Keep in mind that these examples aren’t necessarily from games that I consider “bad”, just that the end stuck in my mind for negative reasons.  I’m providing these to demonstrate that if a game ending significantly misses the mark on one of those three points, it can really disappoint.  In this article I won’t list any of my favourite endings, simply because there are too many, but maybe in a future article I will make a list.  Each of the these games have been out for a while, but I will give a little warning: there are spoilers ahead!

Gears of War
Story Conclusion: kinda  Culmination of skills: check  Significance: underwhelming
I’m not going to complain about the end of the story in Gears of War, or any of the story in general.  It is fine.  Beefed up soldiers who don’t wear helmets are searching for an enormous bomb to destroy the enemy Locusts.  Alright, even though it isn’t amazing, that is enough to base a fast-paced action game if the gameplay is fun.  Gear of War was a fairly fun game, especially in cooperative mode, so no complaints.  It is the end boss that was disappointing.

Now THAT is something worth fighting.

The ad campaigns always highlighted the largest enemies in the game and there were some big ones, such as the Corpser.  The game really was at its best when the environment and enemies were very imposing.  Unfortunately, the last boss doesn’t live up to the best parts of the campaign.  Instead the final boss, although difficult on some levels, is fairly straight forward and completely lacks the grandeur that earlier sections had.  Plus you get to deal with Kryll at the same time, which is just plain annoying.

Gears of War 2
Story Conclusion: better  Culmination of skills: nope  Significance: check
I look like a hater for putting both games up here, but I liked the first enough to play the sequel and it was even better in my opinion.  The second game really capitalized on the epic set pieces that were fun in the original.  Some of the battles are simply a blast, with the amphibious creature topping my list of terrific moments.  Then there was the final boss…

I will admit they got the look down.  The final mutation of the Brumak is fearsome looking and was truly imposing.  My first thought was “How are we going to kill this thing?” and my second was, “This fight is going to be awesome.”  Then they handed my the Hammer of Dawn and I stood there while it did all of the work.  Now, in my opinion there is a significant amount of hand-holding in the Gears of War series, but this was too much.  I’m not even sure that it was possible to die in the final boss fight.  Sure there were big fights before the final mutation, but this was a lost opportunity.  It was disappointing that something that could look so epic would leave me wondering, “That was it?”

Fable II
Story Conclusion: check  Culmination of skills: check  Significance: a bigger shard? seriously?
I loved Fable II.  There is no denying it.  I enjoyed the main game and the DLC packs, I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good adventure with a sense of humour.  I even like how the story ended, in general. I was disappointed with two elements of the ending though.  The first disappointment was that the final boss ends up being an upside down pyramid (Shard) that shoots lightning.  It isn’t so bad when you are playing through the battle because it isn’t obvious that it is the last thing standing between you and the end, but once the realization kicks in, it feels underwhelming.  A ton of imagination and creativity went into this well crafted game, the last battle doesn’t stand up to the rest.

The other disappointment is that in my ending I didn’t actually get to kill Lucien.  While I was patiently listening to his speech, Reaver (another Hero) got impatient and shot Lucien.  I guess this is my fault for not being more proactive, but I felt robbed.  If only I had the choice to shoot Reaver afterwards…

Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
Story Conclusion: terrible  Culmination of skills: in one ending  Significance: acceptable
This game is my least favourite of the bunch, but wasn’t a terrible game overall.  The ending of this game though, was a disaster in my opinion.  There are two endings based on a decision right near the end of the game: rescue two “friends” from a burning village full of bad people with guns, or jump in a helicopter and fly to safety with your recently rescued daughter.

The first choice I made was to fly away in the helicopter, though it was chosen simply because my teammate and I couldn’t find out way to the village fast enough.  Anyway, Kane leaves Lynch behind as well for some reason and Kane’s daughter is outraged at his choice to leave his partners to die.  She ends up viewing him as the traitor she was always told he was.

The other option is to fight your way through the village with Kane’s daughter in tow.  By the time Kane and Lynch reach their so-called partners one is dead and the other (Shelly) is outraged, even though you have come to save him.  As the group escapes to the docks, Kane’s daughter is shot.  Then Shelly leaves them behind because Kane is taking to long trying to save his daughter.  By the time Kane and Lynch are on a boat the daughter appears to be dead and Lynch criticizes Kane for not leaving in the helicopter.

So to recap, in one choice Kane is hated by his daughter and Lynch for not picking the other choice.  In the other choice Kane’s daughter is dead and Lynch critisizes him for not picking the first choice.  Wonderful, the game actually refuses to reward you for making either choice.  The only other resolution a player could get from the story is finding out what was in the briefcase during the rest of the story, which is never actually revealed.  As it turns out, there is no real reward for finishing the game.

1. Elements of a Good Ending 2. Recent Disappointments