History VideoGameCrueltyPotential / FirstPersonShooter

*** In Episode 2, Gordon has to go through a [[BigCreepyCrawlies Antlion]] nest, and one thing he can do is crush the larvae for a small health drop.
*** There's even an achievement called "Get Some Grub" where you have to kill every single antlion grub (over 200 total) in that chapter.

* The infamous ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' GameMod ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom'' takes this trope and runs clear past the end zone and into the stands with it, letting your SpaceMarine commit all manner of {{Gorn}}-[=ful=] acts of sadism (ripping the heads off monsters, executing demons with a boot stomp, and shooting the guts out of monsters and watching as they writhe in agony with their intestines all over the ground).
** Its popularity may be a reason the [[Videogame/Doom2016 2016 reboot]] used many of these executions and added a LOT more to the plate in its ''Glory Kill'' system, like gouging a Cacodaemon's eye out by shoving your fist in it, ripping a Mancubus' heart out, sticking it in his mouth and watching him flail around and explode, or using your trusty chainsaw to rip a Hell's Baron to pieces. And doing so nets you health and ammo benefits, even!

* In ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'', killing too many scientists (or civilians in the single level that they are present in) causes a mission failure, but doesn't immediately end the mission. Considering how annoying and stupid they can be, spending an entire level killing all of the scientists or riding around in the tank in Streets for half an hour crushing civilians is immensely gratifying.

*** In the first game and its expansions, you can kill helpful {{NPC}}s for the hell of it, or in the case of Barney (and in ''Opposing Force'', the military {{NPC}}s) kill them just to get the extra ammo when they refuse to go another step. "Don't shoot, I'm a scientist" is just begging for it, really.

*** Speaking of killing scientists, there's a [[VideoGame/BrutalDoom Brutal DooM]]-inspired modification called ''Brutal Half-Life'' in which takes the level of violence UpToEleven. You can [[BoomHeadshot blow up anyone's heads off]] or tear them apart with your [[MoreDakka MP5 or Opposing Force's M249 SAW]] or kick them [[LudicrousGibs until they explode]]! Not only that, but you can also destroy the Headcrab Zombie's [[AnArmAndALeg arms off]] with a [[RevolversAreJustBetter Colt Python]] and watch the bastard [[EpicFail trying to attack you but to no avail]].

*** You can do that to [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Headcrab Zombines]] in one of the episodes with flares and the gravity-gun. One entire level of the game, entitled "We Don't Go to Ravenholm", revolves around Gordon killing [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Headcrab Zombies]] with a variety of traps laid out by [[AxCrazy Father Grigori]] that include [[CarFu cars being dropped like anvils]] and one zombie in a cage where Gordon can fill it with gas and light it with a stray spark from the cage. An [[BraggingRightsReward achiev]][[SelfImposedChallenge ement]] you can get is going through the entire level with only [[ImprovisedWeapon the Gravity Gun, traps, and spare objects, such as buzzsaws,]] ExplosiveBarrels, [[ImprovisedWeapon cinder-blocks, tables, and]] [[HealThyself medkits]].

* Caleb in ''VideoGame/{{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.

** In the original ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'', during "The Bog", you can stand back and watch as a fellow marine struggles with an enemy soldier. If you do nothing, then the enemy soldier will eventually overwhelm and kill the marine. Alternatively, you can save the Marine's life by killing the enemy soldier at any point before he shoots your buddy.
** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare2'' has the infamous "No Russian" level in which [[spoiler:you gun down unarmed civilians in an airport while playing as an undercover agent who has infiltrated a terrorist group. Since there's obviously real-life issues about allowing players to take part in massacring civilians, the level actually makes the killing entirely optional... you can take part in it, or you can just leave it to your fellow terrorists (either way, civilians are massacred — and, no, you can't try to stop it, [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten because that would blow your cover]]). However, from a storyline perspective, it does stretch [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief suspension of disbelief]] when you notice that your terrorist buddies say nothing about your non-participation. The game also allows you to simply skip the level with completion penalty, for those who might find it too disturbing.]]

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: World At War'' has a moment in the level "Eviction" where [[spoiler:you can choose whether to kill wounded and dying German soldiers after an explosion in Berlin. You'd think killing the doomed men would count as a MercyKill, yet later on, you get called evil in Chernov's diary if you kill them all when Reznov reads it after Chernov's death.]]

** ''Advanced Warfare'' has a StealthBasedMission where you have to navigate the BigBad's mansion while avoiding guards. Now, the proper way of doing it is simply to tip-toe around them — they are, after all, innocent everydudes just doing their job... but later parts of the mission get a ''lot'' easier if you abuse your newly-acquired ability to stealthily kill from the shadows: anyone who's no longer alive can't raise alarms. You get a mild WhatTheHellPlayer shortly afterwards by a team-mate who comments you've left a lot of bodies out there, but other than that there's no VideoGameCrueltyPunishment whatsoever.

** In the second game's Vendetta mode, one of Shoshanna's Executions is shooting the mook victim in the balls, then shoving her gun in his mouth and killing him while he's trying to double over.

* ''VideoGame/FarCry 2'' was already mentioned in the enemy-killing section, but let's not forget that there are plenty of wild animals running around. Hmm, a herd of zebras, and me with a jeep, landmines, and a flamethrower... The possibilities!

* In ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 2'', in fact, it is conceivably possible to chop off a random bystander's arm, then chase them down and subdue them to self-wetting pain and terror with a taser attack, douse them with gasoline, and burn them to a hideous char before dousing the flames with urine, step on the victim's back and "ride" them as they ''try to crawl, sobbing, away,'' and ''finally'' finish them off with a dose of anthrax... and ''then'' decapitate the body, kick the head around city streets like a soccer ball (sending other bystanders who see it into hysterics), before crushing the thing with a sledgehammer like a hellish Gallagher, splattering brains all about. Yeah. And this is a game that, technically, you could complete without harming ''anyone.'' Bonus points for making said victim puke right before decapitation. Sit back and enjoy the neck stump pumping out blood and vomit all over the pavement. You can get dogs to play catch with the severed heads as well.

* The ''SoldierOfFortune'' series made this the entire point of its gameplay. Small-calibre weapons would cause bloody wounds and suffering animations, while large-calibre weapons would rip body parts off altogether, blast apart heads like watermelons, and tear torsos open (replete with hanging intestines, natch). There was no reason other than pointless cruelty for mauling an enemy's body after the first couple of shots, because the game was fairly realistic and bad guys would drop as soon as they were hit in a vital part. Not that that stopped anyone...

* The first ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' as well as its sequel, Medal of Honor: Underground, gives you the ability to hit certain body parts on enemies. This results in hilarious animations.
** Examples include [[GroinAttack shooting an enemy in the balls]] while standing close to a thrown grenade, or, when they pick up a thrown grenade, you can shoot them in the arm, which results in them holding on to the grenade and having it explode in their face.
* The ''SoldierOfFortune'' series made this the entire point of its gameplay. Small-calibre weapons would cause bloody wounds and suffering animations, while large-calibre weapons would rip body parts off altogether, blast apart heads like watermelons, and tear torsos open (replete with hanging intestines, natch). There was no reason other than pointless cruelty for mauling an enemy's body after the first couple of shots, because the game was fairly realistic and bad guys would drop as soon as they were hit in a vital part. Not that that stopped anyone...
** It's worth mentioning that hitting a bad guy anywhere vital with a low-calibre submachinegun round kills them with the first shot. If you continue firing, though, they'll dance standing in place as they're riddled with bullets in pure Hollywood style and only fall down when you run out. Which means that for the purpose of eliminating your enemies one shot has the same effect as thirty, yet you'll be expending magazine after magazine making them dance, just because.

* ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}'':
** ''Turok 2: Seeds of Evil''. Cerebral bore. Why shoot, stab, or plasma-vaporize the enemy when you can fire a self-guiding orb at them that will ''embed itself in their forehead'' and start ''digging'', with sickening whirring and gushing noises, and then ''explode''?
** ''VideoGame/TurokEvolution''. All the cuddly cute animals roaming the forest? Most can be shot dead.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 2'', in fact, it is conceivably possible to chop off a random bystander's arm, then chase them down and subdue them to self-wetting pain and terror with a taser attack, douse them with gasoline, and burn them to a hideous char before dousing the flames with urine, step on the victim's back and "ride" them as they ''try to crawl, sobbing, away,'' and ''finally'' finish them off with a dose of anthrax... and ''then'' decapitate the body, kick the head around city streets like a soccer ball (sending other bystanders who see it into hysterics), before crushing the thing with a sledgehammer like a hellish Gallagher, splattering brains all about. Yeah. And this is a game that, technically, you could complete without harming ''anyone.'' Bonus points for making said victim puke right before decapitation. Sit back and enjoy the neck stump pumping out blood and vomit all over the pavement. You can get dogs to play catch with the severed heads as well.
* The original ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' had the Air Taser, which, when used on enemies, would shock the living bejeezus out of them. And you could hold them in this state until they [[ManOnFire CAUGHT ON FIRE.]] They would often scream horrifically the whole time! Also, this weapon is available from the very beginning, costs no ammunition to use, and counts as a STEALTH weapon.
** Not to mention that it has ''infinite'' range. No scope, but it can literally hit at ''any'' distance as long as you aim accurately. Super sniper flame-taser with infinite ammo... so much fun...
* Caleb in ''VideoGame/{{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.
* You're not supposed to be killing people in ''VideoGame/SWAT4'' (as the name implies, you are a cop), but there's no restriction on non-lethal weapons, so nothing's stopping you from hitting people again and again with beanbags fired from shotguns, pepper spray balls fired from paintball guns, tasers, flashbangs, stingers (grenades filled with hard plastic spheres instead of shrapnel), tear gas...
** Alternately, you can just set the game to the minimum difficulty level, which allows you to advance to the next level with a score of 0. The only thing that gets your score below 0 is deliberately killing civilians. Shooting every bad guy in flagrant disregard of the rules of engagement? Hell, murdering suspects after they've already been handcuffed? No problem!
** Because even failed or unwinnable-due-to-large-penalty operations won't be aborted, you can try to get as much penalty as possible. Kill your colleagues, and shoot terrorists on sight. Or even better — cop them and then shoot them in the head, committing cold-blooded murder.
** The briefing of one early mission notes that an elderly woman known to be in generally poor health is likely to be an innocent bystander at the scene. In real life, most of your less-than-lethal gear would probably kill someone like her. But since this ''is'' a game, you can feel free to pelt her with all the tear gas and pepper spray in SWAT's arsenal!

* ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' gives you the possibility to go around being a [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] {{Jerkass}} slaughtering civilians, and the only thing that changes people's reaction to you is whether or not you're in Darkness mode... which is to say, random people in the subway will always be nice to you even if you've killed most of [[BigApplesauce New York City]] in incredibly brutal ways, as long as you don't have CombatTentacles sprouting from your back and shoulders. [[BystanderSyndrome Which may in fact be accurate.]]
** When a Mook manages to get lucky and actually seriously hurt you, it's oh so satisfying to dispatch him via painful and horrifying impalement using your aforementioned CombatTentacles.
** In the second game's Vendetta mode, one of Shoshanna's Executions is shooting the mook victim in the balls, then shoving her gun in his mouth and killing him while he's trying to double over.
* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' features a Metroid quarantine room in the Phazon Mines with Space Pirates studying Metroids. You have two options here: go down to shoot the Pirates yourself, or kill the power to the room, release the Metroids, and have a balcony seat as the Pirates start screaming and futilely try to fight off the galaxy's ultimate predator (really, it's only one option).
* In ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII'', it is entirely possible to staple an opponent's corpse to a wall with the Stinger Minigun. Especially fun is stapling them with a shard in the stomach, and firing a shard into their head, making their neck the length of their body.
* ''VideoGame/FarCry 2'' was already mentioned in the enemy-killing section, but let's not forget that there are plenty of wild animals running around. Hmm, a herd of zebras, and me with a jeep, landmines, and a flamethrower... The possibilities!
* Officially, the point of ''VideoGame/JFKReloaded'' is to see if you can replicate the Kennedy assassination with a mouse. Unofficially, it's generally used simply to see how many people you can slaughter and how much of the ragdoll physics you can enjoy. And, of course, there's killing JFK by sniping out the InnocentBystander driving the car ''in front of him'', then scaring JFK's driver with a few rounds, then taking him out just as the car speeds up. Presidential car slams into the back of the stopped bystander car. Secret Service agent sprints into the back of the car, almost certainly ruining his chances of ever breeding. It's also possible, should you hit the driver at the exact right time, to end with the Presidential car embedding itself in a distant wall.
** LetsPlay/FreelanceAstronauts, a crew of guys who do Let's Play videos, took it one step further, playing HORSE with the game. Some of the shots include shooting Secret Service agents in specific places, or shooting off Jackie O's hat.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bulletstorm}}'' not only rewards the player for being cruel, but ''requires'' it. The so-called "skillshots" involve things like throwing enemies into carnivorous plants or off cliffs, shooting them in midair, and a large variety of other combinations (and are named things such as "fourth of July", "gang bang" or "mercy", the last of which being where you shoot them in the gonads and kick their heads off to "stop the pain"). The more cruel and creative the enemy's demise, the more points you get — and these points are required to buy upgrades and ammo, so a squeamish player won't get anywhere in the game. Watch the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb9ObWlNrg8 trailer]] and see for yourself.

* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
** It's always fun to shoot your own marines, especially since there's often some pretty funny dialogue that comes out of it. In the original ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'', you can shoot Captain Keyes (or anyone else on the bridge) in the face with his own gun. This prompts Cortana to summon invincible marines to kill you, though. Which can lead to even more cruelty potential, as while you can't kill them, you can shoot and melee them to make them bleed; thus, you can decorate the entire bridge with their blood while they're trying to kill you.
** It is obvious that the developers are encouraging you to kill Grunts in as many humiliating ways as possible; they hilariously panic at the drop of a hat, destroying their methane packs in some games will cause them to fly like a rocket before exploding, and there's even a Skull which causes their head to explode into confetti (and plays an audio clip of children cheering) every time you headshot them.
* You were actually encouraged to kill civilians in ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' through hidden messages from Creator/{{Bungie}}. Their only crime was being attacked by alien slavers. In the sequel, you can kill humans as well, but this time, they shoot back if you kill two or more in front of others. What's notable is that murdering the civilians is more difficult than killing the actual alien military forces, because instead of many strong but easy-to-dodge projectiles, they shoot .44 magnums with accuracy that [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard is only used against the player]].
* In ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'', killing too many scientists (or civilians in the single level that they are present in) causes a mission failure, but doesn't immediately end the mission. Considering how annoying and stupid they can be, spending an entire level killing all of the scientists or riding around in the tank in Streets for half an hour crushing civilians is immensely gratifying.
** Turn on the 'All Guns' cheat. Get out a [=DD44=] Dostovel. Shoot Natalya in the face. Don't even look back, she's dead now, thank God.
** Other fun pursuits; injuring a scientist and shooting the grenade they pull out. Aiming for the gut to trigger the 'crawl around on floor in pain' death animation. Using a second controller to fire into the cut scenes and kill whomever you can. Standing there in a victory pose while Natalya lies dead on the cold, cold ground is amazing.
* [[http://impressive.net/games/barney/fun.cgi The Barney Fun Page.]]

* ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'':
** ''VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay'' allows you to kill many of the inmates you encounter. You can systematically empty the entire Single Max prison wing one person at a time, and your only punishment will be a temporary incapacitation each time. You can even contrive circumstances to kill a fair number of inmates in Double Max (such as disabling the lights in the diner and then making your way back there to go on a killing spree in the dark), which normally makes this extraordinarily difficult due to being chock-full of wall-mounted gun turrets and almost every area being highly visible.
** In ''VideoGame/AssaultOnDarkAthena'' a helpless prisoner on the Athena is being [[FateWorseThanDeath converted into a Drone]]. [[ICannotSelfTerminate He asks you to kill him]] [[MercyKill to spare him this fate]], but you can just leave him lying there, in which case you may well imagine him as one of the Drones you kill later in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/JudgeDreddDreddVsDeath'', setting the Lawgiver to incendiary while fighting street criminals results in them being burnt to the bone, even from leg and arm shots. [[VideogameCrueltyPunishment This will get the SJS set upon you fairly quickly.]]
* The reboot of ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}}'' tries to discourage this by not giving you LimitBreak energy for killing civilians, but there's no actual downside either: the megacorps of the setting see people as disposable, so why not kill a few disposable people?
* ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein|2009}}'' (2009) allows the player to be exceedingly cruel to anyone on the opposite end of the barrel. Options include simply shooting them to exploding limbs with high-caliber weapons, burning, blowing up, stabbing them in the throat with bayonets, or vaporizing with one of the [[NaziSuperScience rayguns]]. All of it's excused by them being Nazis (and by the looks of it, the worst psychopaths from all branches of the Heer and SS).
* In ''VideoGame/MetroLastLight'', a player who's going on a no-kill run can punch out a number of enemy soldiers in a sequence set on the surface, where the air is toxic. You can then yank out their gas masks' air filters for your own use while they're lying unconscious on the floor, [[TechnicalPacifist which means you still didn't really kill them]].
* The whole point of ''VideoGame/OfficeJerk'' and its variants is beaning the Jerk or Zombie with whatever object you have handy.
* ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersUndying'': Throwing motolov cocktails on humans will make them run around screaming until they die. The player can also amplify the Invoke magic, which causes male Trsanti enemies to kill themselves against their will.
* In the ''VideoGame/SniperElite'' games, you can [[GroinAttack shoot enemies in the testicles]]. If you pull off the shot, you'll be rewarded with a lovely slow-mo ArrowCam cutting to an x-ray as the bullet grinds through the target, bursting the sensitive and intimate organs like eggs. [[Film/IngloriousBasterds Say Auf Wiedersehen to your Nazi balls!]] This will invariably instantly kill the target — [[TruthInTelevision in real life]], sudden outbursts of extreme pain can prove lethal due to reflexogenic cardiac arrest. Another notable example of sniper cruelty is deliberately shooting to wound, and then killing anyone who tries to go over and help the wounded man as he writhes around in agony. Again, this is a common tactic for real-life snipers.
* The infamous ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' GameMod ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom'' takes this trope and runs clear past the end zone and into the stands with it, letting your SpaceMarine commit all manner of {{Gorn}}-[=ful=] acts of sadism (ripping the heads off monsters, executing demons with a boot stomp, and shooting the guts out of monsters and watching as they writhe in agony with their intestines all over the ground).
** Its popularity may be a reason the [[Videogame/Doom2016 2016 reboot]] used many of these executions and added a LOT more to the plate in its ''Glory Kill'' system, like gouging a Cacodaemon's eye out by shoving your fist in it, ripping a Mancubus' heart out, sticking it in his mouth and watching him flail around and explode, or using your trusty chainsaw to rip a Hell's Baron to pieces. And doing so nets you health and ammo benefits, even!
* In ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfSquare'', You can find some purple-colored people [[LivingPolyhedron in the shape of rectangle or triangle]]. They are hapless citizens of Shape land. And you can murder them without receiving any penalty.

** The game occasionally rewards you for this as well. Multiple times, when you pay a character for information or some rare item, you can then punch them out or kill them and get your money back.

** ''Turok: Evolution''. All the cuddly cute animals roaming the forest? Most can be shot dead.

** It should also be noted that this is one of the few games that allows you to kill children. No InfantImmortality or HideYourChildren here! In the sequel, you can even shoot up a school!

** Its popularity may be a reason the [[Videogame/Doom2016 2016 reboot]] used many of these executions and added a LOT more to the plate, from gouging a Cacodaemon's eye out by shoving your fist in it to ripping a Mancubus' heart out, sticking it in his mouth and watching him flail around and explode.

* In ''[[MetroLastLight Metro: Last Light]]'', a player who's going on a no-kill run can punch out a number of enemy soldiers in a sequence set on the surface, where the air is toxic. You can then yank out their gas masks' air filters for your own use while they're lying unconscious on the floor, [[TechnicalPacifist which means you still didn't really kill them]].

* The reboot of ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}}'' tries to discourage this by not giving you LimitBreak energy for killing civilians, but it's no actual hindrance.

* In ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII'', it is entirely possible to staple an opponent's corpse to a wall with the Chaingun. Especially fun is stapling them with a shard in the stomach, and firing a shard into their head, making their neck the length of their body.

** Its popularity may be a reason [[Videogame/Doom2016 2016 reboot]] used many of these executions and added a LOT more to the plate, from gouging a Cacodaemon's eye out by shoving your fist in it to ripping a Mancubus' heart out, sticking it in his mouth and watching him flail around and explode.

*** Speaking of cheats, console commands + [[EleventhHourSuperpower Super Gravity Gun]] = [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH4kj3orqLo It's raining men!]]

** ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'', in addition to the usual array of cruel and unusual deaths that can be inflicted via Vigors or specialised weapons, also gives the player free reign to run around Columbia murdering random civilians everywhere they go, with no storyline penalties whatsoever. In terms of [[TheJoysOfTorturingMooks things that can be done strictly to enemies]], though, the various Sky-Hook executions probably take the cake -- its ''very first'' usage has you burying its spinning hooks into a poor chap's face, bloodily rendering it into hamburger meat amid a series of horrible whirring and crunching noises. Other Sky-Hook kills include catching a guy's neck in the blades and snapping it, doing the same only to ''grind his entire head off his neck'' in the process, and jamming the blades into their chests before lifting them up by it and tossing them aside. For added cruelty: do this in the vicinity of Elizabeth and she'll occasionally scream or yelp because of the sheer brutality of the executions.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare2'' has the infamous "No Russian" level in which [[spoiler:you gun down unarmed civilians in an airport while playing as an undercover agent who has infiltrated a terrorist group. Since there's obviously real-life issues about allowing players to take part in massacring civilians, the level actually makes the killing entirely optional... you can take part in it, or you can just leave it to your fellow terrorists (either way, civilians are massacred -- and, no, you can't try to stop it, [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten because that would blow your cover]]). However, from a storyline perspective, it does stretch [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief suspension of disbelief]] when you notice that your terrorist buddies say nothing about your non-participation. The game also allows you to simply skip the level with completion penalty, for those who might find it too disturbing.]]
*** You can also finish Rojas after Ghost tortures him, or let the favelas gangs do it, which is maybe even more cruel, depending how you do it, and kill all chickens you see in Brazil (there are a lot).

** ''Advanced Warfare'' has a StealthMission where you have to navigate the BigBad's mansion while avoiding guards. Now, the proper way of doing it is simply to tip-toe around them - they are, after all, innocent everydudes just doing their job... but later parts of the mission get a ''lot'' easier if you abuse your newly acquired ability to stealthily kill from the shadows: anyone who's no longer alive can't raise alarms. You get a mild WhatTheHellPlayer shortly afterwards by a team-mate who comments you've left a lot of bodies out there, but other than that there's no VideoGameCrueltyPunishment whatsoever.

** One SelfImposedChallenge is to kill/knock out as many civilians as possible without being seen by enemies or guards. It's possible to make the Hong Kong section practically devoid of life besides a handful of plot-required NPC's through judicious use of suckering guards into fighting civilians.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DAPXMZk2iw What a shame.]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8SmsrP7QQk&feature=related He was a good man; what a rotten way to die.]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekVI_UoEYRc&feature=related I don't know what else to say.]]
** It should also be noted that this is one of the few games that allows you to kill children. No InfantImmortality or HideYourChildren here! In the sequel, you can even shoot up a school.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 2'', in fact, it is conceivably possible to chop off a random bystander's arm, then chase them down and subdue them to self-wetting pain and terror with a taser attack, douse them with gasoline, and burn them to a hideous char before dousing the flames with urine, step on the victim's back and "ride" them as they ''try to crawl, sobbing, away,'' and ''finally'' finish them off with a dose of anthrax... and ''then'' decapitate the body, kick the head around city streets like a soccer ball (sending other bystanders who see it into hysterics), before crushing the thing with a sledgehammer like a hellish Gallagher, splattering brains all about. Yeah. And this is a game that, technically, you could complete without harming ''anyone.'', Bonus points for making said victim puke right before decapitation. Sit back and enjoy the neck stump pumping out blood and vomit all over the pavement. You can get dogs to play catch with the severed heads as well.
* The original ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' had the Air Taser, which, when used on enemies, would shock the living bejeezus out of them. And you could hold them in this state until they [[ManOnFire CAUGHT ON FIRE.]] They would often scream horrifically the whole time? Also, this weapon is available from the very beginning, costs no ammunition to use, and counts as a STEALTH weapon.
** Not to mention that it has ''infinite'' range. No scope, but it can literally hit at ANY distance as long as you aim accurately. Super sniper flame-taser with infinite ammo... so much fun...

** Because even failed or unwinnable-due-to-large-penalty operations won't be aborted, you can try to get as much penalty as possible. Kill your colleagues, and shoot terrorists on sight. Or even better -- cop them and then shoot them in the head, committing cold-blooded murder.

*** Killing some specific [=NPCs=] too early (or at all) can get you a NonstandardGameOver though.

*** You can do that to [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Headcrab Zombines]] in one of the episodes with flares and the gravity-gun. One entire level of the game, entitled "We Don't Go to Ravenholm", revolves around Gordon killing [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Headcrab Zombies]] with a variety of traps laid out by [[AxCrazy Father Grigori]] that include [[CarFu cars being dropped like anvils]] and one zombie in a cage were Gordon can fill it with gas and light it with a stray spark from the cage. An [[BraggingRightsReward achiev]][[SelfImposedChallenge ement]] you can get is going through the entire level with only [[ImprovisedWeapon the Gravity Gun, traps, and spare objects, such as buzzsaws,]] ExplosiveBarrels, [[ImprovisedWeapon cinder-blocks, tables and]] [[HealThyself medkits]].
*** In Episode 2, Gordon has to go through a [[BigCreepyCrawlies Antlion]] nest and one thing he can do crush the larvae for a small health drop.

*** The Gravity Gun allows you to take the rebel's actual beds and fire them off into unreachable places. Enjoy the ground! The cold, cold ground.
* ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' gives you the possibility to go around being a [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] JerkAss slaughtering civilians, and the only thing that changes people's reaction to you is whether or not you're in Darkness mode... which is to say, random people in the subway will always be nice to you even if you've killed most of [[BigApplesauce New York City]] in incredibly brutal ways, as long as you don't have CombatTentacles sprouting from your back and shoulders. [[BystanderSyndrome Which may in fact be accurate.]]

* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' features a Metroid quarantine room in the Phazon Mines with Space Pirates studying Metroids. You have two options here: go down to shoot the Pirates yourself, or kill the power to the room, release the Metroids and have a balcony seat as the Pirates start screaming and futilely try to fight off the galaxy's ultimate predator (Really, it's only one option).

* ''FarCry 2'' was already mentioned in the enemy-killing section, but let's not forget that there are plenty of wild animals running around. Hmm, a herd of zebras, and me with a jeep, landmines, and a flamethrower... The possibilities!

** Before ''Jedi Outcast'', in ''Dark Forces 2'', you had the option to kill civilians in various unpleasant ways, from [[ShockAndAwe Force Lightning]] to sticking a time-delay railgun charge on them (causing them to run about in panic for a few seconds and then explode -- hilarity!). This would, of course, net you a hefty amount of [[KarmaMeter Dark Side]] points. Pushing them off [[MalevolentArchitecture a conveniently placed ledge]], though? It's all fine with your Light Side buddies (as long as you don't ''Force'' Push them).

** Mines also stick to people in Perfect Dark. Nothing could be more terrifying than having some secret agent stick a beeping Timed Mine onto your person, as you realize you've mere moments to live and there's nothing you can do to stop it!

*** Even better, throw Proximity Mines on the slap happy, disarm-using [=PeaceSim=]. When he tries to hug people, he blows them up. [=PeaceSim=] is then responsible for death, flying in the face of his beliefs!
*** If you go to the shooting gallery area in the lobby, stand in the doorway and start a training session, you can shoot at the invincible tech hanging out in the area. He'll eventually exclaim "JUST, leave me alone would you!". If you're feeling really sadistic, you can shoot his face full of arrows with the crossbow. The arrows STAY in his face and body. Same goes for thrown knives.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bulletstorm}}'' not only rewards the player for being cruel, but ''requires'' it. The so-called "skillshots" involve things like throwing enemies into carnivorous plants or off cliffs, shooting them in midair, and a large variety of other combinations (and are named things such as "fourth of July", "gang bang" or "mercy", the last of which being where you shoot them in the gonads and kick their heads off to "stop the pain"). The more cruel and creative the enemy's demise the more points you get - and these points are required to buy upgrades and ammo, so a squeamish player won't get anywhere in the game. Watch the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb9ObWlNrg8 trailer]] and see for yourself.

** Other fun pursuits; injuring a scientist and shooting the grenade they pull out. Aiming for the gut to trigger the 'crawl around on floor in pain' death animation. Using a second controller to fire into the cut scenes and kill whomever you can. Standing their in a victory pose while Natalya lies dead on the cold, cold ground is amazing.
* [[http://impressive.net/games/barney/fun.cgi The Barney Fun Page]].
* In ''Yoshi'sSafari'', it's possible to shoot Yoshi in the back of the head with your Super Scope.

** In ''VideoGame/AssaultOnDarkAthena'' a helpless prisoner on the Athena is being [[FateWorseThanDeath converted into a Drone]]. He asks you to kill him to spare him this fate, but you can just leave him lying there, in which case you may well imagine him as one of the Drones you kill later in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/JudgeDreddDreddVsDeath'', setting the lawgiver to incendiary while fighting street criminals results in them being burnt to the bone even from leg and arm shots. [[VideogameCrueltyPunishment This will get the SJS set upon you fairly quickly]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein|2009}}'' (2009) allows the player to be exceedingly cruel to anyone on the opposite end of the barrel. Options include simply shooting them to exploding limbs with high caliber weapons, burning, blowing up, stabbing them in the throat with bayonets or vaporizing with one of the [[NaziSuperScience rayguns]]. All of it's excused by them being Nazis (and by the looks of it the worst psychopaths from all branches of the Heer and SS).

* ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersUndying'': Throwing motolov cocktails on humans will make them run around screaming until they die. The player can also amplify the Invoke magic which causes male Trsanti enemies to kill themselves against their will.
* In the ''VideoGame/SniperElite'' games, you can shoot enemies in the testicles. If you pull off the shot, you'll be rewarded with a lovely slow-mo ArrowCam cutting to an x-ray as the bullet grinds through the target, bursting the sensitive and intimate organs like eggs. [[Film/IngloriousBasterds Say Auf Wiedersehen to your Nazi balls!]] This will invariably instantly kill the target - [[TruthInTelevision in real life]], sudden outbursts of extreme pain can prove lethal due to reflexogenic cardiac arrest. Another notable example of sniper cruelty is deliberately shooting to wound, and then killing anyone who tries to go over and help the wounded man as he writhes around in agony. Again, this is a common tactic for real life snipers.

** Examples include shooting an enemy in the balls while standing close to a thrown grenade, or, when they pick up a thrown grenade, you can shoot them in the arm, which results in them holding on to the grenade and having it explode in their face.

** The [[VideoGame/BioShock1 first]] [[VideoGame/BioShock2 two]] games firstly allow you to dispense with enemies with varying degrees of sadism. The greatest cruelty potential, however, is in how you deal with the Little Sisters. Choosing to harvest instead of rescue them causes the player to tear the girl apart to rip out the ADAM-rich slug in her womb, killing her brutally in the process. The shame the player may feel over acting so selfishly is exacerbated in the sequel by the re-tooled design and voice acting of the Little Sisters ramping up their cuteness and vulnerability; oh yeah, and [[spoiler:the way that if you Harvest the Little Sisters throughout the game, you bring about the worst possible ending, and you also have to play the final section of the game alongside Eleanor, knowing what a sociopath you've made her and not being able to make it better.]]

** It's ''far'' more satisfying to lobotomize the smug, spineless worm that made you into a monster in the face.
** Then there's Cindy, one of the little Sisters you can encounter with her biological father (who is now a Big Daddy) Meltzer. While there are exploits to avoid killing him, canonically, you do have to kill him. Cindy, being a little sister, is still subjected to the "immediate material gain" method above. Reading into the back story of her, you realised that her father gave up everything to make sure she's safe, only to have you pull the literal plug on her without a second thought.
** ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'', in addition to the usual array of cruel and unusual deaths that can be inflicted via Vigors or specialised weapons, also gives the player free reign to run around Columbia murdering random civilians everywhere they go, with no storyline penalties whatsoever. In terms of things that can be done strictly to enemies, though, the various Sky-Hook executions probably take the cake-- its ''very first'' usage has you burying its spinning hooks into a poor chap's face, bloodily rendering it into hamburger meat amid a series of horrible whirring and crunching noises. Other Sky-Hook kills include catching a guy's neck in the blades and snapping it, doing the same only to ''grind his entire head off his neck'' in the process, and jamming the blades into their chests before lifting them up by it and tossing them aside. For added cruelty: do this in the vicinity of Elizabeth and she'll occasionally scream or yelp because of the sheer brutality of the executions.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare2'' has the infamous "No Russian" level in which [[spoiler:you gun down unarmed civilians in an airport while playing as an undercover agent who has infiltrated a terrorist group. Since there's obviously real-life issues about allowing players to take part in massacring civilians, the level actually makes the killing entirely optional...you can take part in it, or you can just leave it to your fellow terrorists (either way, civilians are massacred). However from a storyline perspective, it does stretch suspension of disbelief when you notice that your terrorist buddies say nothing about your non-participation. The game also allows you to simply skip the level with completion penalty, for those who might find it too disturbing.]]

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: World At War'' has a moment in the level "Eviction" where [[spoiler:you can choose whether to kill wounded and dying German soldiers after an explosion in Berlin. Worst of all, later on, you get called evil in Chernov's diary if you kill them all when Reznov reads it after Chernov's death.]]

** One SelfImposedChallenge is to kill/knockout as many civilians as possible without being seen by enemies or guards. It's possible to make the Hong Kong section practically devoid of life besides a handful of plot-required NPC's through judicious use of suckering guards into fighting civilians.
** Does it count as cruelty if you try to wound the enemies until they are low on HP by shooting them several times with a handgun, before using up one of the precious tranq needles? It works, but it is kind of conscience panging, seeing them run around like idiots, but at least they've stopped shooting you.

** It should also be noted that this is one of the few games that allows you to kill children. In the sequel, you can even shoot up a school.
** ''Deus Ex'' allows sadistic players to get very creative, especially with the world environment and the plentiful [=NPCs=] both human and animal. Throw TNT off the side of the Statue of Liberty so that it lands on someone and blows them into bloody giblet gravy? Sure. Unearth a half dozen harmless rats in piles of trash and chase them down to step on them like squealing dog toys? If that's your thing. Scare a harmless civilian or child so that they run into the line of sight of a gun turret rigged to shoot everything it sees into a bloody pulp? Entirely doable.
* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' allows you to perform takedowns, both lethal and non-lethal, to any character you find in the city. Want Adam to go on a ho-slapping spree? [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYpuzHyEY8Q&feature=related Go right ahead]].
** Talk a man out of suicide... Then kill him. Also, the groin attack takedown.
** That 'any character you find' bit? It can include the grieving mother of your ex-girlfriend, your former partner from when you were a cop, and a kindly (though senile) old woman who [[spoiler:saved your life when you were a baby and has been saving up birthday money for you ever since]]. To spice things up, you can choose to stay your hand and let a man die in absolute agony even though he's begging you to kill him. Of course, if you don't have the stomach for wanton slaughter, you can always emotionally destroy people instead! That grieving mother? Go ahead and tell her ''exactly'' how horrifically her daughter died. After being kind and sympathetic to an emotionally-shattered former colleague, convincing him to open up to you, you can tell him that he's a pathetic, child-murdering scumbag when he begs you for forgiveness.

** But that's not all, in the DLC The Missing Link, you have to choose between a bunch of prisioners that are used for experiments or a scientist that could expose all the experiments that are happening there to be saved. Though you[[spoiler: could save both from the gas]] you can also leave the place without giving a dime abour all them.
* ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}''

* The original ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' had the Air Taser which, when used on enemies, would shock the living bejeezus out of them. And you could hold them in this state until they [[ManOnFire CAUGHT ON FIRE.]] They would often scream horrifically the whole time? Also, this weapon is available from the very beginning, costs no ammunition to use, and counts as a STEALTH weapon.