The 10th Hour 08.15.08: Top 10 Game Heroes

Posted by Derek Robbins on 08.15.2008

Every game has a hero, but which heroes rank among the best ever? This week, the 10th Hour breaks down what they believe are the top-10 gaming protagonists ever.

Hello and welcome to the 10th Hour! As always, there are a couple of tangents I would like to hit on before I start this week.

-My birthday went well, I'm enjoying the rewards of making it to a certain date of a calendar. I've actually finally started playing MGS 4 and I should have it done by the weekend. I'm going fairly slow, but…I guess when I waited so long to play it, I sort of want to absorb it. Take it slowly...let the feeling linger. I will have my full opinions of it in time for, GASP, my debut at B3yond the Report. AH J'YEAH

-I've watched far mar Olympics than I figured I would. I have no idea what it is, but this year it just seems interesting to me…You may be thinking: "It's Phelps and the medals man"…and I would retort: "BUT THAT WAS ALSO THE CASE IN 2004!" I have no idea what it is, maybe I just have a taste for international competition now?

-The Brewers have won eight straight games and have only gained a game and a half on the Cubs. Damn it's good to be the best team in the National League.

-Do you have what it takes to fight Derek "Burning Soul" Robbins in Soul Calibur 4? Add my PSN (Croix22) and we can have a little fight. I'm not that good yet, but…for an online fighter SC IV is relatively lag free and I love that. So I'm all game!

Reader Feedback

Hey, let's see what you had to say about my personal top-10 games.

Drew Robbins, my brother, is trying to make me look bad.

Wow, I'm a bit surprised by this list. I guess I didn't know you as well as I thought. Mostly the lack of FFX is what threw me off.

Also, you seemed a little hostile towards Nintendo with your whole "cancer killing gaming thing." Cancer killing gaming? I don't think so, Tim.

And another thing, I don't like previewing the games in my column any more than you like reading about them :P

I never said that. Stop trying to make me look biased! Then again, I guess you don't have to try hard…

Also, I'd be more surprised by the lack of FF IX since Vivi is my favorite game character ever.

Mike Minotti of the exploding barrel podcast likes MGS 3

I love MGS4, but I think MGS3 still remains my favorite. I'm anxious to see what you think once you finally play MGS4.

Well so far I'm loving MGS 4…it seems a bit more action-oriented than previous installments which is kind of welcome. I find the story to be interesting, but I'm not sure if it'll surpass MGS 3 as my favorite in the series. It would take one hell of an ending.

RavenTazECW wishes me the best

Happy 21st Birthday! Don't get yourself drunk. I was going to mention I was surprised at the lack of Wind Waker and Majora's Mask until I saw WW in your honorable mentions. I'm sure people will argue with you, which will be hilarious because this is STRICTLY your opinion. I actually have my own list I have on another website, so I'll paste it here in case anyone gives a crap, hahaha.

1- Diablo II (PC)
2- Empire Earth (PC)
3- Super Mario Bros. III (NES)
4- Earthworm Jim II (SNES)
5- Final Fantasy IX (PS1)
6- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
7- Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES)
8- Baseball Stars (NES)
9- Dynasty Warriors 3 (PS2)
10- Guerrilla Wars (NES)

Honorable Mentions for Punch-Out, Super Mario Bros. 2, World of Warcraft (though I may be done for good with it), and of course, MVP Baseball 2005.

I love both of those games and Windwaker ALMOST made the list, I actually had to remove it from the list because I remembered I forgot something. So…it got cut to Honorable Mentions. I should have also put MM there, but I guess I forgot about it.

Also, I quite enjoy your list. FF IX and Earthworm Jim 2 are both very good list choices. I actually haven't heard of Guerilla Wars before, what's it about?

Also, right…you're done with WoW "for good". Uh huh. Suuuuuuure. See you in about a month, we can form us a 411raid group.

David (assumedly) R. is great:

There is nothing I can fault with your list. My list varies and depends on my mood. All those games you mention make an appearance on my list. So, I have to say: "great minds think alike."

Truer words have never been spoken. Though I remember like way back when on ABC's ONE SATURDAY MORNING…they'd have Genie cut these short segments on how great minds do NOT think alike. I always thought that was goofy.

JP gives us a list of his own

What a Russo swerve at the end there.
I've always agreed, Earthbound is ridiculously underrated and is the best RPG ever made. I rarely play through RPGs mutiple times, but this one just has such an undeniable charm.

Anywho, my list:

1. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2. Super Mario World
3. Leisure Suit Larry Series
4. Super Mario 64
5. Super Mario Kart 64
6. Earthbound
7. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
8. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
10. NBA 2K Series

Hon. Mention: The Sims Series, Donkey Kong Country, Smash Bros. Brawl

Indeed. That swerve was a work of genius. To be fair, I pitted Smash Bros against Earthbound in a "I take the winner off of a pole" match. Smash Brothers lost a close one.

Also, this list is…veeeerrry interesting. Leisure Suit Larry? That's pretty unique, I bet most people don't have that on their favorites. Super Mario Kart 64 has aged horribly, but…I mean, the memories of it are pretty good so I suppose I could see why it would be on your list.

Props for Earthbound.

MGB has caught onto me!

Seriously every article you do is the same shit! A pokemon comment here and there, a little bit of sonic references, a generous helping of earthbound praise and a picture of croagunk to send us home with. OLD.

Ah shit, the jig is up. I'm going to have to start mixing it up now. Digimon comments, Secret of Mana Praise, and a whole lot of Sparkster!

Duncan is quite the sharp young man

I may not like all the games on that list, but I can agree that they are all games that are incredibly popular with other people, if not me personally. Also, Earthbound will always be the greatest game ever made.

Earthbound the greatest game ever? You could be the best commenter ever!

Phil Taylor critiques my precision

Nice to see your being so precise with the 'pokemon franchise'...that doesn't really narrow it down now does it?


Yes, because each installment in the core franchise is so different.

Shaydee brings up a good point


i really dont see what people thought was so great about Mario 64, i mean, i accept that it was pretty much the first game of its style but Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie blew it out of the water in erms of controls and game play.


I can see why you would think that, the two games were very high quality. I think there are a couple of reasons why I prefer Mario 64: First, mission based structure. I know it sounds weird, but wandering around the world in a platforming game and lucking my way into whatever collectable they want me to collect has never appealed to me.

Also, uh, I played Mario 64 first. Even I can succumb to nostalgia!

mikail questions my taste

what bout gta4 and call of duty 4

I haven't played CoD 4 because I have no desire to do so, and GTA IV was fun…but I preferred San Andreas. I mean, it's worthy of praise but it probably wouldn't even be in my top-50.

An inordinate number of h's thinks videogames are for losers.

Great list. EXCEPT, videogames are for LOSERS... get a life!

I used to play games when i was 12. But that was when I was like you. Now im a bangin corporate lawyer living life.

WOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!(ric flair style)

so i beg of you, turn yur life around. Don't add anymore games to this list. Theres much more out there than vgames
peace brother... :)

Pretty sure this is just a troll-style comment so I'm not sure what else to say. I mean, am I supposed to learn a lesson from this? I guess I'll never play videogames again.

Kaiza responds to a reply I made towards him last week

Really? I thought it was exactly like Pokemon Stadiums 1&2. This sucks, my entire family loves to play stadium on the N64 and they are getting a wii for the sole fact that I told them that BR was a sequel to stadium. I told them that cololsium was a sequel to it and they bought a gamecube (Back when it mattered) just to play it and when they found out it was an RPG man was my family pissed. Thanks for repl;ying dude and I hope you can reply to this too.

I love Stadium as well, but PBR lacks a lot of the charm stadium has. First of all, if you don't own Diamond or Pearl, you have to use a rental pass…where you can't even choose which pokemon are on your team. Secondly, no gym battles in your "story mode". I mean, sure, you battle people in this game's coliseum mode, but it's not the same. Third, no mini-games. All of the charming mini-games of stadium are gone. I would ONLY recommend getting this game if you really love the idea of playing against random people online. Even then, Pokemon Platinum will have that and it's actually a game worth owning (if you don't own D/P at least)

Nobody, who is a disguised SDC rounds out the comments this week

Great list bro. The Pokemon franchise would definitely appear on mine, as well as a couple others on your list. I'll save an actual list for if I ever do the fill-in gig that you mentioned some time ago. Hopefully when I get around to trying a few practice attempts for that idea (you know the one), I can find a new game or two to put on my list.

I've let go of my Edmonds hate as well. I think he can get enough rest to not break down though, because Reed Johnson is one of the best backups in the game. On a related note, the Fukudome card and the others should be on their way soon. Even I am sick of being such a lazy hump.

We've still never thrown down in Brawl. I'm rusty as all get out though, because I haven't touched it for way too long. I haven't really played with my Wii *giggles*... at all for quite awhile. Jtv Addiction 1, Me 0.

Oh, and thank you for getting me to watch Gurren Lagann and making me stick with it. I appreciate the effort and am looking forward to episode 8. "Possibly one of the best anime episodes ever"? Consider my psyched. :)

PS: I've not been here that much lately, so did anyone call you on not getting in an Earthbound reference on your award-worthy Nintendo essay? And will you be sticking them into the Sony news report as well? It's pretty n/a for me since I don't have a PS3, but that would get me to check it out at least. :P

Reed Johnson…has been far better than anyone could have guessed. Same as Edmonds. They are one hell of a platoon. Fukudome, who has done shit all since the second month, could learn from those two!

My wifi is broken for the moment, so I can't Brawl or PBR with ANYONE. It fills me with rage. I can however play you in Soul Calibur IV, but YOU DON'T OWN A PS3. Damn.

You're welcome for the Gurren Lagann. You'll love it. The series only gets better from here.

As for my No Earthbound…well…yeah, it was mentioned. I don't plan on continuing it in B3yond the Report because, you know, it's not Sony related and I would hate to tarnish my dark Sony overlord with something Nintendo related!



Top-10 Protagonists

Remember when I rated the top-10 villains? Well now I take a crack at protagonists! There really is no criteria for making this list other than being a protagonist…and a protagonist I like. Also, I have to discount characters from games I have not played, such as Manny Calavera. While this is a shame, it's fair. Other than that, no rules at all, so let's get cracking.

10-) Gene (God Hand) - The choice to place Gene here was a tough one, but I decided in the end to do this in order to reward him for his game, God Hand. Without a doubt, God Hand is one of the most intriguing experiences on the Playstation 2 and its failure to move units truly baffles me. If you look at a series like Devil May Cry, which has essentially been the same damn game for years…it really makes the failure even more absurd. I mean, God Hand played a lot like Devil May Cry except, unlike the fourth installment, it took actual skill to be good at. It's not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination, you have to be very aware of your surroundings or you WILL die. Simple as that. What really brought God Hand home though was its sense of humor and…well, its style. Everything about it seems to be satire over a genre that really…could use it. Yeah, God Hand has a ridiculous story but it actually MEANS to. It's not like the Devil May Cry series which tries its damndest to have a relevant story but falls flat on its face, God Hand is just flat out ridiculous and its main character Gene really has a lot of that charm that makes it so…just so crazy. Is he someone you would generally associate as an all-time great character? No, not really. He doesn't have a great personality (then again, looking down this list, it's not like there are a lot of astounding personalities here), he comes from a relatively obscure title…but dammit, God Hand deserves some praise and I'm going to give it some. If you don't believe me regarding its pure zany satire status, listen to the credit song. I swear to you, it's one of the best pieces of music to come from a game ever.



Seriously, watch that. Don't pretend like you don't like the ball-buster.

- Seriously, how could you not like that?

9-) Gordon Freeman - Speaking of characters that don't really have personality, we arrive to Gordon Freeman. Gordon is another character that deserves a lot of praise for the games he appears in, after all…he is the savior of the world! I would argue that Gordon is the best silent protagonist of all time. Sure, I may absolutely despise the majority of silent protagonists…but for whatever reason Gordon just resonates with me? Perhaps its because when I think of Half-Life, one of the best videogame series ever, the first thing I picture in my mind is Gordon Freeman grasping a crowbar. Half-Life is one of the most compelling shooters in history as combines great gameplay (including interesting physics in the second game) with a great story which is not something you usually see in shooting games. Really, so many great things have been said about this series over the years, I'm not sure what I can add. If you haven't tried it yet for whatever reason, get out from under the rock and give it a try…you really won't regret it. Even the original is still a blast to this day. Gordon's main characterization comes from his surrounding cast, which is not unusual for a silent protagonist…but with a cast as strong as Half Life's, it's easy to see why so many people like him as a character. An easy summarization as to why Gordon Freeman is worthy of this list would go as thus: He's just damn cool.

- Not to be confused with Gordon Frohman

8-) Megaman - A game franchise that was a bit ahead of its time and one that's last for years makes Megaman one of the most recognizable game characters out there. He joins Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario, and *groan* Master Chief as characters that non-gamers have a prayer of recognizing. While Megaman has gone through a slump over the past several years, he churns out a highly playable game every once in a while which is more than you can say about Sonic. His presence go into several different genres, including fighters, RPGs, sports games, and card games. Sure, the card game was a pile of crap but at least he was THERE. The only character that even comes close to spanning the number of genres that the blue bomber has appeared in would be Mario. It really speaks a lot to how much the fans love Megaman, because wading through un-inspired games year after year can get kind of tedious…but the fans still sit around, waiting for the next big thing and they may very well be rewarded. Megaman 9 looks to be one of the most interesting games in recent memory. It shows that, hey, even though Capcom is the King of Milking they can milk in a way that pleases its fanbase, which is more than a lot of other companies can say. No matter what your opinion on megaman is, it's hard to deny that he is one of the most iconic videogame heroes out there. When you have games that were as fun as his, it's not hard to see why. 2008 marks the 21st year of the franchise, and to be quite honest I wouldn't be surprised to see 21 more out of him. He has lasting appeal and even though a truly great Megaman title hasn't been along since Megaman Legends, fans hold a strong spot in their hearts for the little guy.

- The Blue Bomber at his finest.

7-) Sonic the Hedgehog - Speaking of game franchises that haven't seen a great installment in years…we now come to Sonic the Hedgehog! A lot of people think Sonic hasn't appeared in a quality title since the Sega Genesis. Sonic and Knuckles was released in 1994 (Now I feel old. Jeesh). You know what that means right? According to some fans, Sonic hasn't been in a good game in FOURTEEN YEARS. There are STILL tons of Sonic fans though…and if they're willing to wade through shit for so long, it just goes to show how great the early nineties Sonic was. While I disagree with that sentiment – I find Sonic Advance 2 and the two Sonic Adventure games to be quite enjoyable – I do think that Sonic is long over-due for another triple-A title. As with Megaman, he's a character that non-gamers would probably recognize and if you had to compile a gaming mount Rushmore, most assuredly Sonic's smug mug would be up there, assumedly shouting you're too slow over and over again. He practically moved the Sega Genesis and I know several people who leapt on the Sega Saturn in hopes the Hedgehog would carry that system. Sure, the Saturn may be one of the worst consoles in history – even considering most of their quality titles were made by Treasure, essentially they could have called it the Treasure Saturn – but the fact remains that at one point he straight-up moved consoles. As a child, characters didn't get much cooler than Sonic. He was a pretty great alternative to the slow and plodding Mario and if there was any justice in the world, Sonic would still be running around 3D environments, wowing gamers. It's a shame that Sega sort of, you know, forgot what made Sonic fun over the years. I've wrote an entire column on what's wrong with Sonic though, so I'll get off of that for now. Let me just say this: Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most recognizable game characters out there and one that deserves more than what he gets. MGB may be rolling his eyes right now as his revelation over me just constantly talking about Sonic is true, but I just don't care. Sonic rules, and maybe by the end of this year we can be reminded why that is. Of course…odds are low. Oh Sega…what's happened to you? The Dreamcast was so good, and you've just gone to shit since.

- He may be more 'extreme' but I still rather like him.

6-) Junpei Iori (Persona 3) - The first protagonist on this list that actually makes it on merits regarding his personality. Isn't that crazy! A character making a character list due to his actual character! Insanity! Anyhow, it's no secret that I love JRPGs. For whatever reason, jamming on the X-button to do attacks really resonates with me. I can't get enough and I really enjoy all the story they provide. I guess this also explains why I enjoy the Metal Gear series so much. So anyhow…Persona 3 was one of my favorite games of the last year as it combined many different types of genres into one. Part Dating Sim, Part Pokemon, Part RPG…it was all quite enjoyable. If you had a lot of time to kill – as I did, I was going through a bad breakup at the time – this game can be quite uplifting. In this story-heavy game the best character was Junpei. Looking at his actions throughout the course of the game, he SEEMED realistic. He seemed like someone we all know. If a real life human being was going through that sort of situation, that's how they'd most likely act. The feelings of greed or passion he feels just makes him come alive, and in the end he sort of becomes a sympathetic character. The creators knew this because in the art-book that came with the game they said as much regarding him. I almost feel that the game itself wouldn't have been as enjoyable to me if he had not been there. In a videogame, it's very hard to make realistic characters because often times you're faced with un-realistic situations. I mean, how would most of us act if suddenly the world was infested with headcrabs? Probably roll up into the fetal position and tip our hats to the new revolution. Junpei doesn't exactly cower up in these high pressure situations, but the way he goes about his business is just very realistic and thus…admirable. Persona 3 is one of those games that you either love or hate. I am in the former clearly, but even trying to view the game from the perspective of someone who hates it…I can't see them harboring any ill will towards Junpei.

- The man.

5-) Ken Masters - I am a huge fan of fighting games. I may not be the greatest at them, hell…even in some I just plain suck. That does not mean that I don't appreciate them and Street Fighter is one of those games I have all the admiration for in the world. It really was the father of the fighting genre and the fighters of today really owe a lot to the series. I have fond memories of being a young kid in an arcade wasting away quarters to play Street Fighter. One time, in a bowling alley in Las Vegas, I was playing Street Fighter 2. I promptly lost against the FIRST person. Do you know how embarrassing that is? Losing to the first guy? ESPECIALLY IF HE'S FUCKING BLANKA. I'll give you a hint, that sucks. As a young eight year old boy my mind could not suppress my rage so I just shouted "DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN" over-and-over again. This was…uh…in public so you can imagine the embarrassment I felt as my parents scolded me. It's the kind of pull that game had on me! I wasn't the best, and to this day…as far as Street Fighter II is concerned, I suck. (Though I am quite godly at the third Street Fighter) I just stuck with it because it was a good time. I bought the home versions to practice until I got at least passable. Though to be honest, I couldn't even execute a hadoken properly. At that point the extent I could do was Chun-Li's hurricane kick, E-Honda's fists of fury…and blanka's electric shock extraordinaire. Maybe you had to be there, but these early days really made the fighting genre one of my favorites ever. You may be asking yourself, why Ken Masters as opposed to Ryu…which is the obvious choice for such a slot, and to be quite honest…the choice came down between those two. In my eyes, they are the most iconic characters in fighting history (Guile and Chun-Li close behind. Guile more so because of his hair)…and there was only one slot available for the two of them. I then remembered that I mained Ken and stuck with him promptly. He's just damn cool and houses some of the most memorable moves from the series. Ryu has them too, but being a Ken man…I'll stick with him.



4-) Vivi Orunitia - This is the part of the list that many game magazines would put a character from Final Fantasy VII here and proclaim them to be so deep, even though their depth isn't readily apparent. VII had a good cast, don't get me wrong…I would even go as far to say that as far as RPG casts it probably has one of the top-20 ever. That said, IX has perhaps the best cast of all time. Oh sure, Quina may be useless as all hell, but when you have only one character that boils down to filler material, you're doing well. Really any of the main cast of Final Fantasy IX could have potentially made this list, but like with Junpei…I'm going with what is ironically the most "real" character in the entire game. You may ask, why is this ironic? Vivi isn't human. He was made in a factory. He is essentially a factory number. Through the first portions of the game he has no idea who he is or anything, he just knows that he is lost and confused. He has two main friends throughout the course of the game – Puck and Zidane – and they both help him grow immensely. I would even argue that Zidane surpasses friendship and moves onto brotherhood. It's just emotionally investing. Once Vivi finds out his origins, he suffers at first but grows to accept it and continues his growth as a character. The way he thinks, the way he feels…is all very endearing and has made him one of the most memorable characters in Final Fantasy lore. A lot of people may claim that Cloud or Sephiroth, with their personalities invested in their blades, are the best character Final Fantasy has to offer…but I beg to differ. The character who is simply the best isn't even human. Despite this, he shows more humanity through his actions than perhaps any videogame character ever. To this day, Final Fantasy IX is among my four favorite Final Fantasies, and Vivi is the reason why. It's a shame he won't be in Dissidia.



3-) Link - The hero of time, the guy who stars in what many people would consider the greatest game ever…Link is sort of memorable. Unlike Megaman and Sonic, Link may not be immediately recognizable to people who don't play videogames…but among gamers, you'd be hardpressed to find someone who doesn't know who he is or the exploits he's went through. The Legend of Zelda is legendary for its unique puzzle-filled dungeons. Sometimes the puzzles can make you feel rather smart for having figured them out. In reality, they aren't THAT puzzling…but it makes you feel good. Some would say that Link, outside of some adventures on Phillip's CDI, has yet to appear in a crappy title and to be honest I have to agree with them. If you look at the sheer number of quality games Link has appeared in and contrast it to any other character, it's not really a match. Even the mighty Mario has appeared in duds, but Link remains strong. It's really this sort of running quality that endears him into our hearts. Now, I figure that even if Ocarina of Time turned out to be a dud, Link would still be in our hearts due to the sheer joy found in the SNES and NES installments…but the fact is, even into the 3D era, Link has continued to appear in quality titles. Imagine of Sonic the Hedgehog had this sort of luck? Whatever the case, gamers world wide continue to be amazed by what the Legend of Zelda throws at us…and Link continues to be one of the most popular characters in the world thanks to it. While Link never utters a word, in many ways…hearing him talk would just be wrong. He'll eternally be trying to save Zelda from the clutches of evil, never a word escaping his mouth…and I like it that way. Long live the hero of time.

- I still prefer Windwaker Link.

2-) Mario - Remember how I mentioned earlier that Sonic would be on that videogame mount Rushmore based solely on his past triumphs? Mario would be up there too, only to this very day he still makes quality titles. I don't care who you are, where you're from (what you did…)…you've heard of Mario at some point or another. You know that he is a relatively chubby Italian plumber who enjoys the occasional shroom and saving princesses from the clutches of a rather angry dragon/turtle thing. It's really, really easy to see why though. Throughout Mario's history, it's been just a fun franchise. It's never really tried to do too much…never tried to be overly innovative for the sake of being innovative. Look at the NES Mario titles. Right there, you have three games that define side-scrolling fun. The Super Nintendo Mario didn't try a whole lot different from Mario Brothers 3, it just…was fun. It combined great level design with simple gameplay. It sort of kept up like that. It's a highly accessible franchise that both hardcore gamers and casual gamers can enjoy. Oh sure, some may think the plumber's tricks have become old hat, but they really haven't! It's that consistency that keeps us coming back for more. We all know that whatever year it is, if there's a core-Mario title released it will be of a high quality…but hell, like Megaman, Mario has done a lot of off-shoot material, ranging from sports, to kart racing, to fighting…and without exception, most of those games are FUN. Sure, there's a flop every now and then – see the entire post-three Mario Party franchise and Mario is missing – but they really treat their franchise well. If you buy something with the word "Mario" in title, you know you're getting fun and that's the more than you can say about most other characters in this genre. Twenty years from now, Mario will probably still be around and he'll still be appearing in good games because…he really doesn't know anything else. The very first character that comes to mind when someone says: "Videogames" is Mario. That says a lot about him and also a lot about his standing in popular culture. The wii may be housewife haven right about now, but as long as there's Mario around there will always be something for those of us who have been there for the long-haul.

It's been out for a while, but I still love Smash Brothers.

1-) Solid Snake - It's true, I am an un-abashed Metal Gear Solid fan-boy. If Hideo Kojima puts it out, I will play it. Waiting to get my hands on Metal Gear Solid 4 was a kind of torture, but when I finally did I was pleased. The fact is, I am deeply intrigued about Solid Snake. I want to know what happens to him…I care about the world he is in and the narrative that unfolds. A lot of stuff is said regarding Metal Gear's story telling. From it being just flat-out ridiculous to it being good, whatever you think…it doesn't really matter. Solid Snake is a good character. Period. He is well developed, he has a sense of morals…and let's be honest here, he's a total badass. On top of this, he's also the symbol for an entire genre. Some may prefer Splinter Cell, but when you think of great stealth characters, Sam Fisher isn't the first person to come to mind. It's Solid Snake. Throughout the Metal Gear Solid franchise Snake is portrayed as a guy who views war as a necessary evil but rather dislikes killing people. He is a war-hardened veteran who feels he has killed enough in his time alive and doesn't want to be the cause of any more pain. That's why when the game ranks you at the end, you often get worse ranks if you kill more people. It just goes against who Solid is. Solid Snake as a character gives off the air of someone who you can count on…someone who won't betray you if you're aligned with him. He just seems like an all around great guy, despite his troubled past. He wants what is best for the world, even though destiny seems to want him to do the opposite. What really helps define his character is the much maligned Metal Gear Solid 2. Though through much of the game you don't play as Snake, you can learn more about him from the supporting character role which just makes him all the more likable. Every game Snake appears in, he just gets cooler and cooler…While part of me wants Metal Gear to end before they ruin the series, I know that as long as Snake appears I will buy each installment as soon as possible. If I had to list my top-10 favorite franchises Metal Gear would be high up there…and a lot of that is thanks to Solid Snake. He's the current face of the PS3, and for good reason. He's just plain badass.



Honorable Mentions: Ryu Hayabusa, Sophitia Alexandra, Ryo Hazuki, Guybrush Threepwood, Chun-Li

Well that's all for this week. As always, if you wish to send me a bit of feedback you can do so by writing my e-mail – [e-mail] or simply leaving a comment below. Of course, now you can also play me on PSN, my ID is Croix22…and I welcome any challengers. I'm sure it'll fill your heart with glee to kick my ass.

Before I go though, let's take a tour around our game section to see what the…411 is.

Mike and AJ Minotti orate the Exploding Barrel Podcast. As always, they do a great job. Mike has also apparently gotten better at Soul Calibur 4. Is that so? Then I challenge you, sir! BROTHER VERSUS BROTHER. The Great American 10th barrel extravaganza. Derek Robbins versus Mike Minotti. Drew Robbins versus AJ Minotti. Winner takes all and gets the 411game crown. Loser gets shot. Oh, I also bought a PS3 microphone and apparently it works on the computer, so ah…I may be able to do a podcast with you guys sometime if you so desired, I'll email you about it soon. Drew wants it to be called Exploding Barrel versus 10th hour Brodown. He's a moron though.

Jordan Williams writes Working Title. This week he discusses sequels that are leaps and bounds better than their originals. The first thing he says is SSX…and that's a good example. Little known fact though: While Tricky was much better than the original, SSX 3 was much better than Tricky. All three are really great games, so would that make SSX 3 some sort of…greatest game of all time? Err, probably not, but it's really good!

Owain "The letter" J. Brimfield writes the Wonder Years and this week he discusses Shining Force. I was given some crap for not putting this game on my top-10 genesis list and for good reason, it kicks ass.

Tommy Coloma writes the Negative Edge News Report and it appears that megaman 9 has been supplanted as the top-story of 2008. Morrigan IS NO LONGER USING THE SAME OLD SPRITE! This is cause for celebration!

Theo Fraser pens the Nintendophiles and whoa! Bioware could bring some of their IPs to the DS after their Sonic RPG comes out? That could potentially be superb. Can you imagine KOTOR on the DS? Such portable fun.

Vincent Chiucchi writes The Hall of Shame and this week he inducts Pictionary for the NES, and for good reason. It looks like trash. Those pictures he showed looked…horrible. Seriously, lightning rod? Lame. A pictionary on the DS could be interesting though.

Tommy Coloma also moderates Fact or Fiction and this week the two competitors are Sean "Old School" Garmer versus Jeffrey "Wildcat" Harris. I would like to comment on the G-Phoria question. I have to say, I was unfortunate enough to watch that show and was fairly insulted by Adam and Morgan repeatedly railing on Mario Kart. I also think Halo 3 as GOTY is a joke. Like, literally…I was laughing. It's like Halo 2 with prettier graphics and the same shitty community. Other than that, I guess the show was alright. I mean, I disagreed with a lot of the stuff…but it was okay. Also, Little Big Planet would be a system seller if it was an established license. It looks great. Sadly in America only established properties, shooters, and non-gamer games sell.

The PC-Centric Extravaganza is written by Chris Evans. This week he brings us news of a way we can vote in the PC-Gamer top-100. A user-based one! He gives his top-10 PC games and they're pretty good. Portal in the top-10 is a thing of beauty and really…speaks to how great it was. I'm also loving TF 2 at number three.

Rod Oracheski writes Achievement Unlocked and this week, among other things, he talks about the difference in achievements in Madden and NCAA this year. He calls some of Madden's achievements lazy…wow, EA being lazy. That's a shocker. Though to be fair, Madden this year is getting a lot of praise. I…still probably won't buy it though. Even if my dim-wit brother signed up to review the PS3 version.

Drew Robbins does Coming Attractions and this week he talks about Maddzzzzzzzzzzzzz…oh and he also goes on about Hotel Dusk and how great it is. Yes, it is great. Anyhow…Yes, let me put this to rest. Drew Robbins, Mark Salmela, and Derek Robbins are all the same people. There are three of us, but we're really one. UH OH.

Dan Owen, my original 411sports boss!, fills in for B3yond the Report this week and does a pretty great job at it. He presents a wall-paper which depicts...a bunch of the 411 guys fawning over a girl and B3yond the Report standing tall. I wish I had given my description, fawning over women is what I do best. Also, I begin my tenure as the Sony news guy at this site next time, so make sure you check that out. It'll be hard replacing Mark and Dan, both of which are great guys…but I'll do my best.

Joe Roche is my new rival at the Full Circle 360 news report. He tells us of Gears 2 interesting parental control features. I'm sorry, was putting the M on the label not enough? Well, I guess if kiddies absolutely must play their super mature M-rated games. Great job as always, Joe.

Well that's it for this week. See you next week. Same 10th hour time, same 10th hour place.

Til' the crossroads