The Top Ten Greatest Video Game Villains

By James Hawkins in Lists!
Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 10:30 am
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The Most Evil
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Great narratives often involve great villains. In the video game world, it is our job to defeat these champions of evil before they carry out their diabolical plans. From powerful moguls of industry to robots with a few screws loose, the video game villains' styles and stories are as varied as they are compelling. And if it weren't for the bad guys, the good guys wouldn't be nearly as interesting. With all this considered, I give you Joystick Division's list of the most memorable, villainous, and inspiring baddies in video game history. Would you kindly enjoy?



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Meet the Queen of Blades
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10. Sarah Kerrigan StarCraft
"At this point I'm pretty much Queen Bitch of the Universe. And not all your little soldiers and space ships can stop me."
Sarah Kerrigan reigns supreme as the most horrifying villainess of all time. She has the resume to prove it, too. Not only is she a manipulative and treasonous turncoat, she has a deep murderous streak, unmatched psychic abilities, and a horde of Zerg at her command. Brought up as a psychic specialist Ghost soldier, she quickly negotiated the Terran power structure until she found herself as second-in-command of the Sons of Korhal, a powerful anti-Confederacy program. After being betrayed on a mission and left for dead, she was captured by the creatures of the Overmind and her genetic material was blended with the Zerg's. Using her hybrid-race abilities, she was able once again to work herself into upper management, acquiring a large portion of the Swarm for her disposal. From there, all Hell was cast down upon her enemies and those who abandoned her.
Most Memorable Moment:  On the planet Char, the Zerg-bred Kerrigan is revealed. Fitted with blade-adorned wings and exoskeleton-dreadlocks, she is nothing to mess with -- ready to eviscerate anything that comes near her.


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Rage against this machine.
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9. GLaDOS Portal
"Killing you and giving good advice aren't mutually exclusive."
Sometimes, villains hide their true colors by trying to be your friend. Self-aware super-computer, GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System), does this in the loosest sense possible. Created by Aperture Science in Black Mesa, GLaDOS is in charge of running the Portal Gun test course, and she has some sinister motives in mind.  Unfortunately, her inability to disguise these motives doesn't make her the best undercover killer. She dictates objectives in the test subject's physics-defying challenge, attempting to bring an end to the test subject's life on nearly every level. By way of tongue-in-cheek comments, GLaDOS is a prime example of how hilarity and omnipresence can be strong weapons in a villain's arsenal. And we can't wait for her potential glorious return in Portal 2.
Most Memorable Moment: So as not to expose the ending for those who haven't played it, I'll go with when GLaDOS shows off her vocal range, singing "Still Alive" at the top of her sweet, iron lungs...


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I Vant to Suck your Blood!
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8. Dracula Castlevania Series
"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!"
You know, some guys won't leave you alone. Dracula, in his many different forms, has bothered Castlevania protagonists for years upon years. But persistence is key, and Dracula certainly has that. While he began as a vanilla bad dude, his presence in the games over the years has fleshed him out into a heinous, soul-stealing bastard. His usual form of bother is to kidnap someone dear the the hero, and force the hero to come trek through the vast castle reaches. That is where he springs upon the somewhat suspecting victim and you, the player, are forced to have an epic boss battle. Yeah, you'll win this one in the end. But I'll be damned if he doesn't come back for the next one. A fan favorite for his composition and characterization, Dracula is the prime example of classical monster-turned-villain.
Most Memorable Moment: In Portrait of Ruin, Dracula fights alongside Death (talk about the tag-team from Hell). When one or the other is killed, Dracula turns into a frightening and overpowerful dragon who is totally pissed off. What a boss battle that is.


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I liked you more when you were just a brain.
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7. Mother Brain Metroid Series
"Defective product?! Me?!"
Mother Brain is the mother-lode when it comes to Sci-Fi villains. She started as a simple artificial intelligence, but soon after her creation her motives became contrary to that of her creators. Now, as she grows in power, her main goal is to reset the universe back to zero in hopes of bringing on a true order. She has plagued Samus Aran since the series' inception and we hope she's never replaced. We love to see the mother of all catfights as Samus is pitted against Mother Brain at the end of numerous Metroid games, and, as Mother Brain has evolved over time, it looks like the fights will be cooler each time we see them. From what started as a big, fat brain with a googly-eye, Mother Brain has become a full-fledged demon, and at this rate, Samus might need to bring a hell of a lot more fire power to bring her down.
Most Memorable Moment: In Super Metroid, there is a case of beautiful self-sacrifice as Infant Metroid absorbs a strong beam from Mother Brain and gives the power to Samus, allowing for her to defeat Mother Brain. The baby dies, though. Sniff, sniff.


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Hi, I'm Albert. I should be played by Keanu Reeves.
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6. Albert Wesker Resident Evil Series
"A new Genesis is at hand. And I will be the creator!"
Albert Wesker is a prime example of a character that tows the line between complete douche and hardcore badass. His role in the Resident Evil series is often shrouded in deception and mystery, but it is safe that we can assume that he is an Umbrella Corporation researcher who goes undercover in various situations for power gain. Born by intellectually gifted parents, Albert was collected by Umbrella as a child and raised to be a researcher, only to join the evil pharmaceutical company when he was seventeen. From then, he was hungry for one thing: becoming the most powerful human being on the planet. And by way of certain synthetic enhancement viruses, he got pretty damn close. The ever-campy Resident Evil franchise needed an ever-campy villain, and they found just that in Albert Wesker.
Most Memorable Moment: In the first Resident Evil, Wesker reveals his true identity as a double-agent. Not only that, he also reveals that you are totally screwed inside that mansion...

Tags: Top Ten, Villains
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