A great video game is more frequently defined by its villains than its heroes. This is usually intentional, with heroes often being given generic or even non-existent personalities to leave room for the player to imprint some of their own traits onto them. If the hero's jabbering away all the time, then you better hope it's some of the best-written jibber-jabber in video games (a la Naughty Dog), otherwise it'll grate pretty quickly. So with few exceptions, it's down to the villain to embellish the game with character and charm. It's not only their role to provide solid entertainment throughout, but also to give you something clear and concrete to aim for - most likely their death, But why should our favourite villains be wiped from the face of the earth when they get defeated? With all the good times they provide us with, gaming's greatest villains deserve to be the stars of their own games, and here are ten of them who'd be perfect for the role of 'protagonist' - even if most are evil, murderous scumbags.
10. The Boss (And Her Cobra Unit) - Metal Gear Solid 3
With all the accusations of sexism and dodgy gender representations levelled at Metal Gear Solid over the years, it's a wonder why Konami haven't done more to push one of the series' most intriguing characters to the fore. The Boss, or The Joy, is a female super-soldier and mother of Ocelot, who's also Snake's mentor and antagonist in Metal Gear Solid 3. While she's well past her physical prime by the time she runs into Snake (still giving him one hell of a hard time), her history of military operations is fascinating. The Boss and her elite Cobra unit (the other bosses from Metal Gear Solid 3) were involved in the D-Day landings during World War II, assassinations, bombings of Nazi bases, as well as capturing high-ranking figures in the Third Reich army. Some missions she carried out solo, others as part of her unit, but wherever she was is where the action was at, by the looks of things. So why not take the Metal Gear Solid series back in time to join The Boss and her crew on their world-saving adventures? A plot set during WWII would also hopefully be a lot less convoluted and incoherent than the high-tech, head-scratching stuff that comes later. Just a super-elite unit carrying out various stealth, assault and tactical operations in World War II. There'd even be room for a parallel co-op campaign, in which each player controls a different member of the Cobra Unit.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
