Obvious Traitor

[Sabre]

Was playing Dragon Age today and just finished the opening.

Up until just before the big battle to decide the fate of the land the gold haired king and his wise milletery advisor bring in various non descript characters, the player, and a thin, pale dude with long black hair, black and grey armour, and an almost British accent. Later on in the story someone turns out to be a traitor. Can you guess who?

Now I get colour coded villains, but if someone is going to turn traitor why make it obvious from the start?

Then a genuine suprise. The player dies as due to said traitor-age, the baddies overwhelm the tower you are in. Then you wake up in a forrest miles away, fully healed, and the only person left capable of stopping this evil force. How? Well hold onto your chair because I kid you not, the reason given, a witch did it.

This game is known for it's great story, and while the characters are good (you get your own battle dog too which is awesome) the story itself so far is absolute crap. These 2 massive story killers can easily be prevented too. Have the traitor dress like any of the other non descript generals, and second, don't kill the bloody player. Have him flee when everything goes to pot. Anything other then "Oh, you died but a witch brought you back to life miles away from the bad guys".

You want to know another game that did the obvious traitor thing? Killzone 1. All the US general types, and one pale thin guy this time with a vaguely european accent of inderminate origin (been a while since I played it) and sure enough, turns out to be working for the bad guy. I know about not judging on appearence, but in these cases it makes the heroes look as oblivious as Zap Branigan.

[Star Fox Runner]

Yeah, I can understand this. Don't make it obvious unless it serves some sort of plot point, and it most definitely didn't here. Having it as a surprise is always better, at least in my opinion.

[DoctorAllosaurus]

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin/Dark Conflict was full of this. I could tell right away who was trustworthy and who wasn't.