If this article get’s you aching to try out some new fragrances, check out this site for cheap samples. Samples are one of the best ways to try out new scents in terms of cost, and they’re also pretty handy to carry around in your pocket during the day!

The Art of Matching Fragrances to Characters

Scent plays a significant role in character development, both in fiction and real life. The perfumes and colognes individuals choose to wear often reflect their personalities, evoke emotions, and make lasting impressions. The same principle applies to the heroes of Overwatch.

In this regard, The Importance of Scent in Characterization examines how fragrance can enhance the player’s connection to their favorite characters. Perfumes and colognes have the power to transport us into a specific mood or mindset, subconsciously influencing our perception of a character.

How Fragrances Reflect Personality takes a deeper look at the intricate relationship between scent profiles and personality traits. Fragrances can embody various elements, ranging from playful and energetic to dark and mysterious. Exploring how perfume notes align with character traits can enable us to envision the scents Overwatch heroes would wear.

When it comes to the heroes of Overwatch, each character has a unique personality that can be further enhanced by the right fragrance. Let’s dive into the world of scent and explore how different perfumes and colognes can perfectly capture the essence of these beloved heroes.

Starting with Tracer, her vibrant and energetic personality calls for a fragrance that exudes freshness and vitality. A citrusy perfume with notes of lemon, bergamot, and grapefruit would perfectly mirror her lively nature, leaving a trail of invigorating scent wherever she goes.

On the other end of the spectrum, Reaper’s dark and mysterious aura requires a fragrance that is equally enigmatic. A rich and woody cologne, with hints of cedarwood, patchouli, and leather, would embody his brooding and intense personality. This scent would leave a lasting impression, just like Reaper himself.

As for Winston, the intelligent and gentle gorilla scientist, a fragrance that combines elements of freshness and warmth would be fitting. A blend of green tea, bergamot, and a touch of vanilla would capture his intellectual side while also embracing his kind-hearted nature.

Moving on to Widowmaker, her seductive and alluring personality calls for a fragrance that is equally captivating. A sensual perfume with notes of jasmine, vanilla, and musk would perfectly embody her femme fatale persona, leaving a trail of intrigue and mystery wherever she goes.

These are just a few examples of how fragrances can enhance the characterization of Overwatch heroes. By carefully selecting the right scent, players can further immerse themselves in the world of their favorite characters, making the gaming experience even more immersive and enjoyable.

Overwatch Characters and Their Signature Scents

Now that we’ve established the importance of fragrances in character development, let’s delve into specific heroes from Overwatch and their associated scents.

Tracer and Her Energetic Citrus Scent

Tracer, the British speedster, exudes an infectious energy that brightens up any room. Her upbeat personality and zest for life would be perfectly matched with a vibrant citrus fragrance. Notes of juicy oranges, zesty lemons, and tangy grapefruits would encapsulate her playful and lively nature.

Tracer’s energetic citrus scent would linger in the air, leaving a trail of positivity and enthusiasm wherever she goes. It would be a fragrance that embodies her vibrant personality and serves as a reminder to embrace life’s adventures with a smile.

Reaper and His Dark, Smoky Fragrance

Reaper, a relentless and enigmatic hero, is known for his striking appearance and shadowy abilities. A fragrance that captures his mysterious essence would consist of deep, smoky notes, evoking a sense of danger and intensity. Hints of black pepper, tobacco, and vetiver would emanate an alluring and commanding presence.

Reaper’s fragrance would have an undeniable allure, drawing you in and leaving you wanting more. It would be a scent that embodies his enigmatic nature, reminding you of the shadows that lurk in the corners and the thrilling uncertainty that comes with every encounter.

Mercy and Her Soft, Floral Perfume

Mercy, a guardian angel and a symbol of hope, exudes compassion and grace. For this kind-hearted healer, a soft, floral perfume would be an ideal choice. Delicate notes of white lilies, rose petals, and a touch of vanilla would embody her nurturing and gentle personality, leaving a trail of comfort wherever she goes.

Mercy’s soft, floral perfume would be a fragrance that brings solace and serenity to those around her. It would be a gentle reminder of her healing touch and her unwavering dedication to helping others. As you inhale the scent, you can’t help but feel a sense of reassurance and hope, knowing that Mercy is there to provide comfort in times of need.

Conclusion: The Scented World of Overwatch

The Future of Fragrances in Gaming discusses the potential for incorporating fragrances into gaming experiences. By utilizing other senses such as smell, game developers can create a more immersive and multi-dimensional playing experience, further blurring the lines between the virtual and real worlds.

In conclusion, the impact of scent on character development cannot be underestimated. As we explored the scented world of Overwatch, we discovered how fragrances could enhance our connection to the game’s characters. From Tracer’s energetic citrus scent to Reaper’s dark and smoky fragrance, these character-specific perfumes allow us to visualize and further engage with Overwatch heroes on a sensory level.

As the gaming industry continues to innovate and merge with other facets of our lives, it’s exciting to speculate about the possibilities that fragrance could offer in this realm. The introduction of Overwatch-themed perfumes may not be far off, bringing fans even closer to the intricate universe created by Blizzard Entertainment and enhancing the overall gaming experience for players worldwide.

In the ever-evolving landscape of video game culture, it’s incredible to see how even the smallest details, such as character scents, can captivate and inspire fans. As we await the next Overwatch adventure, let our imaginations run wild with the fragrances the characters of Overwatch would wear.

The post What Fragrances The Characters of Overwatch Would Wear? appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

The Last of Us

The relationship between Joel and Ellie is a central theme in this post-apocalyptic action-adventure game. As Joel, a hardened survivor, and Ellie, a young girl, travel across the country in search of safety, they develop a deep bond that is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming. One of the game’s most powerful moments is when Joel sacrifices everything to save Ellie, showing just how far he is willing to go for her. A lesser-known fact about the game is that the voice actors, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, had such great chemistry that they were able to improvise many of their scenes together.

Bioshock Infinite

This first-person shooter game features a complex and emotionally-charged love story between the main characters, Booker and Elizabeth. As they journey through the floating city of Columbia, they come to rely on each other for survival and begin to form a deep connection. One of the game’s most memorable moments is when Elizabeth opens a tear in reality and shows Booker a glimpse of a world where they are happy together, hinting at the possibility of a brighter future. A lesser-known fact about the game is that the initial concept for Elizabeth’s character was that of a traditional damsel in distress, but the developers decided to make her a more active and capable character.

Final Fantasy VII

This role-playing game features a love story between the main character, Cloud, and one of the other playable characters, Tifa. As they work together to save the planet from the evil Shinra Corporation, their relationship blossoms. One of the game’s most iconic moments is when Cloud confesses his love for Tifa on the rooftop of their childhood home. A lesser-known fact about the game is that in the original Japanese version, Cloud’s love confession is much more ambiguous, leaving it up to the player to interpret his feelings.

Journey

This art game offers a unique and powerful love story as the player’s only connection to another player is through singing and the players’ journeys to the top of a mountain. The game’s multiplayer aspect allows players to form a bond despite the lack of verbal communication, it’s a powerful statement on the universality of human emotions. One of the game’s most moving moments is when two players finally reach the summit together, symbolizing their shared journey and connection. A lesser-known fact about the game is that the game’s composer, Austin Wintory, composed an orchestral score as a tribute to the game and its players.

Firewatch

This first-person adventure game deals with themes of love, isolation, and self-discovery through the conversation between two firewatchers, Henry and Delilah. As the player takes on the role of Henry and communicates with Delilah over the radio, their relationship deepens and becomes more complex. One of the game’s most powerful moments in Firewatch is when Henry finally sees Delilah face-to-face and they are forced to confront their feelings for each other. To ensure there was chemistry between the two characters, the game’s developers, Campo Santo, used a real-life couple, Rich Sommer and Alejandra Reynoso, as voice actors for Henry and Delilah, in order to add an extra layer of realism to the characters’ relationship.

Dragon Age: Origins

This role-playing game allows the player to form relationships with various non-playable characters, and the choices the player makes in these relationships have a significant impact on the story and the ending. One of the game’s most memorable love stories is the romance between the player character and the elven mage, Leliana. As the player helps Leliana on her personal quest, she opens up about her past and the two of them develop a deep bond. A lesser-known fact about the game is that the developers, BioWare, included a wide range of romance options for the player character, including same-sex romance options, in order to make the game more inclusive and to give players the freedom to explore their own romantic preferences.

The Walking Dead

This graphic adventure game series deals with themes of love, sacrifice, and survival in a world overrun by zombies. The player’s choices in relationships with non-playable characters have a significant impact on the story and the ending. One of the game’s most powerful love stories is the relationship between the player character, Lee, and Clementine, a young girl he takes under his protection. As they journey together, they form a deep bond and their relationship becomes a central theme in the story. A lesser-known fact about the game is that the developers, Telltale Games, used motion capture technology to capture the actors’ performances, which added an extra layer of realism to the characters’ emotions.

Mass Effect

This science fiction action role-playing game allows the player to form relationships with various non-playable characters, and the choices the player makes in these relationships have a significant impact on the story and the ending. One of the game’s most popular love stories is the romance between the player character, Commander Shepard, and the Asari Liara T’Soni. Their relationship develops over the course of the trilogy, and the player’s choices in how they interact with Liara shape the outcome of their relationship. A lesser-known fact about the game is that the developers Bioware included multiple romance options for the player character, including same-sex romance options, which added a level of diversity and inclusivity to the game.

Tales from the Borderlands

This episodic graphic adventure game tells the story of two characters, Fiona and Rhys, who are on a quest to find a vault and their stories are interwoven with romance and comedy. The player’s choices in how they interact with Fiona and Rhys shape the outcome of their relationship. The game’s unique blend of humor and heart makes for a memorable and enjoyable love story.

Oxenfree

This supernatural thriller adventure game allows the player to form relationships with various non-playable characters, and the choices the player makes in these relationships have a significant impact on the story and the ending. One of the game’s most complex and emotionally-charged love stories is the relationship between the player character and their best friend, Alex. The game’s supernatural elements add an extra layer of intrigue and mystery to their relationship. A lesser-known fact about the game is that it was developed by Night School Studio, an independent studio founded by industry veterans.

These games demonstrate that video games can be a powerful medium for exploring and experiencing love in many different ways. From post-apocalyptic survival to fantasy worlds, these games offer players the opportunity to form relationships, make choices and experience the complexity of emotions that love brings.

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Isshin The Sword Saint from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

In the action-adventure game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, players take on the role of a ninja named Sekiro as they journey through ancient Japan. One of the toughest bosses in the game is Isshin The Sword Saint, a powerful swordsman who is skilled in the arts of battle. His lightning-fast attacks and unpredictable movements make him a formidable opponent, and players will need to be at the top of their game to take him down.

Cort from Legend of Legaia

In the role-playing game Legend of Legaia, players control a group of heroes as they journey across a fantasy world to defeat the evil Vigoor Empire. One of the most challenging bosses in the game is Cort, a powerful magician who wields dark magic and has a variety of devastating attacks at his disposal. Players will need to use strategy and quick reflexes to defeat Cort and advance through the game.

Gorsia from 7th Saga

7th Saga is a role-playing game set in a fantasy world where players control one of seven heroes on a quest to collect seven magical runes. One of the toughest bosses in the game is Gorsia, a powerful demon who has a variety of powerful attacks and can teleport around the battlefield. Defeating Gorsia requires careful planning and precise execution, as he can easily overwhelm players with his formidable abilities.

Soul of Cinder from Dark Souls 3

Dark Souls 3 is a notoriously challenging action role-playing game set in a dark, grim world. One of the most difficult bosses in the game is the Soul of Cinder, a powerful and ancient being that has mastered a variety of fighting styles. Players will need to use all of their skills and strategy to take down the Soul of Cinder, who is a formidable opponent with a wide range of attacks and abilities.

Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2

In the action role-playing game Kingdom Hearts, players control a young hero named Sora as they journey through a variety of Disney-themed worlds. One of the toughest bosses in the game is Sephiroth, a powerful and manipulative villain who is skilled in sword combat and has a variety of devastating attacks at his disposal. Players will need to use quick reflexes and strategy to defeat Sephiroth and advance through the game.

Raven Beak from Metroid Dread

In the action-adventure game Metroid Dread, players control a powerful space bounty hunter named Samus Aran as they explore a variety of alien worlds. The final boss. Raven Beak, is a formidable opponent that requires careful planning and precise execution to defeat. Players will need to use all of their skills and resources to take down this powerful enemy and complete the game.

The Valkyrie Queen on God of War

In the action-adventure game God of War, players control a powerful warrior named Kratos as they journey through a variety of mythical realms. One of the toughest bosses in the game is the Valkyrie Queen, a powerful and skilled fighter who has a variety of devastating attacks at her disposal. Players will need to use all of their skills and strategy to defeat the Valkyrie Queen and advance through the game.

Sans from Undertale

In the role-playing game Undertale, players control a young hero as they journey through a magical underground world filled with quirky and endearing characters. One of the toughest bosses in the game is Sans, a wisecracking skeleton who has a variety of powerful attacks and can manipulate time itself. Defeating Sans requires quick reflexes and careful planning, as he is a formidable opponent who can easily overwhelm players with his abilities.

TTFAF on Guitar Hero III

In the rhythm game Guitar Hero III, players use a guitar-shaped controller to play along with popular songs by matching the notes on the screen. One of the toughest songs in the game is “Through the Fire and Flames” by DragonForce, which features fast-paced guitar solos and challenging patterns. Players will need to have excellent timing and hand-eye coordination to master this difficult song.

Mike Tyson from Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

In the boxing game Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, players control a young boxer named Little Mac as they work their way up the ranks to become the champion. One of the toughest opponents in the game is Mike Tyson, the final boss who is known for his powerful punches and quick movements. Players will need to have excellent reflexes and strategy to defeat Mike Tyson and become the champion.

General Raam from Gears of War (when playing on Insanity difficulty)

In the third-person shooter game Gears of War, players control a team of soldiers as they fight to save the world from a monstrous alien race known as the Locust Horde. One of the toughest bosses in the game is General Raam, a powerful and skilled warrior who is the leader of the Locust Horde. When playing on the highest difficulty setting, Insanity, General Raam becomes an even more formidable opponent, with increased health and more powerful attacks. Defeating him requires careful planning and precise execution.

Difficult bosses can be memorable for gamers, even if they drive them crazy first. These challenging opponents provide a sense of accomplishment when they are finally defeated and add an extra layer of excitement to the gameplay experience. While they may test the skills and patience of even the most experienced gamers, the sense of triumph that comes with defeating them is well worth the effort.

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Using data from Linkfluence², electrical Retailer Ebuyer found the 30 most loved and most hated cosplay characters over the past twelve months, including characters from the popular manga series My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer.

The most controversial cosplay character

Generating an extremely mixed sentiment, the anime character Bakugou is the most controversial character on our list. The character is often described as an arrogant and aggressive one, so it’s not surprising that the internet feels strongly about this character, with 18.9% of conversations being of negative sentiment. Nonetheless, 30.3% of the generated conversations show a positive sentiment towards Bakugou, bagging the first place as the most loved cosplay character as well as the most hated! Showing how much of a polarising figure Bakugou is.

The most loved cosplay characters

With the first place already taken by Bakugou, we’re moving on to the second and third of the most loved cosplays. Standing out with her strength and personality, Final Fantasy’s character Tifa generated the second most positive sentiment (29.7%) in conversations online. The reckless and wild personality of Demon Slayer’s Inosuke is taking third place with 28.3% of positive conversations about the character. In the series, he is repeatedly bringing himself into dangerous situations and causes many hilarious interactions due to his short temper.

The cosplay characters the internet simply can’t stand anymore

With the Stormtrooper being around since the 70s it’s not surprising that people are getting bored of the character. This is also reflected in the conversations online with 19.1% showing a negative sentiment towards the clones and therefore making the first place on our list of most hated cosplay characters. Even though Star Wars’ Rebel Pilots are fighting the evil of the Galactic Empire, they come in second with 16.6% of negative conversations online, probably for the same reasons as the Stormtroopers as they have simply been around for too long! Despite being such a strong character in the game, Ezreal from League of Legends secures the third spot (16.2%). Paimon, the game character from Genshin Impact, who is guiding the traveller throughout the game, comes in fourth with 15.6% of generated conversations online being of negative sentiment.

Courtney Williamson, marketing manager at Ebuyer, comments on the study: “Cosplaying has polarised like no other trend over the past years and brings a whole new culture with it. The work that goes into designing and making some of the costumes you see at comic cons across the world is very impressive.

“If you’re looking to pick your next cosplay character pick the one you can identify with the most and show off your creativity!”

If you are interested in Gaming Cosplay, follow my Pinterest Board here!

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Here, we have listed the top 10 brothers and sisters in video games.

Mario Brothers

Mario and Luigi make an inseparable pair of siblings who stand up for each other no matter what. Though it is Mario who always protects his younger brother from problems that he gets himself into, Luigi also tries his best to conquer his insecurities and show respect to Mario for his help. Since the release of their first game in 1983, the pair still holds a special place in the hearts of 80s kids.

Giana Sisters

Giana sisters first appeared in The Great Giana Sisters game, which is believed to be inspired by the Super Mario Bros.

Giana and Maria are fraternal twins with different hair colours. They have cheerful characters and care a lot about each other. In the game, Giana has a nightmare in which Maria gets abducted. So she takes on terrifying beasts and all the challenges that the game throws at her to rescue her sister and bring her back home safely.

Brothers – Naiee & Naia

As the name indicates, the central theme of the game Brothers is brotherhood. Naiee and Naia are two young brothers who start a journey together to find the “Water of Life” to save their ailing father. The inseparable brothers support each other with their unique talents while facing challenges throughout their adventurous journey.

Devil May Cry – Dante & Vergil

Twin brothers, Dante and Vergil, are half-human and half-demon. One tries to hold to his humanity while the other uses his demonic power to its best. Despite the conflict in their goals and personalities, Dante and Vergil still deeply care for each other.

Resident Evil – Chris & Claire Redfield

Chris and Claire are the only survivors of the Redfield family. On a zombie-filled island, their aim is to terminate the Umbrella Corporation while saving each other from their common enemies. Both learned their combat techniques at a young age and know they are capable of surviving on their own.

Tekken – Kazuya Mishima & Lars Alexandersson

Lars is the illegitimate son of Heihachi Mishima, making him the half-brother of Kazuya. While Kazuya made his debut in the first Tekken game in 1994, Lars first appeared nearly 12 years later in the sixth installment of the Tekken series. Lars possesses heroic characteristics while Kazuya has anti-hero traits. They start fighting as soon as they learn about their relationship.

Tekken – Anna & Nina

This heated sibling rivalry starts in their childhood and becomes volatile after their father’s death. While Anna joins Tekken forces, Nina takes a different path and becomes an assassin. Anna still cares about Nina to some extent and tries to stop her, but Nina hates her no matter what. She always finds ways to engage in a battle with her sister.

Uncharted – Nathan and Sam Drake

Sam is Nathan’s older brother, and he made his debut in Uncharted 4, whose entire story revolves around the beautiful relationship of Drake brothers. Both are professional treasure hunters, and they always watch each other’s back on every expedition.

Bioshock Infinite – Rosalind and Robert Lutece

Rosalind and Robert are twins from different realities. Both are quantum physicists and become agents for Comstock to develop a technology required for the creation of Columbia. Using their skills, knowledge, and brainpower, they perform several successful experiments together. They share an adorable connection and can even spend eternity together.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Evie and Jacob Fry

Despite being twins, Evie and Jacob are opposite of each other when it comes to their nature. While Evie makes decisions after carefully assessing the situation, Jacob does not think twice when making a move. Due to their opposite nature, they bicker a lot, but they also balance each other really well.

Conclusion

How did you like this list of video game siblings? Do you have a favourite sibling duo on the list? Let us know in the comment section below!

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Lightseekers is an action and fantasy adventure role-playing game on mobiles and tablets with desktop versions coming soon after. The game will be free to download and features a fusion of fantasy and reality integrating video games, smart action figures with artificial intelligence, augmented reality, interactive trading cards and more, creating the most ambitious cross-media entertainment platform ever conceived.

Lightseekers will feature an expansive, ever-changing narrative that provides players with new adventures, worlds and characters to experience. The game aims to immerse gamers in a deep, vibrant, lore-filled universe, while seamlessly integrating the digital world with the real world in completely new and innovative ways.

The Lightseekers characters also offer interchangeable accessories that bridge the gap between reality and fantasy. Equipping an accessory onto an action figure will have an immediate effect in the game, opening up new abilities and skills. The figures, weapons and accessories all store the vital stats within, so they can be shared with friends in real life, helping others unlock different content or helping them ‘level up’. In addition, flight packs allow players to magically control their in-game character by moving the toy.

Aside from the toys and games, there’s also an interactive collectible trading card game with almost 400 cards at launch that further enhances the world of Lightseekers. The online game, the real-world trading card game and the figures can be enjoyed on their own, but when played together the experience will become even more engrossing. The cards can be scanned by the Lightseekers app, in order to create immersive augmented reality experiences, reward game players, and unlocks powerful in-game abilities.

This cross-media fusion doesn’t stop at just the cards though. The Lightseekers platform is built to be scalable and could easily be adapted to offer rewards when interacting with almost anything, whether it’s a poster on a wall, a point of sale item in a shop or even a music track on the radio. The scope is massive, which makes this one of the most intriguing games to look out for in 2017.

Check out the official Lightseekers website for more information. Back their Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playfusion/lightseekers

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**Spoilers Ahead – Proceed With Caution

Life is Strange

The Portrayal – Maxine wakes up in her photography classroom after dosing off. She heads to the restroom in order to clear her head and finds her best friend Chloe being attacked and eventually killed. In an effort to save her friend, Max discovers she has been endowed with the powers to rewind time. She makes use of her gift and is able to stop Chloe from her dreadful fate. Max must now decide whether to use her gifts for good or evil during the following week at Blackwell Academy.

Max is continuously dreaming about a tornado hitting her sleepy town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon. She just knows that something awful is coming and she must do whatever she can do stop it.

Chloe has been having some trouble with her parents, that’s no secret. She suffers from depression and has chosen to engage in some rebellious acts, like getting involved with drugs and alcohol in order to cope. Max does her best to constantly stop Chloe from being maimed in one way or another, whether that be car-crash, bullet wound, or being beaten to a pulp.

In the process, Max is taxed with several other weighty decisions. She must clear the name of a girl who was drugged and assaulted at a party, as well as stop her from jumping off the roof of Blackwell Academy and ending her life. Not to mention, she must try to find her missing friend Rachel who hasn’t been seen in days.

Much to their dismay they do find Rachel, who was taken advantage of and murdered by her photography teacher. Nevertheless, Max discovers that regardless of what she does, the tornado will hit the town. The tornado manifested itself due to the discovery of her powers. In the end she must restore order to space and time by letting the tornado destroy her town or going back to when she first discovered her gift, and letting Chloe die.

Why I Love It – Maxine is a true hero through and through. She truly cares for everyone in this story and as such does everything within her power to stop horrid and hateful acts, like sexual violence, discrimination, bullying, and of course the death of her friends. After all that she has seen she puts her own happiness aside and must decide the fate of the world around her.

Fallout 4

The Portrayal – Your character begins the story in a happy home with their husband/wife (you can choose to be male or female) with their newborn baby son. In no time they are greeted by a salesman at the door who offers them a place in their state-of-the-art vault, should the world blow itself up anytime soon.

Of course, shortly afterwards the world goes into complete chaos after a nuclear blast and you, your spouse, and your baby rush over to the vault. After entering the vault your character blacks out and wakes up inside of a cryogenic sleep chamber. Across from you is your spouse and your child. Some folks in hazmat-looking suits come in and take your child and leave your spouse, who appears frozen to death.

Your character passes out once more and when you awaken you are able to escape the chamber and immediately begin your quest to find your son, Shaun. After some time has passed walking around in the wasteland (named The Commonwealth), you come to find out that you were trapped in the cryochamber for longer than you originally thought. The game takes place 210 years in the future, after the first nuclear blast hit. In addition, many years have passed since your baby was stolen and you were able to escape the chamber. Your son is now all grown up.

You find him managing an elite force called “The Institute”, which manufactures (perfectly identical to human) synthetic beings, captures people across the wasteland, and replaces them with synths in order to corrupt and infiltrate communities across the land. Your son was captured and his DNA was used to finish the latest installment of synths. When he became old enough he took over operations for The Institute.

Your character must make the choice to regain her son to further the Institute’s takeover of the world or destroy him and the Institute in order to save the synths and essentially allow the human race to rebuild any way they see fit.

Why I Love It – Your character is a fearless parent who is willing to do anything to save their son regardless of the life-shattering circumstances. Dealing with the loss of a spouse, your world, and a child is awful enough. Yet, you are also granted the ultimate choice between family and the safety and happiness of the world hereafter. Yeah, that’s heavy.

The Walking Dead Season 1

The Portrayal – Never in my life have I felt so emotionally attached to a set of characters. Namely, the two main characters, Lee and Clementine, are particularly riveting. The story initially follows the story of Lee, who has been arrested after murdering his wife’s secret lover. That in itself is awful and heartbreaking, but the story gets so much deeper. Lee’s family have perished in the zombie apocalypse and Lee is forced to put his brother’s body to rest before it hurts one of the crew.

Lee stumbles upon Clementine, an 8 year old girl, who was stuck with a babysitter while her parents were visiting the nearby city of Savannah, Georgia. The babysitter is nowhere to be found and some revealing messages on Clementines answering machine enlightens Lee to the fact that her parents were quarantined in Savannah and won’t be making it back to her. Clem decides to join Lee if he promises to help her find her parents, to which he agrees.

Throughout the first season Lee and Clem are put in charge of the lives of everyone else in their surviving group, many of which will perish no matter what Lee chooses to do. Against all odds Lee and Clem make it to Savannah and find Clem’s parents, but sadly they didn’t make it out alive.

In addition to all of this tragedy, Lee sustains a nasty bite on the arm from an unsuspecting zombie while he is distracted, which of course leads to some very tough decisions for both he and Clem. Before he turns, he is forced to ask Clem to end his suffering and thus ensure that he won’t hurt her after the fact. The choice is yours whether to comply or not, but either way after the journey that these two have suffered through together, I have never cried harder while playing any video game.

Why I Love It – Despite all the horrific things that Clem and Lee have seen, both of them show each other support and do their best to stay level-headed and positive. They don’t run from the abandonment and sorrow they feel on a constant basis. They work as a team to help each other and teach each other valuable lessons about grief, forgiveness, and living in the moment.

Most of us go through periodic ups and downs in our journey to mental health. So, it is refreshing to see a few various titles that represent such peaks and valleys in their conquest for balance and harmony. Let’s hope that other games follow suit and treat mental health like the common, significant, and impactful topic it is and deserves to be portrayed as.

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Here is my list of the Top 10 Gaming Princesses…

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Ratchet and Clank

These two have been almost inseparable since their first mission on the original PlayStation over ten years ago (2002). Both did venture solo in their own games once or twice but never were they as strong as when they were together. Their bonds of friendship are obvious throughout the games and there are various emotional scenes when Ratchet loses Clank.

Kane and Lynch

This gritty pair of escaped cons might be at each other’s throats for most of the game but ultimately, they always have each other’s back. The story of a kidnapped family and raw emotions of revenge bind these two together as they venture through hell.  They fight their way through The 7, in the original game and then ‘Brady’s Gang’ in Shanghai in the sequel (Dog Days). Both suffer great losses in these games and need each other for both backup and emotional stability.

Marcus Phoenix and Dom | Gears of War

These lifelong friends had each other’s back throughout the Gears of War series. Both trust each other implicitly and either one would die for the other if required (SPOILER) Dom sacrifices himself in Gears of War 3 a small part of Marcus dies too.

Sonic and Tails

Having been together for more than 20 years definitely meets the criteria of a good friendship. In the games, their individual personalities take a back seat as well as their interactions with each other. Aside from always being willing to help each other out and a few arguments you must really see the cartoon to get a full view of their Bromance. In simple 2D they are the best of friends and therefore surely worthy of our bromance list.

Drake and Sully | Uncharted

The friendship between Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan is the epitome of Bromance. Sully is Drake’s oldest friend and probably gets Drake’s jokes and snarky comments more than his girlfriend Elena ever could. If Sully was a woman then Elena would be a worried woman.

Jak and Daxter

Whilst these two didn’t talk in the first game, they made up for it in the other two. The two laugh and joke along the way and whilst they do not suffer any hardship or loss, this is a pleasant novelty and refreshing change compared to some of the folk on our list.

Shepard and Garrus | Mass Effect

After Garrus turned in his badge in the first Mass Effect to follow Commander Shepard across the galaxy in an effort to take down Saren Arterius the bromance began. After which, almost every exchange between Shepard and Garrus can be punctuated with a fist bump, itself punctuated by gunfire. During the three games, the two are not only good friends but brothers in arms.

Elliot Salem & Tyson Rios (Army of Two)

These two badass ex-army rangers obviously built up a relationship before the first game even started. As Rangers, they had to watch each other’s back and any mistake could have meant death for both of them. Even after a woman comes between them they both step up to the plate and deal with situations when they arise. By the end of the first game, they even set up a company together which in many ways ties them together in a brotherly marriage. Ignore the third game though as they are replaced by faceless characters that lack the spark and magnetism of Salem and Rios. For a great breakdown of the brotherly bond of Salem and Rios check out ‘The Rise and Fall of Rios and Salem, An Analysis of Brothers’.

Michael and Franklin |  GTA5

What starts as a father/son relationship when Michael takes Franklin under his wing teaching him the ways of crime soon turns into a bromance as they begin to rely on each other more and more. Their tale develops even deeper but in order to avoid spoilers, I will have to leave it at that.

Ryu and Ken | Street Fighter Series

These two have been together for over 25 years and whilst they do not travel together they started life training together, then after becoming friends, they went on to become rivals. This rivalry is easily put aside should either one be in trouble.

Special brotherly mentions:

Billy and Jimmy lee | Double Dragon

Mario and Luigi

Retro mentions

Cody and Guy | Final Fight

Towjam and Earl

Colonel Ralf and Second Lieutenant Clark | Ikari Warriors

Sam and Max

The post Valentines Special: 17 Video Game BROmances appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

1. Jackie Estacado | Darkness 2

Jackie Estacado has become the don of the Franchetti crime family and whilst he has control of the Darkness inside, an explosion forces him to give into it once more and go on a multitude of killing sprees.

2. Vito Scaletta | Mafia 2

Vito Scaletta is the protagonist of Mafia II. He is an up-and-coming gangster in the Empire Bay criminal underworld who became a made member of the Falcone Crime Family… His aim; to become the biggest, baddest wise guy in the world.

3. The Overlord | Overlord

In Overlord you take the role of a resurrected warrior known simply as The Overlord, who has control over hordes of gremlin-like creatures known as “minions”. The player must defeat seven corrupt ruling heroes by being evil or really evil.

4. El Presidente | Tropico

Tropico sees the player taking the role of “El Presidente”, the ruler of an island in the Caribbean, during the Cold War era from the 1950s onward. The game is tongue-in-cheek in its presentation of semi-democratic banana republics, using a great deal of humour, while still referencing such topics as totalitarianism, electoral fraud, and the interventions of powerful companies.

5. Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

When the Mushroom Kingdom is taken over by the evil mad scientist ‘Fawful’. Bowser unkowningly inhales the Mario and the gang and subsequently has to save the World.

6. GoldenEye: Rogue Agent

The player takes the role of an ex-MI6 agent, and killer of 007, who is recruited by Auric Goldfinger to assassinate his rival Dr. No. Whilst the game is set within the James Bond universe, the game is only called GoldenEye due to the fact that the agent has a golden ‘cybernetic’ eye.

7. Kratos – God of War

In a nutshell, Kratos became a God after years of loyal service and subsequently tries to take over Greece. Other Gods try to stop him and he turns against them. He then joins the Titans, who want to overthrow the Gods. The story actually goes much deeper and to be honest, the gods had it coming but you are still angry as hell and out for vengeance.

8. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 2

Wario wants a castle of his own and is happy to steal it from the Syrup Pirates, blow up anything that stands in his way and use a money grabbing genie to achieve his dreams.

9. GTA

Although the more recent outings have tried to weave a twisting and conflicting narrative into the games, you essentially play a highly skilled car jacker looking to commit crimes to get money. That’s pretty bad…

10. Saints Row

The Saints Row series is rife with corruption and evil deeds. The original game saw the player inducted into the gang known as the 3rd Street Saints. During the course of the game, you partake in numerous crimes culminating in a dead mayor and police chief. You are subsequently blown up on a luxury yacht… and survive…

11. Dungeon Keeper

In Dungeon Keeper, you are tasked with building and managing a dank and dirty dungeon, protecting it from invading ‘hero’ characters intent on stealing accumulated treasures, killing monsters, and ultimately the player’s demise. The ultimate goal is to conquer the world by destroying the heroic forces and rival dungeon keepers in each realm.

12. Evil Genius

Similar to Dungeon Keeper, in Evil Genius, players act as a villainous force attempting to achieve global domination, whilst fending off the forces of justice; to this end the gameplay is split between management of a base and the completion of “acts of infamy” in the rest of the world.

13. Heather from Silent Hill 3

Heather Mason is the protagonist of Silent Hill 3. Heather is the reincarnation of both Cheryl Mason and Alessa Gillespie and is on a mission to get revenge and kill God. Pretty badass…

14. Twisted Metal

The Twisted Metal series generally revolves around the eponymous “Twisted Metal” content. A vehicular combat tournament hosted once a year. The aim is to destroy all the competition no matter what using both demolition derby style driving and projectile weaponry.  The winner gets their one wish granted by the host “Calypso”. But be careful what you wish for.

15. Manhunt

As a death row inmate you are pretty limited for choices, but when a mysterious man know as The Director replaces your lethal injection with a sedative in return for your help, you are inclined to agree. Sadly, what you agree to is to work your way across the city and maim and murder a series of gangs. The Director also kills your family for good measure.

16. Prototype

Being a powerful yet amnesiac shapeshifter isn’t all bad. You can tear around the city killing anyone you see fit. Through most of Prototype you think you are the good guy doing good deeds, but ultimately you are responsible for unleashing a virus on the city and before you lost your memory you worked for the enemy and stole a deadly biological weapon as ‘insurance’ before being gunned down and subsequently becoming a superhuman monster.

17. Max McMann from Devils Attorney

At first glance, Devil’s Attorney might seem like a shameless Phoenix Wright clone. You do play a defense attorney embroiled in a courtroom drama, but unlike the naïve and justice-driven Phoenix, Max McMann is the eponymous devil’s attorney. His clients did the crime, and they pay him the big bucks to avoid doing the time.

18. Knights of the old republic

KOTOR allows you to carve your own path within the Star Wars universe. Should you choose to shed the do-good side of the game, then you can choose the path of the dark side and aim to stand before the remaining Sith forces as the new Dark Lord of the Sith. Choose the path of anger, hate and suffering and soon you will know the true power of the dark side.

19. M. Bison – Street Fighter Games

This would-be world dictator and megalomaniac rules the fictional Far East country of Mriganka with an iron fist. His ultimate ambition is to control the world’s governments through his covert crime syndicate, Shadaloo. Bison tends to host the Street Fighter competition and should you choose to play as him you can vanquish all those who hold vendettas against you.

20. Heavy Rain

Without spoiling the ending you play as various different characters all suspected as being the infamous ‘Origami Killer’. As you play through the game blacking out and getting vital information via flashback you learn the true motives of your actions.

21. Killzone

In this 24th Century sci-fi Shooter there are two factions the ISA and the Helgast. The Helgast look like space nazi’s and show no mercy throughout the campaigns. However, it turns out that the Helghast are actually the good guys. The Helghast were on both planet Helghan and Vekta first. It turns out that the ISA are evil invaders who invaded HELGHAN  and VEKTA over a dispute about trade tax imposed by the Helghast. Eventually, the ISA used chemical weapons on the Helghan forcing them to live in gas masks like that.

22. Braid

When you spend an entire game chasing a Princess to ‘save her’ you eventually have to ask yourself why she keeps running. At the end of Braid, the answer becomes all to clear when the protagonist Tim is revealed to be the evil Monster that the Princess is setting the traps for… Mind blown!

23. Plague

Your pathogen has just infected ‘Patient Zero’. Now you must bring about the end of human history by evolving a deadly, global Plague whilst adapting against everything humanity can do to defend itself. You evil germ!

24. Soul Reaver

Destiny can be a b*tch and being stuck in a endless time loop where you follow the advice of others only to find out that it is your own soul stuck in the sword given to you in the beginning is a total head mash, no wonder he kills fellow vampires and absorbs their souls.

25. Golden Sun

In this Gameboy RPG you play Issac and his team and chase Saturos and Menardi across the world attempting to stop them from lighting a number of light houses… Lucky you fail as in the second game it explains that despite Saturos and Menardi being complete ‘gits’ they were actually the heroes.

26. Uncharted

Nathan Drake is presented as a sympathetic and charming character – a modern day Indiana Jones. However, during the course of each title, he kills hundreds of men, perhaps even thousands. He shows no remorse, is completely materialistic and hides his psychopathic behaviour behind jokes…

27. Shadow of the Colossus

In Shadow of the Colossus, you play Wander on a mission to return the soul back to a young girls body. The ethereal voice of Dormin offers you her soul in return for slaying 16 closossi. Despite being warned by Dormin that he may have to pay a great price to revive Mono, you work your way through them all only to discover that the death of each turns you into Dormin, an ancient evil.

28. Half Life – Opposing Force

There are so many sides in Opposing Force it’s hard to know who is good and who is bad. You play Adrian Shephard, a US marine sent into neutralise the Alien threat releases by Gordon Freeman in the first Half Life game. During the game you will disarm a nuke designed to kill the incoming alien horde, as well kill soldiers from Black Operations. You’ll even chase Gordon himself

29. Stalker

Set in a post-nuclear Chernobyl, you really are your own worst enemy as you start the game without any memories, a Stalker tattoo and an order to kill Strelok. You work your way through mutants, soldiers and generals only to find out that you are Strelok. In a classic ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ routine you then aim to kill the A.I that brainwashed you that was also working on a solution to world peace. You bad man!

30. Eternal Darkness

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After finally getting round to playing Halo 4 the single most striking thing about that game was Cortana. The voice acting was superb and the juxtaposition between the inhuman and unemotional Master Chief to the fragile and tender computer program Cortana.

Cortana’s voluptuous hips, teasing side boob and sweet little gap between the teeth indicate that a lot of time was spent crafting her, and we appreciate it. When it comes to video game woman, she has now made the top ten in my opinion.

Video

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Liara | Mass Effect

Liara is the kind of alien you could take home to meet your mum. She has a medical background, always wants to do the right thing and if softly spoken and empathic to all those around her (literally). Of course your mum would have to get over the blue skin, bald head and poky rear cranium bones but if we can get past it (and sleep with her in Mass Effect 3) then she could too.

Rayne | Bloodrayne

Vampires are a grey area when it comes to defining ‘non-human’ as many start life as human and are ‘turned’ whereas the beautiful red head Rayne was born a vampire (or Dampire?). Rayne may have some ‘daddy issues’ but she is sleek, sexy and the way she wields those twin blades is enough for many a man to succumb to her blood thirsty ways.

Merrill | Dragon Age Series

Merrill is everyone’s favorite Elfen cutie. Whether you play as male or female you will still find yourself in bed with this ultra slim and innocent sweetheart. Her Welsh accent and scared demeanor makes you just want to protect her and then jump in the sack.

Felicia Darkstalkers Series

This green eyed cat woman has the tail, paws and feet of a feline and one of the most beautiful bodies of the fighting world. Felicia has the largest chest of the female Darkstalkers beating even SNK’s Mai Shiranui. Her back story tells the tale of an orphaned cat woman brought up by nuns. Her dream was to become a singing star and unite the worlds of human and Darkstalker. After a short lives musical career she went on to start her own orphanage. A beautiful character that is both sexy and wholesome and sweet.

Tali’Zorah vas Neemah | Mass Effect Series

Tali teases us throughout the first Mass Effect with a killer body, leather body armor, love of machinery and eastern European accent. By Mass Effect 3 she and Shepherd get up close and personal and she finally reveals her face. This Quarian may have three fingers and pupil-less eyes but she is still as hot as fried gold.

Quorra | Tron Evolution

The movie Tron: Legacy introduced us to the lovely Quorra, a software program with attitude. Her short bob hair and tight neon suit drove us crazy on the big screen so it’s only fitting that her digital counterpart would do the same on Tron Evolution.

KOS-MOS | Xenosaga

KOS-MOS a super hot, super-powered fighting robot that would even put Mega Man down in a fight. This metallic beauty wields all sorts of ridiculous weapons and has a million ways to kill things. KOS-MOS is blessed with super strength, lightning speed and the ability to teleport in guns out of nowhere.

Chaos Witch Queelag | Dark Souls

OK, so she’s half giant killer spider with flaming hot lava for blood but hey, the top half is t-a-s-t-y! Maybe it’s because she’s always half naked or maybe it’s the strategically placed long red hair but when it comes to spider-witch hybrids she’s top of the pops!

Adjutant | Starcraft

Possibly the oddest entry on the list but this one is a grower as the more you play the more you enjoy her company. The image above is a great piece of fan art depicting her as I would like to think of her. In reality (or the game world) she is hard-wired in and has no legs. However, it doesn’t stop her from being a beautiful collection of pixels.

The post The Beautiful Cortana and Other Non Human Sex Bombs! appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

Haggar | Final Fight

Mike Haggar is the Mayor of Metro City and sports a classic Copstash Standard.  This shirtless, muscle bound civil servant takes on the Mad Gang in his original outing and was the subsequent star of various other games from Saturday Night Slam Masters to the Street Fighter series.

Mario/Wario

Mario is the first person most people think of when it comes to moustaches and video game characters. His bushy face caterpillar is now so iconic that the very shape denotes the Mario character. The world of Mario, however, is not devoid of other hairy friends as his brother Luigi has one, his enemies Wario and Waluigi have them and even King Bo Bomb has one. It must be the fashion in Mario world, or land or galaxy.

Gordon Freeman | Half Life

Half life’s Gordon Freeman is the coolest theoretical physicist you are likely to come across and he not only dons a HEV suit but also a tidy ‘Van Dyke’ style goatee. He may be the strong silent type but his facial hair speaks volumes.

Gears | Gears of War

The ranks of the Gears are jam packed with facial hair from Marcus Phoenix’s little ‘soul patch’, through Dom’s full beard all the way to Corporal Barrick’s impressive ‘Hulibee’.

Victor Zangief | Street fighter 2

This Russian bear-of-a-man first appeared in Street Fighter 2 and whilst he was slow moving, if he ever landed a punch you would certainly feel it. Similarly, if he ever got hold of you, his spinning pile driver would certainly finish you off. Zangief enjoys a full beard that balances his Mohawk hair style perfectly.

Solid Snake | Metal Gear Solid

This sneaky secret agent loves to hide and it turns out, so does his top lip. Snake has been growing his hair throughout his games starting as a clean cut whippersnapper, through the stubble days until finally growing old gracefully with a grey Copstash Standard.

Dr Robotnic / Doctor Eggman | Sonic The Hedgehog

Sonic’s main antagonist and tech loving mad scientist Dr Robotnic lets his moustache roam free and it has spread out in all directions trying to escape his evil face. His moustache mixes the handle bar style with the trucker creating what is know in ‘mo circles’ as the mad scientist thanks to crazy characters like Eggman.

Lynch | Kane and lynch

Wife murderer, turned contract killer James Seth Lynch uses a full beard to hide his dark demeanor. When tidy, his beard bears some resemblance to the ducktail but when in the heat of the action looks more like a short boxed beard.

Andrew Ryan | Bioshock

Andrew Ryan has  the classic pencil mustache giving him an air of class and distinction. Being brought up during the Russian Revolution he yearned for order in his later life and created the stunning underwater city of Rapture for his own master race. As a man who like to control his surroundings he also like to control his facial hair as the split pencil mustache is notoriously difficult to keep tidy.

Harry Tipper | Time Spitters

It’s time we get a little funky and enjoy the bushy handlebar that is Harry Tipper’s moustache. Harry was one of the few players to appear in all the three Timsplitters games and he presence in all these games was all down to his disco-loving lip warmer.

Eddie Riggs | Brutal Legend

Eddie was a roadie for Kabbage Boy before being knocked unconscious and whisked to the heavy metal world of Ormagoden. After finding out he’s the offspring of a Warrior and a Demon he goes on to save the underworld. Eddie rocks a jet black soul patch similar to that of Marcus Phoenix and whilst small, it still looks pretty awesome.

Gannon | Legend of Zelda

The only ginger facial hair to make our list and what facial hair. Ganon can be seen wearing his beard in various styles. Iit is most commonly seen in the Chin Curtain style with a little ‘Old Dutch’ thrown in for good measure. This beautifully red chin tickler merges seamlessly with his hair which makes all the cooler.

Captain Price  –  Call of Duty

Captain Prince has possibly one of the best mustaches in gaming. His bushy mutton chops and bouncy British accent shows a softer side to the SAS trained killing machine.

Dr Willy / Dr Light | Mega man

Although Dr Willy created half of one of gaming classic heroes Mega Man, Dr Willy was a bad apple and tried to take over the world with his army of robots. Of course, if you removed his mad hair and crazy mustache he wouldn’t look half as scary so we salute the evilness of your hairy upper lip.

Rufus | Street Fighter 4

This tubby martial artist from Street Fighter 4 shocked everyone with the speed at which he can fight. His aim was to defeat Ken and prove that he is the best fighter in America. Whilst Ken enjoys flowing blonde locks from his head, Rufus has gone for a bushy blonde Winnfield which compliments his receding hairline and blonde ponytail.

King of the Cosmos | Katamari

It makes total sense that the king of the cosmos would have a mustache. And what a mustache it is, a tight and tidy handlebar with bonus anchor goatee.

Dudley | Street fighter 4

Dudley is a fantastic boxer and impeccable gentleman who seeks perfection both in and out of the ring. Although his back story isn’t has colorful as his Street Fighter brethren his mustache won over the fans as handlebar lovers everywhere said they would love to see the character in future games.

Sgt. Avery Johnson | Halo

Obviously inspired by Sergeant Apone in Aliens this ‘gung-ho’ marine is full of spunk and one hell of a soldier. Avery Junior Johnson sports a classic tash that is no mess and little maintenance. His mustache helped him rise through the ranks and eventually become a major.

Salvador | Borderlands 2

Salvador is the Gunzerker-class warrior in Borderlands 2. His main skill, Gunzerking, allows him to dual-wield any of the two weapons in the game for a short time. This skill would not have been possible without his mammoth anchor beard.

Master Onion | PaRappa The Rapper

Chop Chop Master Onion is an onion-headed sensei who teaches Karate to young PaRappa in the first stage of the first game. Being a karate master he sports a long Asian Winnfield down to his shoulders.

Don’t know your handlebar from you Winnfield… check out this useful chart!

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Chuck Greene: Dead Rising 2 – Former Motocross Champion

Chuck is the unlikely hero of Dead Rising 2, the game in which you have to hack through hordes of the undead to survive. As a Former Motocross Champion, he’s pretty handy with a set of tools and it’s this skill that leads to all of the crazy weapons you can use in the game. With some serious agility and strength, it’s no wonder Chuck makes mince meat out of Zombies!

Leon Kennedy: Resident Evil – Rookie Cop (First Day on the Job)

Facing Resident Evil 2 on your first day at work doesn’t sound like fun and indeed, it wasn’t. Facing the T-Virus firsthand, Leon has to think on his feet to survive and save the day in the horror game. No matter how bad things got however, Leon still made it through and at the end of it all he got that promotion, working for the US Government Leon returned in Resident Evil 4.

Dr. Fred Edison: Day of the Tentacle – Professor

In the classic adventure from LucasArts, Dr. Fred Edison gets himself into a whole lot of trouble. As you’d expect from a mad professor, he drinks a special formula that changes him into a super-intelligent being. As he plans to kill off the two tentacle brothers things start to get out of hand. If only being a Dr was this much fun in real-life.

Gordon Freeman: Half Life – Theoretical Physicist

Gordon Freeman is the action-hero at the heart of the cult Half-Life games. As a theoretical physicist, there’s perhaps nobody better to take care of an Alien threat. In the games, you practically become Gordon, giving you the opportunity to become the underdog yourself and win despite overwhelming odds and the lack of backup.

Mario: Super Mario Land – Plumber

Who doesn’t know Mario? Mario started out as a plumber who was just getting harassed by Donkey Kong and now he’s an International Superstar. With games on the 3DS and the Wii U, Mario and his brother Luigi are still going strong. This just goes to show you, plumbers lead exciting lives as well.

Mr Manny Calavera: Grim Fandango – Travel Agent

Grim Fandango is an amazing game, plain and simple. In a fantasy setting, Manny is that guy who sits behind a desk all day long, the kind of guy to take care of ecommerce fulfillment solutions. However, he soon gets wrapped up in all kinds of trouble and takes you with him. One of the best PC games ever, Grim Fandango shows that being an office worker isn’t as boring as you think.

Ethan Mars: Heavy Rain – Architect

Mr Mars is something straight out of a movie. A gentle guy that has a well-paid job just wants to look out for his family. When his son dies however, things take a turn for the worse. As his other son is kidnapped, Ethan Mars goes over and beyond to get him back, showing the world that a Father’s love is more powerful than anything. Well, almost anything.

Lee Everett: Walking Dead – History Professor

In the Epic game that is the Walking Dead, Lee Everett is almost entirely left up to the player to become. All we know is that he used to be a Professor teaching history at a University, when we join him he’s being carted off to prison for murdering a fellow teacher. However, after that you’re up to become Lee Everett and the choices after that are powerful and profound.

Eddie Riggs: Brutal Legend – Band Roadie

In the rock fantasy game Brutal Legend, Eddie Riggs is the Ultimate Roadie. For someone who is to stay out of the spotlight and prop someone else up, he makes the perfect underdog. Throughout the game you learn that roadies are just as capable – if not more so – than anyone else. A true underdog.

Francis: Left 4 Dead – Dock worker

As you’d expect from a dock worker, Francis is a strong man. Thanks to his biker roots and tattoos all over, even Zombies are afraid of Francis. As you’re killing Zombie after Zombie in the game, you soon realize that even a dock worker can help save the world.

Mike Haggar: Final Fight – Mayor

Mike Haggar is a retired wrestling champ that became the Mayor of Metro City in the classic Capcom game. After re refuses a gang’s bribe, they kidnap his daughter. Vowing to retrieve his daughter and save the city, Haggar soon proves that might is right.

Cole MacGrath: Infamous – Courier

Before he was granted superpowers, Cole MacGrath was a humber bike messenger, ferrying letters and packages across town. When he gets those powers however, he’s able to do incredible things with electricity. Being a delivery man doesn’t sound too bad after all.

Jade: Beyond Good & Evil – Photo Journalist

Beyond Good & Evil is a classic title that every gamer should play. As you might expect, a photo journalist goes after the story a little too hard in this game. Playing as jade, you have to explore and think of looking where nobody else has. Guess working for the local paper can be surprising, huh?

Isaac Clarke: Dead Space – Engineer

In EA’s horror series that is Dead Space, Isaac Clarke is just another engineer out in space trying to keep things ticking over. However, things soon go wrong and Isaac is left to fight for his life. Using some of the most unique weapons in video gaming, Isaac survives the Alien threat to star in two sequel games.

Abe: Oddworld – Janitor

The Oddworld games were masterpieces back in the day and this was in no small part down to Abe, the lovable janitor that hopes to escape to a better life. With some of the best platforming ever seen, Abe is a great character to play as and you really end up feeling for him when the game is finished.

Raz: Psychonauts – Circus Performer

Starring in a Circus is likely to give you some pretty good skills you need to survive or to kick-ass and defeat evil. Raz gains both of those as a circus performer and allows you to have fun in one of the best platformers known to video gaming.

There will always be heroes that are larger than life when it comes to video games however, as the business goes more and more mainstream, things are set to change. Much like movies, we want to play as a character that’s easy to relate to and that we can enjoy our own experiences with. As video gaming evolves, we’re likely to see more of Lee Everett and co than of Mike Haggar.

The post When I’m Not a Video Game Hero, My job is… appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.

Let’s take a look at some of the best examples of little girls in video games and a little bit about them, some of which you might remember very well.

Katey Greene – Dead Rising 2

As the daughter of protagonist Chuck Greene, Katey is a sweet little girl that’s been infected after the Las Vegas outbreak. Her father must constantly secure Zombrex to keep her alive. Chuck becomes so protective of her that he’d fight off hordes of Zombies just to get her a new stuffed animal. I think we’d all fight like crazy to protect our own daughter like Chuck.

The Little Sisters – BioShock

In the hit game BioShock, the Little Sisters were integral parts of the narrative. Portraying grubby orphans that have to fend for themselves and partner with monsters that are the Big Daddies. Throughout the game, you’re given the grueling choice to set those you capture free or harvest their life force for better powers. Depending on how many you save affects the ending of the game. The mechanic can also heavily affect the amount of guilt experienced throughout the game.

Ellie  – Last of Us

Ellie is a 14-year-old girl that grew up in a world in turmoil. Growing up in a military camp, she knows very little outside of Boston. She’s obsessed with pop culture, such as CDs and comics. Throughout the game, she comes across situations that no 14-year-old should be and you really end up fearing for her. This is definitely one game that will have furthers clutching their controllers.

Alma Wade  – F.E.A.R

A little girl born with incredible psychic abilities, Alma was experimented upon and put in great danger. She’s the exact type of girl that should be in one of the best rehab centers, not exploited like this. This is what forms most of the scares in the F.E.A.R series and we’re sure parents playing this would never want their child to go through the same sort of ordeal.

The Red/White Queen  – Computer in Resident Evil

The computers in Resident Evil were a sight to behold. With their impish and girlish nature, there’s something very unnerving about them both. Somehow, they’re that little bit extra creepy as little girls. I guess it’s true what they say – even grown men are scared of little girls.

Clementine – The Walking Dead

Little girl Clementine creates much of the heartache players experienced throughout the Walking Dead video game. As Lee Everett, you vow to protect her as her parents are stuck out in the Zombie apocalypse. As the player progresses through the game, the emotional bond grows stronger and drives the player to protect her as if she were their own.

Yumi Sawamura – Little Girl in Yakuza

While she doesn’t play a major part in the game, Yumi is a quintessential example of how crime and the like can get in the way of everyday life. With her life derailed thanks to the event that happen in the game, she is left alone and in the background.

Ashley Graham from Resident Evil 4

Ms. Graham plays the classic character of the President’s daughter. Playing as Leon Kennedy, the player must rescue her whenever she needs help. She’s a fun-loving character however and makes for a fresh twist on the damsel in distress.

Trip from Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

Set on a futuristic Earth that has been ravaged by a space war, Trip is a young woman that enlists the help of Monkey through a headband that means he has to obey. Throughout the journey, Trip makes for an interesting insight into a game that would otherwise be a boring action game. She’s a woman of the world and helps out along the way with her contacts and more, proving that girls can be helpful in games.

Cheryl Mason – Silent Hill

Cheryl is the unfortunate creation of some ritual. She’s born into the world without any parents by Harry Mason and his wife takes care of her. When she disappears after a car crash, Harry spends the rest of the game trying to find her. It resonates with a lot of what we feel when we lose a child.

Max & Chloe – Life is Strange

Max and Chloe have been best friends since childhood and lived just down the road from each other. Max used to spend a lot of time at Chloe’s house, where the two would often play pirates by dressing up and pretending the living room couch is a pirate ship. The relationship between the two is strong and fully fleshed out allowing players to connect with them on an emotional level.

Six from Little Nightmares

Six is a small, scrawny, and starving 9-year-old girl. Along with other children, she was taken from her home to The Maw, where she may be served as food. She is much smaller and skinnier than a typical child her age. She wears a yellow raincoat with a pointed cap that covers most of her face. She is also barefoot and bare-legged, and she carries a lighter to light her way. The creatures in The Maw try to pursue and harm her, but by using the player’s intellect and agility, you can help her escape this terrifying prison. A lost child is a parent’s worst nightmare so completing the game is a must for any parent.

Little girls and young women like those above add a certain dynamic to video games, certain humanity to experiences that would otherwise be cold and meaningless. The Little Sisters from Bioshock give the game guilt and games like the Walking Dead and Resident Evil 4 push you to do anything to keep those you love safe from harm. Parents will often play these games and feel a certain attachment. Nobody likes to see their child in danger and no matter what, little girls shouldn’t ever get caught in the crossfire.

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Okay, they may have been scantily clad, sexy, sassy and voluptuous but they could not only hold their own in a fight but also do some serious damage in the process.

The nineties gave us some of the most iconic female game characters in gaming history so far and below are just a few we know and love.

Tyris Flare – Golden Axe

The original leading lady from Golden Axe. This half Amazonian barbarian is not only gifted with a blade but also has magical powers that were bestowed upon her from the Great Dragon Titan himself enabling her to cast fireballs from the sky.

Chun Li – Streetfighter 2

Chun Li was the only female character in the original line up of Street Fighter 2. Chun Li was lighting fast with with a strong sense of justice and throughout the series she has always fought on the side of good.

Sonya Blade – Mortal Kombat

lieutenant Sonya Blade is one of the key members of a top US Special Forces unit. Sonya Blade is a beautiful, stern, tough-as-nails soldier and represents a very emancipated and head-strong girl, but for all her hotheadedness and pride, she obviously cares about the lives of her friends.

Lara Croft – Tomb Raider

 
No female gaming character has made as big of a splash than Lara Croft. This Indiana Jones style archeologist swung onto our screens in 1996 to an unprecedented reaction. Her arrival heralded the genesis on the 3D platform game and many a gamer were in awe of her bottom and triangular chest.

Samus Aran – Metroid

 
Samus is one of gaming’s most iconic characters, but is usually hidden inside her high powered suit. Created in a time when Nintendo didn’t just focus of the family market the Metroid series takes gamers on a darker journey where orphaned bounty hunter Samus brought up by peace loving bird like creatures.

Mali – Popful Mail

 
Mail (who is also regularly mispelled Mali) is a confrontational and determined bounty hunter who despite numerous efforts successfully capturing her nemesis, still gets invaded in the end.

Jill Valentine – Resident Evil

 
This highly trained STARS operative had big pockets and started with a handgun, making her the prime choice to start with in Resident Evil. Her slightly easier missions and great story meant that she soon became a huge hit with fans.

Fio Germi – Metal Slug

 
Fiolina Germi may have only appeared in Metal Slug 2 and not the original but she stood the test of time and appeared in all subsequent sequels. As a member of the Peregrine Falcon (PF) Squad she was just as strong, fast and resourceful as the rest of the squad.

Tam & Rit – Rodland

 
These fairies with big hair waste no time when they discover their mum has been taken to the top of a tower by an evil demon. Armed with their rods of maximum hurt they dispatch a myriad of cute monsters over 40 grueling levels… Cute, they may be, but when it comes to getting the job done, they are on it!

Yellow – Gunstar Heroes

Yellow is the only female member who assists the doctor and befriends the miniature natives conquered by the Empire. In the original game she is kidnapped by the Empire as a bargaining chip for the gems. In later games she is a much more pivotal character.

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Ray Machowski from Grand Theft Auto 3

A corrupt cop, in league with the Yakuza, Machowski is the one that gives you missions to help him deal with a variety of “business problems” as we as escape the city. You can hate him all you want, but the guy keeps you employed.

B.B. Hensley from Max Payne

A supposed agent with the DEA, B.B. Hensley backstabs Max Payne by trying to set him up in a deadly meeting with Alex Balder, and then later trying to set him up in other lethal traps. B.B. is ultimately killed by Payne in the end, with some good old-fashioned vengeance. And bullets.

Edgar Ross from Red Dead Redemption

The main antagonist of Red Dead, he’s the one who sets James Marston on his quest to kill or capture his old bandit buddies in order to free himself and protect his family. Edgar Ross comes across as a very refined, modernist man, and one that is easy to hate.

Officer Frank Tenpenny from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Tenpenny is a cop on the LSPD, Los Santos Police department.  He’s also the main villain of San Andreas, running a whole group of cops that are corrupt, using gang information to extort money as well as using police brutality against others. But he’s probably one of the coolest corrupt cops, mostly because he is voiced by Samuel L. Jackson.

Albert Wesker from Resident Evil

Albert Wesker, the ultimate backstab, turned on the Racoon City Police Department from the very beginning. And eventually he gets a little too involved with Umbrella Corp., injecting himself with a variant of the T-virus, and that pretty much makes him a scary, scary foe.

Roy Earle from L.A. Noire

Roy Earle is the smuggest two-faced cop that ever strolled down the streets of L.A. He backstabs you quite a bit late into the game, but you can see it coming a mile a way. He just has that air about him that something isn’t right. And it does turn out that Earle and the whole vice squad are deeply

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Here is my list of the Top 10 Gaming Princesses... and then many more that didn’t quite make the cut.

10. Witch Princess – Harvest Moon

The Witch Princess of Harvest Moon is cute and mischievous. She’s also one character who is able to be married, though it’s quite a challenge compared to some of the other single ladies. Still, The Witch Princess shows up in multiple Harvest Moon games, is often a cosplay favourite, and does have a fanbase.

9. Sun Lian – Jade Empire

Sun Lian was pretty badass in the fact that she led an entire secret life as the Silk Fox, displaying some awesome ninja skills. Not only that, but she becomes a huge part of the main storyline, even influencing the ending, depending on which way in the story you go. Sun Lian is a pretty tough princess, as far as the stereotype goes.

8. Princess Elena – Street Fighter

Princess Elena first showed up in Street Fighter III: New Generation, though she’s been in multiple Street Fighter games since then. She’s tall, silver haired and blue eyed, and can probably kick your butt. But she has a cheery, if not a little saccharine, disposition, which makes her a rather underrated opponent. She’s a princess of an East African nation that reveres fighting, so that’s probably why she’s not your average princess.

7. Princess Plump – Fat Princess

Fat Princess sounds like a terribly mean game and maybe at its base it’s a little crass, but you can’t help if it a princess likes to eat. Princess Plump is the main princess of the storyline and the one teams have to move from one side of the map to the other. Of course, the more she eats, the heavier she gets and the harder she is to move. But Princess Plump doesn’t seem to mind.

6. Princess Daphne – Dragon’s Lair

Probably one of the sexiest princesses on the list, Daphne awaits being saved by a knight and vows to marry the one who saves her, which turns out to be Dirk, the main protagonist in Dragon’s Lair. She was based off a model and wears an extremely revealing outfit, dons long blonde hair, and is pretty much a pinup of princess status. This has made her popular among much of the male gaming population.

5. Princess Kitana – Mortal Kombat

Also sexy, but way tougher, Princess Kitana does not play around, being the daughter of Queen Sindel and all. she loyally served Shao Kahn for a good amount of time, until she found out the truth about where she came from and that her twin sister, Mileena, was just a clone made of her. Within her time frame in the Mortal Kombat series, she has been both a foe and a good guy, so she kind of walks a fine line between the two.

4. Princess Nadia/Marle – Chrono Trigger

First introduced at Marle, you learn her real name is Princess Nadia, and she’s at odds with her father. She’s an awesome character to have as she had the best healing techs of any character in the game, making her practically indispensable. And becoming Crono’s love interest and eventual wife is pretty awesome too.

3. Ashe – Final Fantasy

Also known as Ashelia B’nargin Dalmasca (say that three times fast), Ashe is one of the main playable characters in Final Fantasy XII and the former princess of Dalmasca. Even though Vaan is the protagonist of the game, fans consider her the true main character as the plot really changes to focus on her once she joins the party. Ashe has a huge following and probably is one of the most popular Final Fantasy characters, and princesses, in gaming. If you need FFXIV Gil, click here.

2. Princess Zelda

There’s no better honour for a princess than having an entire series named after her (although, that confused many people back when the games first came out). And Zelda totally deserves such recognition. While in the beginning of the series she was nothing more than a princess to be saved, she eventually evolved to fight alongside Link, whether hidden as Sheik or outright in Twilight Princess. Zelda is beautiful, powerful and worth saving Hyrule for.

1. Princess Peach

The Duchess of princesses, Princess Peach (once known as Princes Toadstool) is the yin to Mario’s yang. She is the quintessential princess that needs to be saved from the castle, at least in video game terms. She’s grown a lot as a character, carving a name for herself in Mario Kart, Smash Bros and other franchise games where she’s a great playable character. In Super Princess Peach, she did some of her own saving of Mario, as well. She might seem prim and proper in pink, but she’s definitely the top princess in our kingdom.

Looking for more video game princesses? here are some that didn’t make the final list:

Princess Daisy – Super Mario Bros.

Daisy is a recurring character in the Super Mario Bros. series, often appearing as a playable character or in a supporting role. She is the princess of Sarasaland and is known for her spunky personality and love of adventure.

Princess Rosalina – Super Mario Galaxy

Rosalina is a major character in the Super Mario Galaxy series, serving as a guide and mentor to Mario and Luigi as they explore the cosmos. She is the protector of the Lumas and is known for her calm and gentle demeanor.

Princess Luna – My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Luna is one of the main characters in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series. She is the younger sister of Princess Celestia and is known for her playful and mischievous personality.

Princess Celestia – My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Celestia is one of the main characters in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series. She is the ruler of Equestria and is known for her wise and regal demeanor.

Princess Erendira – Age of Empires II

Erendira is a playable hero in the Age of Empires II expansion pack, The Forgotten. She is the daughter of the Aztec emperor Moctezuma and is known for her bravery and skill in battle.

Princess Elincia – Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Elincia is a major character in the Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance game. She is the princess of Crimea and is known for her kind and compassionate nature.

Princess Melora – The Elder Scrolls Online

Melora is a character in The Elder Scrolls Online game, appearing as a member of the Aldmeri Dominion faction. She is a princess of the Altmer race and is known for her fierce determination and loyalty to her people.

Princess Anna – Frozen: Olaf’s Quest

Anna is the main character of the Frozen: Olaf’s Quest game, which is based on the popular Disney movie. She is the younger sister of Elsa and is known for her bravery and determination.

Princess Tiana – The Princess and the Frog

Tiana is the main character of The Princess and the Frog game, which is based on the Disney movie of the same name. She is a hard-working waitress who dreams of opening her own restaurant and is known for her determination and strong will.

Princess Kida – Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Kida is a major character in the Atlantis: The Lost Empire game, which is based on the Disney movie. She is the princess of the lost city of Atlantis and is known for her bravery and love for her people.

Princess Fiona – Shrek

Fiona is a major character in the Shrek series, serving as the love interest of the titular character. She is known for her spunky personality and fierce independence.

Princess Aurora – Sleeping Beauty

Aurora is one of the many Disney Princesses in the Disney Princess Game Enchanted Journey, in which the player must enter her world and clear it of all the shadowly creatures that have appeared.

Princess Merida – Brave

Merida is the main character of the Brave game, which was one of the only Disney Princesses to get her own dedicated game. She is the princess of the Scottish kingdom of DunBroch and is known for her adventurous spirit and fierce independence.

Princess Leia – Star Wars

Leia is a major character in the Star Wars franchise, serving as a member of the Rebel Alliance and later as a leader of the Resistance. She is known for her intelligence, bravery, and fierce determination to fight against the Empire.

Princess Gumball – Adventure Time

Gumball is a character in the Adventure Time game, serving as the ruler of the Candy Kingdom. She is known for

The Unicorn Princess

This short but sweet horse-riding game sees a young girl become the unicorn princess after hearing the horned horse call to her for help. Most of the game, she rides a normal horse but when she hears the call she changes her horse for a Unicorn and collects items from around the world.

All Disney Princesses

Thanks to Disney’s Dreamlight Valley, you can meet all the Disney princesses in their digital form in this sweet farming/life simulator.

Which video game princesses are your favourite?

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Gears of War 3

All of the Gears of War games are known for having mutants in them, but Gears of War 3 is full of some really gruesome and awesome mutants. Brumaks, for one, are huge mutants with two chain guns and a rocket launcher. Not the kind of baddie you want to mess with in a dark alley. Also, you can unlock mutations for your own character, which give them a lot of great perks, making the game easier and in some cases, a little more fun.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

Resident Evil 3 took the series in a very different direction, in that not only were you dealing with the usual suspects of zombies, dogs and another creepy folk, but Nemesis was always on your trail. He had a thing for going after and killing S.T.A.R.S members and would often chase you at the most inopportune times. You couldn’t defeat him, at least not right away. All you could do was run and hide and hope he wouldn’t find you.


The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Some mutants aren’t bad guys, as the Ninja Turtles have proven. By now, almost everyone knows they evolved through interaction with ooze in the sewers (as did their master and sensei, Splinter). Of course, the ooze was also used to create mutants that became their enemies, but through all iterations of games, they showed good guys can come of weird circumstances.

X-men

The X-men are another group that has shown that mutants can be heroes, as well as bad guys. It’s an interesting take on the idea of having superpowers and what you would do with it. The latest game the X-men have shown up in has been X-Men Destiny, which came out 2 years ago but unfortunately poor reception.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R (Chernobyl Dairies)

S.T.A.L.K.E.R is a downright scary game, mostly because it focuses on the idea of what kind of mutants could have come from the Chornobyl incident and it does so in a really creepy, survival first-person shooter way. Snorks, for example, are one of the creepiest enemies, mutated from soldiers, still wearing tattered uniforms and gas masks.

Bioshock

The city of Rapture was meant to be a paradise, but with the introduction of Plasmids it turned its residents into drug hungry mutations of what they once were. They are still human, but disfigured and criminally insane, to say the least.  There’s nothing creepier than people who are still human but deranged and trying to kill you.

Rage

Often compared to Mad Max 2, Rage is a post-apocalyptic wasteland where you fight mutants and bandits, trying to survive with the rest of the human race. There are variants of these mutants, with different armor and weapons, but all are deadly.

Fallout 3

A post-apocalyptic wasteland, fighting mutants and bandits… wait, didn’t we talk about this already? Except Fallout 3’s mutants are huge. And terrifying. They tower over your character and if you aren’t prepared for your first run in with one, you’ll likely get annihilated in about 3 seconds. Not all mutants are bad, however, and you can even have one fight on your side in Fallout: New Vegas.



Crash: Mind Over Mutant

A free-roaming beat em; up, Crash Bandicoot has to go up against an evil scientist and free mutants from his control. Instead of running from or killing mutants, you’re helping them, which is a lot different of a premise than most of these games.

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Luigi

There’s no other way to kick off this list except with Luigi. One of the first major green character in gaming, he was created such a sharp contrasting color as to stand apart from his brother, Mario. You’d think maybe blue would’ve been the first opposite color to come to mind but nope, Luigi was made green because visually, it actually stands out even better than blue.  The man wears it well and has become easily recognizable for the color, so if you ever done a green shirt and blue overalls, everyone will know who you are trying to be.

Yoshi

In the same world as Luigi, Yoshi is one green character we all love and adore. He takes green and makes it down right cute. And while we later learned that there are plenty of other Yoshis, all of different colors, the green one is the loyal sidekick of Mario and the one we ended up caring about the most. I mean, no other Yoshi got to drive in Mario Kart or beat others up in Smash Bros, now did they?

Link

The most heroic of the green characters? I’d say so. Link’s original tunic is green due to him being raised in Kokiri Forest, where he thought he was one of the forest folk. Turns out, Link discovers he’s really a Hyrulian, but that doesn’t stop him from getting Navi, is fairy guide. Although special tunics are later discovered that help him get through certain areas, the green is the classic color since the very first Legend of Zelda In 1986.

Blanka

The greenest (and meanest?) of the Street Fighter characters, Blanka is a bit of a hulking beast with really great hair. His history says that he was in a plane crash as a little boy and was raised in the wild, which is why he’s so feral. He was exposed to electric eels  in the Amazon which mutated his appearance and gave him his electric abilities (yeah, even I can’t believe that one).  This combined with his knowledge of capoeira led him to become one of the strongest fighters in the world.

Frogger

Who can forget Frogger? When Kermit the Frog sang “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” I bet Frogger was one of the only ones who really understood. It’s not easy being green and trying to hop across oncoming traffic to get to the other side of the pond. He’s one of the few green characters older than Luigi (Frogger being first released in 1981) and people still love to play the little frog today in arcades, even if they aren’t always successful in keeping him from getting smushed.

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Legion – Mass Effect 3

Legion is one of the most interesting characters in Mass Effect 3. You’ve fought the Geth in the previous games, so having one fighting by your side is a little odd (and really annoys Tali, which makes sense). Legion is a Geth that wasn’t affected by Sovereign and proves that not all of the are hostile. In fact, he (they?) sign up with Shepard to not only help the crew, but to help the Geth themselves. There’s a lot of conflict with having a Geth on board, but Legion is easily one of the most interesting crewmates that Shepard comes across.

Claptrap – Borderlands

Originally, Claptrap was one of many robots of his kind, but after many years and a lot of alteration he is now one of a kind. Claptrap has a quirky personality and seriously great sarcastic humor. Although all the other Claptraps were destroyed, he survives to help out the Vault Hunters in Borderlands 2 and later becomes a stairs fearing assassin the Borderlands the Pre-Sequel.. Claptrap is sort of the unofficial mascot of the Borderlands games and is even present on the menu, doing a variety of things if you just sit and watch. A fun little fact; “claptrap” is actually old word that used to mean “babble”, which makes sense considering that’s what he tends to do.

Dog – Half Life 2

There’s no better dog than a robot dog. At least that’s what Half Life 2 proved with Dog, who actually doesn’t look a thing like a dog, but instead has the name as he’s Alyx Vance’s pet. And he’s HUGE. Alyx added on extra parts to him as she grew up and he’s her protector. And much like a real dog, he’s friendly, loyal and super excitable. In fact, you can even play fetch with him. Dog has a recurring role in much of Half Life 2 and it’s extra episodes. He doesn’t actually have combat A.I; all of his attacks are interestingly scripted, no matter what the player does. He’s still a great help, though and a rough opponent for enemies.

Clank – Ratchet and Clank

Clank is Ratchet’s long time companion and one hell of a cool little robot (something tells me he and Mega Man would be good friends). There have been a ton of Ratchet and Clank games and he’s appeared in all, if less in others than some of the former releases. And since he’s a Zoni, he can command other Zoni to follow him, levitate or charge. He’s as helpful a companion as Kazooie is to Banjo or Diddy Kong is to Donkey Kong.

Mega Man

A star in his own right, Mega Man is a classic Nintendo character. His power canon is only matched by Samus (who is not a robot, but a hot chick under a suit of metal) and he’s got the coolest side kick robo-dog, Rush. He’s appeared in a ton of games outside of his own, which has spun off into a ton of different series’; Mega Man X, Mega Man Legends, and Mega Man Zero just to name a few. He even had his own TV series. What makes Mega Man so great, besides his classic platforming games? The fact that he could absorb his enemies powers to benefit himself. And that he actually has quite a story if you really play through some of the later series.

HK47 – Star Wars KOTOR

HK-47 Is one of the snarkiest robot crewmates in any game. He’s been well loved and quoted since his appearance in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and was an assassin droid for Darth Revan, until his memory core was wiped and he forgot who his master was. He bounced around from master to master, killing many of them (apparently by accident). He’s blunt, aggressive and refers to human as “meat bags.” It really doesn’t get any better than that. He’s easily one of the most likable companions in KOTOR, even if he is a little bit evil.

Wheatley and GLaDOS:

You can’t really mention one without the other, mostly because the “other” would be pretty pissed if you did. While GLaDOS is the malevolent villain, Wheatley is the one who actually aids you in much of the first part of Portal 2. Their personalities could not be any different; GLaDOS is cynical, witty and vindictive and Wheatley is well, a complete sweetheart of a robot who takes some coaxing to really stand up for himself and feel courageous. But it wouldn’t have been Portal 2 without both of them and that’s why they both rock so hard and are so important to the game overall.

Jack – Gears of War

Jack is the hovering robot that follows team Delta on all their missions, even if you can’t always see him. Usually invisible during combat, he’s still always there, and become super helpful in getting through areas and aiding Delta overall. Interestingly, his concept art points to him having a bigger role overall in the game than he ended up having, but no doors would be ripped off their hinges if it weren’t for Jack.

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The Blues Brothers Game

Guys, this really happened. Out for the Atari, PC and other platforms, it felt a lot like the Chip N Dale game we all know and love. Same side-scrolling action, same ability to pick up a variety of objects and throw them at enemies. The music in the game is actual music in the movie, which is a delight to hear in 8-bit form. The game is actually pretty fun, if a weird sort of choice of a movie-to-game crossover.

Revolution X

Remember Revolution X? If you’re thinking of Dance Dance Revolution X, then you are thinking of the wrong game. Revolution X is an arcade rail shooter that features the band Aerosmith. Yes, you read that right. It’s comparable in gameplay to the Terminator 2 arcade cabinet. You have to rescue Aerosmith, who has been captured by some dystopian group in the year 1996. I wish I were kidding, but this really existed.

What’s even better is that there was an easter egg that when you caused a particularly large explosion, you’d hear the classic “Toasty!” phrase from Mortal Kombat II (probably in reference to the fact that model/actress Kerri Hoskins plays the villain as well as Sonya in the MK series).

Rock Star Ate My Hamster

The title is weird enough, but so was the game. Created by Code Masters, it was a strategy management game where you have to select a band and earn 4 gold discs within a year’s time. The entire game is menu driven, with various selections moving you further into the game.

What was great about this game was the hilarious versions of major rock stars; Bill Collins, for Phil Collins, Wacko Jacko for Michael Jackson, Michael George for George Michaels, and so forth. They had a huge list of 80s stars, legends and rockers; Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Ozzy Osbourne, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Tina Turner and Alice Cooper just to name a very small percentage.  If anything, the game is great for comedy, but not much else.

Moonwalker

I was obsessed with this game as a kid as everyone should have been. After all, you got to play as Michael Jackson and literally moonwalk when you wanted to, throwing your hat and defeating bad guys. It featured a soundtrack of all his songs, though which levels they lined up with varied, depending on the format the game was released on.

It’s considered a cult classic now, really depicting the change over of MJ’s career from his Thriller era to Bad era. Certain arcade cabinets could support up to 3 players, who all played Michael in 3 different suits. Nothing better than beating up bad guys to the tune of Smooth Criminal with your friends.

Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style

Was this game one of the most ridiculous releases for the Playstation, or one of the most awesome? I guess that depends on who you ask. All nine members of the Wu-Tang clan appear in this game, along with a bunch of other fictional fighters and bosses.  There IS a story, if not much of one, finishing moves and even a special edition controller that Sony made. Although the controller was so difficult to play with, it turned into a collector’s piece for most owners than anything else.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

50 Cent actually appears in a sequel to his original video game in Blood on the Sand. Seriously, a sequel! It’s crazy to think this guy has two video games under his belt, but even crazier when you actually experience them. On foot combat and vehicle missions are both found in the game, set in an urban warzone in an area 50 Cent is brought to play a concert. He gets paid in a diamond encrusted skull (really), which is promptly stolen by a terrorist. And there’s your plot.

Giant Bomb called the story “so awful, it’s amazing” and it was trashed by several reviewers and sites. Still, it was better received than his first game, so points for that, I guess.

And the rest…

Beyond games just about music artists, there are artists who have made cameos in games that had NOTHING to do with music artists. Take for example Phil Collins in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, where the player literally goes to a Phil Collins concert. Gene Simmons appeared as an unlockable character in Tony Hawk Underground. One of the most fun cameos in a game was when Snoop Dogg appeared in True Crime: Streets of L.A.  He’s an unlockable, playable character than even has his own sayings and quotes.

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Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams

One of those weird projects that people talked about but were never sure would actually come to fruition, the Giana Sisters returned in a XBLA game aftr their first game back in 1987 on the Commodre 64. Funded by Kickstarter, it was just released last month and brought back the hottie sisters that everyone (who knew them, anyway) loved in the 80s.

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds

A side-scrolling beat em up, because those never get old, it has some awesome anime style chicks from the original game. Not only are these girls all sorts of adorable, they also kick butt with their giant weapons and awesome combos. Think Castle Crashers, but with chicks. Awesome Japanese styled chicks.

AMY

While the quality of the actual game might be something to argue over, AMY had a unique premise of watching over an autistic girl while trying to escort her out of a monster-ridden city. And you did that by playing Lana, who was one hell of a woman to escort Amy out of a crazy environment like that. Give her props, because she rocks the XBLA.

Beyond Good & Evil HD

Beyond Good & Evil is one of those games that’s been loved for years, but the HD remake means Jade is even cooler in high-def. She takes care of orphans, goes after the sketchy government, and kicks butt doing it.

Lara Croft: GoL

Lara Croft always kicked butt, but she really shines in Guardian of Light. For a XBLA version of a Tomb Raider game, it is satisfyingly awesome and holds well with the rest of the franchise. With a fixed perspective, like classic two dimensional games, it works really well as a cooperative game as much as a single player one.

Perfect Dark HD

Who is cooler than secret agent Joanna Dark? OK, maybe James Bond, but he isn’t a woman, so he doesn’t get a say here. Joanna is a stealthly expert, making her way through various buildings and tech areas of dataDyne, the evil defense contractor corporation who is in league, with, well, aliens. A woman who can take on aliens deserves to be on this list.

MS.PAC-MAN

No one can mess with Ms. Pac-Man, not even Pac-man himself. In fact, she traps him with her wily ways in her version of the game, with the best in-between-levels story ever, if only for its simplicity. Ms. Pac-Man (as well as most other iterations of the game) does phenomenally well on XBLA and is one of the most downloaded games on there.

Islands of Wakfu

A beautiful game, Islands of Wakfu features gorgeous 2D visuals and an awesome main chick, Nora (who can also be joined by her brother, Efrim). A spin-off of the mmorpg WAKFU, its simple game play and fun mechanics make it a great choice for XBLA. And the pink haired Nora is hailed as the cool main protagonist, making her mark in XBLA land.

Trouble Witched NEO!

Shoot ‘em ups are always fun, but they are more fun when you’ve got action, strategy, and awesome chicks. Think R-Type and Gradius but cuter, as you shoot enemies with comical little witches. For the price point and the game style, it’s definitely a steal and these little witches are more adorable than they are scary.

Space Channel 5 Part 2

The sequel to the original rhythm game of the same title, it came out for Dreamcast and PS2 but was re-released on XBLA. The game follows Ulala, who has to use her awesome dance moves to defeat the Rhythm Rogues. If it sounds silly, well it kind of is, but to see Ulala’s funky style back on the XBLA makes her one of the top girls on the arcade.

Lucidity

If you want awesome indie games with amazing style, Lucidity has it. And with Sofi, who wanders through her dreams trying to find her Nana, you find a very likeable, really cute little girl of a main character. Kids in games don’t always amount to a character people fawn over, but Sofi is pretty amazing in her own right.

BloodRayne: Betrayal

BloodRayne is a no-messin’-around kind of gal. A vampire and a fighter, Betrayal is unique in the series in that it is a 2D side scroller with a difficulty comparable to Ninja Gaiden. And while it may have had varying degrees in reception, no one can deny that BloodRayne has a long standing reign as the coolest anti-heroine to grace video games.

Blade Kitten

Half human, half cat, all awesome? That would be the best way to describe Kit Ballard, the bounty hunter who starts in Blade Kitten. Originally a comic book, Blade Kitten has a lot of charm, mostly due to its fun protagonist.

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Chell From Portal

While GLaDOS is a star in Portal in her own right (she might be evil, but man, is her humor charming), Chell is the protagonist that breaks the 4th wall, literally, of Aperture Science. She not only figures out just what craziness is going on outside of the endless trials she goes through, but she kicks ass while doing it. She’s one of the most amazing Steam girls.

Zoey from Left 4 Dead

Before coming to consoles, Zoey was one of those sole Steam hotties. She holds her own in a group of guys, fighting against hordes of zombies. Plus, she always had a kind of relatable, girl next door demeanor. She’s the hot girl you always figured you had a chance with.

Lara Croft from Tomb Raider

A long-time hottie, but one that has come to the world of Steam, Lara reigns supreme. She’s tough, athletic and has an amazing (if slightly unrealistic) body. She’s only become even cooler in her latest iteration.

Jade from Beyond Good and Evil

Photojournalist Jade is one of the coolest girls of Steam and even though she’s somewhat dated, she still makes Beyond Good and Evil a great game. She’s also quite the motherly type, taking care of orphaned kids. She’s totally the hot girl you bring home to mom.

Nilin from Remember Me

Remember Me didn’t do too well on release (but it wasn’t a complete gaming flop), yet Nilin is one amazing lady. She’s the lead character in Capcom’s upcoming sci-fi dystopian action-adventure and she looks to kick some major butt. There’s some footage of the first hour or so of the game and she might just be the next hottest thing on the video game front.

Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite

Elizabeth from Bioshock is not just a beautiful character, she’s one of the smartest and most interesting female characters we’ve seen in years and she isn’t even the main protagonist. The girl’s got sass, a brilliant mind, and the ability to open up tears to new worlds. What’s not to love?

Bayonetta

Bayonetta is the last survivor of an ancient witch clan who is tasked with keeping the balance between light, dark, and chaos. when released from her protective tomb, this stunning bullet witch is a sight to behold as she turns violence into a ballet-like performance. Amazing!

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Nathan Drake

The most swoon-worthy of recent leading video game men, Nathan Drake has it all. Rugged good looks, a great sense of humor, athleticism and good aim. He’s the epitome of a perfect video game guy; he even has multiple women swooning after him, for good reason.

The Prince

The Prince from Prince of Persia is as suave as he is cunning. We’re talking about the one from the Gamecube glory days in the Sands of Time series. He was smart, also athletic (I mean, you can’t pass that trait up) and later in the series, had that brooding charm that some ladies are into. Besides, you can’t mess with an actual prince; that just ups his attractiveness.

Solid Snake

Snake is the man with the plan. Also, the man with a full arsenal. He’s as fit as they come, whether its young Snake or old, he’s always been a bit of a badass. For those who like someone with a bit more edge, Snake is the definite man for them.

Chris Redfield

The man punches rocks. If that isn’t an indication of being fit, what is? He’s fought zombies, mutations and Wesker himself. You can’t ask for a more well-rounded guy.

Kratos

Kratos is the fittest of fit and he truly has to be. After all, he is taking on gods. And although he might pale in comparison to the size of these deities, if he stood next to the average person, it’d feel like he was just as big as they are to him. And he isn’t a bad looking guy, when it comes down to it. As long as war paint isn’t a problem.

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Dad: Harry Mason

so who would make a good dad? What about Harry Mason of Silent Hill fame? Think about it; that guy went into one really creepy town to find his missing adopted daughter. She’s not even blood but he risked everything to go find her, through creepy misty and crazy monsters. He just might be the best dad to have on your side.

Mum: Liara

Liara from Mass Effect would make one heck of a great mom. OK, maybe she’d be a little uptight at first, but we’ve all seen how she changed after she became the Shadow Broker. I think she’d let her little kids live a little more than say, the Liara from Mass Effect 1. She’s also brilliantly smart and a solid companion in battle. She’d protect her kids fiercely while teaching them some awesome stuff along the way.

Daughter: Elizabeth

Elizabeth of Bioshock Infinite is a picture perfect daughter, save for that thing where she can open tears to other worlds. Still, she’s smart, pretty, has a good moral compass and overall would be a star daughter.

Son: Ness

Another cool kid would be Ness from Earthbound. He’s a quiet kid, in that he’s literally silent, loves baseball, and isn’t afraid to head out and find out why meteorites are dropping in his town. He’s the perfect kid that you know can take care of himself when his parents aren’t watching.

Dog/Pet: Dogmeat

Dogmeat from Fallout 3 would make a great family pet. He’s loyal, affectionate, and can chomp on bad guys if the rest of the family is threatened. He was one of the best companions in the game so clearly would be such for the family. Hopefully, they don’t ask him to go find any items for them though, or he might disappear for days.

Grandparents

Here we need some characters that are older, more experienced and would overall be awesome had elder mentors. Who is now an old man? Snake from Metal Gear, for one. He’d be an awesome crazy grandpa, telling old war stories and freaking the kids out with his eye patch.

Grandma, on the other hand, could be Link’s Grandmother from The Wind Waker. She’s so cute and happy, a totally opposite of Snake but probably for the best. We need a bit of sweet old lady to counteract his crazy bitterness.

Who would make up YOUR video gaming family?

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Kazooie

While the name Kazooie sounds a little silly, this awesome bird was anything but. The ultimate sidekick to Banjo, she could fly, throw eggs, and fit into the tiniest little backpack without so much as a complaint. Whether solo or with Banjo, she has a ton of awesome

Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong is a classic side kick, there as an extra life in the Donkey Kong Country games and a super awesome buddy. He was always a bit more limber than Donkey Kong, could be thrown to hit barrels and enemies and over all, was just a cute little guy. Who could hate him?

Epona

Epona, Links’ mighty steed in Ocarina of Time, was truly a great video game sidekick. With a quick tune on the ocarina, Epona made traveling across the lands of Hyrule easy. She was also a very loyal horse and pretty much the only smart means of transportation until your ocarina could start teleporting you places. With beautiful animations and fluid movement, she was a pioneer in horse games on consoles.

Yoshi

Yoshi, the great dinosaur pet of Mario. We never really get much of an explanation as to why a plumber has a dinosaur he can ride on, but I don’t think we need one. Yoshi could eat enemies and spit them out at others, run at high speeds, and generally was (and continues to be) adorable.

Weighted Companion Cube

You would not be able to beat Portal without the weighted companion cube. Literally, you needed the cube to solve certain puzzles in the game. But although an inanimate object, you sure know you felt terrible when you had to drop the poor guy (girl?) into the incinerator.

Luigi

The original player two, Luigi may be a sidekick of sorts to his brother Mario, but he is no less cool. Luigi has even proven himself as a lone ranger in games like Luigi’s Mansion and actually has as big of a fan base. Take that, player one!

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Mario in Punch-Out

Back in the day, the original NES Punch-Out had a very familiar little plumber as the referee. And while he might not have been that great at his job, letting Little Mac take quite a beating, we still all smiled when we saw that signature red hat.

Frank West in Left 4 Dead

So, Frank West from Dead Island isn’t actually IN Left 4 Dead as a character, per say, but in one of the safe rooms there’s a note written on the wall signed by him. It’s an awesome way to bring the two franchises together; same universe? Maybe!

Samus Aran in Super Mario RPG

Super Mario RPG has a couple of cameos, but a really fun one is finding Samus Aran sleeping in an inn, in one of the towns. When Mario tries to speak with her, she only replies “I’m rest for Mother Brain.” Pretty awesome for any Nintendo fan.

Lucca in Xenogears

Chrono Trigger might be one of the most beloved RPGs of its time and after Xenogears was released to a ton of hype, it made everyone’s day to see Lucca in a building in the very first town of the game. It was a nice way to connect the two!

Street Fighter Characters in Saturday Night Slam Masters

Saturday Night Slam Masters features a whole slew of Street Fighter characters in the stands during matches, from Chun Li to Ryu. There’s even some Final Fight competitors in there as well as long as you take a close look.

Commander Keen in Doom

There is a special room you can access in yet another secret level in Doom 2. Level 32: Grosse features a final room with four hanged Commander Keen, of the DOS franchise of the same name. Both were created by ID so it is a fun little easter egg.

R.O.B in Star Tropics

R.O.B., the NES companion, is featured in Star Tropics on the deck of your submarine. Although he was pushed when he was first release, R.O.B sadly faded out of existence.

Kirby in Link’s Awakening

Another game with plenty of cameos, Kirby is featured as an enemy. Or at least, Anti-Kirby is. That’s the name for the meaner, more prone to violence Kirby version found in the game.

Mario, Yoshi and Link in Donkey Kong Country 2

All three of these characters are featured during Cranky’s Video Game Hero awards. The challenge is to collect as many coins as possible but at the start, you can see that Mario is in first, Yoshi is in second, and Link is in third, until the player puts up his own score.

Purple Tentacle Zombie Ate My Neighbors

This cameo comes through a secret bonus “Day of the Tentacle” level that was only accessible by spelling out “BCDF” on the Password screen. And the Purple Tentacle is an awesome enemy in said level. Very cool!

Donkey Kong in Wii Punch-Out!

A secret opponent in Wii Punch-Out!!, Donkey Kong appears in Last Stand Mode and in Exhibition Mode. He has banana bunches that fly out with every hit to the face. He’s also ridiculously difficult to KO. He is an 800lb gorilla, after all!

Cloud in Kingdom Hearts

There are actually a handful of Final Fantasy characters that appear in Kingdom Hearts, but Cloud is the one that lots of people loved. He appears to aid Sora later on in the game.

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James Pond

From an old EA game in 1990, James Pond is a mutate mudskipper, given the name James Pond and sent to stop the supervillian Doctor Maybe. He’s meant to protect the underwater world from bad guys and seduces mermaids along the way. The game is full of awesome 007 spoofs and James Pond is as classy as a fish as you can get.

Earthworm Jim

It might sound a little odd that a game with an actual earthworm as a hero would blow up to be such a cult classic, but Jim was likeable, if not a little ridiculous. There isn’t too much back story to this groundbreaking hero (get it?) other than he’s a worm in a robotic suit that battles evil. Still, it led to a sequel, comic books and a cartoon.

Terry the Tomato

From Bill’s Tomato Game which was released on the Atari ST, Terry the Tomato is, well, a tomato. He’s set out to save his girlfriend from Sammy Squirrel. Why squirrels are kidnapping tomatoes, it’s not really clear, but heroes don’t need logic, which is apparent in this game.

Gex the Gecko

Gex the Gecko is a smooth, wisecracking gecko, voiced in the original by comedian Dana Gould. He’s a bit television-obsessed, and because of this gets pulled into the television by Rez, the overload of the Media Dimension. Sound crazy? That’s because it was, but it was also ridiculously funny. And Gex is far cooler than the Geico gecko, any day.

Abe

Abe is an alien character from the Oddworld franchise, first introduced in Abe’s Oddysee. He starts off as just a slave with fellow Mudokons (his race) but he escapes and goes off on this moral and ethical journey. His popularity also got him a sequel in Abe’s Exodus. Abe is definitely strange but was so well-loved that along with Spyro the dragon, he became one of the unofficial mascots of the first Playstation.

Parappa the Rapper

One of the first and most popular rhythm games, Parappa was the star, a cute little dog who is trying to win the heart of Sunny Funny. As the player progresses through each rapping level, the story develops even more and you sort of feel for the little fella.

Meatboy

Super Meat Boy is arguably one of the most popular indie games in recent years, selling more than one million copies as of last year. Meat Boy himself is on a rather typical journey of saving a girlfriend from a villain, but he himself is well, a little ball of meat. It doesn’t get much stranger than that. And who would’ve thought a little piece of food would grow to be so popular?

Stubbs the Zombie

Talk about a role reversal; instead of saving people by shooting zombies, you eat people’s brains as Stubbs the Zombie. Because he is a zombie, he can’t use normal weapons, but he can used improvised weaponry and of course, his mouth to eat brains. It doesn’t get much better than that.

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Cronos from God of War III: This guy is massive. Massive is even an understatement. You, Kratos, are practically an ant on Cronos’ fingernail. You fight his minions on top of him, with constant reminders of how tiny you are in comparison to this monstrosity. Your little sword creates mere paper cuts on his fingers. And only in getting inside his body can you really deal the final blow. If you haven’t played the game, it is worth taking a look at a video of this boss battle just to understand the sheer insanity of it!

Malus from Shadow of the Colossus: Malus, the sixteenth and final colossus in the entire game, is the tallest and obviously most powerful of all. He also takes the most time to kill out of all the colossi, and that’s saying something. You have to scale Malus himself, which is long and arduous, and if you fall, expect an instant death.

Jubileus, The Creator from Bayonetta: Want another huge final boss experience? Jubileus, the end boss of Bayonetta, is pretty huge compared to our little heroine. It takes a lot of timed hits and moving and dodging, as well as throwing her into the sun, to defeat her. Gods really are some the largest, toughest bosses, aren’t they?

Over-G from Lost Planet: A larger than normal akrid, the Over G is huge and intimidating, but oddly enough one of the easiest bosses in the game and so sort of a let down to many players. Still, the sheer scope of its size and its massive tentacles make it a scary opponent, before you realize how simple it is to take it down.

Reaper from Mass Effect 3: Shepard gets a one-on-one with a reaper on the planet Rannoch in Mass Effect 3. It’s all about moving quickly, taking cover, and being fast with your shots. Though the reaper Shepard faces is actually a “smaller” model than some of the others, it is by no means actually small. These things are destroying whole planets, after all.

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Chuckie Egg – The Granddaddy Of Egg Games ! (1983)

Chuckie Egg was a game that was ported to pretty much every home computer system under the sun back in 1983. If it had a disc drive or a tape deck then I would put money on that there is a version of Chuckie Egg out there for it.

Anyway Chuckie Egg sees you playing the role of a hen. The idea of the game is that you need to collect a series of eggs in each level. Sounds easy enough doesn’t it? But you are working against the clock. And there are other hens who seem to want you dead for some reason. Also you need to have pretty sharp platform skills. Chuckie Egg is a classic and for some reason it is not as fondly remembered as it should be.

Dizzy – The Adventurous Little Egg (1987)

Dizzy was a egg character who stared in a series of games that appeared on all computer and many video game consoles of the 80’s and early 90’s. He was created by the game studio Codemasters and during his heyday was one of the most popular gaming characters.

Dizzy has starred in many different adventures. For the most part his early games would see him trying to save his fellow egg shaped buddies. The games were very exploration and puzzle based. For example many times you would need to find a certain object to complete a task. Dizzy would also star in a couple of more action/platform orientated games as well. Dizzy is a series that many gamers have wanted to see brought back for many years now.

Billy Hatcher (2003)

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg was a game from Sega that was released exclusively on the Nintendo Game Cube in 2003. It would see a PC port a few years later. While no sequel has ever been made. Billy Hatcher has appeared as a character in the Sega All Stars Racing Games.
In the game Billy Hatcher is not an egg, but he is just a regular boy. A boy who has been trusted to wear the legendary chicken suit in order to free the six chicken elders from the evil Dark Raven. Billy uses giant eggs. He runs on top of them running over various things. Once the egg grows to a certain size it will hatch. And inside Billy can get a variety of goodies. For the few people who picked this up in 2003 this was an absolute gem that sadly never received the sales that it really did deserve.

Dr Eggman (1991)

Ah Dr Eggman or Dr Robotnik as most of us westerners knew his as for years. Anyway, I am sure everyone reading this knows that he is the arch-nemesis of one Sonic The Hedgehog and has had his butt kicked by the blue hedgehog for over 20 years now.

Dr Eggman has gone through some real changes since he was first introduced. In the Sonic Generations game that was released in 2011. We got to see the old version and the modern version. The classic Dr Eggman is much more fitting of the name with his big fat and rotund shape. At the end of the day you cannot have a section about egg-themed characters and leave out Dr Eggman.

Tiki Tori – Saving His Egg Bound Friends (2001)

Tiki Tori first shot to fame on the Game Boy Color back in 2001. The original game has been remade a few times now. I am sue this little fellows profile is about to shoot right through the roof when his next adventure is released on the Nintendo Wii U later in 2013.

Tiki Tori at its heart is a puzzle game. Your goal is to collect all of the eggs in a level in a certain amount of time. In this way, it is quite similar to Chuckie Egg. But a big difference here is that you can use tools to help you solve some puzzles. No matter what version of this game you play you are in for a eggs-elent time.

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Aero The Acro-Bat

Games
Aero The Acro-Bat & Aero The Acro-Bat 2

Formats
Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis

Years Active
1993-1994

Aero took a great deal of inspiration from Sonic The Hedgehog in that he was a character who had attitude. Aero is a pure 90’s platform game that sees our title character trying to stop the evil Edgar Ektor who used to be a clown and he used to work for the same circus that Aero does. Now though Edgar wants to shut the circus down and it’s up to Aero to stop him

The game was well received and is actually a really solid platform game. It sold well enough to warrant not on a sequel, but also a spin-off game called Zero The Kamikaze Squirrel.

Titus The Fox

Games
Titus The Fox

Formats
Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad, PC, Game Boy

Years Active
1991-1992

Titus The Fox was created in 1991 by Titus Interactive. Titus was the mascot for developer Titus and could be seen on their company logo.
The game Titus The Fox is a side-scrolling platform game. The basic idea is that you need to save your girlfriend Suzy. Your method of attack is similar to Super Mario Bros 2 in that you can pick up bad guys and throw them. This mechanic is also used to stack things up in order to reach higher levels.

Radical Rex

Games
Radical Rex
Formats
Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD
Years Active
1994

Ah Radical Rex. This is a typical example of a game that is trying so hard to create a character with an attitude similar to Sonic The Hedgehog, but failing. They tried their very best to make him as bad ass as possible. He has a bunch of attacks and he even has a skateboard as he progresses through a variety of side-scrolling levels to save his land.

Truth be told this is not really that bad of a game. And had they not tried so hard to force the “attitude” of the character then I think it would probably have been better received and better remembered.

Alfred Chicken

Games
Alfred Chicken, Super Alfred Chicken, Alfred Chicken (Europe Playstation exclusive)
Formats
Amiga, Amiga CD, NES, Game Boy, Super Nintendo, Sony Playstation
Years Active
1993-2002
Alfred Chicken was a game that featured a whole bunch of crazy platform and puzzle solving action. Each level sees you need to peck a series of balloons and upon pecking the last one you will take on a boss. The Super Nintendo would get a version of the game that was more of a sequel than a direct port of the other versions.

For some bizarre reason, Alfred Chicken was remade as a 2.5d action game for the original Sony PlayStation and released in 2002. This was only available in certain regions of Europe.

Busby The Bobcat

Games
Claws Encounters Of The Furred Kind, Busby 2, Fractured Furry Tales, Furbitten Planet
Formats
Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Atari Jaguar, PC, Sony Playstation
Years Active
1992-1996
Man Accolade really thought they were onto something with Busby they were so sure that he was going to be the next big thing in gaming. I remember when the first game was released it was everywhere. It had a great deal of press coverage, but sadly when the game was released it really was not up to much at all.

This is a game where they clearly made a list of everything that made Mario & Sonic successful and they thought they could just make a character based on that. They tried they really did try to make Busby a success, but he never caught on. Probably because at the end of the day his games were not that great. Especially his god awful final game that was released on the Sony Playstation.

Which was YOUR favorite game character that didn’t make it to the big time?

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Japanese game developer, Shigeru Miyamoto, is the brains behind this Nintendo gaming legend, but any true retro gaming connoisseur should know that. While most of us know Mario as just Mario or Super Mario, the fact remains that Mario has a last name the same as his first. That’s right, the actual name of Mario, as said by Miyamoto himself, is “Mario Mario.” Mario also has a brother—Luigi Mario—who most of us simply know as “the green one.”

It is a common misconception that Mario first appeared in the Mario Bros. game, but he actually made his initial debut in the legend of an arcade game, otherwise known as Donkey Kong, which emerged in 1982. Fans of the game fell in love with the Mario character, so it should not come as a surprise that Mario made another appearance in 1984, but this time with his very own game, Mario Bros. The game quickly became a cultural phenomenon, appearing in homes across the globe, becoming one of the best-selling games to ever hit the market. Practically every video game store raked in huge profits on this one game alone. Even today, Mario still continues to be a huge hit at places that sell video games.

As mentioned above, Mario found his fame with Donkey Kong, which was one of those big, clunky arcade machines that we all seemed to unconsciously feed quarters until we were broke (hey, at least you got the high score though right?). However, Mario found a home with Nintendo Entertainment Systems (NES) in the Mario Bros. series. From there, he has showed up on all sorts of gaming platforms including the Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gameboy, and various other systems. Arguably one of the most popular modern versions of Mario appeared with the Nintendo GameCube platform in the form of the game, Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Contemporary gaming on the Nintendo platform, which is mostly comprised of the Nintendo Wii and DS systems, has also hopped on the Mario bandwagon. For instance, Super Smash Bros. has also appeared in a newer version for the Wii U, while Mario and Luigi: Dream Team has made a name for itself on the Nintendo 3DS platform, which has taken the realm of handheld gaming to a whole new level of gaming.

It is pretty much safe to say that Shigeru Miyamoto has revolutionized the gaming world, as we know it, for the better. Ever since Mario made his first appearance as one of the side characters in the arcade classic, Donkey Kong, the fans have since fell in love, demanding more Mario. Their demands were met, exceeded, and show no signs of stopping any time in the near future. And besides, who would want this empire to stop anyways?

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1. Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Country)

Donkey Kong of course, is a classic character who first appeared in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, which was also Mario’s first appearance in games. It was Rare who in 1994 turned the character into the one most of us know today by turning the villain into a hero in Donkey Kong Country. The game stunned us with its gorgeous pre-rendered graphics (that, to this day, still look good), but under its beautiful graphics, there was also a brilliant platform game, worthy of being called a classic in its own right. The game’s success would permanently change how the gorilla was perceived in later times.

2. Sonic (Sonic The Hedgehog)

One might ask what Sonic has to do with real hedgehogs, but he is called a hedgehog and has spikes – kind of… So he definitely is an animal, thus worthy of being included in a list like this. Sonic, of course, was Sega’s flagship character in the famous bit wars and his games made sure to make full use of Sega’s technological capabilities. Blazing fast action would follow and the original game is considered nowadays one of the biggest classics of gaming history – again very pleasing game to play even to this day. The sequels continued within the same vein, further exploring the same ideas.

3. Crash Bandicoot

Another flagship character, this time, however for Sony Playstation. This hugely popular game franchise has already spanned to more than 18 games, and while Crash is certainly no Mario he has done well for himself and can well be called one of the better-known animal heroes in the gaming world.

4. Ecco the Dolphin

One of the better-known titles in Sega Genesis library, Ecco the Dolphin is a rare kind of game. Having a dolphin as the main character in a game was a thing that had not been done before and it hasn’t really been done since either. Even this game had to resort to a fairly crazy plot to make it happen. There was a sequel as well as an appearance on the Xbox live arcade but as yet, he is yet to appear in a 21st-century game.

5. Conker the Squirrel (Conker’s Bad Fur Day)

The foul-mouthed squirrel actually made his debut in 1999 in a Game Boy game “Conker’s Pocket Tale”, but it was in “Bad Fur Day” where the character really hit off. Despite having cute animals as characters game was geared towards more mature audiences and are certainly a Rare breed. “Conker: Live and Reloaded” that was released for Xbox was effectively just a remake of the original N64 title.

6. Sam & Max (Sam & Max Hit The Road)

Lucasarts turned Steve Purcell’s comic into a memorable and quirky adventure game in the golden age of adventure gaming. “Hit the Road” was among the best, most humorous adventure titles ever created and featured the bizarre dog & rabbit freelance police duo. The characters were revived into the world of gaming in Telltale Games’ episodic games, and while they stand strongly on their own they will never reach the charm of the original adventure.

7. Banjo & Kazooie (Banjo-Kazooie)

Another Rare entry on this list – they really have monopolized this whole animal as a game characters genre. Banjo & Kazooie are a dynamic bear & bird duo in a hugely popular 3D platformer that set off into a series, spanning four games. Banjo actually originates from Diddy Kong Racing where he was a side character, before getting his own game.

Undoubtedly there are other animal characters that are worthy of mentioning, but if anything this list proves that games starring animal characters is nowadays getting rare. The gaming audience has shifted from the early 90’s mostly kids into people now in their mid-20’s. These animal characters are still certain to bring nostalgic memories and it would be wrong to say that the franchises are dead – their peak of power might still have passed.

Who is YOUR favorite animal character (from games)?

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Fortunately, the iPad turned out to be a good investment. The obvious benefits are its portability – you can work anywhere you like. An option on the iPad is to have data capability, so wherever you can get a cellular signal, you can get internet, receive emails, and most importantly, send and receive art files. Even if you don’t, there aren’t too many cities in the US and elsewhere that are entirely devoid of free wifi hotspots, such as coffee shops and cafes. My personal ambition is to someday be sitting in the back of my cabin cruiser, specifically a Meridian 441 Sedan on one of the Great Lakes, sipping my freshly brewed morning coffee as I sketch out new material (I’m only about a quarter-million dollars short – how many cartoons is that?). Or sitting in the same area of the aforementioned cabin cruiser in the evening with a questionably legal Cuban cigar and a glass of cabernet in my non-drawing hand as I create humorous illustrations.

Here’s one of my iPad created business cartoons:

The beauty of the iPad is that you can get started virtually right away. Due to the incredible technology of the iPad, you can draw directly onto the screen with your finger, and some artists use this method with a great deal of success. Check this out:

Here’s another that gives an indication of what’s possible:

And this – all painted with just a finger. Changes the whole idea of finger painting:

Now, once you’ve made the not inconsiderable purchase of the iPad, you have to decide the tools you’ll want to create with. As you can see from the videos above, you don’t need an awful lot. After researching and testing, I decided I like the feel of a writing utensil in my hand and opted out of the finger drawing. The stylus I chose was the Wacom Bamboo Solo. It has a reactive rubber tip and feels surprisingly natural when drawing on the screen, it’s well weighted and balanced, and appears to be pretty durable. The rubber tips wear down over time but replacements are available and easy to change out. As with anything, it has its limitations, such as lack of pressure sensitivity that you get with other platforms and tools, but I can live with that. The Wacom Bamboo, as only one of many available stylus’s will run you about twenty bucks or so.

Next, you’ll need a drawing app, available through the iTunes store, to create your artwork. After having done yet more research, I opted for Artstudio. Here’s where it gets really good; I have always used Photoshop for my artwork – an incredible tool with seemingly limitless possibilities. Realistically, I use only a small fraction of what Photoshop is capable of since those additional tools fall far afield of my needs in cartooning. Photoshop CS6 will run you $699.00 as compared to $4.99 – just under 5 bucks – for the Artstudio app. Make no mistake, the app is comparable but significantly more limited, but for my needs, and the needs of most cartoonists, it more than gets the job done. One concern that I hope they rectify in the coming updates is the maximum dpi of 72. Most of the art I deliver has to be 300 dpi – a significant difference. What I do is complete the image in the largest format in Artstudio, mail it to myself and open it up in Photoshop. Fortunately, for the work I create for the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review, this isn’t necessary. Straight from the ipad to the printer, then off in the mail they go. One sale to Harvard and all of the above is paid for.

Here’s the process I follow in Artstudio: open up the app, then in the upper left corner, select ‘new’. A small window will appear asking you what dimensions you’d like to use for your drawing. Again, the dimensions are a limitation, so keep that in mind. Once you’ve selected, you’ll notice a color palate on the right, and a string of options on the left. Each of the options available go way beyond the intent of this blog entry, but I think you’ll find them complete, intuitive, and every bit as effective as Photoshop. In some cases, even more so.

There are a number of drawing applications available for the iPad, all with varying degrees of merit. Whatever your drawing style and preference, you’re likely to find an app suitable for the job. Even vector drawing and its associated unique demands are available in a very inexpensive app. If you can comfortably afford it, and can justify the expense (it may even be something you can write off on your taxes if it’s used for business purposes – check with your tax preparer), I’d recommend it. I’m just starting to develop a reasonable comfort level with this new method of creating, but the more I work at it, the more I like it!

(source: billabbottcartoons.com)

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Summer has finally arrived which means beer gardens, barbeques and parties. Next week I will have my first fancy dress party of the season and amazingly the theme is ‘gaming’ which is fantastic. I’m not entirely sure how this is going down with the wives and girlfriends but personally I think it’s a great idea.

This topic got me thinking, and instead of taking a bottle of wine, my partner and I thought we would get him something ‘gamey’ (not a rabbit.. something related to video games). After more time than I’d like to admit researching, I narrowed it down into the following gifts; a set of Mario Wall Decor stickers (for his son’s room), an 8 bit tie (he does design games), or just go all out and go for the Gears of War Lancer Replica.

After a lot of deliberation we went for the tie (and some gin!). With the gift on order and only a couple of weeks until the party we thought we would buy our costumes, as nowadays they are about the same price as hiring them. They also have the added benefit of being used multiple times AND you don’t have to worry about deposits.

Emma and I have our costumes all sorted and we intend to go as the king and queen of retro gaming Super Mario costume and Princess Peach costume. We found them online at joke.co.uk as the choice was awesome. Sounds crazy but due to a special offer we also found ourselves ordering our Halloween costumes as well. Emma wasn’t to fond of the scantily clad gaming heroines coupled with the fact she expected there to be about three Lara Crofts there she was happy that she gets to dress up as a Princess which is something she’s not done for a fair few years.

Really looking forward to the party and hope to have some photos soon.

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Graphic-Buffet.com has an advert (of sorts) now online on YouTube(and now here) which tells all you good people the joys of Graphic Buffet game graphics…

Enjoy!

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Stupid Me!

After spending a busy weekend drawing and preparing a number of ‘ocean’ related graphics for the Gamesalad competition organised by Stormy Studio I discovered days later that entrants are not allowed to use purchased graphics!!!

Which is crazy as it means those who are better at graphics have an unfair advantage as the gamesalad platform means the development side is a level playing field (aside from experience).

Anyway, my only hope is to get get some sales once the competition has been judged and people then my upgrade their graphics.

here’s hoping!

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Graphic Buffet is a new online resource for game graphics for use in all your iPhone, iPad, and android games. Each file comes with the original vector or PSD file and in 99% of the cases comes with animation frames and exported PNGs in game-friendly sizes.

The game graphic website has been launched with over 40 products on sale ranging from simple animated jellyfish to full platform game starter packs.

The prices for the game graphics and game assets are extremely reasonable and range from $2 to $50 and most graphics are generic enough to not make all games look similar.

The post Graphic-Buffet.com Launched – Game Graphics for Gamesalad appeared first on Gaming Debugged | Gaming Site Covering Xbox, Indies, News, Features and Gaming Tech.