. He eventually claims to have done so for the sake of freedom.

A disturbed wife-murderer goes on town-wide rampage, killing female health workers.

A blue-collar worker becomes obsessed with a female dignitary. He embarks on a long journey and assaults numerous royal employees in order to gain personal contact with her.

A blue collar worker aggressively chases wildlife in his car.

A privileged aristocrat plunders developing countries, killing endangered local wildlife along the way.

Animals are snared, farmed, fed to each other, and eventually sold to be killed for the amusement of children.

A man breaks into a house, raids the basement for valuable posessions and is venerated for his efforts.

So, any that we missed the first time round? Can you reveal a dark underbelly of villainous deceit in any other seemingly innocent video game storylines? Let us know in the comments.

And while we're on the subject of heroic failure, check out Gaming's most facepalm-worthy heroes and Video game villains who got away with it .