Reviews by Kyle Ellis

First appeared in: Halo (2001)

Compared to the gaming guv'nors who have been blistering thumbs for decades, Halo's gruff protagonist is a relative newbie on the scene. Nevertheless, since his debut in 2001, this Xbox poster boy has all but dominated the console world.

A cybernetically-enhanced supersoldier fighting to save the human race from the marauding Covenant, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 captured the imagination of gamers across the world. A man of few words, Master Chief generally lets his battle rifle do his talking for him and while we never see the face behind the golden visor, Chief's personality comes across loud and clear every time he cracks a Covenant skull. It's a singular experience to first slip into his metal boots and assume the role of mankind's armour-clad liberator and even now, after three campaigns inside the Spartan's helmet, an extended session still makes you feel 10ft tall and able to punch holes in solid concrete.

First appeared in: Final Fantasy VII (1997)

Cloud may be the hero but the real star of FFVII was undoubtedly its dashing villain, Sephiroth. With his platinum locks, long black coat and implausibly long masamune sword, Sephiroth cut quite the figure and commanded every ounce of your attention when he cropped up at regular intervals throughout FFVII (accompanied by his sinister theme tune) usually sowing utter carnage in his wake. A genetic experiment created using the DNA of an alien life form called Jenova, Sephiroth began the game as the legendary leader of elite Shin-ra special forces group, SOLDIER. However, after he butchers every occupant of the Shin-ra building single-handed, Sephiroth heads out on an intercontinental rampage culminating in the murder of Cloud's love, Aeris, and a plot to destroy the entire planet with a massive materia meteor.

The reasons behind his cataclysmic machinations may be mostly lost amid the increasingly nonsensical story, but Sephiroth's presence permeates every minute of the game and by the time you finally face off against him (first as the giant, Bizzarro Sephiroth and then as the angel-winged Safer Sephiroth) he's achieved near godlike status. Beyond all that, though, the man is just insanely cool. Just look at him!

First appeared in: Final Fantasy VII (1997)

With his spiky blonde hair and enormous Buster Sword, Cloud Strife is the epitome of JRPG design. When we're first introduced, we see an energetic youth raised in a sleepy mountain village, who now acts as a mercenary sword-for-hire. But as his amnesia-stricken brain gradually reveals a more turbulent past, he evolves into one of the most layered (and beloved) of Squaresoft's Final Fantasy characters.

Final Fantasy VII launches Cloud on a revenge mission to stop antagonist Sephiroth from destroying the world, while subsequent games and expanded material have delved futher into Cloud's troubled story - including the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and even, to an extent, the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Cloud's appeal as a confused genetic experiment, overcoming his past to find love, lose it and still rise up as a beloved leader is a heart-rending journey. He is, and always will be, the definitive FF poster child - an enduring axiom of character desgn.

First appeared in: Sonic The Hedgehog (1991)

Sonic's just your regular, blue teenage hedgehog. One who's able to blitz across the screen at ludicrously high speed. Oh, and survive all the centrifugal pressure you'd expect to endure when spinning about on your rear as you perform loop-de-loops in bizarrely well-designed circles of earth littered around the golden-ring covered landscape. Just a blue anthropomorphised hedgehog. With a mutant flying fox and a floating, climbing Echidna for friends.

Sonic's charm is in his swagger, his speed, and that shocked little face he pulls when he loses all his rings on a spike. Gaming's answer to The Flash, his sheer speediness and unhinged desire for thrill-taking is what makes him so playable, a fluid, fun-loving mentalist who can roll into a perfectly spherical ball at an extreme pace. His dialogue may not win any awards, but he's a super fast blue spiny hedgehog, what more do you want? Wait, don't answer that - just click on...

First appeared in: God Of War (2005)

Violent. Impulsive. Ruthless. Brutal. As bloody as a butcher's bin bag. Kratos is all of these things, but above all, he's angry. Really, really angry. Possibly the angriest, bloodthirstiest computer game character ever to wear sandals (and get away with it). He isn't your average hero: merciless in his pursuit to further his own ends, wreak his revenge, and stab minotaurs square in the mouth. Armed with his trademark double-chained blades, an unstoppable compulsion to kill and a giant glowing chest full of daddy issues, what makes Kratos such a great character is his sheer, unashamed bastardness. The scowling Spartan takes on all comers, alive or dead, mortal or immortal, with an 'I'll go to hell and back just to kill you' attitude that leaves anyone in his way lying on the floor in several leaking chunks.

He's a cold, inhuman, death-defying murder machine with disgustingly little regard for human life, but he's our cold, inhuman, death-defying murder machine, and we can't help but love the ol' Spartan sunovabitch because of it.

First appeared in: Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)

You'll be hard pressed to find another character within Liberty City as overzealous and straight-up bonkers as Brucie Kibbutz. A fitness fanatic who's constantly juiced-up, he's a side-plot to the GTA IV story but a loyal ally to the game's protagonist, Niko Bellic and, arguably, the best thing in the entire game.

Dealing out 'roid-fuelled revenge missions and car-boosting assignments, Brucie's unique personality eclipses almost everyone else in Rockstar's open world opus. Whether he's espousing his theories on being 'genetically different', imploring Niko to 'Stay alpha' or layering on the false machismo to distract from his dubious sexuality (the Asian tattoo on his arm reads 'shemale'), Brucie and his associated missions are a masterstroke of comedy characterisation.

Rockstar knew they were onto a good thing with Brucie, too, having him return in The Ballard of Gay Tony expansion and introducing his brother to delve further into the 'roid monkey's lunatic back story. Brucie is constantly asserting his position as number one in Liberty City and, in an odd way, it's hard to argue.

First appeared in: Warcraft III: Reign Of Chaos (2002)

A night elf demon hunter who became a demon himself, Illidan made his appearance as an unlikely ally in Warcraft III, consuming the Skull of Gul'dan (obviously) and taking on a terrible, winged form as a result. But for all his impressive machinations in the RTS classic, it wasn't until the release of World of Warcraft expansion The Burning Crusade that Illidan truly came into his own.

As the lord of Outland, wielder of the Twin Blades of Azzinoth and the looming threat behind everything players faced in the long grind to level 70, Illidan was a force to be reckoned with. By the time you and 24 eager guildies had trekked to the heart of Shadowmoon Valley and stood (attuned) at the gates of the Black Temple, ready to face him, it was all the average warrior could do not to soil his chainmail pants.

First appeared in: American McGee's Alice (2000)

When Lewis Carroll first dreamed up the character of Alice and sent her spiralling down the rabbit hole, we're not sure this is entirely what he had in mind. Dark, twisted and clutching a bloody knife, American McGee's interpretation of the children's story icon is an inspired medley of the benign and the macabre.

Set some time after the Wonderland and Looking Glass adventures we're all familiar with, McGee's twisted fairy tale sees the smock-sporting heroine left as sole survivor when her house (and family) burn to the ground. A botched suicide attempt sees her committed so, bonkers and catatonic, she retreats into a disturbing and much darker vision of Wonderland. You can easily argue that Carroll's vision of Alice harboured a dark subtext, but in terms of sheer, twisted sadism, McGee's take on the character wins it hands down. After all, the Red Queen looks a hell of a lot less intimidating when Alice shivs her with a kitchen knife.

First appeared in: Duke Nukem (1991)

You could say that Duke is just a tongue-in-cheek pastiche of the hard-as-nails cinematic macho men seen in the likes of Commando, Rambo and Die-Hard. Not necessarily invulnerable but bigger, badder and more muscular than you ever thought possible; a man-mountain that men want to be and women want to bed. Sure, you could say that. And you'd be right. But 15 games later and Duke has become his very own man, the characters he was designed to imitate and poke fun of writ large on the gaming landscape. Film might have Schwarzenegger, but Gaming's got Mr Nukem, and who needs Arnie when Duke's in town with a shotgun to fire and a cigar to chew on?

His catchphrases alone (a number of which are shamelessly ripped off from Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness) make him one of the best action characters ever devised: "Now you see me.... now you're dead", "It's my way or... hell, it's my way!", "There's only two ways this is gonna end, and in both of them... you're dead." Well spoken, sir.

First appeared in: Hitman (2000)

A silent weapon for the International Contract Agency (ICA), Agent 47 - a name derived from the last two digits of his assigned number - is the perfect killer clone: a deadly mix of speed, intellect and strength. Originally conceived by IO Interactive as a disgruntled and bearded old guy, he was later transformed into the barcode-tattooed, snappy dresser who has since become a gaming staple.

Leather gloves, red tie, black suit and bald, barcode-adorned head, Agent 47 is striking to the point where it's probably something of a hindrance in his chosen line of work. Still, thanks to his mercifully unobservant marks and the abundance of one-size-fits-all enemy uniforms, no one is safe from the silent assassin. He can go on all out gun-blazing massacres or choose to aim for elite stealth killer ranks on each mission, but whether it's softly softly or scorched earth, 47 always gets the job done. His immoral, introverted ways are occasionally belied by slight chinks in his armour, as he shows compassion for the occasional bystander and even goes out of his way to keep them alive. A killer with a heart of gold? No, probably not. He's still an utter bastard.