10 Video Game Villains With Wasted Potential
3. G-Man - Half-Life
This entry stings in a different way to others on this list because the potential is still there. It could be scooped back up and used, if only Valve wasn’t so afraid of games that end in the number “3”.
The entire point of Half-Life’s G-man is his ambiguity. Although he never makes it clear what side he’s playing for and what the end goal of his employers truly is, this interdimnesional bureaucrat will do some heinous things to achieve it like forcibly manipulating others. His strange powers include stopping time, putting valuable people into stasis and travelling between dimensions.
Furthermore, what makes G-man such an incredible villain is his presence. The few direct scenes players have with him across the series are exceptionally creepy, establishing an unsettling atmosphere through trippy visuals and Michael Shapiro's off-kilter line delivery. But even outside of these G-man is scary as players can, if they look in the right places, see him observing them throughout the entire story.
With it now being over 15 years since Half-Life 2: Episode Two, it seems pretty unlikely that the mystery of G-man - who he is, what he wants and who his employers are - will ever come to pass. This is a damn shame as he’s one of the creepiest yet most intriguing characters in gaming.