10 Video Game Side Characters EVERYONE Loves

Call of Duty has been going for some 22 years now, but never has it been able to replicate the heady and dizzying heights of the Modern Warfare days, when online multiplayer had hit the mainstream and the mass monetization of games was very much a thing of the future.

Nestled in that sweet spot was the legendary Modern Warfare II, the best COD game by any measure, with a strong on- and offline multiplayer, a thrilling campaign, and the kind of characters you’d want as your Bebo profile picture. While Captain Soap MacTavish is a straightforward pick amongst beloved characters of the time, he becomes a playable character for the final few missions of the game. So, instead, we turn to Ghost.

Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley is a British soldier and member of Task Force 141, who wears a skull-print balaclava at all times. Silent but deadly, Ghost is a masked man of few words and many actions, helping you storm favelas and remote safehouses with a well-stocked arsenal. A true badass, loved by all.

Savage, then, that we are made to watch helplessly as Ghost is executed by the turncoat General Shepherd during the game's final act. Fans were aghast and outraged, and while it will never be the same, he has been resurrected in the new generation of Modern Warfare games thanks to his overwhelming popularity.