The 5 Best Gaming Protagonists of the Last Decade

There are many parts that have to come together in order for a game to be great. There needs to be a compelling story, good graphics, fun gameplay, etc… In most games though there is that little something extra that makes the game truly awesome, a cool main protagonist. Having a compelling and interesting main character is what gives a game that little extra oomph and makes it memorable.

I have a few personal favorites, but there are a few that are known across the gaming world as some of the best characters of all time. Main characters such as Mario, Link and others from some of the earliest games are a given, so I won’t be including them in this list. I will be discussing my top 5 protagonists from the PS2 generation on.

5. Ezio Auditore

Ezio is on this list for a few reasons. First and foremost is the fact that he is a kickass assassin involved in a crazy Templar plot that involves one of the most corrupt popes in history. Yeah, he has to deal with that in every game. Ezio also has a fun back-story, slightly generic, but told well enough that it is still compelling. For those reasons he truly deserves to be in the top five and actually, now that I think about it, he should probably be a little higher… oh well.

4. Darth Revan

Revan is too cool to have a face. (credit: starwars.wikia.com)

Revan was the protagonist in Knights of the Old Republic. The best part (spoilers ahead) was that you didn’t even know that he was Darth Revan until halfway through the game. You see, a long long time ago in a galaxy… ok no time for the uber long story, but basically he was captured and brainwashed to not remember who he was, only to be told by his former apprentice Darth Malak. Probably the most epic amnesia story ever told. It wasn’t just his past that made him interesting, but the fact that the player was able to choose what his future would be. Would you steer him back to the dark side or continue all that light side b.s.? He could also shoot lightning from his hands and wielded a little thing called a lightsaber… ever heard of it?
3. John Marston

Many of you probably don’t even recognize that name, which truly is a shame. He was only the main character of one of the best games ever made. I’m talking about a little game called Red Dead Redemption. If you haven’t played this game before I suggest that you get on it, like right now. Go out and buy it, it’s ok, I’ll wait…yeah ok I’m not going to wait.

Marston was a former member of a gang during the time of the American Frontier and is recruited by the government to pretty much kick the ass of his former gangs’ leader. Some will say that he is no different from any of Rockstar’s other main characters; just a thug who wants power, drugs, women etc… Marston IS different though. He got out of that kind of life and is fighting for more than himself. All he wants is to go back home and be with his wife and son again and live out his life in peace. That is what makes him special; in a time filled with violence, he just wants to settle down.
2. Master Chief

It’s simple… Master Chief is awesome in pretty much every way. He is a seven foot tall, specially enhanced super soldier who prefers to let his actions speak louder than his words–cause’ let’s face it, he doesn’t really speak all that much. Really though Master Chief makes this list because he is not just the main protagonist of the Halo series, he is an icon.

He fights for the good of the entire human race without caring about his own safety or well-being. How could you not care about a character like that? Because I guarantee… he cares about you. So to recap, he is awesome, super cool, wears sweet armor and has a confusingly sexy artificial intelligence that comes with him everywhere, so yeah, he deserves the number two spot.
1. Commander Shepard

The Jack Bauer of the universe. (credit: gamerant.com)

Ok who didn’t see this coming? If you have read any of my articles before then you should know that I have a slight obsession with Bioware and love pretty much every game they have ever released. That being so, I would still say that Commander Shepard is one of the best protagonists of a video game ever, it just really helps that the game is such an incredibly awesome one like Mass Effect.

Like Master Chief, Shepard is a hero and speaks loudly with his actions. Unlike Master Chief, Shepard likes to talk… a lot. He also has the element of choice which lets the player mold Shepard into the hero, or villain, that they truly want him to be.

In the end it’s all about the right mixture of character elements and Shepard has them all–and finding out about his back story and the stories of all of his crew makes for an incredible journey.

So there it is everyone, five of the greatest protagonists in the last decade’s worth of games! I have no doubt that many of you will disagree, but you will be wrong so it’s ok. I look forward to your comments, and give me some of your favorites that you think are worthy of the top five.