10 Video Game Bosses You DON'T Want To Beat
9. Handsome Jack - Borderlands Series
I have been told on several occasions that I am likeable, yet unbearably annoying.
And yet, my friends keep coming back for more torture, which just goes to prove we're all masochists at the core. That's one of the reasons I feel a certain affinity towards Handsome Jack (with the other being, obviously, handsomeness) of the Borderlands series - as the cocky and charismatic antagonist of the series' first sequel, he's arguably the IP's most memorable.
On one hand, you want to slap that smile right off his smug, chiseled faux-face. But on the other, you can't help but love the sheer brazenness of him - he seems to love the fact you hate him so much that you wouldn't even give him that satisfaction.
But it goes deeper than that.
Clearly, Gearbox and 2K saw the hove (that's "hate-love") of Handsome Jack, and gave him a more active role as the deuteragonist of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, allowing players to get a bit of background into the rogue - delving a little deeper and giving some twisted, tragic details about his marriage and daughter.
Despite his cruel machinations, the player comes to understand that the mask Jack wears isn't just about a physical portrayal of "handsome", but also a façade he maintains to convince others into believing the lies he's convinced even himself of.
After the player realises Jack is just trying to cover up his own insecurities, it's a bit harder to hate him.
Wow. We really do have a lot in common.