History VideoGameCrueltyPotential / ActionGame

* In ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'', you get to run around as Venom and basically wreak cruel, cruel havoc — including throwing cars at bystanders, snapping their spines, and literally draining the life out of them until they're reduced to shaking and lying in a fetal position on the street. It's... oddly satisfying after a hard day.

** In the game of the first movie, there are several levels where you're hunting gang members on rooftops. One of the elementary moves (alongside tying people up, which can often qualify for this as well) is to snag them with webs and yank them over your head. Combine this move with the natural property of roofs to include precarious edges, and you've got a party. Bonus points for your mission radar (which includes an 'elevation' bar) tracking the descending gangster on his short trip to the ground.
** Then there's the second movie game, in which you can pile drive bad guys off the Empire State Building. You can also throw them into the ocean, off of a building (though much less exciting than pile-driving them off the Empire State Building), or into other bad guys. Add this up to the numerous hideouts and {{Bad Guy Bar}}s...

** You can beat allies up in other games. [[Franchise/StarWars Die, Jar-Jar, die]].
*** There's actually an Xbox achievement for destroying Jar-Jar 20 times. It's called [[TakeThat Crowd Pleaser]].

* ''PAIN'' is about firing people at buildings and billboards with a giant slingshot. Cruelty and, well, pain are the entire point.

* In ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'', you get to run around as Venom and basically wreak cruel, cruel havoc — including throwing cars at bystanders, snapping their spines, and literally draining the life out of them until they're reduced to shaking and lying in a fetal position on the street. It's... oddly satisfying after a hard day.
** In the game of the first movie, there are several levels where you're hunting gang members on rooftops. One of the elementary moves (alongside tying people up, which can often qualify for this as well) is to snag them with webs and yank them over your head. Combine this move with the natural property of roofs to include precarious edges, and you've got a party. Bonus points for your mission radar (which includes an 'elevation' bar) tracking the descending gangster on his short trip to the ground.
** Then there's the second movie game, in which you can pile drive bad guys off the Empire State Building. You can also throw them into the ocean, off of a building (though much less exciting than pile-driving them off the Empire State Building), or into other bad guys. Add this up to the numerous hideouts and {{Bad Guy Bar}}s...

* In ''[[VideoGame/WithFriends Stampede Run]]'', you can knock other runners out of the way, either by sweeping them with a slide or bumping them from the side.

** Then there's the second movie game, in which you can pile drive bad guys off the Empire State Building.
*** You can also throw them into the ocean, off of a building (though much less exciting than pile-driving them off the Empire State Building), or into other bad guys. Add this up to the numerous hideouts and {{Bad Guy Bar}}s...

* In ''VideoGame/LegoBatman'' (and assumedly the other LEGO games), you can beat up your allies. Including ''Alfred.'' The temptation to wander around the Batcave beating up the various batfolks is almost overwhelming. The Batcave is also possibly the most dangerous area just because [[NoOSHACompliance nothing has handrails]] and it's incredibly easy to either walk off the edge or 'accidentally' push someone off. And then you go to Arkham... and the fun noises the various rogues make when you beat them up -- [[GrievousHarmWithABody with other rogues]]. Plus of course, having Poison Ivy destroy every plant she can.

* In ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan'', you get to run around as Venom and basically wreak cruel, cruel havoc -- including throwing cars at bystanders, snapping their spines, and literally draining the life out of them until they're reduced to shaking and lying in a fetal position on the street. It's... oddly satisfying after a hard day.

* ''VideoGame/PursuitForce'' is a CowboyCop action game series that sometimes goes too far from cheesy and fun. When you switch into a gang vehicle, you do not subdue the driver or ask he or she to move over; You just shoot the sucker and toss the corpse out when you enter. If you are taking over a motorbike, you will wring the biker's neck and shove him or her off. Oh, and if the car you took had passengers, you have to kill them all too before taking over. Afterwards, you can enjoy the wonderful 3rd person view of [[{{Squick}} still-bleeding stiffs merrily swinging in the car beside you]].
** You can only arrest enemies on several infantry battle missions (which are pretty brutal and modified from ''VideoGame/DeadToRights: Reckoning'''s execution scripts), and you are not given any non-lethal firearms or devices. Most of the time you must "neutralize" them via a faceful of bullets.
* The early 80s Lucasfilm game ''VideoGame/RescueOnFractalus'' had you flying around a hostile planet in your space fighter, rescuing friendly pilots stranded there. However, if you weren't interested in actually rescuing your comrade, there were plenty of ways to kill him instead, such as turning on your fighter's engines when he's outside (instantly incinerating him), shooting his crashed ship while he's sheltering inside it, or refusing to open your airlock when he knocks to be let in (the acidic atmosphere of the planet eats through his spacesuit and kills him if he stays outside for more than a minute -- you can actually hear his knocks getting fainter and feebler as time passes).

* ''TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction''. Considering that the main protagonist is the embodiment of Bruce Banner's suppressed rage, it's no surprise that the player gets to do some pretty mean things. Players can pick up policemen, soldiers, and absolutely defenseless civilians alike and beat them up, throw them from buildings, into the sea, or traffic. Speaking of which, all cars, clearly driven by mere passers-by, can be picked up, destroyed, thrown, or ''crushed into metal gloves'', whereas buses can be crushed and used as '''surfboards'''. Several buildings can be destroyed, different destructible objects piled up for bigger explosions, lampposts can be turned into clubs... In fact, there are several side-quest minigames that make a pronounced point out of cruelty. One particularly noteworthy example is using a metal girder to bat soldiers away for distance records. On top of all of that, one unlockable changes the Hulk into his gray "Mr. Fixit" incarnation, who gleefully throws out one-liners about the suffering he causes.

** You can only arrest enemies on several infantry battle missions (which are pretty brutal and modified from DeadToRights: Reckoning's execution scripts), and you are not given any non-lethal firearms or devices. Most of the time you must "neutralize" them via a faceful of bullets.

** Like the ''Spider-Man'' example, you can pick people (or mecha) up and then piledrive them off a skyscraper and into the street below. Even better, Hulk's piledriver is a '''chain'' throw, meaning you slam the poor schmuck into the ground, bounce up into the air, and repeat for as long as you can keep the combo going.

* In ''VideoGame/LegoBatman'' (and assumedly the other LEGO games), you can beat up your allies. Including ''Alfred.'' The temptation to wander around the Batcave beating up the various batfolks is almost overwhelming. The Batcave is also possibly the most dangerous area just because [[NoOSHACompliance nothing has handrails]] and it's incredibly easy to either walk off the edge or 'accidentally' push someone off. And then you go to Arkham... and the fun noises the various rogues make when you beat them up -- with other rogues. Plus of course, having Poison Ivy destroy every plant she can.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' goes a way to averting this trope. Killing civilians will get you de-synched, and there are no children walking around, again, for this very reason. With a reasonable degree of inventiveness, the determined sadist ''can'' kill civilians, however (i.e, by dropping lifts on them, or poisoning a Brute (causing him to swing his weapon around) then throwing gold around him).
** ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII ACII]]''-onward averted this because the game had you automatically getting desynchronized if you killed too many (i.e, 3-4) civilians in a short span of time. The first plays it somewhat straight; while you do lose synchronization ("health") each time you kill a civilian, it regenerates over time, and there's no set limit on how many you can kill without getting a game over... which make it all the more satisfying to stab the lepers and beggar women.
*** On top of that, after winning the first game, you were allowed to run around killing with impunity.
** In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'', you get the Hook Blade. Using it, you can trip whoever you want for non-lethal fun.

* PursuitForce is a CowboyCop action game series that sometimes goes too far from cheesy and fun. When you switch into a gang vehicle, you do not subdue the driver or ask he or she to move over; You just shoot the sucker and toss the corpse out when you enter. If you are taking over a motorbike, you will wring the biker's neck and shove him or her off. Oh, and if the car you took had passengers, you have to kill them all too before taking over. Afterwards, you can enjoy the wonderful 3rd person view of [[{{Squick}} still-bleeding stiffs merrily swinging in the car beside you]].

* In ''[[LegoAdaptationGame Lego Batman]]'' (and assumedly the other Lego games), you can beat up your allies. Including ''Alfred.'' The temptation to wander around the Batcave beating up the various batfolks is almost overwhelming. The Batcave is also possibly the most dangerous area just because [[NoOSHACompliance nothing has handrails]] and it's incredibly easy to either walk off the edge or 'accidentally' push someone off. And then you go to Arkham... and the fun noises the various rogues make when you beat them up -- with other rogues. Plus of course, having Poison Ivy destroy every plant she can.

** In ''Lego HarryPotter'', Dark wizards have Avada Kedavra on their spell wheel. And can go around casting it on anyone they like, including enemies, allies, ''Muggles''...

** And sometimes the game will even automatically [[TheKillingJoke add Batgirl to your party if you select Joker]]. What sick bastard approved that?

* In ''[[VideoGame/WithFriends Running With Friends]]'', you can knock other runners out of the way, either by sweeping them with a slide or bumping them from the side.

** In ''AssassinsCreedRevelations'', you get the Hook Blade. Using it, you can trip whoever you want for non-lethal fun.

* The early 80s Lucasfilm game ''Rescue on Fractalus'' had you flying around a hostile planet in your space fighter, rescuing friendly pilots stranded there. However, if you weren't interested in actually rescuing your comrade, there were plenty of ways to kill him instead, such as turning on your fighter's engines when he's outside (instantly incinerating him), shooting his crashed ship while he's sheltering inside it, or refusing to open your airlock when he knocks to be let in (the acidic atmosphere of the planet eats through his spacesuit and kills him if he stays outside for more than a minute -- you can actually hear his knocks getting fainter and feebler as time passes).

** You can beat allies up in other games. [[StarWars Die, Jar-Jar, die]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'', you get to run around as Venom and basically wreak cruel, cruel havoc -- including throwing cars at bystanders, snapping their spines, and literally draining the life out of them until they're reduced to shaking and lying in a fetal position on the street. It's... oddly satisfying after a hard day.

*** On top of that, after winning the first game you were allowed to run around killing with impunity.
** In ''AssassinsCreedRevelations'' you get the Hook Blade. Using it you can trip whoever you want for non-lethal fun.

**** And that means ALWAYS always. For example, if you pick up the broken body of a hapless civilian which you have just finished smashing before they disappear and put them back down with a gentle pat on the head, they will revive, leaving them vulnerable to more unspeakable Gamma-fueled cruelty.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'', you get to run around as Venom and basically wreak cruel, cruel havoc -- including throwing cars at bystanders, snapping their spines, and literally draining the life out of them until they're reduced to shaking and lying in a fetal position on the street. It's...oddly satisfying after a hard day.