Ben-DutkaWe saw quite a few great new characters this past generation; who were your favorites?
I have to say, I loved all the characters in the Uncharted series; Drake, Elena, Chloe, Sully; they were all great. Of course, I consider Uncharted 2: Among Thieves to be the best game of the generation, so that shouldn't be too surprising.
I also really liked Ezio from Assassin's Creed II , Brotherhood and Revelations . That guy had a definite swagger to him, and he wasn't badly written for an open-world game. Oh, and of course, who couldn't love Wheatley in Portal 2 ? Legitimately amusing and a fantastic performance the whole way 'round. But I think this generation has seen the emergence of more top-notch female characters then ever before.
There's Madison in Heavy Rain , who was a strong, likable, sympathetic character that was depicted with top-notch tact and professionalism (I don't care what anyone says). I liked Fang more than Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII , Elika was a really solid companion and kind of a cool character in Prince of Persia , and the overhauled Lara Croft in Tomb Raider was absolutely fantastic. I also really liked Meryl in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots , and Ellie in The Last Of Us is just plain memorable. Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite was someone I won't soon forget, either.
So, who will stick out in your memory from this generation?
Joel from The Last of Us
Ditto. Better than Ellie in my opinion.
We can pick only ONE?
So far, I vote for Ellie from TLoU.
Runners-up: Nathan Drake, Joel (TLoU), Elena Fisher, John Marston, and Ezio.
Great minds think alike eh
Nathan Hale, Sackboy, Eddie Riggs and Nathan Drake.
All of them memorable characters
I forgot about Wheatley, though! Steve Merchant was hilarious.
Without a doubt, Nathan Drake from Uncharted. Not only is he my favourite this gen, he is my number one of all time!
Nate's my favorite Sony mascot, too. 2nd favorite for me would have to be the AG systems ship. Ok, not really a mascot, but 1000 thumbs up if you can name the game.
@Shams: Wipeout HD/Fury
Last edited by godsdream on 7/16/2013 10:57:01 AM
A thousand thumbs up to you, sir!
haha thanks!
John Marston. I can say he's my favorite without too much second guessing.
Runners-up: King Bohan (Heavenly Sword), CN-7/Cain (Binary Domain), Joe Barbaro (Mafia 2), Bayonetta
Cole MacGrath is definitely up there for me, such a badass everyman. Though I'm not crazy about the character design for inFamous: SS, we can probably rest easy because Troy Baker (Last of Us/Infinite) will be playing Delsin Rowe.
Also I know I'm the only one but I really liked Dante from Dante's Inferno, he literally fought straight through hell for an innocent even though he committed every damnable sin and was reminded of them all on his path to Satan.
Again, only one, but I wound up liking the new Dante in DmC. He was a little stale in the beginning of the game but he really became someone by the end.
And Neptune from Hyperdimension, what a lovable ditz! That fact that she embodies SEGA just made her antics funnier.
No Lightning? pffft
=p
She's okay but Paine would kick her ass.
Gen ain't over yet, it's too early to pick a favorite.
Hoping for a lot from Jodie Holmes?
Am I allowed to say Raiden from MGR:R?
Well he's far from new, but he is new as a protagonist so… maybe?
Clementine from the Walking Dead. She broke through a barrier right to my emotional caring side that no other character managed to touch since the beginning.
Last edited by booze925 on 7/15/2013 11:06:52 PM
Vaas from Far Cry has to be my favorite villain, he portrayed the insanity so very well. For my favorite hero, it would be Nariko
Alistair from Dragon Age, I just love his humour.
Others that I like includes Bayonetta, Garcia Hotspur, Ezio, Drake and Valvatorez.
Kevin Butler =p
Scotty from Heavy Rain,All Characters from Uncharted:Drake's Fortune,Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us,Dan Marshall from Binary Domain(Japanese),Joseph Capelli from Resistance 3,Cole Magrath from INFAMOUS.
Kiryu Kazuma from Yakuza (Ryu Ga Gotoku) 1&2 my Fav character of all time.
I'm thinking Yakuza 1's Characters were the inspiration for the characters in The Last of Us.
Kiryu – Joel
Haruka – Ellie
Combination of Nishki's Hair Style and Shinji's Character – Tommy
Yumi – Tess at the time when she sacrifices herself
A man needs to escort this little girl through this chaos and eventually learns from his past mistakes because of this little girls's courage.
Last edited by Kiryu on 7/15/2013 11:18:49 PM
Nathan Drake and Eddie Riggs for me 🙂
Isaak Clark ,Nathan Drake, Joel, nameless protagonists in Bethesda open world rpgs.
While Nate is second, I'd have to go with Kratos. The reason being that in God of War III, we were shown a side of Kratos that most weren't expecting. Caring about Pandora, and the ensuing blood rage that happened when Zeus pushed Kratos over the edge. Once I get my PS3 fixed, I'll definitely do a let's play of God of War Series
Oh yeah, Corvo Attano!
John Marston
Tess.
I decided on Ezio. Yah, franchises that get 3 semi-lengthy games with one protagonist do have an advantage here.
I like Drake and friends and all. But for me Drake suffers from regular guy hero syndrome. I can only get into the 'good for Hollywood movie' style characters so much.
Other characters I liked this gen were Samara from Mass Effect 2. Jansen from Lost Odyseey. Cole was pretty cool. Sack Boy does fit in with Mario and Sonic. A first in how many years?
Anyway. Ezio is awesome all around. Revelations did help finalize his character. I can't think of any other new character that's as dynamic in ability as he is.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/16/2013 1:04:36 AM
Vanille's hips.
For me it was Drake (Uncharted), Joel (The Last of Us) and Jon Marston (Red Dead Redemtption). In that order.
Drake because hes a normal guy with a gun, who likes treasure. Fun to play as, amd overall entertaining character.
Joel basically because hes a bad a** with a gun, but more so because what he went through made him the character we experienced. Pretty powerful role.
And Marston because he was just awesome. A retired outlaw turned down home cowboy family man looking for "redemption".
mr. drippy from Ni No Kuni
tidy
Reading the lists here it's no wonder there are so many action movies with pretty much the same action hero. The masses apparently can't get enough of'em!
Drake? Marston? Cole? Pffft!
Professor Mordin Solus! Now THAT is a character. I squeezed out every last drop of conversation with him, just to enjoy this utterly, utterly fascinating character. He was with me on every mission, just to be sure I never miss out on any of his comments.
But I have to agree with y'all on Elizabeth. She was too charming to be ignored.
Last edited by Beamboom on 7/16/2013 3:37:28 AM
That's unfair. I know character development and literature, and there are VERY significant differences between Ezio Auditore, Nathan Drake, Cole McGrath and John Marsten. If you think there isn't, I'm not even sure you played the games, or really paid attention to any of the story scenes.
For the record, I tend to not like ANYTHING "the masses" like. If you want cookie-cutter characters, you can turn to shooters.
Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 7/16/2013 10:16:53 AM
I wouldn't say that Cole fits action movie types (to defend one of my choices). He's more fitting of comic book heroes (Marvel) because of his origin story. If we had to go to movies he might be similar to John McLane in Die Hard because he's just a normal man in an extraordinary situation, but that's a throwback character from the 80's who could never make it in today's world as a new hero. Nowadays you have to be an elite military grunt to be a hero.
Beamboom –
First off, I believe you are either ignoring or forgetting what this thread is all about. Ben asked who YOUR favorite character is, so of course it will be different then what you may like.
As for my choice (Nathan Drake), I didn't go into great detail as to why but for the sake of answering your post, I will now take the time to do so.
Nathan Drake to me, reminds me of deceased grandmother. Both "Big G" (as I called her growing up) and Drake shared a fearless mentality yet were very vulnerable as a person. Yes, I understand that Drake is an person who is bigger then life who gets caught up in selfish endeavors. But looking beyond that, I see a genuine and believable individual.
Now while my grandmother has never come close to Drake's adventures, her life has quite the story to tell. In ONE example, there was a local railway disaster (think the beginning of Uncharted 2) that killed well over a dozen firemen. My grandma, who was a RN at the time, was there in the wreckage as she tended to many hurt men as she risked her life to help others.
My fondness Nathan Drake goes much, much further then your stereotypical action hero.
at least McLane was an experienced cop so his combat and tactical skills were believable, even if he is only human.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 7/16/2013 12:36:52 PM
Well he didn't have the benefit of the Raysphere.
Come on guys, do I have to put a smiley on every comment I do? I did of course intentionally pull your legs here now as a frisky introduction to my own favourite character.
That said, if we are to be serious for a moment I gotta say that the Uncharted games features some of the most mainstream story and characters we've seen in gaming this generation.
It's not to say the story is badly told – it's not – but there's nothing there that strays off the formula. There is a reason that director a while ago said it would be hard to make an Uncharted movie without it ending up being an Indiana Jones imitation.
Rockstar do intentionally make fun of both themselves, their universe and the genre of the story they make. But John Marston is every single western hero that's ever graced the silver screen packed into one character, with a story that is so western it's hilarious.
To say that these two main characters are unique in the action/western universe… Well, I disagree, let's just leave it at that.
But they are much, much better done than what we find in typical shooters. That's true. I guess we could say they are what the other tries to be.
World, you are right in that Cole is the comic book hero – and a classic one at that. But hey I love him too! Great games, can't wait for the third.
While MY character on the other hand, the loveable mr Solus, now THAT is a unique, one of a kind character, found in a universe completely free of any cliches!! —> 😉 😉 😉 😉 😉 😉 <—
Last edited by Beamboom on 7/16/2013 2:31:52 PM
Since when did you go all hipster on us LOL.
But seriously, – "There is a reason that director a while ago said it would be hard to make an Uncharted movie without it ending up being an Indiana Jones imitation".
Did you not think for a sec that it's because he probably has barely played the games, or given it much of chance to leave anything past a superfical impression? I actually just – like this very moment lol – watched through all the Indianna Jones films, and while I do see some story similarities, Drake and his adventures are it's own thing.
I can just where people will see parts like 'oh in the Last Crusader they drink something and become invincible, oh it was based around a father-son relationship and Indianna as a child to a man. Betrayal, trust, love intrest. Uncharted does those it's a total clone'. Except if look past those superficial similarities, they're actually very different things. Very short sighted to say otherwise, and really f…..y'know, annoys me. A lot.
RDR redemption is another genre where, it HAS to take inspiration from Westerns, otherwise it won't feel like a Western. But it tells it's own story of redemption, and again Marston is actually a well developed character.
Straying off the forumla? What exactly do you expect – what could make these characters less 'mainstream'. I mean what does that word even mean in this context. They stay in the confines of their respective genres.
Miranda Lawson's a**, jk.
There are so many new characters this gen. I really loved but if I have to pick just one I'll go with my space bro Garrus.
Ah yeah Garrus is awesome too.
yes, miranda gets the most annoying award. Her emotional insecurity complex outweighs her good looks.
That chick is such a b*tch. Loved Jack though. To the untrained eye she could be easily dismissed but the game allowed for deeper interactions with her that made her more than her backstory suggested.
I loved Jack too – for the reasons you mention, World. She really added to the experience.
Last edited by Beamboom on 7/16/2013 1:19:14 PM
Yeah Jack is a great character, under the tough exterior she's wounded and vulnerable.
Nathan Drake starred in 1 perfect and 2 "nearly" perfect games. Joel from TLoU starred in just 1 perfect game. So…I'd have to give it to Nathan Drake
Last edited by KungFuKitten on 7/16/2013 6:30:43 AM
One character nobody will agree with, but, being a father myself, means he comes in high on my list, is Ethan Mars from Heavy Rain. Thinking back through the torture he endured for his son…epic stuff.