Five Best Endgames

A good game ending may be hard to find--but equally hard to find is a good endgame.  The preceding sentence to an ending's punctuation, too often an endgame is a joyless slog of mindless, difficult combat, or simply deficient in wrapping the game up for the coming finish.

But this post is for the good ones.  These endgames are fun, exciting, and, one way or another, draw everything to a perfect close.


Honorable Mention:  "Baldur's Gate II:  Shadows of Amn"--Battling your way through an elven city can be difficult, but your character should be tough enough to take it (and duke it out) at this point.  Then your character is thrown unexpectedly into hell, where a series of moral choices offers a nice chance for some characterization before the epic ultimate battle.

5.  "King's Quest IV:  The Perils of Rosella"--As this game comes to a close, things seem darkest before building to the wonderful (and a little unexpected) conclusion.  It's simply a well-told tale, using fairy tale elements to create a colorful world and story.

4.  "Quest for Glory II:  Trial by Fire"--The only reason this isn't higher on the list is because there isn't much to do in Rasier, and you can't rest the time away.  Instead, you must simply wait.  While this serves to set the mood and add tension, it's also tedious as all get out until the final endgame kicks in.  Then there are prison escapes, sorcerous trials, triumphant duels, and prophecies unexpectedly fulfilled.

3.  "Dragon Age:  Origins"--The best part of the endgame for Origins is the multiple decisions to be made, decisions that may be very difficult for your character, which then affect the end of the game, sometimes in unexpected ways.  There's also a whole lot of combat, but you have been building up to fighting the darkspawn horde all game, and you can actually use those armies you've gathered!

2.  "Quest for Glory III:  Wages of War"--This is another endgame that ratchets up the tension excellently.  There is a good sense of doom throughout.  Then characters the hero helped during the game aid him, making an emotional climax all around.

1.  "Mass Effect"--Going on the run from the authorities to stop your foe is fun.  Stopping him while exploring the creepy ruins of a long-dead civilization is better.  But then the game just kicks the awesome up beyond forever by having you shoot across the galaxy in a tank and then fight your way up the side of a space station to defeat the giant mecha-Cthulu literally above you.  It has not been topped.