*Question of the month is some kind of marshmallow joined to another marshmallow… a “doublemellow”…. thought up by Later Levels

Spoiler Warning: This post talks about a plot twist in PlayStation Classic ‘Metal Gear Solid”… read no further if you want to remain in the dark!

For this month’s question those masters of the cerebral poser over at Later Levels have asked which game has the most surprising plot twist. Some of my favourite games have plot twists; so much so that I’d cautiously say that a story driven game without a plot twist  might even be more surprising to me. Can you imagine it? You’ve worked your way past hoards and minions to the final confrontation with the evil-antagonist and …. you defeat him.

What? he’s not your Brother? you aren’t clones… he’s not an alternative version of you, or you with amnesia, it’s not a dream, or a simulation, or some kind of elaborate triple bluff… are you really telling me that the elderly veteran straitlaced commanding officer isn’t the architect of this whole adventure?? 

Wouldn’t that be just the best twist? Bad guy is bad guy because he’s bad… The End…

Given this predisposition the gaming world has to plot twists, I was a little spoilt for choice; there are many, many worth contenders for this title, but I’ve reached back in to the past a bit for one that I remember being quite a revelation at the time. As always, I will put my answer together in less than one hundred words and you can vote for your favourite over at Later Levels:

Metal Gear Solid: Snake as a vector for Fox Die

“I was enthralled the first time I guided Snake through the Shadow Moses incident; it’s a game that not only had a plot, but an interesting one, full of engaging characters and serious themes. Finding out that Snake was being used as a vector for Fox Die was an excellent twist; little more than a poisoned apple that had been tossed into the situation, his ‘mission’… the player’s mission… was meaningless… all he had to do was be there. It cut right through any sense of achievement and expertly made the player question everything that they thought they knew.”

So what do you think? do you agree? Head on over to the post on Later Levels on Friday to check out the other entries to vote on your choice, or jump in to the comments with your own selection.