Top 10 Surprise Endings in Video Games

05. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (BioWare, 2003)

The thing about the Star Wars series is that by and large the role that you tend to play in the stories is that of the hero. Well, that makes sense - after all as much as the tales borrow from Shakespeare, and with the understanding that they are, after all, stories of the underdog obtaining victory over great evil... If you were expecting that to play out without a few surprises, well, surprise!

You start out almost with a clean slate, you have an epic adventure, you fight the good fight, and even though there were many hints that something was not quite right about you, it was not until the moment of the reveal that you realized that YOU were a Sith!

As the story unfolds the realization of what has actually happened to you -and what you were - now triggers an important choice - good or evil? Embrace the new you or return to the old? Forgive or forget what you have accomplished and do something else?

That choice is a major element of the game and, more to the point, one heck of a shock for most players. Even though there were subtle hints throughout the story up to that point, there was nothing concrete enough to even begin to justify the claim that you saw it coming! I certainly did not.

If you are a fan of the Star Wars universe - and have explored more than just the films and games - you will be aware that Revan has a long and storied past that is part of canon and more important, offers any player who is aware of that past less in terms of shock, awe, and surprise than might otherwise be the case.

Still in terms of playing the uber-cool plot shift, few games can take this level of credit and even fewer still handle it quite so well.