The Top 7... Births in video games

There aren't many things that everyone in the world goes through in life. Being born is one of those things. But, strangely, this most natural of bodily functions is very rarely tackled in video games. Maybe it's because babies come from a part of a lady that you just can't show in a game (unless you're rendering character statues in Resident Evil 5, apparently). Or maybe there just aren't enough virtual clean towels and hot water to go around.

So, clearly, when a game does tackle this subject, it's almost always memorable. So here are our Top 7 births in gaming. Starting with…

7. Fallout 3

Bright white light, cold, pain… and that's just us leaving the house in the morning. This scene from Fallout 3, however, is particularly clever. Not only does it start the game from an unusual point of view, it gives you a believable character edit system as you're shown what you will look like in a couple of decades' time.

Above: What, so I'm going to look like that? Isn't there anything you can do? Doctor? 

Seeing the game from a child's perspective is a neat idea, and one that hasn't been overdone (so far). Of course everyone loves to copy good ideas, so expect to be 'born' in Metal Gear 6, Final Fantasy XV and Gran Turismo 6 in the near future.

Above: What Gran Turismo would be like if you had to choose your driving preferences at birth

Fallout 3's birth may be relatively realistic (and one tinged with tragedy as you'll see from the video below), but it's not the most realistic on this list, which is why it's so far down the order. Also, no baby would leave blood spatters on its eyes without blinking, so that's a bit weird. And the acting is pretty poor. The man's just had a baby and lost his wife, yet still speaks in the same soothing monotone. Well, he is gaming's most indestructible dad, so who are we to judge?

6. Pokemon

Hatching from an egg is every bit as 'being born' as the other method. You just grow on the outside instead of the inside, that's all. Of course, nobody has ever seen a Pokemon egg actually being laid, so they could just appear out of nowhere without any Poke-reation going down.

But why does it make the list over any other egg hatching in a game? Because the birth of your first manufactured Pokemon is a wonderful moment. You've left a compatible male and female Pokemon at the Day Care Center, gone off to do other things, collected the mysterious egg, then walked with it for hours (or ridden your bike round aimlessly for a few minutes). Suddenly... out it comes.

As for me, well I was lucky enough to start Pokemon Platinum with a female Piplup, which is apparently about 1 in 8 chance rare. So as soon as I could, I set about creating an army of Piplups. It was awesome. And yes, every time one was born, it made me happy inside.

Above: Artist's impression of the contents of my copy of Pokemon Platinum. Piplup FTW

I can only imagine the wonderment of hatching a Shiny Piplup... but that's something this YouTube user did: