10 Character faces we won't soon forget

"Cookie-cutter bodies and perfectly painted faces are a thing of the past. Instead, developers are making a point to flesh out distinctive, flawed and entirely fascinating protagonists. Sure, Nathan Drake and Lara Croft are admittedly attractive, but they don't stand out much among the crowd of other ideally proportioned and intentionally unblemished gaming icons.

Whether it's a crooked smile, a small scar, or a meaningful tattoo, these characters have been meticulously crafted to be hard to forget. We're not saying that having character makes one ugly. Instead, we are calling out and congratulating developers who don't simply look at their protagonists' visage as a collection of necessary parts.

Lucky for us, we were able to go straight to the source for several of these leading lads and ladies. We picked the brains of a handful of developers and dove into the process of creating each character from the ground up. Some even provided us with concept art. For those unable to participate, we instead provided our own musings as to why the particular character is memorable. Read on for the scoop. "

[Raf1k1]

No Master Chief?

Edit: This list can quite easily be improved.
Nathan Drake and Kratos should be added. I'd include the G-Man too.

I'm guessing it's more a list of the most unforgettable characters that are believable.

Edit2: Looking at the list again not all the characters are believable.
I think it needs to define what kind of characters it's listing since most unforgettable doesn't quite cut it.

[Frulond]

Solid Snake should be in the list

oh... and Nariko from heavenly Sword, Dante from Devil May Cry and Nathan Hale from Resistance 1 & 2

[socomnick]

Kratos = angry person, always angry for no reason, he makes sure to extend his words and roll his rs.

Nathan Drake = Average guy thats it nothing special oooo and a dirty clothing.

[hay]

Actually I forgot about most of the chars on the list.

[GWAVE]

That list was TERRIBLE. Kayne and Lynch? Whoever and Whoever #2 from Army of Two? Sam Fisher? Frank West?

What a horrible, horrible list.

[Hellsvacancy]

U lot must b on crack 4get about all that lot and add Mr 47, the main character from Manhunt (can u get any more badass) and of course Duke Nukem

Edit. Id also add Auron from FFX

[cranium]

I agree with Faelt. Solid Snake NEEDS to be on this list. This list is terrible. As stated above, Kratos would also be a nice adittion since he stands out so much .

[La Chance]

Vivi from Final Fantasy 9.

[umair_s51]

I disagree, the list needs Solid Snake

[a_squirrel]

I'm thinking, helghast, master chief, how about some stormtroopers?

[DevastationEve]

...it's funny but I'm ALWAYS quoting Niko Bellic's lines from GTA IV. He's so much better than the guy you play as in GTA III who just took orders and barely nodded his head and stuff.

But it's the chief who's put a face to gaming this gen :)

10: Nariko
9: Nathan Drake
8: Marcus Fenix
7: Niko Bellic
6: Solid Snake
5: Samus Aran
4: Mario
3: Big Daddy
2: Commander John Shepard
1: John 117 AKA "Master Chief"

[pure pwnage24]

why the hell would you add Master Chief if all you see is his helmet and not his face?

as soon as I saw this, I thought of Solid Snake being on here but this article is BS

[Christopher]

Yeah, list isn't very good overall.

The real list would include Mario & Luigi, Zelda, Snake, Samus, Kratos and many others way before Kane & Lynch, Army of Two, Mirror's Edge, Splinter Cell Conviction, and Left 4 Dead 2, and Call of Duty 4. I gotta laugh at the FPS faces on the list considering the games focus less on recognizing faces and more on shooting anything that moves from afar.

[DevastationEve]

I added Samus Aran too, but you didn't complain about her...

Fine, Shepard's number one. He's mucho commando!

edit:

I get 5 disagrees above because of the placement :) It's a list, everybody has to take a number b!tches...

Hey at least I'm not like the fanboy below who says 1-4 should be all characters from one game...

[hulk_bash1987]

Kratos is angry for no reason?? lol umm you obviously haven't played the game. He was manipulated by Ares to kill his wife and daughter, used and than betrayed by the gods, and later finds out Zeus, the god behind his downfall, is his father, I don't know about you but that would kind of get under my skin, haha.

Nathan Drake, an average guy with a dirty shirt. agreed. But he's such a likable character, and definitely one that's unforgettable this gen so far.

[Raf1k1]

Kratos is angry for a reason and Nathan Drake's dirty clothes are dirty for a reason too unlike so many characters who are always spotless no matter how much crap they go though.

[Ninji]

This seems like a list of forgettable characters, not UNforgettable characters.

[meepmoopmeep]

this list needs to be broadened
a lot of missing characters

[Timesplitter14]

And a lot af characters with generic, everyday faces too.

Sam Fisher has a memorable face? Since when? He's got the typical average soldier face.
Army of Two guys? Are they kidding?
Heavy Rain girl? What the hell, we only saw a couple of videos.

Same thing for people who are suggesting Nathan Drake. His personality is unique, yes, but his face isn't at all.

[socomnick]

These seem to be the most memorable characters this gen. They arent necessarily badass or likeable but you sure as hell remember them. If thats the criteria then yea this list is spot on because i remembered all of these characters by game and by name.

[BlackTar187]

Come on you remember the Army of two guy?

the Captain pierce from cod 4 and i played it like 10x and i dont remember the guy to much

The boring characters from L4d give me a break some were good
like Gears and Sam and kane and lynch gay but i wont forget them

The chick from Heavy rain who we know nothing about lol

Whatever though i like the avatar I hate those kids.

[socomnick]

I remembered rios because of the mask and his personality. I dont remember the other guy.

[hulk_bash1987]

finds any unforgettable character list, where alot of PS3 game characters are snubbed, to be a great list.

[kaveti6616]

Ironically, I had completely forgotten about all of the characters on that list except Marcus Fenix, who I don't really think much about anyway.

[gamejediben]

WHERE THE FLYING FOCK IS SOLID SNAKE!!!!!?????????

[Babypuncher]

Agreed, but i would much rather see the B&B Corps. Raging Raven, Laughing Octopus, Crying Wolf, and Screaming Mantis. they should be on the list numbers 1-4

[Saaking]

Did Marcus say anything other than fuk in the entire game? I don't think he's that unique.

[Nelson M]

You Scruffy Lookin HasBeen Hobo Degenerate
If a Saw Sam Fisher in the street i'd throw him some loose change and i'd ask him if he's that guy outa Bumfights

[BreakNeckSpeed]

Your one to talk nelson. You can't really talk about appearances you were born out your moms ass.

[table]

Lara Croft is actually memorable... for her big tities

[Nitrowolf2]

lol almost all those character ive forgotten
where is snake?
where is the god of war?

[Double Toasted]

...

[DiffusionE]

IMO, Capt. Price seems to be the only deserving face in that list. The author should have written "...I won't soon forget." instead of "we".

[Reibooi]

With the exception of Sam Fisher I would say most if not all of those characters are completely forgettable.

[Stately Gentleman]

Instead of choosing the most memorable the writer seemed to have chosen realistic instead. Most of the characters on that list have average faces. Seriously, who would tell me that Sam Fisher doesn't look like an average 40 year old? List needs some definite improvement.

[arsenal55]

lol... worst list ive ever seen

[itchy18]

it's coming from Gameinformer website! what an horrible list!

[Etseix]

em..... all the MGS characters are unforgettable

what.. just.. happened with this list?

a... y better chenge the article name to *characters i remember AND NOT U ALL*

;)

[Coolmanrico]

I find the list ok. Everyone saying the characters are forgettable when really it the games that people are forgetting. Expect for the character I never seen before, I knew the name of each character the moment i saw the photos. I'll have to agree with some that Kratos should be added. I never played God of War, but his face is hard to forget.

[HDgamer]

Where is mario, even in death we can't forget him. He's the grimreaper.

[Tony P]

Weird subject. This is of course entirely subjective:

I like the Sam Fisher inclusion. I think he started off pretty cookie cutter. But he grew nicely. Maybe if Rockstar had done something less drastic like the grizzled hairy Fisher, they wouldn't be catching so much flak over the balding, heavy set guy that's supposed to be Payne. I have never played a single Splinter Cell, but the impression remains, oddly.

Another face I can't easily forget is Heather of Silent Hill 3. For a PS2, the devs managed to capture emotion in her face very well.

Andrew Ryan of Bioshock. They did a great job of making this guy larger than life throughout the game. So when you finally confront him, the impression of the man and his ideas are very lasting.

[Dead_Cell]

He's a blank slate superhuman,there is not the slightest hint of personality or anything worth remembering bar the fact he destroys anything that moves,no thank you.
Kane and Lynch should win it in my opinion. Whether you liked the game or not they were both entertaining characters based on the simple fact they hated each other and were so mercilessly dysfunctional.

[RunsFromRobots]

Please bear in mind I'm a PC gamer:

1. Duke Nukem
2. G-Man from Half-Life
3. Agent 47 from Hitman
4. Niko Belic from GTA4
5. Riddick from The Chronicles of Riddick
6. Marcus Fenix from Gears of War
7. Kane from Command & Conquer
8. Geralt from The Witcher
9. Norton Mapes from F.E.A.R.
10. Daniel Garner from Painkiller

[vShinobi]

They missed:

-Solid Snake
-Raiden
-Kratos
-Dominic Santiago
-Cole McGrath
-Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko
-Master Chief

[Ravage27]

The look on Sev's face when he was staring at Garza's coffin was imo the best sorrowful expression by a video game character. It's pretty hard to forget...

[tiamat5]

First of all for the person that said Kratos was angry for no reason if you believe being covered with the ashes of your dead family, tortured and tormented, manipulated by the Gods and being killed twice is nothing to be angry about you are messed up. Second I agree, Kratos should be there. Anyone who looked at Kratos's scowling face close up would agree. I mean Marcus Phenix? He has the same square chined, rock faced, ugly cigar chewing face that every other character before him had. But if we are talking bad guys faces here I would have to put the Helgast and The Chimera up there. Looking at a Chimera's face after I kill it gives me the chills.

[Cajun Chicken]

I was happy until I read up to Marcus Fenix. Jeez, anyone remember that film 'Small Soldiers'?

[sloth3395]

Link should be up there since everyone knows who he is