Every well-realized hero needs an equal to play off of, and that’s why the delinquents present on this very list are of a high enough caliber to be worth talking about. In fact, many of the anti-social, murderous and psychotic degenerates were celebrating are arguably more complex, interesting characters than their respective game’s protagonist.
There’s so much more freedom
to write a good villain than a hero. The latter almost always has to follow the
rules of the world and do the right thing – usually at the behest of the
player. Indeed, the protagonist’s motives are – more often than not – a result
of the player’s own investment in their plight, but villains? They can be as
off-the-rails and nutty as their creator wants them to be.
10. Vladimir Makarov – Call of Duty: Modern
Warfare 3 (2011)
Sitting at the top of that
rather short list is Vladimir Makarov, a Russian terrorist and the eventual
main antagonist of the Modern Warfare series. Having a fruitcake Russian as the
main villain is hardly a novel concept in the world of fiction, but it’s what
Infinity Ward did with the character that made him stick out from the
stereotypical crowd.
The
leader of the Ultranationalists – Makarov’s ultimate goal is returning the
Russian Federation to the days of the Soviet Union whatever the cost. Infinity
Ward attempted to portray the mindset of a man who leads a terrorist cell
on a global stage and the potential fallout of a scenario were it to ever exist
in reality.
9 Daud – Dishonored (2012)
Daud’s a fascinating character
in Dishonored and easily the well-written resident of Dunwall that Corvo will
encounter in his quest for revenge. The character’s memorability is helped in
no small part by Michael Madsen’s terrific voice-acted performance, but that’s
just the tip of the iceberg.
Throughout
the entirety of Dishonored, you’re nudged along on a path that outright
encourages you to hate Daud for what he’s done, and you should – he’s the
degenerate that murdered your Monarch and secret lover.
That
hate eventually turns into pity and mild sympathy though, as you realise that
both Corvo and Daud are two sides of the same coin that could have found their
positions flipped in another life – both of you are tools that have been abused
by higher powers for their own ends.
8. Demise – The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward
Sword (2011)
Why is Demise a great
villain? Because he looks badass, that’s why.
Okay,
that’s not the only reason why the Zelda villain appears here, but Demise’s
demonic “I’m going to rip you limb from limb” look certainly helps him to look
the part.
No,
the main reason for Demise clinching a spot on this prestigious list of
villainous celebration is due to who (and what) he is. Skyward Sword is
essentially one huge origin story, not just for the legendary green garb adorning
each era’s Link, but for Ganondorf too.
While never explicitly
stating that the Demon King of Hyrule is, in fact, the reincarnation of Demise,
the implication couldn’t be stronger if Nintendo themselves had whispered it
into your ear.
Even
the most deranged, power-hungry psychopaths have parents, but it’s no wonder
Ganandorf hates the world when his ‘Dad’ was essentially hatred incarnate.
7.
Wheatley – Portal 2 (2011)
Your would-be helper
turned psychotic robot consumed by megalomania, Wheatley’s poor little circuits
were never able to handle the power afforded to the controlling A.I of the
Aperture Science Facility.
Essentially
the antithesis of GLaDOS’ deadpan humor and wry personality, Wheatley’s sheer
insanity as the robotic top dog provides some of the greatest disembodied
chatter you’ll ever hear in a video game.
Sadly,
the accidental villain’s reign ultimately comes to an end when you dump his
core on the moon in an epic face-off, but you’ll always have the memories of
Stephen Merchant’s inane babble as the blue-eyed bot to remember him by. It’s
an even more remarkable performance when you consider that Merchant ad-libbed a
considerable amount of his dialogue.
6. Carver – The Walking Dead: Season Two (2013)
Carver’s total lack of any
morals or compassion for the individual – he’s got no problem with killing
people if it’s in the name of helping the human race as a whole – makes
him immediately unnerving and unpredictable in any given scene he pops up in.
In
fact, Carver’s facial expressions feel so unnervingly authentic that whenever
his gaze meets Clementine’s, you can almost immediately tell what’s going
on in his brain box, without the need for dialogue.
Only
helping to add fuel to the unstable fire is Michael Madsen as Carver’s voice
actor. Just as he managed with Dishonored’s Daud, Madsen’s grizzled tones add
an almost constant passive-aggressive air to every word that rolls off Carver’s
tongue.
5. Seath the Scaleless – Dark Souls (2011)
This may seem like an odd
choice in terms of Dark Souls’ hierarchy of big bads, but if you give it some
thought, Seath The Scaleless is essentially the only truly ‘evil’ entity in the
entirety of Lordran. Well, except for Lautrec maybe, that guy is a major
ball-bag.
Aside
from Seath, every single man, woman, monster and God you come across as the
Chosen Undead has an excuse or motive for doing what they do.
The
Witch Of Izalith tried to re-create the First Flame in an effort to help the
world and inadvertently opened the gates of Hell, Gwyn – in his foolishness –
sacrificed himself to keep his Age Of Fire going and The Four Kings were
corrupted by the Abyss and forced into servitude. Hell, even the Primordial
Serpents are trying to help the world in their own twisted little way.
His obsession with trying to
achieve immortality led to him betraying his own race in the war against the
dragons, and ultimately resulted in depraved experiments on any living thing he
could get his pale claws on for his own selfish ends.
4. Pagan Min – Far Cry 4 (2014)
Less is more couldn’t be a
more suitable idiom to sum up Pagan Min’s position as villain in Far Cry 4.
Despite being the main antagonist of Ubisoft’s fourth entry in the series, Min
scarcely shows up during the course of your travels within Kyrat outside of the
opening and (multiple) closing moments of the game, but the flamboyant dictator
always leaves a lasting impression regardless.
Such
is the excellent acting by Troy Baker and writing from Ubisoft that Pagan Min
only needs a few minutes of your time to suck you in with his charismatic
persona.
Above
all of that though, Min completely turns everything you expect a video game
villain to be upside down, chucks it in a blender and turns it up to 11. The
entirety of Far Cry 4’s narrative hinges on how well you interpret Min’s behavior
towards you and what you suspect his true motives to be.
3. Handsome Jack – Borderland 2 (2012)
Handsome Jack doesn’t give
two shits about how a villain is supposed to act – he just does his thing and
expects you to go along with it. Unfortunately for you, his ‘thing’ usually
entails him trying to kill you with various machinations created by the
Hyperion corporation, but it’s your duty to defy him and rile him up – that’s
when Jack’s ugly side shows up.
Yeah,
Jack’s not a particularly big fan of Vault Hunters (read: he hates the little
scrotes) after what Lilith did to his original face, making it his mission to
become a global jackass and enforce his rule on an entire planet from the
safety of a weaponized moon.
Credit
to the guy though, he shows good sport and humour in his countless efforts to
put you six feet under. Everything’s a game to Jack, even if he loses, he’s the
first one to make a joke of the whole thing. Unfortunately, if you lose, you’re
kind of dead.
2. The
Illusive Man – The Mass Effect 2 (2010)
Now it’s time for someone
who takes villainy a little more seriously. Well, I say villain, but that’s
doing The Illusive Man’s role in the Mass Effect saga a massive disservice –
he’s so much more than that.
Martin
Sheen’s character is the Morally Grey trope given human form, but without the
clichés. On one hand, the shady leader of the pro-human Cerberus organisation
is responsible for Shephard still being alive instead of space debris floating
uselessly across a vacuum for all eternity, but on the other, well, that’s left
largely for you to decide…
There’s
not really any right or wrong answer as to whether the Illusive Man can truly
be considered evil. Sure, he’s all about championing the continued existence
and superiority of the Human race, but he’s so obsessed with that goal that
he’s essentially become a universal xenophobe and, in the end, a slave to the
Reapers.
He’s
placed firmly on the extreme end of the moral spectrum, and a warning to the
player of what would result if they try to control things beyond their power.
In this case, Giant Robotic Squids of Destruction who’s only goal is to wipe
out all sentient life.
1.
The Joker –
Batman: Arkham City (2011)
Arkham City captured the running feud, rivalry, twisted relationship –
whatever you want to call it – between the Joker and Batman to the T, but whereas
Nolan’s depiction of the two comic book stars in The Dark Knight explored the
polar opposite ideals the pair shares, Arkham City gets right into the nitty
and gritty of their relationship.
The Joker isn’t someone who can be rehabilitated or absolved his crimes
– he doesn’t want to be. It’s in his nature to be a psychopath that delights in
tormenting society and the Caped Crusader. It is, and forever will be his duty
to be the opposing force of Gotham City’s greatest hero, but despite his
indispensableness, Joker’s tragic end in Arkham City can only get a rise of
sympathy and pity out of the player.
He lives for the thrill of being a bad seed, and watching Batman show
sincere regret over his arch nemesis’ passing will force a tear from the eye of
even the most heartless human being.
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