There's something about Captain Walker that makes it so compelling, I agree.
Actually, I'd argue that this is also the case in Dark Souls, but in a much more morally ambiguous manner. You are, for the most part, killing enemies for your own gain in the journey. What's so difficult, at least in my opinion, is that there are a number of different bosses (some optional) that have a very good reason to do what they're doing, and honestly having to kill a bunch of those bosses made me feel like a douchebag. The fact here is that the game character is an extension of me, much like how it worked in Saint's Row 2, that makes it so interesting.
It's an interesting point for introspection: how we react and behave around those characters is what truly tells us how we feel as humans, something that, due to the fact that we have agency in the game through its interactivity that we don't get to see in other forms of media.
Actually, I'd argue that this is also the case in Dark Souls, but in a much more morally ambiguous manner. You are, for the most part, killing enemies for your own gain in the journey. What's so difficult, at least in my opinion, is that there are a number of different bosses (some optional) that have a very good reason to do what they're doing, and honestly having to kill a bunch of those bosses made me feel like a douchebag. The fact here is that the game character is an extension of me, much like how it worked in Saint's Row 2, that makes it so interesting.
It's an interesting point for introspection: how we react and behave around those characters is what truly tells us how we feel as humans, something that, due to the fact that we have agency in the game through its interactivity that we don't get to see in other forms of media.