10 Worst Video Game Heroes Of All Time
5. Gex The Gecko (Gex)
Worst Offence: Do you like Gex? Because Gex sure likes Gex.
Gex, the lazily-named gecko is living proof that, contrary to popular belief, you can have too much of a good thing. Gaming mascots were a big deal back in the 90s, and after the success of Mario and Sonic, the industry decided that just about every game needed a goofy cartoon hero. Some of them worked (Banjo-Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot, Conker) but some of them, like Gex, clearly did not.
The trouble with Gex is that he is uniquely unlikeable. Crystal Dynamics looked at all the things successful video game heroes are, then didn’t do that. Because Crystal Dynamics are just so avant-garde like that.
The result is a smug gecko who’s not nearly as clever as his wise-cracks imply. Worse, still, his parodies are laboured, his spoofs are contrived, and even Leslie Phillips’ cut-glass tones could make this gecko any more magnetic. Remember when everyone in the playground used to yell his catchphrase, ‘it’s tail time!’? Nope, neither do we.