Prince of Persia (2008)
Another game with a supremely unsatisfying, frustrating ending — Prince of Persia (2008) is a jaunty platformer with fun dialogue between the Prince and his companion Elika. You explore a vast desert of magic in a light-hearted journey that suddenly turns dark at the end. Instead of defeating the bad guy and living happily ever after, Elika is killed and the Prince releases the ultimate evil Ahriman to revive her.
It’s a weirdly grim ending, and one that immediately ends with “To Be Continued…” as a black cloud fills the sky. The story continues in the Epilogue DLC, which costs a $9.99, where Elika and the Prince hash out the events of the ending and properly explain exactly WTF happened. The pair quickly re-establish a warm relationship and reassure us that the Prince isn’t evil now. He’s just going to look for a permanent solution to defeat Ahriman. The game gets yet another “To Be Continued…” at the end, but at least we aren’t left with such a downer.
Oh, and seeing as this is the first and last game in the rebooted Prince of Persia series, we probably aren’t going to get any conclusion at all to this plot.
Dead Space 3
Prince of Persia (2008) gave us a reassuring epilogue after a grim cliffhanger ending. Dead Space 3 is the complete opposite — the DLC that continues the story is far more absurd and cliffhanger-y than the main game. At the end of Dead Space 3, the alien Necromorph threat is defeated and the giant moon-sized organism is destroyed. Isaac Clarke, our hero, is very likely dead but the stinger hints at his possible survival.
That survival is completely confirmed in the Awakening DLC, where Isaac Clarke and your co-op partner Soldier Guy (does anybody remember his name?) escape the planet they’re stranded on and return to Earth. But in the ultimate downing ending — which also makes no sense, considering that the normal game’s ending showed no signs of Necromorph activity — the Earth is completely surrounded by giant moon-sized Necromorph organisms. Is it real? Is it another hallucination?
And that’s the end of the series! This is one true ending we regret paying for.
Find for fumbled endings and attempts to sell us extra DLC on the next page.
