10 Video Game Heroes Who Are Actually Terrible At Their Jobs

By Javy Gwaltney IV /

5. Gordon Freeman (Half-Life Series)

Job: Scientist Ah, the Freeman! Gaming€™s most renowned scientist, except we never really see him do any science, do we? He pushes a golden, irradiated rock into a beam. Pfft. Big deal. That ain€™t science, that€™s labor while wearing a glorified radiation suit. Where are the segments featuring Gordon staring at a chalkboard, trying to decipher an equation or battling with the egos of co-workers, who sneer at his MIT education? The gameplay in Half-Life suggests that Freeman is better acquainted with smashing in the skulls of his foes with a crowbar than he is physics. Cue conspiracy theory: maybe he's actually a lousy scientist, and the €œresonance cascade€ is completely his fault because he shoved that rock into the beam at the wrong angle. Or perhaps it€™s all just geek fantasy fulfillment.