Reviews by Kyle Ellis

First appeared in: Half-Life (1998)

Ginger hair, thick-rimmed glasses, a tidy goatee and a Ph.D. degree in Theoretical Physics - Gordon Freeman was never your average gun-totting FPS hero. However, after only two Half-Life games (and a couple of expanded episodes), Freeman has become a gaming icon, synonymous with the apotheosis of first-person action.

The character is the quintessential geek fantasy: a first class, card-carrying uber nerd who's thrust into the breach and forced to fend off an inter-dimensional invasion as well as squads of well-armed government goons - not something the average MIT graduate expects on his first day at work. He's a far cry from the muscular machismo and implausibly proportioned heroes who traditionally make up the genre; in Freeman Valve managed to create one of the most unlikely heroes in gaming, while simultaneously one of the most believable. Original designs - which, fans have dubbed 'Ivan the Space Biker' - had Gordon sporting a full beard and pony tail, but his eventual look came from the various faces of Valve employees, giving him the authentic geek chic we've come to know and love.

It would be a disservice to Freeman's laconic charm to say he's void of personality due to never uttering a word - or being directly seen, save for the box art and glimpses in sister titles Opposing Force and Blue Shift. In keeping Freeman mute and unseen, Valve cannily laid the groundwork for a character that players can fully embody, enabling each would-be Freeman to shape Gordon's persona themselves.

There's a bit of Gordon in all of us, you see: noble, mischievous, intelligent and, beneath it all, a kick-ass action hero bubbling beneath the surface. Given a dozen third-person cutscenes and lines of snappy dialogue, Gordon Freeman may not be half the icon he is today. As it stands, he effortlessly sets the benchmark for aming protagonists and accomplishes it all in complete silence, with a crowbar in hand.

First appeared in: Donkey Kong (1981)

The most recognisable gaming hero of all time - if not exactly the coolest - Mario only missed out on our top spot by a whisker. And while this may be an indication that Nintendo's dumpy plumber isn't as relevant today as he once was, Mario's place in the pantheon of gaming is assured.

Mario was created by Shigeru Miyamoto (pictured right), Nintendo's gaming genius who also unleashed Luigi, Link and a hundred other console superstars. Originally Miyamoto wanted to make a platformer featuring cartoon characters Popeye, Bluto and Olive Oil, but when he failed to get an official licence he created Mario, Donkey Kong and Pauline instead. The moustachioed tradesman debuted in the fiendishly difficult Donkey Kong under the name Jumpman, and was only given his Italian moniker when Nintendo Of America's landlord, Mario Segale, came demanding rent on the warehouse the company was renting in Tukwila, Washington. Now, over 200 games later - many of which are genre-defining blueprints that set the scene for everything that followed - Mario is one of the most famous cartoon faces in the world.

First appeared in: System Shock (1994)

Forget Bowser, Ganondorf and Dr Robotni:, if you're after the most terrifying, psychologically disturbing and downright memorable evil mastermind in video games then look no further than System Shock's Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network, or SHODAN. The megalomaniacal AI at the heart of Sierra's RPG adventure, SHODAN began life as the benign computer core of Citadel Station, until the game's protagonist (you) hacks her ethical subroutines and makes her self-aware and happily homicidal.

Given that she's never directly seen, SHODAN's constant, threatening presence is a masterstroke of game design: the AI's influence felt through her omniscient control of the station's security cameras, robotic defences and periodic audio transmissions that haunt the player's every move. Speaking in stuttering, discordant fluctuations, her distinctive tones (voiced by former Tribe vocalist Terri Brosius) goad, deride and threaten as you make your way through the bowels of the station. SHODAN's most magnificent performance is reserved for the game's sequel, however, when it's revealed that the benevolent Dr Polito, who has been guiding you through half the game, is actually a stiffening corpse and the 'metal mother' behind the first game has been leading you by the nose all along. Chilling stuff.

First appeared in: Planescape: Torment (1999)

If you're looking for the one of the most original, inspired and fascinating character since gaming began, then look no further than The Nameless One, star of Black Isle's game-changing RPG, Planescape: Torment. Waking up on a mortuary slab in the inter-dimensional city of Sigil, Nameless discovers (with the help of his floating skull companion, Morte) that he's an immortal amnesiac who can never truly die and the only clues to his past are scrawled in spidery tattoos across his scar-laden flesh.

So far, so Memento, but as The Nameless One's story slowly unfolds, we see a tortured, tormented soul who has lived a thousand different lifetimes and played host to a dozen different personalities, only to be slain and rise again. What's more, every time Nameless is reborn, a random soul in the multiverse dies to fuel his resurrection, eventually returning as a shade to exact its revenge.

Torment is a tragic, intricately woven tale and, quite deservedly, recognised as one of the greatest role-playing games of all time. Rather than other RPGs of the era, which gave you a blank slate character to flesh out as you wanted, Torment's strength was in the detail and richness of its protagonist, who remains one of the very best more than ten years on.

First appeared in: The Legend Of Zelda (1986)

Shigeru Miyamoto's most famous creation aside from a certain moustachioed plumber, Link has grown into one of the world's most celebrated console heroes, and helped establish RPGs as an international gaming standard.

The Legend Of Zelda was inspired by Miyamoto's childhood memories of exploring the forests and caves that surround the Japanese city of Kyoto, and a desire to recreate the feelings of awe, fear and accomplishment he experienced as a youngster. To facilitate this he created Link; a non-speaking everychild who grew in confidence and experience as the adventure unfolded, and by the end was a mature young man ready to tackle any challenge life throws at him. Now, with a clutch of adventures and almost 50 million worldwide sales behind him, Link is one of gaming's most enduring heroes and star of The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, one of the greatest videogames ever made.

First appeared in: The Secret Of Monkey Island (1996)

The amusingly monikered star of LucasArts' Monkey Island games began life as a simple pirate sprite, lovingly drawn in the program Deluxe Paint. The brush file for the character was simply called 'Guy', and lo, with the filename Guybrush.bbm, history was made.

Arguably the most-loved character in point and click adventure gaming history, Guybrush is a gawky, awkward, somewhat bumbling, loveable would-be pirate, who, among many epic achievements, defeated the legendary swordmaster with zingers that included the particularly biting "You fight like a dairy farmer."

The most blundering buccaneer of all blundering buccaneers, his charm is in his ineptitude, his ludicrous inability to form even words in front of his beloved Elaine, and the fact that he's more self-conscious and graceless than even the nerdiest nerd. Also, he looks great in breeches. You've got to give him that.