For instance: while most people will probably cite Aeris’ death in FFVII, I consider the ending to FFVIII to be one of the best endings to any video game ever put together. I’ve actually gone onto YouTube and just rewatched the ending sequence because it’s so powerful.

One of the other games that just kept hitting me was Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. BioWare is remarkably proficient at presenting moral quandaries, and the first KOTOR title presents a real doozy. Remember the shock you felt the first time your character’s true identity was revealed to you? And how do you choose to handle the situation thenceforth, once this knowledge is imparted to you?

Same goes for Silent Hill 2, for that matter. Once you discover what James did to Mary, it really does force you look at him and the whole game differently.

One of the other games which has two astonishing endings — and they both take frakking FOREVER to achieve — is Front Mission 3. It’s pretty hard to forget the cutscene of Emma Klamsky talking about being a laughing, carefree child whilst running through a field of flowers.

As video games — and their core audience — continue to mature and become more accepted as part of mainstream culture rather than a youthful indulgence, I personally believe more and more people will simply look upon them the same way as we look upon movies or stage plays: simply another medium by which to make us laugh and cry.