For a long time in games, or at least the ones I played, it seemed almost unthinkable to kill off the main character in any way. You were playing a hero after all, and a hero always survives everything and is hailed champion. Maybe that's what got some of us into games in the first place, the notion that we could play that hero and become larger than life in a an existance that isn't always that exciting. I still remember those long summer days playing Suikoden for the first time. I was in so deep in the story and the characters that albeit playing the game in some capacity with friends, I hardly ever turned the controller over to them. After 30 some hours, I was done and I felt like my life was enriched by the experience. My hero led the rebellion and vanquished all evil.  
 
But something has happened in the last couple of years, heroes are still heroic but they are beginning to adopt flaws or even backgrounds that they try to redeem. I suppose we're getting jaded and we need to know that our heroes are regular people with their flaws intact. But with that comes the story development in accordance with that reality. And the result is that the hero may not alaways survive the experience. 
 
I've finished a few games in the last 6 months or so where they all kill off the main character (or at least in some endings) and I am beginning to feel a bit of an urge to play a game where my hero lives. Because while in some respects, it's a bold move to kill the main character if he's very likable, but it's also a very powerful move if done correctly. But, while it is a powerful tool, I've come to the realization that it often leads to a feeling of being unsatisfied. 
 
Some games post-correct that satisfaction, but most don't. 
 
I suppose there's a place for everything, and I do enjoy the emotional aspect of having your character killed. But still, goddamn, sometimes it just plain sucks because some dudes just need to keep on breathing, they've earned it.