Top 5 Leading Men in this console generation

Despite what the people on the wrong side of the Schwartzenegger vs EMA might say, Video Games are an art form. They are a developing art form, but an art form nonetheless. Well, with any developing art form, one element of the stories presented that will evolve is the characters within those storylines. During the course of this generation’s cycle, video games have seen the rise of some very interesting leading men. On this Tuesday’s list, I wanted to take the time to count down who I believe are the top five leading men of this console generation, and maybe even draw some parallels between them and other famous characters from other forms of fiction.

Writer’s Note: For this week’s list, I wanted to be prepared for you special people. These are characters introduced IN THIS CONSOLE GENERATION. Meaning no Kratos, so don’t ask.

5. Nathan Drake

I don’t think that it’s a bold statement to say that that Nathan Drake has an obvious parallel in fiction. It only took one adventure for people to realize that Nathan Drake is the video game parallel to Indiana Jones. However, the connection to Dr. Jones is primarily in adventures experienced, and they partially share the same moral compass. However, Nathan Drake is a master thief, and also has quite possibly the worst luck of any human being to grace his respective universe. However, despite his status as a thief, you wouldn’t expect him to be masterful at anything. Many of his actions, like his movement, his speech, his clumsiness, and his snarky personality would lead one to believe that he’s simply the wrong person caught in the wrong situation. Then again, maybe he is. However, it’s not necessarily the adventures that define Nathan Drake, but rather the way he travels through them. In a way, Nathan’s emotions and reactions during the Uncharted games have been just as much of a rollercoaster as the stories that he has starred in.

4. Niko Bellic

Honestly, I couldn’t truly find a parallel to Niko Bellic in any other form of fiction. He’s a career criminal, a veteran of the Yugoslav wars, and a man out for vengeance. Though his physical appearance takes influence from a character inBehind Enemy Lines, he seems to be a wholly unique individual. However, what is it that makes Niko such a compelling character? Well, there are many elements to that equation. First is probably his cynicism. Though he does many of his jobs without question, he almost sees the world as if he’s looking through it, rather than simply looking at it. Despite the intentions of many people that he knows and meets, he knows that their intentions are hardly as complex as they lead on. Another thing that seems to define Niko is that, during the course of GTAIV, he seems like a man that’s on a bungee cord. Though he keeps trying to trudge forward toward his revenge, more and more people that he meets tend to keep pulling on that cord, trying to get him to realize the truths about revenge, and what it does to people.

3. Ezio Auditore de Firenze

Ezio has something in common with Niko in the fact that they both are looking for revenge. However, the similarities really end there. For Ezio, his story inAssassin’s Creed 2 is more along the lines of the old Shakespearean gimmick of something coming along and throwing a monkey wrench into someone’s life. In this case, Ezio finds out that he actually was born into a family of Assassins, and now has to take up his father’s work of battling the Templars. Though both the player and Ezio start off on a path of revenge, the twists and turns show that Ezio’s battles have a much deeper meaning for the nation of Italy, and as the challenges and effects grow, Ezio grows as a man over the course of many years. It’s an interesting tale of growth and responsibility, in contrast to Altair’s story which was both smaller in time frame (a time period of a year at best in comparison to the twenty in Ezio’s story) and of different theme. It’s an interesting narrative device to take every major step with a character in a game, and see exactly how he got from point A to point B not just in the aspect of his deeds, but of what gave him the motivation to do them.

2. John Marston

Unlike the previous character on this list, when the player first meets John Marston he is a man who is very much set in his ways. During the course of Red Dead Redemption, the player sees the game peel away the layers of John’s personality to find out who he really is at the core. Essentially, John is a man who sees himself as a former Robin Hood type character who has decided to leave his old life, taking his former gang leaving him to die as the obvious hint. However, even after he has a ranch, wife, and son, his life tends to come back to bite him. Throughout the game, we see John’s good intentions constantly clash with the things that he feels he needs to do to get what he needs. In a way, John’s moral compass seems like a walking contradiction, but that flaw adds to his character. Can a man willing to kill like Marston really be a good father? Can he really be a good man? These are questions often asked of him, and at the end are for the player to decide. Either way, he’s an amazing character.

1. Commander Shepard

Though there have been other characters in Bioware’s games that have had their personalities determined by player actions, Shepard stands out amongst them. Whether you play as a full Renegade, a full Paragon, or somewhere in the middle, Commander Shepard is still a badass. When I spoke of literary parallels earlier, Shepard is essential the Captain Jean Luc Picard of video games at the highs of Paragon, and at the renegade level is comparable to Han Solo. Honestly, it’s the stellar writing of Bioware’s staff that has made Shepard stand out amongst other characters of this generation. No matter what happens in the story, Shepard is still an incredibly brave, incredibly charismatic person to the point where former cremates compare him to a god. Granted, this is because he’s boned said crewmate silly and she may still be impressed, but the point stands. Due to everything that he can do, and has done up to the point of the Mass Effect games, Shepard is complex, tough, charismatic, and fun to play as, and easily takes the top spot of this list as the best leading man in this console generation.

Micah’s Musings – Truthfully, there are more than just five men in this console generation that have been introduced that are solid leading roles, and it was not easy to come up with this week’s list. However, in my eyes the difficulty is a good thing. Video games as a medium are learning how to make stories richer, and with many more interesting characters. Though it’s true that there are plenty of lamebrained, one-dimensional space marines, there are still some characters that stand out amongst the crowd as being well written and interesting. For every group of five ODST’s that nobody cares about in a short campaign, there’s at least one Altaïr Ibn La-Ahad.

Who would you put on your list of leading men this generation? Comment below and let us know.  No registration required to comment.

I banged Tali-Zorah like a snare drum.