History Main / VideoGameCrueltyPotential

* Cole [=McGrath=], protagonist of ''[[{{Infamous}} inFAMOUS]]'', if gifted with [[ShockAndAwe electricity-based superpowers,]] but he can only manipulate it, not generate it. One possible option for recharging the metaphorical batteries? Suck the electrical charge out of ''people.'' One imagines this isn't [[NightmareFuel good for the morality meter.]]

** For added fun: Set people alight with the flamethrower. Blow a train off it's tracks with a well placed rocket. Throw grenades into crowded clubs. Mow down entire crowds of people in a pick-up truck. Use the pimp-slap weapon to send people flying through the air. Take some people hostage and drive the car straight into the sea.

* Caleb in ''Blood 2'' can regain lost health by killing hapless civilians (who uselessly shield themselves with their arms and beg you to spare their lives even as you hack at them with your knife) and harvesting their life force.

** I like killing all the adults in a town, then buying back the children's' affections with gifts. They don't care if you murder their parents in cold blood, if you give them toys, they will love you.

** Best Level-up ever, or worst, uses this very mechanic in the first town. While the town proper does not permit weapons or even the mechanics behind them to work, it also makes the people unkillable. Thus, as soon as you enter the town for the first time, you can gain a huge in-game advantage through something referred to as the "Ike Turner Strategy." Step one: seduce a woman in that town(the men fight back, and can interrupt the chain). Step two: have her follow you to the adjacent area of docks, which is still part of the city so weapons are not permitted, but combat targeting and throwing punches are thanks to the boxing event. Step three: corner your immortal girlfriend in the warehouse via clever placement of crates, target her, and start swinging. Step five: pass the time. Change the TV to a movie, (maybe J-Lo's "Enough" to reduce karmic backlash) while holding the remote and tapping the attack button. In less than the two hours it would take to finish the movie, the physical XP earned (most notably from the CHAIN of successful hits) will be enough to MAX physical stats on a starting character. The only penalty is a similarly-maxxed out evil meter, fixable if you care to do so by killing bandits or just donating money to charity. The countless stories of spousal abuse buy-offs makes this a particularly ghoulish commentary within the game...

*** To add to the [[HilarityEnsues hilarity]], drop some weapons on the ground (whatever kind you want) ''then'' cast the Frenzy spell. All affected NPC's will run over ''pick up a weapon'' (if they dont already have one) ''and then'' go bat-shit on the closest person, friend or foe. Made even more hilarious on the PC version where there is actually a spell (added through a mod) that can both give and revoke essential status to '''''ANY''''' NPC. Yes, it is as [[HilarityEnsues hilarious]] as it sounds having a literally unkillable begger armed with with an enchanted Daedric longsword go on a murderous rampage. And the Grey Fox wants to help those little bastards too...

** For once this trope is justified until the last two missions by the character of Devil Hulk, a being in Banner's mind who compels the Hulk to wreck even more chaos than usual; one of the goals of the game is to fetch the parts for a machine that will allow Banner to enter his own mind and deliver a smackdown to the Devil.

** Despite the stated goals for the level, Carmageddon may quickly become a [[WideOpenSandbox sandbox]] once the player gets the hang of the basics or gives in an uses the [[ClassicCheatCode built in cheats]]. Some examples of cruelty include the following

*** [[http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=376 O RLY]]? You have to be logged in (its free), but its the [[spoiler: Killable Children]] mod.

** But why just kill people yourself when you can get them to kill each other? The ''Frenzy'' effect causes the target to go berserk and attack the nearest person. Because it doesn't count as an attack, you can use it in the presence of guards without committing a crime. Riots are ''fun''. You can start a Guard vs. Townsperson brawl that can result in every non-essential NPC in the town being ruthlessly slaughtered by ''the very guards that are supposed to defend them.''

** Poisoned Apples (which you get in the Assassins Guild quests) are a good source of fun. If you see an NPC sit down and eat, just put one on his plate. Ten seconds after they eat it and their poor, lifeless, limp body will be hanging from the chair.

** Or, you can knock people unconscious with your blackjack or gas arrows, then drag the unconscious NPC to the nearest body of water and throw them in. Not only will they drown, you will actually ''get to hear them choking and gasping frantically for breath'' as they expire.

* In {{Pokemon}} Soul Silver, a random NPC whose house you walk into says your rival scared him into giving away a rare Pokémon. He then gives you another, to keep safe. Go to the PC, and release it from the game. Upon returning to the NPC, when you talk to him he says '[[CrowningMomentOfFunny How's]] [[YourMileageMayVary my]] [[JerkAss Pokémon]]?' And later he says 'I think I can have my Pokémon back now'. So it's kind of like "I think my psycho ex-wife might try and kill my cat, can you hold on to it for me for a while?" "Sure, naïve fool. Kitty go for solo plane trip now. Bye-bye forever, beloved companion."

** Kakariko's cursed family in Ocarina of Time, unlike most friendly NPCs, will register sword hits. You can't actually kill them, but you can make them scream in agony repeatedly.

* ''{{Fallout}}'' also contains some amusing possibilities for the vicious Vault Dweller, such as planting timed explosives on random NPCs or - in one scenario I'm simultaneously proud and ashamed of - murdering an unarmed flower child with a single, well-aimed thrown rock to the back of the head. Let's face it: this series ''really'' goes out of its way to let the player be one evil, sadistic son of a bitch.

** All non-plot-important [=NPCs=] in ''Oblivion'' can be killed, making it possible to go on killing sprees of hundreds of individual characters. Plot-important characters can only be temporarily knocked unconscious.

*** Why wait for the guards to do the dirty work when you can hire an ''armed'' mercenary who's inside the same city who is more than capable of killing NPCs?

* Both ''LittleBigAdventure'' games pretty much allow the player to attack anyone. Some of the NPCs can even be killed (only to come back later once you [[RespawningEnemies leave the area]]), and some of them will fight back. Note that most of the friendly characters can't be hurt, but if they fight back, ''you'' do get the damage. In particular, try beating up the kids near the beginning of the second game when it's still raining, then go outside and watch an... interesting cutscene.

* In ''SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'', the game allows, and sometimes even encourages, you to do things to the various NPCs in towns and villages, such as stealing from them, beating them up, kicking them in the face, or forcibly conscripting them into your army. This is all ''menu-based'', meaning the game ''is basically suggesting to kick people for no good reason''. And let's not get into [[spoiler:the Demon path,]] which basically calls you a wuss for all that.

** Likewise, in ''Hit and Run'', you can kick NPCs until they fall over. You can then kick them into the road, and run them over in a car....repeatedly. Unfortunately, all this ''does'' fill up your [[KarmaMeter Hit and Run meter]], and can fill it up quite quickly...

* Despite the appearance of its sequel above, the original ''JakAndDaxter'' game went so far as to make ''all the NPCs invulnerable'' to avoid this. Of course, this was before ''Renegade'' sent it DarkerAndEdgier.

* In ''{{Daemon}}'', Loki sees humans who are not part of the Darknet as NPCs. The Daemon does not allow him to outright kill them for no reason, but he can torment them in various ways (like destroying their bank accounts). When he is able to kill them (as part of a mission or in self-defense), he does so happily and in the most gruesome way available to him.

*** Admitedly [[spoiler:in game the bigbad is correct in his belief that [[WellIntentionedExtremist the afterlife is more pleasant]] than life going by a conversation with a resurrected Virgil.]]

* ''{{Arcanum}}'' offers lots of cruelty options, especially to the talented mystic. One particularly glorious possibility involves charming a wolf or bear, then walking to the nearest town, entering an occupied house, and releasing your control over the wild animal (but not before leaving the house and Magelocking the doors and windows). Other fun activities include using Force Walls and Walls of Fire to trap and burn the clothes off passersby and tricking NPCs into picking up and equipping armor that deals continual poison damage.

* ''{{Scarface}}: The World Is Yours'' never allows you to directly target for killing innocent people when controlling Tony, but that won't stop players from shoving and smacking them with melee weapons to their heart's content. My favorite thing to do was call up a henchman to bring a car over, wait for him to get out, then push him and quickly press the taunt button to get results like "Get the hell outta here!" * shove* Using explosives or running them over would also work, although these would never be fatal against civilians.

** Also in sandbox mode, floating red skulls can be found while initiate the 'Day of the Dead' minigame, in which random hordes of Day of the Dead revelers dressed in skeleton costumes appear and assault the player with a subset of weapons (a good way to stock up on ammo). When the game times out, the celebrants fade back into normal civilians, dying from whatever weapon crosshair was on them at the time.

*** In San Andreas, they added the abiiity to swim to the player, the girlfriends and some other NPCs. Note that cops are not on the list.

** San Andreas has a few cruelty moments that are a part of the main missions. One mission has you kidnap a music manager and drive off the docks while you jump out of the car, hearing him whine before that he can't swim. Another one has you get revenge on your sister that was harassed by some construction workers by pushing the foreman around with a bulldozer while he is inside a portable toilet, hearing him gag and yell about the smell and being splashed with his own poop. You kill him by pushing his stall in a ditch and ''filling it with cement, burying him alive''!

*** Not to mention that the physics engine itself in GTA IV has potential all its own, allowing you to push NPCs down stairways, down steep hills, and off balconies.

** Get a bunch of guards chasing you and jump on a tight-rope run while they're on the roof. If they're close enough together, they'll jam into each and fall to their deaths. Also works with thieves.

** Other such attacks include a counter kill option to ''break a guards legs'' with an audible crack. A short sword combo kill in which Altair grabs his victim in a sleeper hold before breaking their neck, again with an audible crack. And who can forget throwing your opponents into the merchant stands, causing the stands to collapse and killing both your opponent and the merchant. Bonus points if you catch civilians in the collapsing merchant stand.

** Metal Gear Solid has one of the worst: in one area, it's infested with wolves. You can shoot them to make it easier to get through. But if you call Otacon first, he'll tell you that those are Sniper Wolf's pets, and that him and her would feed them. [[YouBastard Then he begs you not to kill them]]. Snake's response: "Gimme a break."

* ''MetalGearSolid'' as a series had several of these but the worst was ''Metal Gear Solid 2''. It allowed you to do plenty of awful stuff, from shooting harmless animals to knocking over then lying on top of to feel up the TheWoobie's sister you're supposed to be rescuing. Although doing those things does piss off your VoiceWithAnInternetConnection along with several other {{NPC}}s.

** Capture a hero. Drop him in the torture chamber and keep him barely alive until he gives some information. Award him by dropping him in the fight pit with your meanest monster before returning him to prison and letting him starve to death, becoming a skeleton.

* JediAcademy, ''where to even begin?''How about the jawas of Tattoine that you can brutalize in all sorts of manners? Or the [[RedShirts stormtroopers]] that you can grab with force choke and slam from wall to wall like rag dolls?