30 Characters

[KerfuffleMach2]

So, I got my Game Informer today, and they had an article on the 30 best game characters in the past eleven years. So, I figured I'd share with you all and get your opinions. Thee games are from 2000 to 2010, and I'll go from 30 to 1.

30) The King of All Cosmos - Katamari series
29) Bonnie MacFarlane - Red Dead Redemption
28) Wander - Shadow of the Colossus
27) Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney series
26) Professor Layton - Professor Layton series
25) KOS-MOS - Xenosaga series
24) Jade - Beyond Good and Evil
23) Kaim Argonar - Lost Odyssey
22) Razputin "Raz" Aquato - Psychonauts
21) Auron - Final Fantasy X
20) Tim - Braid
19) The Boss - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
18) Tommy Vercetti - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
17) The Illusive Man - Mass Effect 2
16) Elena Fisher - Uncharted series
15) HK-47 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series
14) Captain John Price - Call of Duty series
13) Jimmy Hopkins - Bully
12) Commander Shepard - Mass Effect series
11) Ethan Mars - Heavy Rain
10) Ezio Auditore da Firenze - Assassin's Creed series
09) Loghain Mac Tir - Dragon Age: Origins
08) Andrew Ryan - BioShock
07) Kratos - God of War series
06) Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2
05) Niko Bellic - Grand Theft Auto IV
04) Master Chief - Halo series
03) Nathan Drake - Uncharted series
02) John Marston - Red Dead Redemption
01) GLaDOS - Portal

-----------------------------------

Well, there you have it! Comments, suggestions? Let's hear your opinions!

[Tavar]

As much as I like some of the games, I don't think some of those are great characters. Or even one character. I mean, Shepard comprises at least 2 personalities and 2 different genders.

So while I might like the Halo series, Master Chief isn't a great character. Especially not in the games. At least in the expanded universe he has something of a character.

[KerfuffleMach2]

I must say, I agree with GLaDOS and HK-47 being on the list. Don't know if I'd put GLaDOS as number one, but I'd put her on the list.

[Forbiddenwar]

Kos-Mos? Really? Alyx? What drugs were they on and where can I get some?
What about Kain, or Kerrigan?

Agree about Glados. Kind of indifferent about Kratos. How do you sepearte the charactr from the player's actions?

[littlebottom]

wow... yeah... that list just seems pretty wrong. cant argue with GLaDOS being no.1 or near to it though. but id saay around 75% of those names shouldnt be on there. but thats just my opinion, i mean professor layton? ok the games are ookaaaay, some obviously like them more than others, but the character himself is pretty bland in my opinion.

i could go off and make my own list of top 30 but i doubt i couls keep within the last 11 years though.

Auron? are you kidding me? im a rabid fanboy of the FF series, and yet i wouldnt put Auron on that list. yeah, he is pretty cool and bad-ass in his own way, and in a game filled with relatively weak characters, he stood out. but he was no where near great.:smallannoyed:

[Zevox]

Okay, I haven't played the games that many of those are from, but those that I have... really? KOS-MOS? GLaDOS? Kratos? Jade? Auron? Raz? Loghain? HK-47? The Illusive Man? Sheperd? Kaim?

Heck, I like many of the games, but "best characters from the past 11 years?" Hell no. I'd wager I'd disagree with quite a number of others if I'd played their games too.

Zevox

[MoelVermillion]

Do they explain what metric they're using for "best"? Is it most realistically written? Most iconic? Most attractive? Great is too much of a general term for this list to be meaningful I need to know what metric they are going by.

Anyway everyone is always going to disagree with these lists, they usually work better if you use a poll but then it becomes a popularity contest and great characters in games that didn't sell too well get missed (though that probably happened here as well :smallbiggrin:).

Andrew Ryan was pretty cool though.

[littlebottom]

yeah, the smaller games dont get their names out there, i really really liked a game called resonance of fate, and there were some good characters in that. although one of the main three characters had me in stitches time and time again throughout the (long JRPG) game, called vashyron.

i doubt anyone else around here knows what im talking about, since ive never actually met anyone else who knows the game in person. but this is the playground, so maybe one of you will know. but yeah, simply put, he had quite a basic character concept, but it was pulled off just so well :smallbiggrin:

i hope someone knows what im talking about so i dont feel like im wasting everyones time :smallredface:

[Zevox]

I've heard of Resonance of Fate, and it's on my "to-rent" list, but I haven't actually played it as yet, so I'm afraid I can't comment on whatever it is you're talking about.

Zevox

[Mecharious]

GLaDOS at number 1? Really?

Sigh

[Arcanoi]

I hate how awful lists like this usually are. Big name titles get their names thrown up with awful, faceless characters. Wander? The Master Chief? Both of them want for any characterization at all. Between the two of them they might have three lines of exposition in total. It seems more like the judges took games they liked and then picked character names out of a hat.

Loghain? In a game with such gems as Alistair and Oghren they picked the mustache-twirling, unnecessarily paranoid plot device villain? Loghain was about as much of a character as the Archdemon was.

Kratos? Was I the only one who actively hated him? Kratos goes around killing people for VENGEANCE! over and over and over again, mercilessly slaughtering people, many of them innocent simply, because they disagree with him. Some of the more graphic murders (Anyone remember Poseidon's daughter?) seem to be included merely to allow the developers can live out their bondage, brutality, domination, and gore fetishes. s it even possible to empathize with, let alone 'like', Kratos?

[littlebottom]

@Zevox: yeah, i certainly reccomend it to anyone who A: likes JRPGS and B: likes steampunk stylie.

although i would warn you off it slightly if you dont like the grind. the game requires you to really take advantage of all the things you can, like upgrading your weapons. if you dont keep ontop of it, and dont play it atleast fairly strategically for harder fights, then the only other way is to grind up levels.

dont get me wrong, you dont have to grind levels to play through the game much, but when you first start playing it, while you learn the system and how it works since its unlike your average RPG since its a mix of turn based and real time, you will proberbly struggle. i struggled on bosses a bit, some more than others, but once i got to around chapter 6ish i restarted and did it much much easier. oh, and do ALL the side missions you can as soon as you can, since they change each chapter and of course, extra money, exp and items cant be bad!

[Zevox]

JRPGs are basically my favorite genre of games, which is why it's on my "to-rent" list as it is. Trust me, I'm not worried about difficulty or grind - those are plenty present in some games I love already.

Zevox

[warty goblin]

Commander Shepard is a very bad choice, as previously pointed out. Anybody so poorly characterized you can change their sex really should not be considered a great character...and if they are it's time to raise the bar a bit.

Also, it excludes Geralt of Rivia, who actually has a personality.

I suspect this is mostly an opportunity for games journalists to engage in their favorite pastime: reminding themselves how awesome their favorite games are by making lists pointing out how awesome they are.

Top __ Lists: Where critical thinking goes to die.

[factotum]

Commander Shepard is a very bad choice, as previously pointed out. Anybody so poorly characterized you can change their sex really should not be considered a great character...and if they are it's time to raise the bar a bit.


I'd disagree slightly. Whichever sex and playstyle you choose, Commander Shephard is a very well-written and detailed character. It's impossible to completely define a character that's supposed to be controlled to a large extent by the player, true, but doesn't that then apply to *any* video game protagonist--including Geralt of Rivia? After all, you could choose which path to take him down and his conversation options would change accordingly!

[Zevox]

It's impossible to completely define a character that's supposed to be controlled to a large extent by the player, true, but doesn't that then apply to *any* video game protagonist
No. Not in the least.

Zevox

[SparkMandriller]

"My top 20 favourite games, and some obscure games thrown in so I can look non-mainstream and gain nerd cred."

[tyckspoon]

but thats just my opinion, i mean professor layton? ok the games are ookaaaay, some obviously like them more than others, but the character himself is pretty bland in my opinion.


Hey! He is a Gentleman and a Scholar. Just because his personality is markedly more mild than some of the ranting villains, aggressive macho badasses, and outright freaks that populate the rest of the list..

[Ranielle]

More of fanservice than an actual list of great characters, putting some pcs and npcs from popular games on the list and everyone will go "yeah I like that game".

Shallow.

[factotum]

No. Not in the least.

Zevox

Oh no! I am undone by the awesome power of your argument! I'm meeeelllttting... :smallsigh:

[Dark Faun]

Planescape: Torment came out in 1999... I'm surprised no character from this game is included.

[psilontech]

Yet another reason I no longer subscribe to gaming mags.
They're all written by idiots.

[warty goblin]

I'd disagree slightly. Whichever sex and playstyle you choose, Commander Shephard is a very well-written and detailed character. It's impossible to completely define a character that's supposed to be controlled to a large extent by the player, true, but doesn't that then apply to *any* video game protagonist--including Geralt of Rivia? After all, you could choose which path to take him down and his conversation options would change accordingly!

No, see well drawn characters have backstory, a history that informs what they do in the present, have an attitude, an approach to things, set likes and dislikes. Shepard has two flavors of badass one-liners and a few different one-off quests depending which box you tick at start-up. I played the entirety of Mass Effect and still had no idea who the hell Shepard was.

I played approximately twenty minutes of the Witcher, and had a fairly good grasp of who Geralt was; worldweary, surprised by none of life's cruelties, cynical as a defense not because he doesn't care, and starting to wonder just what the point of it all really is.

[Kzickas]

But while Geralt did have a personality, it was a personality that made you want to knock him over the head and throw him in a river, with a stone tied to his neck. And seeing as how he was the protagonist that doesn't win him points on a great characters list

[Ranielle]

Geralt is awesome as a character on so many levels. The game sold me the books, which are also great. It is usually the books that sell the games, no?

[Smiling Knight]

I find the lack of Kanji Tatsumi disturbing.

[Zevox]

Oh no! I am undone by the awesome power of your argument! I'm meeeelllttting... :smallsigh:
I honestly cannot see how you would believe that your statement is at all accurate. Most video game protagonists are not defined by the players at all, but by the game's creators. Anyone not from a blank slate character style WRPG will generally fall into that category. I shouldn't even have to point out that the biggest names in gaming - Mario, Mega Man, Pac Man, etc - are like this, much less examples of more interesting characters like Yuri Lowell or Laharl. Many of the characters on that list - those that are main protagonists rather than other roles, anyway - are such as well, like Raz, Jade, and Kratos.

Your assertion there was simply so obviously wrong as to be self-defeating, since any basic knowledge of video game protagonists outside of Bioware and similar games should be sufficient to dismiss it out of hand.

Zevox

[Domochevsky]

I find the lack of Kanji Tatsumi disturbing.

Ah, now there's a good character. :smallbiggrin:
(Pretty much all characters of Persona 4 are good, really.)

[factotum]

I shouldn't even have to point out that the biggest names in gaming - Mario, Mega Man, Pac Man, etc - are like this, much less examples of more interesting characters like Yuri Lowell or Laharl. Many of the characters on that list - those that are main protagonists rather than other roles, anyway - are such as well, like Raz, Jade, and Kratos.


OK, that's pretty much every character who ever appeared in a console title, but since I don't play console titles, it doesn't get me much further into your thought processes. (And Pac-Man having a defined character? Surely you have to be joking, right?).

[Zevox]

OK, that's pretty much every character who ever appeared in a console title, but since I don't play console titles, it doesn't get me much further into your thought processes. (And Pac-Man having a defined character? Surely you have to be joking, right?).
Thought process? What are you looking for that I didn't already give you? Video game characters can be and often are most definitely defined by the game's creators, not the players. It's a pretty simple point.

As for Pac-Man, he simply came to mind as one of the most famous figures in gaming. I'm pretty sure he had some weird games that did give him something more like a background than his original one did - heck, I even remember seeing an episode or two of a Pac-Man cartoon way back when I was very young - but in any event, that's not terribly important to the point.

Zevox

[tribble]

OK, that's pretty much every character who ever appeared in a console title, but since I don't play console titles, it doesn't get me much further into your thought processes. (And Pac-Man having a defined character? Surely you have to be joking, right?).

He has a wife, you know. has kids, too.


And if you're going to say, "I don't play consoles, your argument is invalid" I believe the appropriate response is to cite:
Thrall
Arthas
Deckard Cain
Raynor
SSSSSIIIINDRIIIII
actually, make that anybody from dawn of war.
etc.

[Emperor Ing]

SSSSSIIIINDRIIIII
actually, make that anybody from dawn of war.
etc.

Nope. Gotta be SIIINDRIIIIIIIII!!!!1

I know Glados, and she does deserve to be on the list, but I think her #1 spot has more to do with raving fanboydom than actual...well...anything else.

I'm a fan of Halo, but I don't think MC should be that high on the list. Yes, he's awesome, but he's the munchkin character in the party with no personality. That's not to say MC doesn't have a personality, he's just not the most interesting character in that way.

Uhh...where's Duke Nukem?

[dgnslyr]

Uhh...where's Duke Nukem?

Not within the last decade?
According to Wikipedia, though, I'm wrong, if we count Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project, though the 3rd person perspective makes it seem a bit odd as a Duke Nukem game.

[Raroy]

A holiday buying guide, a list of best video characters that is highly subjective and seemingly fan-boyish, and list of best story tellers?

I know Game informer is all previews and hype but did they really have nothing else to write about?

November 2010 was a pretty bad issue, good thing my subscription will be over in 2011.

[cdstephens]

HK-47 > Master Chief. Master Chief doesn't even have a character in the games.

[Wreckingrocc]

Kratos? Was I the only one who actively hated him? Kratos goes around killing people for VENGEANCE! over and over and over again, mercilessly slaughtering people, many of them innocent simply, because they disagree with him. Some of the more graphic murders (Anyone remember Poseidon's daughter?) seem to be included merely to allow the developers can live out their bondage, brutality, domination, and gore fetishes. s it even possible to empathize with, let alone 'like', Kratos?Nope, but it would appear the rest of us are mostly silent. I just hope it's a silent majority. When I first picked up the game one of my colleagues was ranting about how awesome he is. "He's so evil it's awesome!" When I played through, all I saw him as was that guy in their first DnD group who plays an evil character, and kills people because he's evil. It's just awful and stupid.

I think all of Kratos - all of it- could perhaps be forgiven if he didn't go through that awful, awful sequence in which he relives the killing of his wife, and asks for forgiveness. I mean, come on. You feel regret for what you've done, and during your quest you go and continue to do it? It's just utterly ridiculous.

As for the rest of the list, Nathan Drake, Andrew Ryan, and HK47 [#1, anyone?] are awesome, and totally deserve their spots.

Elena was written well, and she's certainly memorable, but she didn't have that much of a drive. Where Nathan was adventurous and bold, she was just kind of scared, but along for the ride because she has to. In the first, she wants off the island. In the second, it's a combination of wanting to stop the BBEG and stick around Nathan. Honestly, I'd give her a B+, maybe. She's good, but not Top 30 quality.

GLaDOS shouldn't deserve her high spot after all the fanboys that've raved over all her comedic bits, but when you consider the actual writing behind her, she seems considerably better. As Valve, writing this game from the get-go, it actually is quite a brilliant, hilarious, and awesome task which they've partaken. She's an iconic, hilarious character whom no one would forget, and I honestly think nobody would be raging at her or dismissing her humor as dry if not for all the incessant quoting.

Auron, I'd argue, was pretty badass and awesome. Even as I play through the game, he still is. And as quiet and mysterious as he is, at least he does have personality, and background. He has stuff to lose, etc, etc. As with all RPGs, I think it immensely aggravating that he's killed the BBEG once before, and yet enters the party barely capable of handling common monsters, but I'm still a fan nonetheless. It might just be the relativity of the situation speaking, though. Tidus' voice still makes me cringe.

Shepard was... well, diverse. As much as I love the choice system of the game, I feel like it's always overshadowed by the overwhelming desire of the player to pick "Paragon" or "Renegade" and just stick to that. I feel like Shepard's 'writing' is leagues better if the player just sticks to what fits the situation, or what seems like the best idea (never mind the fact that all outcomes, save for some minor variations, are the same). In every dialogue, there's usually one option that's awesome and consistent with the "Shepard" I envision, and one that's either stupid and adhering to the alignment choice (killing the criminal on that asteroid in the first one, leaving the captives to die), or hilarious but outlandish (sending the tripping volus to die in the Samara recruit mission of the second). Thus, one Shepard pathway is a brilliant, awesome character, and another is just lame and bland.

The Illusive Man is, at present, too vaguely defined to make any judgments upon. I feel like he's lacking a character entirely, which was kind of the feel the game designers were going for anyways. I mean, hell, the writers explicitly stated somewhere that it might not even be one person, but a face for several. I'd rather wait until Mass Effect 3 before even considering placing him on that list.

Ezio: Eh. I liked the backstory and feel of the character, but I think it was a little overdone. Like, okay, it's good to know why a character is where they are, and what they've gone through. But some of the scenes were just extraneous. The fact that you just fall right into Altair's shoes in a confused, muddled moment makes for an interesting story. You don't know what's going on because you only have so much time in the Animus, and you're got to jump in at the right point. Why in Ezio's story did Desmond see him as a baby, and as a street-roaming teenager? The exposition was a mixed bag for me, but I don't really see him as Top 30 material.

Captain Price... Why... Just why? I don't even remember anything about him, other than that he tags along on a couple of missions, and that he and Soap are later renegade buddies. He has some lines, but nothing too in-depth; nothing interesting, nothing awesome. Just... Kinda run-of-the-mill.

Loghain: I think DCGFTW hit the nail right on the head. I'd throw Jowan up as a definite contender, too.

Alyx was... There. I don't think she had much Top-30 writing...

As for Wander... sigh.

[cdstephens]

Wait a tick....where's Revan?

:smallconfused:

[Wreckingrocc]

Wait a tick....where's Revan?

:smallconfused:The same could be said for many a character.

[cdstephens]

The same could be said for many a character.

It's just that, many of those don't deserve to be called characters, let alone be on that list.

Captain Price, Master Chief, and Kratos are just testosterone overdosed men that are prone to violence.

Loghaine was a good character, but I don't think he was that compelling. Bioware had made characters much more compelling than him imo, like Revan, or perhaps even Tali(?) (I really liked Tali).

[warty goblin]

It's just that, many of those don't deserve to be called characters, let alone be on that list.

Captain Price, Master Chief, and Kratos are just testosterone overdosed men that are prone to violence.


Although really, if you start to apply this standard you eliminate just about every videogame protagonist who's not featured in an adventure, driving or sports game.

[factotum]

He has a wife, you know. has kids, too.

And if you're going to say, "I don't play consoles, your argument is invalid" I believe the appropriate response is to cite:


I never said anything of the kind--I merely said I'd never played any of the characters specified and so didn't see how they bolstered Zevox's argument.

As for your list, don't know the last one, and Deckard Cain is never directly controlled by the player. I will grudgingly admit that the characterisation of the other three is largely independent of the player, but they're from a genre (real-time strategy) that has such a rigid and linear structure that it's not hard for the game producers to make that happen. I prefer RPGs, myself, and I still think that most RPG protagonists are supposed to reflect the character the player assigns them; the Nameless One from Planescape: Torment being a perfect example of this, while also being an awesome character no matter how you play him!

[cdstephens]

Although really, if you start to apply this standard you eliminate just about every videogame protagonist who's not featured in an adventure, driving or sports game.

I'm sure I can think of an example of a violent protagonist like those three that has character.

*Ponders*

I like mah RPGs better anyways. :P

[Wreckingrocc]

Although really, if you start to apply this standard you eliminate just about every videogame protagonist who's not featured in an adventure, driving or sports game.So? Characters are characters.

And cds, I hear you loud and clear. See my paragraph response above :smalltongue:

[cdstephens]

So? Characters are characters.

And cds, I hear you loud and clear. See my paragraph response above :smalltongue:

Indeed, that paragraph was brimming with awesomeness.

It helped to clarify some of the characters as well since I'm not familiar with all of them.

[Zevox]

GLaDOS shouldn't deserve her high spot after all the fanboys that've raved over all her comedic bits, but when you consider the actual writing behind her, she seems considerably better. As Valve, writing this game from the get-go, it actually is quite a brilliant, hilarious, and awesome task which they've partaken. She's an iconic, hilarious character whom no one would forget, and I honestly think nobody would be raging at her or dismissing her humor as dry if not for all the incessant quoting.
I for one wouldn't even remember her if it weren't for the odd fanboys she has. Seriously, I played Portal, and it was fairly good, but it wasn't as good as many make it out to be, and GLaDOS was not a particularly impressive character. I certainly wouldn't put her on a list like this.


As for your list, don't know the last one, and Deckard Cain is never directly controlled by the player. I will grudgingly admit that the characterisation of the other three is largely independent of the player, but they're from a genre (real-time strategy) that has such a rigid and linear structure that it's not hard for the game producers to make that happen. I prefer RPGs, myself, and I still think that most RPG protagonists are supposed to reflect the character the player assigns them; the Nameless One from Planescape: Torment being a perfect example of this, while also being an awesome character no matter how you play him!
Then what you're missing is that only in particular, mostly western, RPGs is this the case. Most video game protagonists are not defined by the player playing them, at all.

Zevox

[Airk]

Then what you're missing is that only in particular, mostly western, RPGs is this the case. Most video game protagonists are not defined by the player playing them, at all.


And what BOTH of you are missing is that, in fact, this list isn't about the "30 best PROTAGONISTS". It's the 30 best CHARACTERS. And even in your Totally Awesome Western RPGs That Show Why All Characters Should Be Blank Slates Because 100% Player Agency Is Awesome, 95% of the characters are neither the protagonist, nor a blank slate. I'm sure you can probably name a few good ones from oh, say, Baldur's Gate or Mass Effect.

Though for heaven's sake, factotum, even I think you're being deliberately obtuse here. Seriously. Fine, you don't play any console games and can't be arsed to like, look up a couple of the titles cited on Wikipedia or something. Whatever. Gordon Freeman. PC game protagonist. Not a blank slate, not defined by the player. James Raynor. PC game protagonist, not defined by the player. Those characters you play as in the Modern Warfare 2 campaign? Not blank slates, not defined by the player. Are you following me yet? Zevox is right. Pretty much every video game out there EXCEPT a very SMALL niche category of western RPGs defines the protagonist for you. I have a hard time believing that you have managed to hide from all of them.

[factotum]

The only reason I started on about protagonists was because somebody else mentioned Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher as a fine example of a character, and I pointed out that he, like most western RPG protagonists, is at least partially defined by the player. I've never played Modern Warfare 2 (nor have any desire to) and I admitted above that Starcraft and its ilk are so linear that they can have rigorous characterisation.

The thing that really gets me, though, is that people keep bringing up Gordon Freeman as an example of a brilliant character. He is the ULTIMATE blank slate--he never speaks, we know nothing about him other than that he's a physics geek, and we probably wouldn't even know what he looked like if he didn't appear on the box art for the game! How is he such a fine character?

[Domochevsky]

How does a game "being linear" enter into the equasion here? :smallconfused:

[Innis Cabal]

The thing that really gets me, though, is that people keep bringing up Gordon Freeman as an example of a brilliant character. He is the ULTIMATE blank slate--he never speaks, we know nothing about him other than that he's a physics geek, and we probably wouldn't even know what he looked like if he didn't appear on the box art for the game! How is he such a fine character?

Wiki would like to disagree with you now. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Freeman)

Seriously though, who would you push up as a well defined character from a video game. (And are you seriously trying to say you don't know who Mario is? I mean...seriously.)

[Zevox]

And what BOTH of you are missing
Correction, I am not missing that in the slightest. My remarks were limited to protagonists only because factotum's original statement that I was refuting was limited to protagonists.

Zevox

[Siosilvar]

The same could be said for many a character.

CHARNAME from Baldur's Gate II?

[Level8Mudcrab]

This list lacks Urist McDwarf :smallbiggrin:

[Terraoblivion]

A well-defined character from a video game? Let's see, i think i'll name a few.

Kanji Tatsumi, Junpei Iori, Neku, Issun, Alicia Melchiott, Annah...Do i really need to continue?

[factotum]

Wiki would like to disagree with you now. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Freeman)

Seriously though, who would you push up as a well defined character from a video game. (And are you seriously trying to say you don't know who Mario is? I mean...seriously.)

I've heard of him, but I've never played any game with him in (if you ignore the original Donkey Kong, anyway). All that stuff in the wiki is stuff that comes from outside the game--virtually none of it is mentioned in-game, and if you're having to introduce loads of stuff from outside to make a video game character "great" then something isn't right somewhere, IMHO!

There are plenty of well defined and good characters who have already been mentioned. Name pretty much any character from Planescape: Torment and you're there, or you could have Sulik from Fallout 2, Minsc from Baldur's Gate, etc. (I wouldn't actually say any of the characters from more recent fare like Morrowind and Oblivion are great because there are simply too many of them in the game for any one to stand out).

[Airk]

The thing that really gets me, though, is that people keep bringing up Gordon Freeman as an example of a brilliant character. He is the ULTIMATE blank slate--he never speaks, we know nothing about him other than that he's a physics geek, and we probably wouldn't even know what he looked like if he didn't appear on the box art for the game! How is he such a fine character?

The designers still add more to who he is than the player does. The player can't decide they want to make him do ANYTHING other than die, not die, or shoot enemies in a particular order. The player, functionally, has NO input on who Freeman is.

[Wreckingrocc]

The player, functionally, has NO input on who Freeman is.Ironic, considering both his name and role. :smalltongue:

I didn't really connect with him, honestly. The game was cool and all, but I did feel extraordinarily faceless.