20 Video Game Villains You Couldn’t Wait To Kill

3. Lieutenant General Shepherd - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

Even today, 17 years(!) and who knows how many games on, many of us still see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as the definitive COD game. It has everything: a killer story, special ops missions, on- and off-line multiplayer (with various primo camping spots), and of course a whole host of memorable characters.

We blast our way into action as Sergeant Gary “Roach” Sanderson of Task Force 141 and Private James Ramirez of the Army Rangers, eerily quiet military men, joining icons like Soap, Ghost and Price to uncover a plot involving Russian terrorist Vladimir Makarov. The weapons are awesome, the enemies many, and the story carries us along at a fast clip, zipping about the globe in intense missions. And just when we think we know where we stand, with Makarov cornered, we are betrayed by our CO, Lieutenant General Shepherd.

Shepherd is a backseat player for the majority of the game, until he shockingly executes Ghost and Roach. Uncovered as a traitor, it turns out he has used Makarov to secure massive military funding and effectively operate with maximum budget and no oversight – the modern-day American dream.

Well, the final mission of the game allows us to channel our fury through Soap and Price, chasing, tag-teaming and finally taking down the bastard with the most satisfying knife throw of perhaps any game ever. Nobody likes a traitor, especially not one who kills the main character.