Top 10 Most Annoying Video Game Protagonists
It wasn’t that long ago when interesting video game characters were about as rare as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. We knew they existed, but it was difficult to find proof of these mythical creatures outside of the occasional appearance in the odd video game. Thankfully, the gaming industry has grown, and, as it continues to evolve, the graphics have become crisper, the polygon counts bigger, the stories more engrossing, and the characters more empathetic. Unfortunately, there’s still no shortage of awful characters who at the very least prove this industry has a long way to go. At their worst, they can make you want to shut off your console and go to that mysterious place outside your gaming den/living room/bedroom called the outdoors .
Sam B. (Dead Island)
How do you follow up one of the most memorable and emotionally devastating trailers of all time? How about by giving us an unpolished game with some of the most unforgettable characters imaginable. I particularly remember Sam B. because of how incredibly stereotypical his character was. His devil-may-care attitude, mountains of bling, consistently angry demeanor, and his association with one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard (check out “Who Do You Voodoo” if you don’t mind your ears bleeding) made him the most unlikeable character in the game. And that’s saying something when one of the people in Dead Island was a certifiably insane colonel.
The Survivors (Dead Rising)
I almost gave this spot to Frank West, because I find his smug attitude and desire to look more and more like Dan Aykroyd annoying, but that would be irresponsible. You see, there are far worse characters in the Dead Rising series, and the worst offenders by far are the survivors you come across throughout the game. I’ll freely admit I’m not a big fan of the series as a whole, since Dead Rising is entirely made up of the two things I thoroughly despise about video games—escort missions and time limits—but when you add awful A.I. on top of the former, you have a recipe for disaster. My time trying to escort the survivors to safety consisted of me constantly saving them from zombies because they apparently can’t do that well enough themselves, waiting for them to catch up to me after they lag behind, or watching as the buffoons stand still in a writhing mob of the undead, unable to figure out where to go.
Arcadia Maximille (NeverDead)
NeverDead is not a good game. It’s passable if you have no other way to spend an evening, but even then, it’s more of an endurance test than a game. It’s also sprinkled with some of the strangest and most forgettable characters I’ve ever had the displeasure to meet. The worst offender is Arcadia, Bryce’s butt-kicking female companion who doesn’t laugh at your jokes, make any of her own, or really offer any entertainment whatsoever. She’s a no-nonsense woman with a mission and the drive to see that mission completed as quickly and efficiently as possible. In most games, there wouldn’t necessarily be anything wrong with that, but the problem is she’s in a quirky, wacky world and her partner is Dante-lite demon hunter Bryce. What I’m trying to say is Arcadia has about as much personality as a store mannequin and her side mission is to suck out what little humor there is in NeverDead like a humor-hating black hole.