Characters are what give the games we play personality and… for a lack of a better word… character. They serve as mascots for companies, faces for branding, and personalities that gamers can connect to. Franchises are built upon them and (for better or worse) serve to often define a particular console.
5. Master Chief - Without the Master Chief we would have no Halo, and without Halo we would have no Xbox, and without the Xbox we would have no Xbox Live, and without… you see where I am going with this? While many of you may see the Master Chief as nothing more than a hollow shell of a man, he has single-handedly brought about the success of the Xbox platform. Halo and the Master Chief are synonymous with Microsoft’s console and likely will be for some time.
Not many characters can spawn a series of novels, action figures and anime shorts. There’s just something about the chief that people are drawn to and can’t get enough of. While Bungie has proven that the series has legs even without Spartan 117, the events and overarching story of games like Reach and ODST still surround the famed soldier’s tale. 343i recognizes the fans’ love for this character and plan on bringing him back into the fray with Halo 4, a wise choice and decision that will likely revitalize the brand.
4. Samus Aran - Ah yes, the space traveling bounty hunter whose gender took everyone by surprise at the conclusion of the first game. Samus Aran is the empowering female character that so many girl gamers yearn for. In an industry filled with Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball and Lara Croft, the way in which Nintendo has decided to portray Samus is a breath of fresh air.
Not only that but she’s got a slick set of gadgets at her disposal, not to mention a cannon arm much like our friend Mega Man. With the ability to not only shoot an assortment of beams out of her trusty built-in sidearm, Samus can roll into a ball and squeeze through impossible to reach areas. Talk about versatility.
3. Solid Snake - Then there’s the beloved hero of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Anyone who has played the games is well aware of how tough a life this dude has had. Having been essentially cloned for war, Solid Snake was destined for a life of violence and bloodshed. At the same time, the man is skilled in tactical espionage and can easily slip past enemies undetected.
In the series’ fourth entry, Snake is a worn down old man, but that doesn’t stop him from calling upon his cat-like reflexes to get himself out of a jam. How many early aging men do you know of that can scale buildings and save the world from their evil, twisted clone brother? I thought so.
This feature concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 to read on.
