4. Niko Bellic
Niko, Niko, Niko. Why is it people sometime's have a go at you? All you wanted was an easy life. Yes, Grand Theft Auto IV had Niko Bellic becoming the games protagonist and boy, was fan reception split. On one side you have those who hated him. He was European, he came out of the blue onto America with a stereotypical view, and he had an annoying cousin. Those are the reasons I've heard for people not liking him. People on the hate side of Niko found him not too relatable and a bit boring in some cases. I will never fully understand why, but I guess it has something to do with the jacket and trainers. Well maybe anyway. On the other side, you had the people who responded well to him. I think he is a great character to be honest. He is gritty, and someone with a background not usually explained well. Other protagonists of Grand Theft Auto games where mostly American, and had some form of background around crime. Mafia related, gangster related, and one's who were so horrified from their past where forever rendered silent. But Niko Bellic represented the big change of Grand Theft Auto. The newish consoles out at the time had braced themselves, and GTA changed forever. No longer could we fly cars, no longer could we dismember with samurai swords. No, GTA IV brought in the new era of a realistic game world, and a realistic story, and nearly realistic cheat codes. But it also brought I real sounding characters, and a gritty story from a character who had the most realistic sounding background in the modern world to date from a GTA game. If only he didn't have bowling crazed cousins and self centered girlfriends.