10 Best Rockstar Games Protagonists - Ranked

Cole Phelps is the star of one of Rockstar's strangest games: LA Noire.

It was a game developed by an Australian studio, Team Bondi, over the course of six years. Interestingly, it was originally funded by Sony, but then Rockstar Games purchased the publishing rights and distributed it. The game suffered from a notoriously bad development cycle and Rockstar Games was forced to intervene and help finish it, which resulted in a severance of the partnership post-release.

All that being said, the game turned out shockingly well; LA Noire is a really great game with memorable characters and a twisting story. One major part of the game that helps it work so well, is its protagonist, Cole Phelps.

At the start of the game, Cole is portrayed as a goody-two-shoes cop with a unwavering moral code and unshakeable bravery. As the story develops, you start to see different shades of Phelps; he cheats on his wife and his touted World War II feats of bravery are unfounded.

Phelps is a coward and a bit of a rat, but by the end of the game, he makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the day. It's a hell of a redemption story for a character who isn't particularly likeable.