My Favourite Games Characters

As a 40 something man I am still a relatively new gamer, I think I just missed out on the whole scene as when I was a kid the types of games available were the old “bat and ball on a screen” type of game which wasn’t exactly inspiring and not really much of a single player experience. I first got into games a few years ago when my cousin convinced me to get a PS2 so we could play Burnout when he came over to my house, since then I have moved on to the Xbox 360 and although I still love Burnout and driving games I have moved on to different types as well. Over the last few years I have been introduced to a wealth of characters that a lot of people have grown up with but I am just getting to know through remakes of old games or a new instalments in a series. The new release of Tomb Raider has shown me why people can become obsessed with Lara Croft, I joked with a few people that I needed to close my eyes during some of her more gutsy movements and leaps between ledges or up cliff faces. I have also discovered that Max Payne has lead a real tough life, I have only gleamed this information from the final instalment of the Trilogy but I am now eager to find out what happened before the latest episode began. It is the same with Splinter Cell and Hitman. My first experiences of these were from Conviction and Absolution respectively and I thoroughly enjoyed the stealth aspect of both games, Hitman was my favourite as it really challenged me and made me look at the whole experience and environment in a completely different way. I am already looking forward to going back over some of the older games featuring Agent 47 and the new release for Sam Fisher and Third Echelon. Sadly there is not room for all of these characters in my top 5, only the bald, dual pistol wielding assassin has managed to secure one of these coveted places as there are so many other characters that have captured my heart or sparked my imagination. So, without further hesitation, here are my top 5 characters. I welcome your discussions or suggestions of any characters I may have missed. Who knows, I may extend this to become a top 10.
1,GlaDos - I was introduced to this character by Portal and then again in Portal 2, although the games themselves are brilliant this character really does make the game. After just a few minutes of playing I knew I needed to activate the subtitles as there were sarcastic, funny or just completely evil comments that I was missing out on. The way GlaDos taunts the test subject in both instalments of the game earns this character the number one spot in my opinion. The second game also has some very funny, but quite subtle references to the first installment.

2, Dominic Santiago - Gears of War has to be up there as one of my favourite games on the 360. The game play and story line for the whole trilogy reads like a Hollywood script with more than its fair share of action scenes. The character list in the series itself is strong and there were at least another 2 contenders for a spot in the top 5. “Marcus Fenix”, one of the main characters or “Augustus Cole train Cole”, could easily have taken a spot here but it is the selfless actions and sacrifice made in the final instalment and the moving scenes in the second episode as Dominic searches for his beloved wife that catapulted him into second place.

3, Big Daddy – Bioshock was one of those games that had me hooked as soon as I started to play it, I loved exploring the underwater world of “Rapture” and all of the challenges that came with it but I really loved the unusual weapons and “Plasmids” that were available to your character. As well as having your normal enemies you also had to face “The Big Daddy”, these are the lumbering characters that protect the little sisters and move around the game really slowly until they are provoked and then you are in trouble. You are up against a fully armoured, fast moving giant with powerful weapons all ready to put your skills to the test. In Bioshock2 you actually get the chance to see what life was like on the other side of the battle as you become the Big Daddy.
4, Agent 47 – As I have mentioned before, until Hitman Absolution came out I was not familiar with Agent 47 and I was a little reluctant to give this game a try as I thought I may struggle with the concept. I have say although I did find parts of it really difficult I loved the idea and the stealthy play of the game. The reason I have chosen Agent 47 over Sam Fisher is the limited Arsenal available to him and the lack of actual gadgets. Agent 47 is more likely to use every day items to his advantage and can therefore become more “creative” in his dispatching of the enemy. The fact that there are several different ways to get though the levels also appeals to me and I did find myself replaying parts of the game to try another method or to improve my stealth skills. It was during these replays that I found areas that I had missed previously that added a new dimension to the imagination.
5, The Witch - This is a bit of an unusual one and I have only included her because she scares the life out of me. Left 4 Dead has some great characters to it, as well as the 4 main characters, Bill, Louis, Francis & Zoey you come up against the Hunter who is waiting to Pounce on you, the Smoker who strangles you with his tongue, the Boomer who vomits bile over you that attracts the infected and the Tank who is just pure strength as the name suggests. Each character has their own music to announce their arrival but it is when you hear the high pitched, staccato music that tells you there is a witch nearby that the goose pimples start and the adrenalin level raises. There are 2 ways to deal with the Witch. You can try to take her out with one shot to the head or you can sneak past slowly. I advise on the second as if you don’t succeed in a one shot kill then she comes out fighting and you had better make sure you have plenty of first aid packs!