IGN: Top 10 Most Overrated Videogame Characters

A few weeks ago IGN Stars ran a poll asking the readers which videogame characters they felt were overrated. The voters turned out in droves to lay judgment on some of the most popular gaming heroes, if apparently not the best and brightest.

When the dust settled, it was clear who you felt should be taken down a peg.

[Elven6]

I'm not sure I agree with some of these choices,

[gamesmaster]

top 10 overrated gaming websites?

guess who's my number one...

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

Master Chief definitely deserved the #1 spot.

[JOLLY1]

It was a poll. Why are you blaming the site? Since it was a poll, all of the ps3 fans reported for duty. Hee Hee duty

[Elven6]

I wouldn't say Master Chief is gamings #1 most overrated, I think more people know who Sonic and Mario are then Master Chief.

[C_SoL]

and Kratos is the most badass. Even Solid Snake doesn't have nothing on him, I think.

[Mindboggle]

I dont know where to start with list, i just cant get why any of them deserve the tag overrated. I could give you a list of reasons why Bioshock, Sonic, tomb radier, halo etc are overrated but not the characters themselves.

[RememberThe357]

No one.

[ZuperAmazingCooKie]

Master Chief has no personality at all, he should have gotten the main story pic. *Looks who published the story; remembers his agenda; sees what happened*

[gamesmaster]

ign wrote exactly why they they are overrated underneath each game character...

[sofresh200]

I thought Cloud Strife would be number one easily.

[UltraNova]

How about we make our own poll huh?

Ok here's the question:

In a man to man fight between Master Chief VS Kratos with full powers/weapons who do you think will emerge victorious?

Two rules here people, elaborate based on their character and abilities ( just to make things more...'logical').

And no fan boy sh**! Just your honest opinion, this is just for fun after all...

[ExcelKnight]

Mega Man isn't on the list, so I'm cool.

[Lifendz]

when Marcus Fenix and Master Chief were both rated higher on the list.

[Rainstorm81]

clearly in the headline it says...
"Who did you pick to join Kratos and Lara in fan jail?"
Kratos #6 Lara #2

Dare they say Master Chief or Marcus Fenix in the headline. Ign is clearly console bias. Bias and Media shouldnt even be in the same sentence but hey guess they are modeling themselves after FOX news.

Im sure IGN had a set list of characters for readers to vote on like majority of thier polls.

BTW WHY IS KRATOS HIGHER THAN DONKEY KONG?!?! WTF
WHERE IS MARIO?? GAMING'S LITTLE WHORE

[skottey]

While I do like God of War, I am sick of hearing about him. So he belongs on the list.

On the other hand, I DO NOT feel Master Chief belongs on the list. I never really felt over saturated with him. From playing Halo with my wife offline to playing Halo 2 online multiplayer and to Halo 3, I never felt badly towards Master Chief. If he is so overrated, why are they making a movie about him? I am pretty sure the Halo movie is supposed to be about the Master Chief, and I know most of the kids that say he is overrated will pack the theaters to see him. Of course there are the PS3 fanboys that hate what he has done to the console multiplayer online gaming world (100,000 on Halo 3 at any given time still, two thousand people on Killzone 2) People keep going back to Halo 3. People love the Master Chief!

[thor]

Skottey I must disagree.

Master Chief rarely speaks and doesn't even have a face ffs. We all know that the _reason_ characters wear helmets in many games is to make the game look better than it is, since faces take up a lot of polygonal/texture detail. With the limited resources of the original Xbox, it helped keep poly counts for characters low.

I would also put Gordan Freeman on the list, I mean he's not even a character. In fact, most FPS stars have little character because you are the one playing as them, so the only insight you get is during cutscenes. Master Chief is almost as bland as Sev from KZ2.

I also totally agree about generic, "badass" characters being on the list. Totally unoriginal, there's just no point in them being there. Why can't we have more characters like Nathan Drake, Solid Snake? There you have characters with actual depth and actual weaknesses, not people who are completely emotionally detatched and just want to kill everything they see. Kratos and Marcus Fenix are god-awful characters - can you relate to them? No. Do you think you'd get on with them if you met them? No. Do they have an interesting personality? No. Does their character add anything to the game? NO!

[ThanatosDMC]

I agree so much about Chris Redfield. Too much steroids. Remember the scene with him beating on a rock? Yeah, wtf, right? Leon wouldnt need help and he owns just by himself. Anyone watched the movie, Degeneration? Yeah, the government send one guy to take care of the zombie out break, including a G-virus monster. Leon didnt even flinch.

HAHAHAH! Sonic... so true... way over rated and they still keep making games about him but they just fail.

Oh yeah, why doesnt Sheva freak out in front of monstrosities she's never encountered before? I mean, wtf?! She treats them like she's seen these before and she talks about "her people" but there's no emotional attachments about slaughtering them.

Btw, im sad that so and so died at the end. Though they didnt show a body, i hope so and so is still alive. Yep, no spoiler.

(Good thing Dante wasnt on the list... i'd be pissed!)

[Tony P]

The choices don't really bother me, but wtf is the criteria? Coolness? I can't really disagree or agree. It's a bit hard to criticise proofs like "he wears a goofy tie".

[Aquanox]

It was voted by the community. Obviously, the PS fanboys voted for both Marcus and Masterchief.

Hard to find a nearly as iconic character in Sony`s camp though.

[Giriath]

Put your glasses on Xbot, Snake's camoflague isn't all that impressive. Master Chief and Cortana are indeed iconic characters.

[BWS1982]

you always speak as if you are totally unbiased and objective. Fanboys of any circle are obnoxious, can't you be above that?

[Cajun Chicken]

"Why he's overrated: Speaking of 'roid rage, check out this loser. Marcus Fenix is the kind of muscle-bound buffoon that makes even guys like Kratos seem like introspective philosophers.
His personality consists entirely of grunting, shouting, and shooting. As much as Epic Games has tried to fool gamers by licensing tie-in novels and comic books, we all know the truth. There is no real story to be had for Marcus in Gears of War, aside from arm up, take aim and go on a bug hunt. It's all about big men with bigger guns shooting generic aliens over and over again. Calling Marcus Fenix one of the definitive gaming characters of the current generation is technically accurate, but also misleading. There isn't any real character to be had here."

Couldn't of said it finer myself. I know the truth anyway. And just to say, I really like Master Chief in the Halo games, I like his platonic relationship between him and Cortana and...bless his soul 'Sarge. It should be the Halo film that was green lighted ages ago, not Gears.

[PirateThom]

I don't like the Halo games, but the mythology is really, really good.

The story in Gears is paper thin. It's going to make a terrible movie.

[Cajun Chicken]

Oh yeah, the whole 'Great Journey' mistranslation gets me everytime, in fact, I feel sorry for the Covenant for getting the wrong end of the stick, the Covenant don't seem to be PURE EVIL, they're just misguided, selfish and stubborn and you still can identify with them at times.
I happen to like the Halo series but I feel the multiplayer made people forget about what the actual game is about; the campaign and the characters, but the Gears series, jeez, I KNOW Epic can do MUCH better easily. I blame Cliffy B. I just can't tolerate the lameness of them.

[No Way]

I think a movie wouldn't be that bad, actually. Especially for action junkies.

That is, if they do the movie right..

[Why o why]

??

[Miraak82]

mario maybe, but links stories and games are just too great to be overrated , I dissagree with Kratos on the list though, aside from the action in GoW series its like reading a great book and I'm glad they'll end it at GoW3

[HDgamer]

Mario is the biggest whore. He has so many shovel ware games from the n64 all the way to the game cube. Mario Party 68.

[Cheeseknight28]

Come back when you learn what "shovelware" means. Until then, go back to grade school where you need to be.

[skottey]

I am a 33 year old gamer and pretty much grew out of Mario. It is a toss up if he should be on the list to me because at least Nintendo mixed it up a little and created Wario and the Mario based games are probably the most diverse from each other of any series. You have the standard Mario Bros (Before Super Mario for you young kids) with the platforms, turtles, crabs, etc, Mario from Donkey Kong the original, etc. Then you have the Super Mario world of course but then they have put him in Smash Bros, Mario Tennis and other sports games, Mario cart. They are not just all the same game rehashed. Most series, it is the same type of game. If it is a shooter, it is always a shooter with that character. At least Mario has done different things. He is just symbolic of Nintendo and they'd be crazy to scrap him ever. He is like Mickey Mouse is to Disney. Mario represents Nintendo.

As far as Link, I really don't think he has shown his face too much. Although his appearance is mostly the same type of game, with few exceptions. I haven't played a Zelda game in a while, although I have his staple Wii game. It has been collecting dust for a couple years, on my list of games to play.

[DarthTigra]

Why was Kratos chosen as the main pic??? It should have been who they picked to be number 1 .

[xlx-russ_92]

bloodmask posted this.

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

Because Bloodmask submitted this. Read his blogs, he's the biggest 360 fanboy on N4G.

[Bathyj]

Then why should we read his blogs?

If I want to kill brain cells I'll drink.

[Cheeseknight28]

The only place that you can kill brain cells on N4G is in the comments section.

[Agent VX]

Only on N4G will you get a bunch of pimple popping teenie boppers complaining about which character they use to display the article.

Bahahahaha!!!! Thanks boys, I needed this. It is nice to see that their are far bigger losers out there than myself.

Back to real criticism, this article sucked because they just took the most popular characters and said they are overrated. This is what happens when you get fanboys voting, complete ignorance.

[skottey]

I think it is because of all those games, God of War III is on everybody's mind in anticipation of the game coming out at some point, hopefully soon. The other ones shown either have recent games out or not as much excitement for their game coming out soon. GOWIII is expected to sell like hotcakes. I'll buy it. I am still finishing the first game and have GOWII on my to play list and it is sitting on the dusty shelf. So I am in no rush for GOWIII.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Love how Bloodmask chose to use Kratos as the pic even tho he was #6

[HDgamer]

[sarcasm]And I thought Blood Mask was really a gamer[/sarcasm]

[solidjun5]

lol.

We all know Bloodmask is first and foremost a true ga..m...e...r.]

Sorry, I just can't lie like that.

[Sitdown]

First off...can you really say certain character's are overhyped after only one game?.....which a lot of the characters I feel have not really carried hype. Second...are we sure we are not confusing hype with the respective game, and not necessarily the character? And the list can go on...

[Dark General]

Where the f**k is Gordon Freeman? You know the silent protagonist with absolute ZERO personality and that's a mindless puppet.

[HDgamer]

I don't think Gordon is overrated. That would be saying Sam Fisher, Mr. No personality, should be on that list.

[Dark General]

Sam Fisher at least TRIES in my opinion to have a few worthy lines of dialog. Like trying to save that chick at the end of Double Agent.

Gordan Freeman just seems like a puppet being lead on strings throughout all the games. He never has an opinion on anything, any type of internal dialog or anything. No body language nothing. He just sort of does stuff without questioning or anything.

[Cenobia]

But you can derive Gordon's personality from the people around him. The way they talk to him and treat him, etc. Plus his backstory.

If you want him to have dialogue, it's too late. No matter what voice they give him its going to feel lame. Gordon is better off silent.

Plus you kind of super-impose your own personality over him. Without actual responses from the person who's eyes you look through, you are forced to form your own responses.

Also, every FPS game ever made pulls you with strings (except maybe games like Deus Ex).

[Dark General]

Which is why Deus Ex is my pinnacle of fps gaming. Deep, multi paths, awesome characters etc. It was and still is to me what games COULD be. More than just a game, push the envelope on things you do and what you think. Just look at the ending there was no real good or bad ending. Only what YOU personally thought was good for humankind. Powerful.

I know what you're saying but generally i just get the feeling he's just a "Yes man". Most of the dialog is throwaway as you meet people since they usually just want you to do something take out this or that etc. And i know you're supposed to superimpose your will or whatever onto Gordon but that simply does not work for me. It's not as entrenching as Deus Ex in which what you actually choose to do effects things and effects how people view you. For Gordon he's just kind of doing these things. Same for Chell in Portal.

[Cenobia]

Well...he is technically still under the employ of the G-Man....

"The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes."

It's pretty clear that his destiny (or puppet strings) is to screw sh!t up. I guess I can just except that he's being led around because its kind of part of the storyline.

[Dark General]

See if he had a voice, some type of personality it wouldn't be so bad. But really it's just him doing things without so much of an opinion. A questioning, his personal agenda etc. I get that it's his "destiny" or something like that to do what he's doing. But his personality, character traits aren't really there. Makes him feel like a shallow and hallow character.

With Chell due to her surroundings and her being pretty much a lab rat i can see why she's trying to escape. But damn it i still would have loved for her to have a voice.

[villevalorox]

I think this is a good list over all, I do not agree with all of their choices but who will? It subjective.

[NegativeCreep427]

But since he took the coveted top spot as the Most Overrated videogame character, There is no need to call B.S. on this article.

[callahan09]

I thought it was a pretty good list.

Next up: most under-rated! My pick? Guybrush Threepwood!

[Cajun Chicken]

Kurt Hectic

[Dark General]

I loved MDK2. Max was always my personal favorite out of the 3 of them. A cigar smoking, gun totting robotic dog with 6 arms. That's pretty badassed in my book.

[Dragun619]

Chris Redfield looks like he went to the gym with the cast of Gears of War. Seriously, was he that depressed that he couldn't save Jill that he had punished himself by like benching 400lb everyday or what? Leon S. Kennedy takes the Los Ganados in RE4 and he did it without a partner and Steroid arms. Seriously, though why did Capcom decide to give Chris such big arms. He looked great before.
http://i21.photobucket.com/...
http://matteomazzali.files....

[Aclay]

I agree with 2 game characters on this list being overrated, but that's about it.

When Lara first came on the scene and became popular, I don't think that she was an overrated character back then, but since the Tomb Raider series took a slide downhill since the "glory days" of the series and Uncharted clearly puts a Tomb Raider game to shame in my opinion, and I'd say she's a little overrated now.

I wasn't surprised to see MasterChief at Number 1 though, lol... but I was surprised to see Marcus Fenix and Kratos... to me they definantly aren't overrated.... I mean at least you get to see their face unlike a certain other game character :)

[xabmol]

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

/Inigo Montoya(Princes Bride)

[bigboss911]

"My name is Inigo Montoya, YOU killed my father, prepare to die!"
(Bad guy turns and runs away) I never thought I would see a Princes Bride reference on here. bubbles for the laugh

[Whitefox789]

I didn't think I would see a Princess Brides reference either bubbles for both of you

[News4fanboys]

NO!
IGN is overrated.

[swiftshot93]

Altair? Kratos? Big Daddy?

If these characters do not define "bad ass", then I really want to see what character does.

[PirateThom]

One thing I took from the article... it's time to bring back Alex Kidd.

[Insanium]

Where. The f*ck. Is Cloud? And Sephiroth, for that matter.

Donkey Kong? No. Pac-Man? No. Laura Croft? Not really.

[Delive]

ALL Credibility is lost from the jump.

[Bathyj]

Finally, a list Halo deserves to be on top of. I've known trees with more personality than MC.

But Kratos? HA. The Dude kills Gods, he's on his own level, not even bothering with the petty squabbles like alien invasion us mortals participate in.

Under Bigger, Better, More Bad Assed, in the dictionary it says 1. What Gears of War whats to be, 2. Kratos.

[Etseix]

lol i knew kratos would be there, still, i never wanted to play GOW series, dunno why, then one time i just bought the psp one (chains of olympus) and well, i finished the other 2 too, lol, all i need to say is that i dont think at all hes overrated, just cuz hes a kill-machine like Chuck Norris?, lol he do it in a awsome way anyway :P

[younglj01]

may pick for tha most overrated character goes to GAMERS hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[Microsoft_Spokesman]

I love how Bloodmask puts a picture of Kratos for the article (who's #6). Yet Master Chief is the most overrated.

[rawd]

That's what happens when you eat that much semen on a daily basis

[No Way]

Is it really that big of a deal.. really?

[Microsoft_Spokesman]

WTF, you're acting like I posted this on every thread, topic and new post on N4G. I was just pointing that out, kid.

[No Way]

Yes. It's stupid to put him as the picture, since, as you pointed out (of course) MC is rated number one(1).

But, we all know Blademask. There is no reason to point it out, we all know, and it's not even that big of a deal.. So, why worry about it?

[macalatus]

My fellow Sony gamers, aka the "real gaming enthusiasts", this IGN article definitely speaks the truth. It is quite unfortunate, however, that IGN had to play "political correctness" when it came to analyzing Master Chief's effect on 360 fanboys, aka "misguided children of the video game industry".

It is a known social epidemic that 360 fanboys always dream about Master Chief personally popping their cherries. However, the "Master Chief" syndrome goes beyond than that, as 360 fanboys tend to have horribly wrong social lives. You can find this big difference when you compare PSN and Xbox Live users. In PSN, gamers talk about real gaming topics such as memorable gaming moments, artistic game graphics, awesome movies, and good clan camaraderie. Xbox Live users, on the other hand, tend to say "I love Master Chief" while at the same time discussing bank robberies, art of smoking weed, "enhanced" game graphics from the use of acid, sniffing glue, "jail bait" conquests, and much more.

How can this thing happen, you ask? Well, it's simple. People with far lower IQ than your average, retarded dog will tend to like Master Chief. Why do people with inferior intelligence fall for Master Chief is something I cannot explain, as it is a "secret technology" patented by greedy Microsoft. It is no wonder that 360 users end up being social deviants.

[ambientFLIER]

...

that was a waste of time to write AND to read.

[macalatus]

My fellow Sony gamers, ambientflier is another irrefutable proof of the Master Chief epidemic sweeping the 360 populace. As you can clearly see, ambientflier's low IQ prevents him from fully understanding the English language. Due to his low IQ and education, he finds reading and writing a waste of time.

But lo and behold! Ambientflier can surely appreciate Master Chief as Halo was and would always be meant for gamers who are "forever" 10-year olds!

[JAllard]

Quite a piece. My hat off to you sir. (Yes, I do have a hat, I just have no hair on my head.)

[No Way]

You needa get a life brother. Weather that be a job, girl, or actually playing some games.. =/

[GiantEnemyCrab]

How predictable and not a tiny bit surprising for IGN or the readership there. Agreed with you #19.. WTF is with gamers this gen?

[WengYong]

this generation definitely spawned the worst gamers in history. Its all a big p*nis swinging competition, and all of them are small !!!!

[L-a-i-n]

All gaming sites are like that including this one. Gamers are not evolving they are taking huge steps backwards. I agree with most of the characters on the list. I 100% agree with Master Chief and the entire Halo series kind of tired of being force fed that they are both so great. Halo 1 was good 2-3 were complete rubbish in my opinion.

350ZRunner - Anybody that says Final Fantasy 7 characters are over-rated are out of their mind! It is the only RPG to date that captured the world in its story telling and characters.

This is all just my opinion for what it is worth. To each their own! As long as you enjoy what you play who cares about anybody else.

[Whitefox789]

I hear you man with Final Fantasy Seven I could relate to Cloud in the manner of not knowing what I really am or who I'm pretending to be

[devilhunterx]

Shouldnt the MC picture be up there?

[Gun_Senshi]

and tardmask uses number 6 as pic to piss of "Sony fans" and real gamers.

Still at it I see.

[gladiatory2k]

I was hoping Mario would be on the list. I mean the guy jumps on stuff and eats shrooms. Not to mention how many titles bear Mario's mug.

[free2game365]

God Of War is really over-rated imo, it's combat has no depth and it relies too heavily on QTEs

[I am Legend]

they took the best of the best of gaming.

[MidNite]

Come on Kratos, Chris Redfield, Marcus Fenix, Big Daddy and Master Chief should be no where near that list, if that's the case where is Solid Snake, Mario and Crash Bandicoot?

[ShabzS]

come on the guys is so cute and dangerous at the same time.. when i see him trolling around i dont know weather to give him a hug or shoot him with shotgun in his face !!

[The_Zeitgeist]

Come on...Big Daddy? Really?
I have to say I disagree with that 100%
Marcus Fenix? (Sony fans must of voted that one on the list)
Master Chief? LOL HAHA

[GarandShooter]

and the 360 fans must have voted Kratos...

[The_Zeitgeist]

Let me clarify. I was laugh that Master Chief was on there because i agree with it. Me no Xbox fan boy. Me like PS3, PS2, GameCube and PC.

[GarandShooter]

It's all good. Me playem both systems. You were right about Marcus, and I was adding to it. These polls draw the haters.

[Don_Frappucino]

So they put Sonic and Pac Man in there and forgot about Mario. WTF

[italianbreadman]

This should have been a Top 5; the top 5 made sense, but 6-10 were retarded choices.

[XLiveGamer]

It was a poll guys. Did you guys notice that Donkey Kong is #10?

Sorry but apparently people or PS gamers don't get it. Master Chief, a surgically enhanced super soldier who is one of the last surviving members of the SPARTAN Project, and one of humanity's greatest warriors. Master Chief its a Cyborg and a cyborg is a cybernetic organism (i.e., an organism that has both artificial and natural systems) and that cyborg in the game its YOU. That its why he don't talk or leave a piece of evidence to let you know who he really is in the Halo Universe when you play the game and that is the thing about western video game design this days they are creating games where you are the character not their super hero.

[cyrus228]

game is fun but he's an idiot

he's mad at the gods because he killed his own family....right kratos blame everyone else.

and i dont care if he was in a blind rage, when isnt he?. if aries cud brain wash him then why didn't he so kratos didnt kill him?

the story is retarded, he just goes murdering everything, its just fun doing it.

he's not bad ass, he's just an angry man, does that make a seriel killer badass? no. i hate kratos sorry lol, who puts all their power into a sword then loses it, LOL freakin moron

[farhsa2008]

why the hate for chris redfield, just cos he got big muscles and has a partner now, its not his fault the game developers decided to make the game harder with tougher enemies, I think chris and leon are both great characters

[click 2 get virus]

they 4got about niko from gta4

[ShabzS]

cj is much more over rated than niko...

[TenSteps]

tommy is much more overrated than cj

[xdye017]

Were's solid snake ;)?

[patterson]

I have to say, that list is exactly how I would have written it. And the comments were spot on! lol

There was some funny commentary.

The only thing I would've included was Mario, but hey nothings perfect.

[hotrider12]

N4G.COM is highly overrated!!!

[JeepGamer]

I could go through each character and explain why they should, or should not, be on a top 10 list of over rated characters but really I can sum it up more easily.

Any list of over rated characters that doesn't include Dante, Ryu (N. Gaiden), and particularly characters from Final Fantasy 7 is a failure.

[no-spin]

So basically with time every great game becomes overrated and average?

IGN is so full of sht

[JAllard]

Where on Earth is Mario?

As a Microsoft boss, I agree that Chief sucks ass big time, but Mario sucks a hundred times more, Link probably half as much. But then again, these characters are brainkids of Myahomo, the genius of retards. It is a well-known fact that this planet is full of retards, it should come as no surprise that Myahomo is such an idol, worshipped by all Wiitards alike.

Xbotists are one level ahead of Wiitards, but still far behind the superior Sony enthusiast species.

Anyway, IGN, I like you, but next time try to be just a bit rational and put Mario and the gay elf kid where they belong.

Sony FTW!
J. Allard

[jack who]

sum how Mario isnt on that list = fail

[PS360PCROCKS]

So basically the point was to pick the most popular games and say the characters are over-rated? uh-huh...

Oh and the dude doing the "commentary" was such an ass. People with big arms do roids? I lift weights 5 days a week, and I most certainly don't do steroids for my "guns"

[Mr Face Creamer]

A developer makes a character for people to enjoy, not websites to criticize.

Marcus Fenix/Big Daddy/ Altair/ Master Chief/ Chris Redfield are overrated...?

What about Mario, you could have wrote 5 complete pages of how much Mario is overrated.

Or how about Zelda or Gordon Nopersonalityman?

[Hobadoon]

I was not expecting to see... What in the hell? And that was IGN???

[arsenal55]

glad to see master chief is number 1

[Phoxx Bot]

soild snakef is not there? HA

[koouunn]

this list suks. this is y i dont like ign. how can u make fun of pac man, donkey kong. for shame

[thrashermario]

master chief because of all of his little penis sucking xbots, and yes trey 4 life f u xbox 3shity has no games for 09 $box 360 die

[Skizelli]

A list constructed by fanboys so more fanboys can bicker about it. Ironic.

[gamingparadise]

I LOLed at the Sonic one. Sonic is like kicking crippled war veterans out of their wheelchair. BTW, no offense to war veterans. Anyways, the list was full of laughs.