I know the Star Wars game on PS2 (forget the proper name) you can do this, which made it so appealing to the pervert in me. I’ve heard not so good things about the second one, so any other good ones?
I’d say the character you play in the Grand Theft Auto franchise isn’t a very nice person…
Jeez, talk about a broad subject. In other words, there’s lots.
First off is all the Grand Theft Auto games, where you play as a crook. Also in this line is Mafia.
If you’re talking more about games where you can be either the good guy or the bad one, pretty much every real time strategy game ever released lets you play as either side. In the Command & Conquer games you play either side through simliar campaigns set at the same time. In Blizzard RTS’s like StarCraft or Warcraft 3 you play through the different factions one at a time, some which are good and some which are bad.
And of course any RPG worth it’s salt gives you options to play as a bad guy, or at the very least a huge jerk. The Baldur’s gate series, Fallout series, Planescape: Torment and Arcanum all have lots of options for being a dickhead, and you get just as much (though different) rewards as if you’re a good guy for most of them.
Postal 2. Depending on how you play the game, you can be anything from a hapless bystander to a selective vigilante to an utterly psychopathic butcher of thousands.
Fun game. Good for stress relief.
Are you referring to the Knights of the Old Republic games? You can be either good or evil in both games.
How about The Suffering? You start out as a prisoner in a jail.
And Manhunt, where you are a criminal who is “executed,” then told that, for all intents and purposes, you’re dead.
From the Rockstar Games website:
"They just killed Cash.
Now they want to kill him again.
America is full of run down, broken rust-belt towns where nobody cares and anything goes. In Carcer City, nothing matters anymore and all that’s left are cheap thrills. The ultimate rush is the power to grant life and take it away, for sport. This time James Earl Cash, you are the sport. Now, they are going to hunt you down.
You awake to the sound of your own panicked breath. You must run, hide, and fight to survive. If you can stay alive long enough, you may find out who did this to you.
This is the brutal blood sport, and it’s all about the money shot."
I’m going to take a stab in the dark when I say City of Villians.
Yeah, you’ve got the idea with KotOR. As much fun as the GTA series is, it’s not quite getting the essence of being bad like I’m looking for. Another game I’m thinking of is Deus Ex, which I recently dedicated a thread to it’s awesomeness about 2 weeks ago. Alpha Centauri also sort of gave me the badness feeling.
If you prefer not to be the bad guy by killing folks, there’s always games like Custer’s Revenge (rape a girl tied to a cactus). You can’t really play anyone else, though.
In Princess Maker(2?) you are a father who is given a daughter to raise and educate through her teen years. Once she’s old enough, you can send her to work at various disreputable places, leading her on a road to moral ruin. Playing the game in a certain way, you can also get her to marry a demon or even yourself. The most infamous part of the game is that a hacked version allows you to remove her clothing. Even when she’s still 10 years old.
To second Superdude’s post: Manhunt.
The setup is as he described, but basically the story is that you’re being used as the star of a snuff film.
On the one hand, you’re not killing innocent bystanders, but on the other there’s no way to finish the scenes without murdering everyone you encounter, and the more brutally you slaughter them, the better your final score.
Cool game. I’m about halfway through right now.
Not an accurate description of the game.
She’s not tied and she appears happy to get it on with Custer.
You can be as nasty as you like in Morrowind, including becoming a vampire or werewolf and depopulating the game.
In Deception, you hunt people for their bodies ( to make monsters ), serve Satan, and can release him to devastate the world. Plus, you kill quite a few innocent people. There’s this one scene when the dying daughter of a couple you have killed is saying “Mommy, Daddy, where are you ?” Pretty evil.
The vampire Kain, from the Legacy of Kain games is fairly evil, not to mention arrogant and ruthless.
Bloodrayne is technically on the side of good, but she’s also a homicidal maniac.
Any of the Civilization or Sim City games. You can either neglect your own populace (both games) or use and abuse your neighbours (Civ.)
The oft-overlooked Freelancer allows a fair bit of good/bad play, particularly since the game is open-ended. Want to fight pirates? Go ahead! Wanna turn around and stab your Navy allies in the back? Sure!
Of course, I’m a wee tad biased since I’m a Clan Leader on a FL server, but that’s beside the point.
Sadly, it was rushed into release a bit, but it’s really one of my favorite games.
Neverwinter Nights. Your character’s alignment is entirely your choice.
Black & White. Your godling thingy can be nice or nasty.
If you want to travel back into the days of 1996 or so, Dungeon Master allowed you to build your own toture chambers.
Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines in which you can choose to be on any side in vampire society terms, whilst still being an evil innocent-sucking monster. Fun.
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. It is not only an option, but necessary to success, that you murder innocents along the way. At the end of the game, you genuinely have the option to restore your world or plunge it into evil.
In Akuji the Demon you’re the demon who got his powers sealed away by the hero and the goal is to get them back and kick his ass.
Almost forgot *Evil Genius[\i]. You get to play an old-school Bond villain who builds a secret fortress, trains minions, tortures spies and tries to hold the world hostage.