Has a game ever made you cry?

Mass Effect 2 managed an impressive feat IMO - it crafted an adventure that felt like the player actually had some agency in its progression and outcome. It was, like any game, an illusion: obviously it was all pre-ordained and subject to Bioware's script / systems. But the level of deviation in individual's endings goes to show they did a great job at crafting something that put the weight of decision-making and relationship building on the player's shoulders. It proactively encouraged you to understand the motivations, strengths and weaknesses of your squad, and convincingly built its narrative and level design around that concept. Yes, it is merely another space opera, but it's a brilliantly designed one even when the script falls flat (dear Bioware: please never attempt a sex scene again as you make it look like two action figures being bumped off each other). I don't think the first or third games came anywhere near successfully achieving the same goals. Most disappointingly, the third game undermined the importance of your achievements in game two - while Mass Effect 2 promised that the squad you put together and their survival were vital for the forthcoming war, reducing several of them to mere NPCs or cameos in the sequel was a baffling call. Some of them were granted their grand send-off, but the arbitrary decision-making at the end made everything that came before seem more than a little pointless.

The Persona series is an example of another series that has a meaningful, dynamic relationship between gameplay, characters and story - your decisions throughout the 'social' aspects of the game significantly impact upon your abilities in the 'combat' gameplay.