The examples that come to mind are in AC1 and 6, respectively. They try to pull what I call the “Caesar’s Legion Fallacy”, where they have two sides that they desperately try to convince you are both equally bad and/or morally grey, despite one being obviously way, WAY worse. Fallout New Vegas tries to convince you that the aforementioned Legion are “morally grey”, despite them being misogynist rapist slave traders, and clearly worse than the NCR, who just want you to pay taxes.
FromSoft tries to pull this in the first Armored Core, where Chrome and Murakumo are played like equal entities, despite Murakumo being INFINITELY worse. Both corps have a terrorist cell under their command, but while Chrome makes easily-laser-bladed bioweapons, Murakumo is trying to BLOW UP THE PLANET AGAIN. One is clearly more villainous, no? Also Chrome makes cooler frame parts.
In AC6 they try it again with slightly more success with Balam and Arquebus. Both factions have endearing characters, cool designs, and a lot of personality. HOWEVER, the blocky part makers win this one again, with the Redguns (REDGUNS RULE) being portrayed as a rowdy, hootin’, hollerin’ family of badasses. The members (except for Wu Huahai, fuck you, y’traitor) are all likable, fun dudes with a great dynamic. That’s a 6-1 ratio of cool vs. not. (I’m counting Raven in there because we know nothing about Hakra, alas.) Arquebus and the Vespers, on the other hand, number only four, count ‘em, FOUR good folks amount them— Rusty, Pater, O’Keeffe and Hawkins. The rest are varying shades of bastardry, with Swinburne being a cowardly freak with a brainwashing fetish, Maeterlinck… just not being cut out for Vesperhood (too easily overwhelmed), Freud is a blood knight psychopath, and Snail is Snail. That’s an even 50/50! Balam wins on that front.
What the corps themselves do, however, Arquebus is once again, far worse. Balam hasn’t committed any atrocities that we know of, probably only the standard set of war crimes. Big Arq, on the other hand… the elephant in the room is naturally the “re-education”. The brainwashing. The removal of any and all humanity from a person. See also gross mistreatment of independent mercenaries, (two counts) gross mistreatment of one of their top assets, (one count) eleven trillion war crimes, and Snail.
I rest my case. I don’t wanna be all doom and gloom here though, as FromSoft absolutely succeeded at this in Last Raven with Alliance and Vertex. Neither are more monstrous than the other, with a perfect yin-yang of dickishness and fucktuckery.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk :)