Two weeks ago, I wrote an article about offensive portrayals of women in gaming, a controversial, hot-button topic that always stirs up debate among gamers and the press. Despite how far video games have come over the years, many are still stuck in the past with regard to their depictions of females, opting for the cynical yet tried-and-test method of "a pair of guns and a pair of double Ds", along with the least amount of clothing they can get away with. But in the comments section of that article, a question arose: what about the flipside? What about offensive portrayals of men in video games? It's a much tougher topic to tackle, that's for sure (as I found in my research), and many object to the idea of "reverse sexism" on the grounds that men generally don't really seem to care all that much about stereotypical portrayals. That doesn't mean that out-of-touch archetypes don't exist, and now I'm going to attempt to tease out the 10 biggest ones of all. Feel free to chime in with your own views in the comments!
10. Chris "Roids" Redfield - The Muscle (Resident Evil)
In the original Resident Evil game, Chris Redfield had a perfectly "normal" appearance: he was a well-built S.T.A.R.S. operative, who (if you played as him over Jill) saved the day, and that was that. The same is true in both the follow-up, Code Veronica and the GameCube remake of the original game: Chris looks like he can take care of himself, but is still grounded in reality. Then we move on to 2009's Resident Evil 5, and for no reason whatsoever, Capcom have decided to give him a massive steroid injection, with his arms now the size of tree trunks! The change in appearance was widely derided by gamers and the gaming press alike, and though it's fair to argue that Chris' performance enhancement would certainly help him fight off the zombie horde, it's just a little too over-the-top. Sure, make his arms a little bigger if you like, but there's no need to make him look like a roided-up member of the WWE roster. I don't think many men would complain that he shows off an "unattainable" standard, but simply that he looks freaking ridiculous.