Damned if you do
Games are full of hard choices. I've been forced to pick which ally to save or which path to take, and sometimes that choice just seems obvious. Other times, however, the consequences aren't so clear cut. I may think Im doing the right thing, then all of a sudden the rug is swept out from under me and Im contemplating restarting my entire playthrough.
The end of Mass Effect 3
The most infamous choice on the list (well, outside of the one in Infamous--hey-o!) is the ending to Mass Effect 3. You've probably heard jokes and read forum post after forum post about how this was the suckiest bunch of suck that ever sucked. Opinions on the quality of the content aside, the in-game choice Shepard has to make here is, for lack of a better term, pretty shitty. Those who defend the ending maintain that having only bad options is an artistic decision--sometimes, things just suck. Not every choice has you ending with you consorting with aliens.
Doug or Carley in The Walking Dead Season One
Telltales The Walking Dead forces me to make a lot of choices Im not particularly fond of. Who wants to have to choose whether or not to chop his own arm off? Or how about poor Clementines canine dilemma in the first episode of Season Two? However, one of the most tragic decisions comes in the very first episode of the game: Doug or Carley?
Alex's motherly dilemma in Silent Hill: Homecoming
In a game rife with disgusting consequences, the scene with Alexs mother might be the most harrowing of them all. Alex finds dear ol mum strapped to a device straight out of a Saw movie, and said contraption will eventually pull her apart. She gives Alex a speech about how its not his fault and that she loves him, but the pain is too much and she needs help. The game then asks you to solve the problem: you can either watch the machine take the mothers life or you can SHOOT HER IN THE HEAD and end her suffering before the machine can.
Choosing where to investigate first in The Wolf Among Us
Another of Telltales successful episodic franchises, The Wolf Among Us, has its own slew of difficult decisions, but the hardest choices to make are sometimes the most subtle. A few times during the noirish adventure Bigby must choose to investigate one of multiple locations, and while the choice seems innocuous at first, theres actually a lot of weight to them hiding in the shadows.
Killing the last Sasquatch in Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
A lot of these choices have some pretty heavy consequences, but none of the scenarios on this list are as heartbreaking as John Marston versus the Sasquatch in Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. An optional Stranger mission has you killing Sasquatches in the Tall Tress section of the map, but once you reach the final Bigfoot, the story takes a crazy turn--crazy even by the standards of this intentionally oddball DLC.
Save the church or save your friends in Far Cry 2
Far Cry 2 put me in one hell of a working for the greater good scenario. During an ambush in the Leboa-Sako region of the game, I have to choose between protecting a church or saving a group of mercenaries Ive befriended who are trapped in a bar and surrounded by enemies. Do I do the right thing and help the innocent people of the village in the church, or should I focus on my own mission and keep the mercs alive?
Save the doctors or save Trish in Infamous
Few video game villains have raised my blood pressure like Kessler from the original Infamous. Forget purposefully detonating the Ray Sphere in Coles hands or crafting an army of enhanced soldiers to take Cole out after he became a Conduit. Kessler's worst offense is the devious trick he plays on Cole during one of the games most pivotal moments.
Classic or Casual Mode in Fire Emblem Awakening
Hooray, youve just gotten your hands on Fire Emblem: Awakening, the excellent strategy RPG from Nintendo and Intelligent Systems! You slap it in your 3DS, watch the introduction sequence, then begin the campaign but not before making a crucial choice. Will you play Casual, where all of your units stay with you regardless if they fall in battle, or will you turn permadeath on in Classic mode?
Saving your daughter or saving your crew in Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
The tumultuous relationship between Kane and Lynch should have been a sign that the game wasnt going to turn out the way I wanted it to, but man if that ending didnt piss me off anyway. Kane must choose between leaving with the daughter he sent out to save or stay in a shootout to try and save a few of his mercenary buddies. No matter what he does, Kane is screwed either way.
