Gaming's most dysfunctional families [ClassicRadar]

You might not realize it, but for every game youve played where aliens and terrorists are the cause of untold trouble, theres another in which the real problem is poor family dynamics. The issue may be caused by sibling rivalry or might stem from daddy hurling junior into a volcano.

Either way, immediate relatives can create an awful lot of sticky situations. Just check out this little lot

If you were investigating a Japanese village famed for rumors of human sacrifice, would you really bring your six-year-old daughter along for the ride? Thats what Sam Monroe and Melissa Gale do. It takes all of five seconds for disaster to occur, culminating in Bella the unfortunate child in question being blasted back through time and transformed into an evil, immortal, flesh-eating nun.

Grand Theft Auto IV

Drugs. Corruption. Violence. Thats GTAs McReary family. Theres corrupt cop Frankie, mob boss Gerry, thug Packie and down-and-out Derrick, whom Frankie decides to have assassinated on the off-chance he might tell the press about his brothers penchant for backhanders. Despite living among these nut-jobs for years, sister Kate stays free from trouble for quite a while. But the very second she attends Romans wedding she gets gunned down on the church steps. See, ladies bad guys may be glamorous but theyre also dangerous. Why not try games journalists instead?

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Orvus and Clank are a bit like Geppetto and Pinocchio, but are a scientist and robot instead of a carpenter and puppet. In A Crack in Time, it transpires that Orvus built The Great Clock to heal the universe and then made a robot Clank to look after it, promptly passing his guarding responsibilities to his son. If we were Clank, wed be pretty peeved at this. But then, if we were Clank, wed be able to make multiple copies of ourselves and travel through time. Which must be some sort of consolation for years of zero parenting.

After Big Boss falls into a coma in 1972, he must be surprised to wake up and discover three sons he didnt have before. Unfortunately, the boys Liquid, Solid and Solidus have been created from his DNA to become genetically enhanced super-soldiers. Liquid ends up dying before having his mind taken over and his arm transplanted onto Revolver Ocelot, and Solidus somehow lucks his way into becoming president of the USA. And Solid? He smokes a lot of cigarettes and kills his father. Well, among other things

Tekkens Heihachi Mishima is not a nice man. He throws his son Kazuya over a cliff when hes only little, and then into a volcano once hes grown up. Then there are Jin and Lee, Kazuya's sons (Lee being adopted), who have perhaps understandably given their granddads behavior established an unhealthy obsession with beating up their own family. Heihachi has an ace up his sleeve, though, in the shape of his bodyguard a massive, slavering, bloodthirsty bear. Dont look at us like that, we dont write this rubbish.

Bayonetta

Bayonetta mom, if you can call her that is a witch. Her "daughter" Cereza doesnt exist at the start of the game but flashes into existence aged about six. Then theres Baldur, a crackpot and demi-god oh, and Bayonettas dad. Not only has he created Cereza by kidnapping a younger version of Bayonetta yes, she is her own "daughter" - and bringing her to the present day, he also wants to destroy the universe. Wed just strike him off the Christmas card list, but Bayo chooses to give him a good thrashing instead.

Shadow of the Colossus

Oh, so you dont think Wander and his girlfriend Mono are a dysfunctional unit? How else would you interpret the games climax? Wanders transformed into a baby containing, perhaps, some of the evil spirit of Domus while Mono awakes, finds her boyfriend is an infant and has to bring him up. This means that Wanders girlfriend is now, in effect, his mom. If thats not twisted, we dont know what is. God only knows what Agro makes of it all.

Heavy Rain

In one of gamings less uplifting opening segments, Heavy Rains Jason Mars is hit by a car and dies. Then his brother Shaun turns into a complete brat and gets kidnapped by an asthmatic fake detective. Dad Ethan, meanwhile, has blackouts and thinks a locked part of his mind has set him a stack of trials with which to demonstrate his dad worth most of them seem to involve lacerating or electrocuting himself. There are special clubs to visit if youre into that sort of thing, Ethan err, apparently.

Can you think of any other gaming families that could use a little therapy? Let us know in the comments!

Want more happy times? Check out the reasons the 10 most distracting things about Heavy Rain and gaming's most twisted royalty.