2. Edgar Ross
I imagine many will question this selection: after all, how could I claim the ruthless Federal Agent who shot John in cold blood is a well written character? Put simply, Edgar Ross is one of those characters you love to hate. For the player, the worst thing about Ross is that he is the one character that John would love to kill but one who he cannot. Although Ross does not really feature heavily until near the game's conclusion the player learns that he is the one who is using John to wipe out his old gang, so it's easy to hate him quickly. Perhaps the quote that sums up why we players hate Ross is "when this over you'll probably get a medal. I know I will." We know immediately that Ross will take all the credit for the task John is forced to complete. The villain loves possessing power over John, making our hero believe that he'll cut the puppet strings before he brings them back in again to force John to do more government work. Most games end with the player defeating the villain, so to have Ross standing over John casually smoking a cigar whilst John dies was heart-wrenching to watch. The player has toiled alongside John so naturally feels the betrayal and hates Ross for it. Though the 'Remember My Family' mission was arguably not needed, it did show about Ross however, is that to his family he is not the evil and brutal man he is in John's eyes. The mission offered a new way of perceiving Ross, by having Jack meet Ross' family it made him seem more human and less like a monster.