*some spoilers*

I've been playing Saints Row 2 recently, and (predictably) it's a hell of a lot of fun. Much more than GTAIV, the game it so unabashedly rips off. But I've come to a certain point in the Ronin story arc where you finally get revenge on Shogo Akuji, the guy who murdered your friend's woman... by burying him alive. (Anthony has spoken about this on Podtoid before but I wanted to get more in-depth) I don't know about you, but seeing a character based on my likeness and personality, who I've spent a good 11 hours with and become emotionally invested in, kill a young guy (crime boss or not, it doesn't matter) in such a horrible, inhumane, agonizing way just made me feel awful for a long time afterwards.
In fairness, the characters does, for a moment, give Gat a look of disapproval and unwillingness, but only for a fleeting second. I guess what hits me so hard is that I thought this was a game where you suspend your disbelief and have some fun fucking shit up, but then they go and throw in a scene like that and all of a sudden there's a complete atonal shift into balls out serious business.

I suppose that, given how ingrained into gaming cutscenes are, we'll continue to have these moments of restraint for a long time to come... Not everyone is Valve, you know.


P.S. If someone can give me more examples of moments like this, I'd really appreciate it as it's been awhile since a game elicited a genuine emotional response from me, positive or otherwise.