It's hard to believe that there ever were big ass creatures like dinosaurs living on the same planet humans inhabit today. Maybe that's why we have such a fascination with them, and why Jurassic Park captured our imagination for decades (which is why movie is a thing). Dinos really have every great quality. They can be scary, cute, cool, and fascinating all at the same time.

The ancient reptiles have invaded just about every form of entertainment, including games. They have a mindblowing level of diversity - from club-tailed ankylosauruses to pack-predator velociraptors - and the games starring them are almost as far flung. From horror titles to cutesy platformers, dinosaurs are everywhere in gaming. In case you're looking for a few games to knock you down a few links in the food chain, here is a list of some of the dinosaur games you definitely need to play.

There just aren't many multiplayer shooters that allow you to munch on your enemies as a monstrous T-Rex, but Primal Carnage makes it happen. As a human, you play a typical first-person shooter in terms of controls, weapon variety, and overall feel. The human classes get an arsenal of dino-dropping gadgets and weapons, from sniper rifles and tranquilizer darts to assault rifles and rocket launchers. But you don't want to hear about the human side, you're here for the man-eating reptiles.

The dinosaur team is just as varied in their abilities. You can play as the speedy raptors, high-flying Pteranodon, bull-like Carnotaurus, and venom spitting Dilophosaurus. All of these dinos create a mix that's built to surprise the humans. The Pteranodon can swoop down and pluck human players right off their feet, and drop them to their deaths. Carnotaurus can charge into enemies like a battering ram. But the ultimate experience is playing as the massive T-Rex, snatching up hunters with your massive jaws and ripping them to shreds.

What if the Nazi's infamous military research yielded something even more terrifying than impractically huge tanks?Maybe a way to bring prehistoric, dino death machines back to life? Well, they would probably put machine guns on their heads and train them to do their dirty work. In Dino D-Day, that is the exact situation. The Nazis have a dinosaur army at their beck and call, and the historical WW2 battlefields have become prehistoric feeding frenzies.

Alongside the German soldiers, who are armed with the standard set of World War 2 weapons, players can take control of Nazi Velociraptors, a Styracosaurus that functions as a quadrupedal machine gun turret, and a T-Rex with guns attached to the sides of its face. The matches feel a bit one sided, because the allies' only dino friend is a three-legged, baby triceratops, but how often do you get to battle ancient dinosaur Nazis in an online multiplayer game?

The N64 shooter Turok: Dinosaur Hunter bears many of the scars of an early console shooter. You don't really have to aim because the game's auto aim just does it for you, and the platforming sections are so difficult it's just cruel. The shooting may seem a bit dated by today's twin stick, Call of Duty standards, but Turok is still a blast to play.

The best part of the original Turok, and the reason why it's on this list, is you actually get to fight dinosaurs. It really has no story to speak of. You just start off the game killing random human attackers and charging raptors, but eventually the giant monkeys and dinosaurs start brandishing alien weaponry, like mechanical arms and energy cannons. And it's all just leading up to a battle against a T-Rex boss with, you guessed it, a laser attached to its head.

Looking for a little more horror in your dinosaur adventure? Look no further. Dino Crisis is a classic PlayStation title that takes the tank mechanics and fixed camera gameplay of the Resident Evil series and drops them into a Jurassic Park-like setting. Meaning dinosaurs are out to eat your face off, and there's no fast way to turn and run.

Take a classic Resident Evil game, replace all of the zombies and mutated monsters with velociraptors and mutated prehistoric monstrosities, and you know exactly what to expect. The game is all about waiting for the next scare. The fixed camera sets you up for frightening ambushes, limited ammo ups the intensity of encounters, and there's cheesy dialogue galore. Dino Crisis has it all.

Even decades after its release, this 16-bit action platformer is still a must play dinosaur title. Tranquilizing dinos and taking on the vicious velociraptors is no less intense than when the game's graphics were cutting edge back in 1993.

You play as Dr. Alan Grant as he navigates the environments seen in the first movie, from jungles infested with raptors and triceratops, to the Visitor's Center guarded by a massive T-Rex. Best of all, you can play as one of the island's escaped velociraptors at it attempts to evade or eat its human captors. Few things are more satisfying than pouncing on security guards as one of Jurassic Park's most dangerous predators.

What's a Mario game doing on this list? Well, one of Mario's best buds is a saddle-wearing dinosaur. To leave Yoshi off of this list would be a crime against every video game dinosaur out there. So, here he is. In Yoshi's Island, you don't play as the mustachioed plumber, but instead as an entire race of friendly dinosaurs.

Mario is in a bit of a vulnerable state in Yoshi's Island. He's a defenseless baby and must rely on Yoshi to guard him while the dino attempts to rescue Baby Luigi from the clutches of Baby Bowser. This was the game that locked down all of Yoshi's now-standard abilities, allowing him to toss eggs at enemies, eat anything with his long tongue, and flutter jump to extreme heights. Not only is Yoshi's Island a must play title on the SNES, it represents the best of the most popular video game dinosaur ever.

I know what you're thinking: "Skylanders is a game about cute, mystical monsters, not dinosaurs." To which, I say to you, "Wrong!" Skylanders allows players to take a variety of bizarre characterizations of animals, mythic monsters, and heck, even vegetables, then level up the collectible toys as you play. But if you didn't think a children's game built around monsters wouldn't include some awesome dinosaurs, I'm here to open your eyes.

There are dozens of characters to collect, but the most awesome by far (especially for dino enthusiasts) is Chopper. This charming little guy is a young T-Rex that is a bit tech savvy. Along with his vicious roar attack, he can blast his enemies with the rockets attached to his sides, and use his helicopter backpack to dice up enemies or become one of the first airborne tyrannosauruses in gaming.

The Monster Hunter series might not feature dinosaurs per se, but the massive creatures you battle in the game are incredibly similar to their prehistoric counterparts. Can we just say they're close enough? I mean, taking on humongous beasts with complex attack patterns and various weak points using giant weapons is something we can all get on board with, right?

In Monster Hunter, you choose a class of hunter who can carry anything from unreasonably large warhammers, to unreasonably large daggers. The intricate inventory system, battle mechanics, and unique hunting features make each battle unique. Facing off against these mighty creatures is incredibly thrilling. With monster designs that are undeniably inspired by ancient dinosaurs (and dragons. There's lots of dragons), this is the closest to hunting dinosaurs you're going to get.

Need some dinosaur fighting game representation on this list? It's right here, baby! Gaming never fails to follow trends, and in the mid-90s what could have been more trendy than mixing a Mortal Kombat-style fighting game with prehistoric apes and dinosaurs? Primal Rage is one of the most memorable games of its era, though not necessarily for being great.

You choose a variety of beast combatants that range from King Kong-like apes to T-Rexes with varying degrees of evil motivations. Each monster is revered by the world's lowly human inhabitants as gods and they happily cheer you on as you battle your foe with special moves and combos. What makes the game unique is you can eat your opponent's cheering humans for health bonuses, and following the likes of other successful fighting game franchises of the time, each prehistoric combatant can finish off opponents with a match-ending fatality.

Yes, we generally stick to the console side of gaming here at GamesRadar, but this dino adventure is just too good not to get a mention. Light gun shooters may have come and gone on the console space, but in your local arcade, they are just as entertaining as ever. When it comes to dino blasting action, Jurassic Park: The Lost World's arcade cabinet, remains king.

The on-rails shooter takes you through all the events of the 1997 film. From the stampede intro that challenges players to avoid the bowel excretions of a brachiosaurus, to face to face engagements with the king of all dinosaurs, every second of the entire game is challenging and thrilling. Throw in a co-op player, and you've got an unforgettable quarter-sucking experience.

There you have it. Those are our picks for the dinosaur games you definitely need to play before you become a fossil yourself. Do you have any favorites to add, or memorable moments from one of these games that you want to share? Let me know in the comments below.

For even more game recommendations from GamesRadar, be sure to check out our list of the .

Whether it's the fault of starry-eyed art departments or marketing overseers with an eye for sexy box art, most playable character rosters could double for fashion model listings. Seriously, whether you can play as a guy or a girl in any given game, chances are your character is going to be really, really, ridiculously good looking - in anything from Altered Beast to Zelda. It's gotten pretty old.

Fortunately, through dedication to a non-standard aesthetic (or perhaps a basic misunderstanding of human faces), some less-than-perfect specimens slip into the final product. And I'm here to celebrate the least perfect of them all. Come with me for a look at some of the ugliest characters ever to surface in your video game, and let's hope to see more of their kind in the future!

It's cool that Nier is a JRPG character who doesn't look like he's cutting PE class to save the world, but he didn't have to swing quite so far in the other direction. Speaking of PE class, his wrinkly face is particularly weird on top of that smooth and muscular frame. For real, though, just bush up his eyebrows a little bit and he's the bodybuilder version of Andy Rooney.

Take away the eczema sores, the patchy male-pattern balding, the huge bags under his eyes, whatever is going on with those eyebrows, and the last dozen years of speed addiction, and Trevor Philips could actually be a pretty handsome guy. But you and I both know he'd rather be ugly as hell than give up that sweet, sweet meth.

I'm not calling Remedy's Sam Lake (the original face model for Max Payne) ugly. He's actually pretty good-looking, in that hardcover-dust-jacket way. But Sam Lake with his face permanently pinched into a bizarre sneer with eyebrows arched, nose wrinkled, and mouth smirked? Yeah, that's ugly. Fortunately for Mr. Lake, Max got a new face for both of his sequels.

The other Whispering Rock campers are cute in a demented way, but Raz's little overripe tangerine of a face is just too much for me to stomach. Not to mention his facial features are all so squished down that he looks like his parents bound his head as an infant - wait, maybe that's why he developed psychic powers?

Motherfucker looks like Brock Lesnar forgot his sunscreen and got stung by a bee.

Perhaps in other cultures, a high, wrinkly dome atop your head is a sign of power and nobility. To me, it just looks like a potato. Though it's more of a baked potato that's been left in the oven too long for Heihachi, with steam shooting out from either side. I'm pretty sure his brows are permanently furrowed at this point, too. I'd never say any of this to his weird face, of course, lest I get mine rearranged.

Does including Wario on this list seem a little too on-the-bulbous-pink-nose to you? I can see where you're coming from, but I must disagree. It would actually be an insult to leave off that baggy-eyed, crooked-stached, Chiclet-toothed visage. Wario basks in his propensity to inspire physical revulsion, and I ain't gonna hate on him for it.

The security guards in Half-Life are clearly modelled after Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show. That said, Valve probably would've been better off using a picture of Don Knotts for reference, instead of travelling some eight years into the future and exhuming his desiccated corpse. Fortunately, Barney clearly got some sun/nutrition between then and his starring role in Blue Shift.

Before I saw Steve, I never would've thought it possible to pack that much dishevelment in an eight-by-eight pixel area. But there he is, squares expertly stacked to suggest a cruddy little goatee and uneven, ruddy skin. Do you think if Notch knew Minecraft was going to be a worldwide phenomenon, he would've spruced Steve up a bit? I hope not.

This isn't even a weight thing. Big guys can look classy, too. But not with a bizarre handlebar mustache and bulging, veiny half circles for eyes. And oh my god, what is going on with that braided top knot? It makes his bulbous head look like a bell on a chain. Let's just try to pretend that nobody noticed the trail of body hair poking out of his unzipped jumpsuit...

There are pretty much two paths to walk in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion's character creator. Either embrace the madness, as seen above, or create a character who looks roughly like a human being… who was found floating face down in a bog. Actually, there's one more path: just make a damn Argonian and avoid the whole issue.

Her giant face-eating maw is terrifying, but the way it kinda shoves all the rest of her features aside is maybe even scarier. Also, your eyes don't deceive you, Mileena is the only lady on this list - and you barely even see the ugly half of her face, since she usually wears a mask. C'mon, game developers! Not every playable woman has to be pageant material!

Meth, man. Not even once.

Nobody's looking too hot in the CD-i Zelda games, but the rubbery faced monstrosity that is Link might have gotten the worst of it. There is literally not a single scene where Link doesn't look like a self-satisfied dick, though his overall appearance does at least vary from "smug chipmunk" to "smarmy cadaver".

Mega Man is wincing in agony. There appears to be a tear emerging from the corner of his eye. But it's not because of his pelvic-breaking stance, or his freakishly swollen shoulders, or the pain of trying to wield a cubist handgun in naturalist fingers. No. It's the lament of a simple little robot soul trapped inside a freakishly repugnant human body.

I know that some polygons and texture details had to bow out to bring one of the Wii's most visually impressive games to 3DS, but I fail to see how making Shulk into a gawping fishman could improve performance. To use an equestrian term, the poor bastard looks like he was rode hard and put away wet. Wait, am I saying he's a seahorse? Sure, he's an ugly seahorse.

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

What, you thought Sega was going for some kind of style thing by leaving Greendog's face blank? Nope. Just look at the guy in the background. He's clearly wracked with abject horror. Sega simply couldn't render Greendog's ghastly visage without destroying your Genesis, so it made his head appear to be a featureless orb instead. A bit Lovecraftian, if you ask me.

Boogerman's raison d'etre is being generally unpleasant, but that doesn't forgive whatever's going on with that chin of his. You'd think his nose would be his most exaggerated feature, being Boogerman, right? But no - his chin-neck region is front and center, extending down roughly to his bellybutton. More like Tonsil-stoneman.

Marcus Fenix was never meant to be a good-looking guy, but Epic Games may have done its job a little too well. Seriously though, look at all those scars - both physical and emotional. He's lost so much in these endless wars. Hopefully he loses that awful soul patch next.

Woo! I could keep going all day. But I won't - because I want you folks to have something to talk about in the comments! It's definitely not because I ran out of ideas and was kind of stretching on that Greendog one. Definitely not. Anyway, who are some of your favorite ugly characters?

Want more freaky faces? Check out .

When it comes to nerds, comic book fans may be the most quantifying. They keep track of first appearances, costume changes, how many times a character has died and returned. With all that cataloguing of continuity, you’d think a fanboy such as myself would always appreciate when game adaptations recreate every little detail from a comic universe. But sometimes even I think, “Was that really necessary?”

I’m not talking about correctly listing the place where Bruce Wayne’s parents died, or the real name of Kraven the Hunter - Crime Alley and Sergei Kravinoff respectively. No, I mean tiny bits of continuity that 0.01% of players would even notice, or accurate scenes that actually detract from a game’s pacing. As much as it pains my geek sensibilities, maybe we’d have been better off if games had ignored these moments in comic history.

In 1992, the far off year of 2099 felt like a mystical dream world, a future that deserved to have its own wallcrawler. Spider-Man 2099 was the core title of the short-lived 2099 imprint, and its futuristic hero was virtually unseen after the series was cancelled in 1996. Then, in 2010, the cyberpunk Spidey returned as a co-star of Shattered Dimensions, an incredibly comprehensive Spider-Men team-up. And, despite feeling like I’m the only person that read the book back in the day, Shattered Dimensions dedicates a shocking amount of detail to the series' world.

Spider-Man 2099’s stages are full of references to evil corporation Alchemax and the totalitarian police force known as the Public Eye, which add some nice flavor but don’t have much to do with the cross-dimensional plot. Offhand mentions of losers like Goblin 2099 at best got me to say, ‘Huh, oh yeah, I guess that was a thing in that comic,’ and move on. Oddest of all is Spidey 2099’s voice - the developers made the admirable choice of casting each Spider-Man with a voice actor who previously played Peter Parker. Unfortunately, while Dan <(i>Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends) Gilvezan did a fine job, he still sounds like a guy in his late 50s. That adherence to fanservice left 2099 sounding more like a grandpa than a gritty, sci-fi hero.

Aquaman has been a joke to the world at large for years, though DC has been trying for decades to make the Prince of the Seas into a badass. Years before his makeover as Jason Momoa, Aquaman became a grim and bearded malcontent who had his freaking hand eaten by piranhas. That ‘90s reboot is certainly a far cry from talking to dolphins, but it was a bit morose for some fans. Battle for Atlantis would go down as one of the worst things ever put on disc, though it should’ve helped the hook-wearing Aquaman cement his legacy. Though you can’t say it got the character wrong.

The blandly technological Atlantis of the game matches Aquaman’s ‘90s kingdom, right down to the ridiculous underwater cars. Black Manta and Ocean Master are just as lame in the comics as they appear in the game’s inarticulate cutscenes. And boringly floating around as the super-powered merman feels ripped from the page. The developers clearly put a lot of work into properly recreating Aquaman - if only they spent that energy on making the game playable.

The Hulk is at his best when he’s smashing everything in his path, fully embracing the power fantasy that’s made him such a memorable character. His greatest game, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, understood that, and the 32-bit era Pantheon Saga gets it on a certain level. The green machine certainly breaks a lot of fuzzy-textured boxes, but not before fighting a half-dozen forgotten X-Men wannabes.

The Pantheon is a group of demigods that Hulk went on to lead, and the group includes Iliad characters like Ulysses, Ajax, and Hector - only now they’re boosted by silly sci-fi weaponry. In both the game and the comics, Hulk beats the crap out of them, then goes on to lead The Pantheon. That means the game is choked with Grecian jerks in place of more compelling villains and heroes. Why punch the gamma-irradiated Abomination or team-up with Iron Man when there’s Atalanta and her laser arrows? No wonder the Pantheon hasn’t been seen post-1998.

I miss the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, because they featured pretty much every notable hero and villain that Marvel ever hosted. DC Comics attempted to do the same with Justice League Heroes, and the one-off could’ve been the start of something grand. Superman, Batman, and the rest came together to stop the ultimate embodiment of evil in Darkseid. The only problem is that Darkseid is backed up by a team of villains that were about seven years out of date.

Beginning in 1995, writer Grant Morrison and artist Howard Porter rebooted the JLA in one of the most epic series ever, but was firmly in the past by Justice League Heroes’ 2006 launch. And yet the game is full of JLA baddies like The Key, Queen Bee, and Prometheus, as opposed to more classic antagonists like Amazo or Despero. Removed from Morrison’s genius writing, guys like The General and the White Martians come off as bland bullet-sponges, no matter how important they once were to JLA’s legacy. The devs should’ve dug further back in their collections.

I don’t think any game before or since works has worked nearly as hard to reflect comic book continuity as Ultimate Spider-Man. The 2006 title doesn’t just share a name with the Marvel comic book. The game shares the same writer (Brian Michael Bendis), Mark Bagley’s distinct artistic style (with added cel-shading flare), and is officially set after the events of Ultimate Spider-Man #71. What a lot of work for Activision’s annual Spider-Man release.

If you were a regular reader, references to the Ultimate versions of classic villains and Bendis’ motormouth dialogue felt right at home. Even though regular readers numbered in the tens of thousands, this major fall release brought the comic to life for millions. But the attempt at continuity was all for naught. Despite advertising that future issues would spin out of the game, it never really happened, and Ultimate Spider-Man’s plot eventually got repurposed and rewritten as a storyline three years later.

The Scribblenauts games have always been intriguing for their ‘summon anything’ approach to puzzle-solving. Want to see if a T-rex can fix a car? Write it down and give it a shot. The child-friendly series certainly has its grown-up fans, but Unmasked's dogged devotion to the DC Comics dictionary may be lost on its intended audience. Virtually every DC character ever can join Scribblenaut’s hero Max on his journey, but how many tykes taking a break from Cartoon Network will notice?

When I first got my hands on the title, I put it to the test and couldn’t believe how many oddballs it includes. Goofs like G’nort and Ambush Bug appear alongside every possible alteration of Superman and Batman - including both pirate and caveman varieties. The most obscure I found had to be Funky Flashman, a rarely seen agent of Darkseid that first appeared in a few little-read 1970s issues as a way to mock Marvel mainstay Stan Lee. I love that the game went above and beyond like that, but that all seems like far too niche a market to chase.

There’s a simple recipe to Wolverine’s endearing popularity: he’s got attitude, he’s an unkillable brawler, and he has claws that can cut anything. But from 1993 to 1999, that last key element of the character was missing following Magneto's forcible removal of the adamantium covering Logan’s bones. For years Wolverine’s sleek metallic blades were replaced with unsightly bones, but that fact was rarely recognized outside comics. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is the only game that actually bothered to redesign the calcified stabber.

Though Wolvie’s sprite is mostly similar to how he appeared in Capcom’s other fighting games, the devs took care to reanimate the mutant with his current bone claws. And they went farther than that, giving him new attacks and damage properties, including extended reach - I suppose the bones can grow longer without metal? The effort would probably be lost on mainstream fans unaware of the storyline loss of Logan’s signature weapons, and it sadly came too late. Wolverine got back the adamantium in December 1999, while MvC2 premiered in arcades in early 2000.

Even just considering big bads like Lex Luthor, Braniac, and Zod, Superman has some of the crappiest bad guys in comic history. Beyond geeks like Toyman or The Prankster, Clark Kent has run afoul of also-ran misfits like the Underworlders. They’re a pack of freakish experiments gone wrong that live beneath Metropolis, and are about as dangerous to Superman as a marshmallow is to anyone without diabetes. Somehow, those gross idiots ended up in the Kryptonian’s best game, The Death and Return of Superman.

Unfortunately, being Superman’s greatest game still means that it’s a kinda bad beat ‘em up. The stages follow the comics of the same name chapter for chapter, including an opening where Supes beats the stuffing out of the Underworlders without breaking a sweat. Were it me, I’d have skipped straight to Doomsday demolishing the Justice League, but apparently the disposable Superman: Man of Steel #18 is worthy of its own stage in a Final Fight clone. Admittedly, the weirdoes are adequately punchable fodder, but why even waste time raiding their underground lair? Let’s hurry it up and kill Superman already!

Those are the games that strive too hard for accuracy, but I'm sure some of my fellow nerds are ready to chime in with 'Actually, in this issue of Spider-Man...' And I welcome that discussion, so share all your factoids in the comments!

But if you’d still can’t get enough fanboys, be sure to check out

Quick, your loved one of indeterminate status is in trouble, and you must save them from the clutches of a dastardly villain! You struggle against the odds and through valiant and bloody effort you achieve victory. Finally, you get to hear your loved one say, "Congratulations hero, what took you so long? If I'd known I was gonna be here this long I would've brought a crossword!" Wait, no, that doesn't seem right…

Don't worry, that dizzying bout of cognitive dissonance isn't just you. While games have had the [blank]-in-distress plotline on lockdown since Jumpman first rescued Pauline from not-King-Kong, sometimes a wrench gets thrown in the works that makes you feel disinclined to rescue the focus of your efforts. I don't mean independent folks who didn't really need rescuing please leave me alone now either - I'm talking characters who desperately need and/or straight up ask for assistance and then make you instantly regret your decision to help them. Need an example? Already have one in mind? Is it one of X characters I have listed in the slides beyond? Why don't we find out?

I can cut Rinoa some slack over having to be saved early in the FFVIII storyline, when she basically ruins your assassination attempt by getting herself mind-controlled. She was at least trying to help, right? I don't mind saving her from falling off Garden either, because it's not like she asked for the floor to collapse. But then I get irritated when I have to find out how to save her from some damn coma, and then… space? Space? I have to rescue her from freaking SPACE?

Seriously, even if you get past Rinoa's and still like her as a character, the amount of times you have to come to her rescue makes the effort feel futile. Yeah, I saved her from electrocuting herself on an open power panel, but then she's walking in the path of a moving train, or falling down a manhole, or getting attacked by killer bees. She does admittedly get a moment of redemption when she saves Squall from a giant spoiler, so maybe they're just goddamn perfect for each other and I need aspirin right this second.

Somewhere between lighting nasty not-zombies on fire and trudging through gallons of misplaced viscera in The Evil Within, I was vaguely aware that I should be trying to rescue this kid named Leslie. He's the only patient to make it out of Beacon Mental Hospital, so he's plot-critical, and he's a defenseless kid running around a carnival of madness and so, so much blood. You honestly feel bad for him at first and want to make sure he's okay, because seriously a man in an iron mask with a bloody tank top and a cleaver just ran by dear God.

Your sympathy is pretty quickly tested though when you realize two things: Leslie does perfectly fine on his own, and you always get screwed over when you try to protect him. You can only watch this kid squeal away into the darkness, leaving you trapped behind a wall of monsters so many times before he starts to get on your nerves. Since his innocence and vulnerability is the only reason you're given to care about him, any attachment you might have quickly disintegrates when he leaves you locked in a room with Boxman HOLY FREAKING SLDKJFKLDS.

Ruto deserves props for fitting that much moxie in one tiny body. When Link makes his way into the cavernous belly of pampered fish god Jabu-Jabu to rescue her at her father's request, she makes it clear that she doesn't want to be saved. I can respect that kind of independence - until ten seconds later, when she's totally interested in letting you save her. And you're gonna have to work for it by carrying her around like the world's smallest and luckiest palanquin team. Aren't you grateful? Aren't you?

What makes saving Ruto so teeth-crackingly annoying isn't the act itself ('save princesses' is right before 'buy milk' on Link's chore list), it's how spoilt she is about the whole thing. If you ever put her down, she tells you to be a man and take responsibility for her well-being. But then she'll command you to do things that put her in peril and continues to be a diva when you're forced to save her. Turns out this is a sign that she's crushing on you and isn't mature enough to express herself better, but you know what? She probably has cooties, so there.

If you're a Star Fox 64 fan, you may remember Slippy Toad from the constant screech of "Whoooa, help me!" that echoes through the darkness of your nightmares. As the 'adorable' screw-up amongst the Star Critter crew, Slippy has a nasty habit of having a bogey on his tail 99% of the time, and he never seems to be able to handle it on his own. You can only hear him thank you for saving him so many times before your dentist has to prescribe you anti-grind jaw braces.

While Slippy certainly has the drive to be a badass Arwing marksman, there's no accounting for raw skill, which he distinctly lacks. That ends with a lot of crying to Fox and the rest of the team for help, all while they're kinda busy at the moment not getting blown up by the exact same enemies. It wouldn't even be a big deal if you only had to bail him out a few times (Falco and Peppy certainly don't have perfect records), but the fact is that it happens all the damn time and he never learns! When even your own teammates are loudly pointing out that suck at your job, you know there's a problem.

If Sonic '06 had blessedly failed to exist and Princess Elise appeared in some mediocre but hedgehog-less JRPG, she might've been bearable. Her entire personality could be boiled down to 'girl who doesn't cry because magic', but at least every moment she's on screen wouldn't get you one step closer to zoophilic snogging. But sadly, Sonic '06 happened, the Sonic/Elise romance is as real as it is , and every moment we have to spend saving Elise feels like pure torture.

Credit where credit is due, she's at least grateful to her knight in shining quills, so she won't have you snapping your controller in hatred over her snobbishness. But still, her tendency to get kidnapped by the same guy over and over again to goad the plot along gets old pretty much instantly. Plus, every time you sigh deeply and re-rescue her, your reward is watching a cutesy love scene between her and Sonic, each more vomit-inducing than the last. Okay Eggman, you can have her as long as I don't have to watch things get bestial. Please. Please.

If you're like me, the words, "Hey cousin!" make you immediately crush anything you happen to be holding (which explains the coffee burns) as The Dark Times flash through your mind. That's not just because Roman has an annoying desire for constant family time either, but because he needs to be saved from himself way too freaking often. Spending all his money on back alley poker tables is a sign of a gambling problem. Gambling away so much than his cousin has to repeatedly save him from brass-knuckled goons is a sign of something way worse.

Perhaps more than anyone else on this list, going to Roman's rescue is annoying as hell because the trouble is his own fault and, unlike Ruto, he's a goddamn adult. From the moment he sets foot on American soil, Niko has to start rescuing Roman from gang members trying to aerate his guts, and it just gets worse as time goes on. He even has to bail Roman out of gambling trouble with one mob while they're on the run from a different mob. And yeah, maybe Niko gets him into some trouble too, but you know what? Screw you cousin! I love you and I want to smack you.

You know that cranky dad character who shows up in way too many lives movies, who's impossible to please despite every effort to break through his shell of cigar smoke and disappointment? The Council in Mass Effect is a bit like that, except there's no silent nod of acknowledgement before the credits roll to show that you dun good, kid. Thwarting the plans of a planet-hopping psychopath? Keeping giant cuttlefish robots from murdering every organic being in the known galaxy? Saving their asses after they refused to listen to a single thing you said? Yeah, fine, but you could've done it better.

Even when you go so Paragon you make Mother Teresa look stingy, the Council is intent on nitpicking everything you do and pointing out that you did something wrong, however minuscule it may be. Their attitude is so infuriating that when the time comes to choose between saving them from the Reapers and letting them die, you kind of want to go with the latter just because they're assholes and you hate them. It's almost like BioWare did that on purpose or something.

Those are the most annoying, useless, aggravating game characters you'd rather leave for dead than rescue. Which of these characters do you hate the most? Did I miss someone incredibly, egregiously awful? Can you even think about those questions through the headache these characters have probably caused you? Tell me in the comments below, then maybe go have a lie down.

Want to hear about some bearable characters after all that frustration? Check out .

Kart racers endure as one of gaming's purest, most enjoyable genres. As developers continue to push the envelope with convoluted plotlines and complex mechanics, kart racers remain focused on one thing: fun. They're the sort of game your parents, siblings, and best friends can sit down and play together, and everyone will have a good time.

For years, Nintendo's Mario Kart series has led the pack in the kart racing genre. But if you've only ever raced as the iconic plumber or one of his friends, then you're missing out on some incredible karting beyond the confines of the Mushroom Kingdom. Here are the top picks for the kart racers that can go toe-to-toe with the mighty Mario any day of the week. Break one of these out the next time you have guests over, and you won't be disappointed.

does for kart racers what Little Big Planet did for platformers. Almost every aspect of this game is customizable - including the tracks, racers, and vehicles - and all of these creations can be shared online. This means if you've ever wanted to see Colonel Sanders, Mr. Monopoly, and the Powerpuff Girls duke it out on the racetrack (and why wouldn't you?), then you've come to the right place.

All this creativity would be for naught, however, if the karting itself wasn't up to par. Thankfully, Racers successfully captures the basics of kart racing with fluid controls mixed with copious amounts of boost pads and drifting. There are plenty of destructive items to collect, and items can be leveled up to increase their power. ModNation Racers has a lot going for it, and the bevvy of user-generated content means you'll never hurt for something new.

Funnily enough, Konami beat Nintendo at its own game. That is to say, Konami Krazy Racers crossed the finish line before Mario Kart: Super Circuit as the first Game Boy Advance kart racer. And even though Konami doesn't have a storied history of crafting stellar racing games, Krazy Racers ain't half bad. While the gameplay mimics Mario Kart pretty closely, what really sets this GBA oddity apart is its roster of racers.

It's safe to say that no other racing game lets you chuck items and powerslide as that most famous of mystical ninjas, Goemon. For whatever reason, Dracula and Gray Fox are the picks from Castlevania and Metal Gear, rather than the obvious Simon Belmont or Snake. And then there are the racers who most Western gamers can't even name, like cutesy inclusions from Japan-centric series such as Pop'N Music, MLB Power Pros, and Parodius. But even if you don't know who the hell you picked, after a few laps around the track, you'll learn to love them.

Look around online at people's lists of "Favorite kart racers of all time" and you'll find Crash Team Racing pops up more often than not. A solid game all around, CTR demands a bit more skill from players than what is required in, say, the Mario Kart series. The power slide, which is basically drifting, has an added mechanic where players must tap one of the shoulder buttons at the correct time to pick up mini-boosts while sliding.

As many critics have noted, CTR is an excellent Mario Kart clone, and there's nothing wrong with that. The game has well-designed tracks, a wide variety of weapons, and handles as well as the best of 'em. It also packs an extensive number of modes to keep you busy, whether you're playing alone or with friends. While it certainly doesn't break new ground for the kart racing genre, CTR shows that Nintendo's secret formula can be cracked, and an amazing kart racer can be made outside of Japan.

Diddy Kong Racing deserves better. Released in 1997, this game takes the fundamentals of Mario Kart and smartly expands upon them in some interesting ways. Most notable are the vehicles. While Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed has racers switching between three different vehicle types mid-race, DKR has three different vehicles types racing simultaneously. That's right: a plane, kart, and hovercraft can all compete head-to-head on the same track, and the interplay between them helps make this game feel unique.

Items are also a big part of Diddy Kong Racing, as they are in most kart racers, but they too come with an interesting twist. In the game, there are five different types of item boxes - or rather, balloons - each with a unique color and type of item. By collecting balloons of the same color, items can be leveled up to become more powerful. For example, an oil slick can become a land mine or a rocket can become a homing rocket, if you're patient. Diddy Kong Racing received a remake on the DS in 2007, but this version is ultimately inferior due in part to its wholly unnecessary touch controls.

Speed Punks (or Speed Freaks, as it's known in Europe) is a stellar kart racer that hails from the unlikeliest of places: Ireland. Made by the team at Funcom Dublin, it's pressed-to-disc proof that great kart racing doesn't hinge on iconic characters or recognizable track themes - it all comes down to the racing itself. Speed Punks outshines Crash Team Racing as the greatest karter on PS1, with super-colorful locales, tight handling, and a wonderful sensation of speed as you zip around the courses.

The choice of weaponry found in floating item boxes is also a little more varied, since you can actually shoot at competitors with machine gun bullets, or gum up their tires with a pool of icky slime. Speed Punks also utilizes a system very similar to Mario Kart 7's acceleration-boosting coins, albeit over a decade earlier. You probably missed it due to its relatively late appearance in the PS1's lifespan , but if you ever get the chance, you should absolutely take Speed Punks for a spin.

is a noble experiment on the part of developer Bizarre Creations. The goal: to merge real-life race cars and locations with kart-racing mechanics. Prior to Blur's release, the developer was known for its Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars series, so designing a game that took the realistic race style of the former and mixed it with some of the arcade action of the latter seemed like a natural fit.

The two styles end up blending together better than expected. Seeing a Dodge Viper and Ford GT lob energy missiles at each other is little strange at first, but the explosive action and tight handling won it a lot of praise with consumers and critics alike. However, such praise fell upon deaf ears, as poor sales drove Blur into an early grave. A sequel was planned, , but was later canned after Bizarre Creations shut down in 2011. For shame!

It took Sega a long time to develop a true competitor to Nintendo's Mario Kart franchise, but in 2012, it finally did it with . While its predecessor, 2010's Sonic Sega All-Stars Racing, nailed the karting basics of tight controls, fun weapons, and a diverse roster, Transformed gave the series an identity all its own with the transformation mechanics.

Transformations are at the very heart of this game. As you run laps around the track, the course itself will shift and change. Certain sections may be flooded, or drop off into a bottomless pit. To accommodate, your vehicles transform between a race car, boat, and airplane. Each handles a bit differently, and jumping between them mid-race helps mix up the action. And for you die-hard Sega fans out there, Transformed is loaded with callbacks to the developer's classics, including Ryo Hazuki, who can cruise around on a Shenmue motorcycle or an OutRun arcade cabinet turned go-kart. How awesome is that?

There are plenty more kart racers out there that didn't make it into victory lane this time around. Which one is your favorite, and why? Let us know in the comments below, and help spread the word about these under-appreciated gems that will forever live in the shadow of a fat plumber and his bright red go-kart.

And for more high-speed fun on GR+ look up .

For all the flashy graphics, cool moves, and complex combos, a fighting game is only as good as its cast. Without a strong roster of compelling, unique fighters to choose from, brawls will end up feeling kinda 'meh'. But Capcom's legendary Street Fighter series has always offered a diverse range of awesome characters - and it looks like will be no different. Whereas Street Fighter 4 put a lot of emphasis on its eccentric newcomers, SF5 looks like it'll bring back old favorites - with a few new twists.

Only a handful of fighters have been revealed so far, but rumors are always afoot about who might secure a spot in the roster. We've rounded up all the for-sure fighters who will be in SF5 - and just for the fun of it, included our picks for some hopefuls (or ridiculous long-shots) that might make a return. So, which character will you be choosing as your go-to main? Time to make your selection.

These guys and gals will definitely be in Street Fighter 5.

It simply wouldn't be Street Fighter without series frontman Ryu. With his iconic gi, noble fighting spirit, and fireballs aplenty, Ryu is back to kick some butt in SF5. As always, his suite of specials - hadokens, shoryukens, and hurricane kicks - make him a well-rounded fighter that can deal with any situation, against any opponent. Ryu's the kind of character that appeals to beginners and veterans alike, thanks to his versatility and timeless moveset.

In SF5, Ryu seems to have retained his signature moves - including his normal attacks, such as the crouching medium kick that easily combos into a point-blank hadoken. Though not much has been disclosed about the so-called 'V-Trigger' ability in SF5, it seems to provide fighters with a burst of elemental power. Fittingly, Ryu's V-Trigger is themed around lightning, which makes us think of the old .

The first lady of fighting games is back, and it looks like her kung fu is better than ever. You no doubt know Chun-Li for her adorable hair buns, spiked bracelets, and thigh muscles that look beefy enough to snap bones like twigs. Like Ryu, Chun-Li has her standard special moves at the ready: lightweight kikoken projectiles, lightning legs that strike like a machine gun, and a variety of tricky flip kicks that can throw opponents off-balance.

Her playstyle favors agility over big damage, but Chun-Li's more than capable of some devastating combos and meaty hits. Counter to Ryu's lightning-based V-Trigger, Chun-Li seems to enhance herself with the power of flowing water, which makes her Spinning Bird Kick look like a whirlpool of death. It also look like she's got a few new normal attacks, such as a peculiar crouching fierce(?) punch that slides her ever-so-slightly forward.

In English versions of Street Fighter, he's Charlie; in Japanese, he's Nash. Convenient, then, that his full name clears up any possibility of mistaken identity. Charlie is a staple of the Street Fighter Alpha series, before he met a heroic end saving Guile and Chun-Li from a fatal explosion. So if he's dead, how is he back for SF5? One look at his new form, which appears to be bits and pieces of rotting flesh stapled together like Frankenstein's monster, should provide some answers.

Not only has Charlie's appearance changed - he also has some new game-changing special moves in addition to his previous toolkit of sonic booms and flash kicks. Through some kind of strange magic (no doubt related to the jewel embedded in his forehead), Charlie can now teleport around the screen for devious mix-up opportunities. He's also got what looks like a descending flash kick, as well as a face-electrifying command grab. Crazy!

For us, the moment M. Bison returned to Street Fighter was the most important day of our lives. But for him... it was Tuesday. The classic big-bad of Street Fighter is back, provided we're not misinterpreting the stinger at the end of Charlie's reveal trailer. Known for his devastating Psycho Crusher and unrelenting Scissor Kicks, M. Bison is the perfect fit for players that like to apply pressure on their opponents and never let up.

We've yet to see his full moveset, but one thing's for certain: Bison will definitely be sporting that classic dictator's cap of his. It kinda looks like he's got signature cape on, as well - but it's hard to tell before he explodes the camera with a burst of Psycho energy (complete with menacing laugh).

Acting as the American yin to Ryu's Japanese yang, Ken Masters is as much a part of the series as his trusty sparring partner. His trademark fiery dragon punch is always a crowd-pleaser, and Ken's quicker hurricane kicks offer just enough variety to distinguish his Shotokan fighting style from Ryu's (they did study under the same master, after all). Plus, what would flowchart following gamers do without him?

Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger Uppercut! With the way people gravitated to him when SF4 first debuted, Sagat seems like a no-brainer addition to the hypothetical SF5 roster. Less of a villain and more of a principled antihero, Sagat's eye patch, scar, and obsession with moves named after large feral cats are all a well-established part of Street Fighter lore. We're just hoping that, if he is in SF5, he won't be as overpowered as he was in his first SF4 incarnation.

Of the four brand-new fighters to be introduced in the Street Fighter 4 roster, Viper's the one with the most staying power. Capcom set out to create a cool, technically complex heroine that felt like she could belong in the King of Fighters universe, and the result was a hit with players who don't mind difficult inputs for combos. Plus, her part in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 made her something of a hit - her crazy Seismic Hammer and Thunder Knuckle setups are always a sight to behold.

Believe it or not, Poison had never been playable until Street Fighter X Tekken (unless you somehow picked up the ridiculously obscure Final Fight Revenge). But popular demand spurred Yoshinori Ono to include her in the game, and the resulting elation following her announcement was an encouraging sign for fans of the transgendered fighter. Now, with two fighting games under her belt - including a strong showing in Ultra Street Fighter 4 - there's no reason Poison can't come back for SF5.

Here's another female fighter who should totally stick around for SF5. Ibuki makes up for her relatively weak damage by having some of the trickiest mobility in the game, letting a skilled player dash circles around their confused opponent. Adding her to the Super Street Fighter 4 roster was a stroke of genius, and her aerial attacks and kunai-tossing work just as well in 2.5D as they do in regular ol' 2D.

Alright, we could probably go on stating obvious character inclusions all day. Blanka, Zangief, E. Honda, Dhalsim - we have no doubt in our minds that they'd make the cut for SF5, and if they're ever confirmed, we'll gladly add them to the list. But it's interesting to hypothesize about the borderline characters; fighters who have enough clout to sneak their way into the SF5 roster. The more the merrier, we say, so if Capcom sees fit to include the followings fighters, we'd be delighted.

Despite only appearing in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Karin’s a fan favorite who never misses the chance to demean her assailants. Born into the rich Kanzuki family, Karin fancies herself to be Sakura's rival after Sakura trounced her in a scuffle. Like Dudley, she’s always accompanied by her loyal butler; unlike Dudley, she rarely treats her butler with much respect. But all is forgiven when you see her crazy kick loops in the corner!

Everyone's favorite loincloth-wearing tyrant deserves to make the jump to 3D. Ever since he debuted in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact, he's been a fairly popular mid-to-high-tier character, knee-dropping and Chariot Tackle-ing his opponents into oblivion. His Aegis Reflector super move can also be a game-changer, bouncing back incoming projectiles and setting up nasty unblockables on knockdown. We'd gladly welcome this metal-controlling megalomaniac into the SF5 roster.

When it comes to Capcom games, Maki’s been around the digital block. First appearing in Final Fight 2 as an analogue for the absent Guy, Maki resurfaced in Capcom vs SNK 2 before finally landing a gig in the Street Fighter lineage, with a slot in the Street Fighter Alpha 3 ports for the Game Boy Advance and PSP. Like Guy, she's another disciple of the Bushin-ryu style, using her tonfa to lay the smackdown on Mad Gear goons and rivals alike. Maki and Ibuki would get along like ninja peas in a pod.

It seems like SF fans have been quietly waiting to see the triumphant return of Q. This terribly mysterious fighter might be man, machine, or monster - no one's seen underneath his metal mask and lived to tell about it. His fighting style is also quite unlike any other character in the series' history: a sort of lanky, lumbering brute that can withstand absurd amounts of punishment when played correctly. Something tells us that Q is just enough of an oddball sleeper hit to make it into the next game.

This zany pro wrestler has only appeared in Street Fighter Alpha 3, but she gets a nod in SFxT via Kuma's alternate costume. With her ridiculously impractical attire and a grappling style fashioned after Zangief's piledrivers, R. Mika deserves life in 3D for the next crossover. Like Hugo, she utilizes her butt as a weapon, flinging herself into the opponent backside first for maximum damage. It's all for her fans, and the Japanese wrestler's moxie comes through in her win quotes: "Don't underestimate me! I believe in my dreams!"

So, which fighter are you planning to play as (or hoping makes a comeback)? Let us know in the comments below!

And if you're looking for more, check out .

There are few universal joys quite like the rush you get from completely and utterly destroying something. It's why Edward Norton punched Jared Leto in the face a dozen times in Fight Club. It's why people spend hundreds of dollars to buy expensive gadgets on launch day then throw them at the ground in front of dozens of heartbroken onlookers. It's often why we play video games - so we can fulfill our most destructive urges while staying out of jail.

Some games let you build up an entire world and take it apart brick by brick. Others are filled with tons of explosives and breakable objects. And the real special ones let you demolish entire structures and watch them topple to the ground. Either way, these games provide some of the most satisfying ways to break, blow up, or otherwise destroy everything in sight.

Back in the '90s, Rare was one of the greatest studios around, and Blast Corps was one of its best games. It's based on a simple premise - a giant truck seemingly packed with every last drop of the world's supply of nitroglycerin, plutonium, gunpowder, and gasoline is on a collision course with ruin, and it's up to you and whatever vehicle you can get your hands on to keep it from blowing up. So yes, in order to prevent ultimate destruction, you have to destroy everything. Makes sense to me.

Whether it's a set of explosive barrels, some innocuous crates, or a random barn, everything blows up real good. And you have a vast array of machinery to enact your brand of destructive carnage, from bulldozers, to dump trucks, to flying mechs that ground-pound and uppercut objects into oblivion. Part action, part puzzle, but always satisfying, Blast Corps is a demolitionist's delight.

Remember that scene from Ghostbusters? No, not the one where Dan Aykroyd dreams about getting frisky with a ghost. No, not the one that heavily implies that Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis just had sex. I'm talking about the part in the hotel where our trio of misfits finally get their big break and catch their first apparition. How fun would it be to just wreck house with a proton pack? Well, thanks to Ghostbusters: The Video Game, now you can.

The first level is pure fanservice, as you revisit the Sedgewick Hotel to hunt down a bunch of ghosts - only this time, you get to raise hell and destroy everything in sight in your quest to prevent mass hysteria. Chandeliers, paintings, furniture - all will fall to the might of your proton beam. Don't be shy - you're not going to get billed for any damages. It sets the scene for a game filled with environments just waiting to be blasted. Just don't cross the streams.

For a guy with the word 'smash' in his catchphrase, The Incredible Hulk hasn't really had a game live up to his signature acts of wanton destruction. But all of that changed with Ultimate Destruction, an open-world game filled to the brim with tools of annihilation. There are so many things for The Hulk to grab, throw, and otherwise wreck that he's basically running around like a kid in a candy store. A volatile, explosive candy store.

From the word 'go', you're basically given carte blanche to run around open environments and tackle objectives how you see fit. Break a car in half, crush it onto your hands and use the car bits as steel boxing gloves. Run up the side of a building, leaving pockmarks in your wake, and launch into a helicopter. Ultimate Destruction puts you in the shoes of a living wrecking ball, basically making it the best superhero game ever made.

Half-Life 2 is a physics wonderland, a playground of see-saws, breakable boxes, and launchable buzzsaws. It blew our faces clean off of our faces when we played it ten years ago, and even now, the gravity gun is a total blast to use, letting you rip objects off of the walls and throw them at your hapless foes. And it doesn't get much better than the spooktacular sandbox found in Ravenholm.

What once was a fairly standard (if best-in-class) first-person shooter now becomes a survival horror game, complete with an over-abundance of face huggers and a distressing lack of supplies. Only now, you have a gravity gun, and it because your ultimate tool of improvisation. Grab a buzzsaw off the ground and slice those zombies in half. Or pick up an explosive canister and lob it in a group of 'em. Ravenholm is filled with tons of breakable objects, volatile barrels, and Rube Goldbergian traps, and whipping them around with the gravity gun is still satisfying to this day.

King Kong may have invented the 'giant monster' genre, but Rampage actually let you be the ape. Or huge lizard. Or multi-story werewolf. Rampage is all about destruction, as you and your monster buddies move from city to city, levelling skyscrapers and eating helicopters out of the sky. Methodically chomp on innocent bystanders as they poke their heads outside of their windows, or quickly take out the building's supports and watch it crumble into dust - the choice is yours, as long as you've got enough quarters.

Other games might have brought kaiju destruction to a three-dimensional space, but there's something captivating about the purity of running from side to side, slowly climbing up buildings, and punching them to the ground. Plus, Rampage takes the whole 'ripping out of your clothing into a disproportionately large monster' thing to its .

Minecraft may seem like an odd inclusion on a list filled with shoot 'em ups and explode-athons, but hear me out. It's certainly not filled with gratuitous violence and realistic physics systems (though, if you're not careful, those creepers will blow you to kingdom come). But what it does seems almost more ambitious - it lets you build the world as you see fit, then dismantle it piece by piece.

It's the ultimate crafting game, letting you chop down trees and carve into mountains, and turn their constituent parts into houses, tools, and even works of art. And the best part is that, as long as you have the proper equipment, you can mine just about anything. Turn on creative mode and fly to the highest heights or the deepest depths, and take the entire world apart one pixelated brick at a time.

I was wondering why it took so long for somebody to let The Force off its chain and chase after the neighbor kids, but I'm so glad someone finally did it. The Force Unleashed lets you get in touch with your inner Sith, allowing you to launch, blow up, or otherwise decimate pretty much anything you can think of - and it's as amazing as it sounds.

The Force Unleashed gives you your first taste of power by putting you in Darth Vader's black military boots, letting you unleash hellish fury on the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk. Blow open massive wooden gates and watch the splinters rain down, cut trees into toothpicks, and pick up and launch Chewbacca's buddies off a cliff (sorry!). But it doesn't stop there. Eventually, you'll take control of Vader's apprentice and learn a whole new array of explosive abilities - like grabbing a Star Destroyer out of the sky and slamming it into the ground. Is it over-the-top? Yeah. Is it stupid? Totally. Is it fun? You bet your nerfherding butt it is.

Of course Red Faction is on this list. What started as an average shooter with some terrain-deforming ideas, Red Faction didn't fully come into its own until its third outing. It was cool to be able to blow up pretty much any wall or other obstacle that stood in your way, but its gameplay was too linear, its options too limiting. With Guerrilla, you're not funneled down corridors - instead, you're given a whole planet to destroy.

While Guerrilla doesn't let you make a dent in the surrounding terrain, it does let you take out entire goddamn buildings if you're so inclined. Just grab your sledgehammer, take out a few supports, and blammo - that three story building is now lying in pieces on the ground. And it's not just buildings. Cover can be blown away with a well-placed grenade, bridges can be levelled with a few rockets - pretty much any man-made structure can be turned into so much debris with a good smacking. It never gets old.

Sometimes you just want to watch the world burn. These games let you do it without leaving the house - or hurting anyone. That's the important bit. How do you like to live out your most destructive fantasies? Let me know in the comments below!

Looking for more? Check out our list of .

The first few months of the year are notorious for scant game releases - the holiday season is behind us, and summer blockbusters feel all too far away. But rest assured, 2015 is going to be a huge year for video games. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U all have new games in cornerstone series on the way, and third-party developers are nearly finished with some of their biggest projects to date. For proof, just look at the impressive list of incoming . But what about the here and now?

February didn't exactly make waves, and when the hype trains for finally arrived at the station, they weren't quite the seminal AAA titles some of us might've been hoping for. But never fear - not a month goes by without some awesome games coming out that are well worth your time and money. Let's take a look at the winner and runner-up for the best games of February, shall we?

If you've yet to succumb to monster hunting fever, you might wonder what all the fuss is about. Plenty of games let you battle vicious beasties and craft fancy gear - but few can develop the kind of player investment and cooperative dedication typical of Monster Hunter. For the uninitiated, is a great way to educate yourself on its gloriously addictive ways. Not just because it's the most beginner-friendly entry in Capcom's hit series - it's also the best Monster Hunter game yet.

Gathering materials and killing harmless herbivores is really just a build-up to something greater: downing fearsome creatures after incredibly demanding battles that require true mastery of your chosen weapon. Series vets are already familiar with MH's captivating gameplay loop of fighting and looting, but the new Charge Blade and Insect Glaive playstyles offer entirely unique ways to test your prowess. If you're looking to start or join a dedicated hunting party - preferably with an expert as your guide - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate offers the kind of adventure that can hook you for hundreds of hours.

Majora's Mask is... well, it's a bit weird. Instead of following the familiar formula that Zelda games have stuck to for years, Majora's Mask asks that you play the same three days over and over again, trying to make the world a little bit brighter each time. It's certainly strange, and more than a little stressful - but taking the time to learn its rhythm opens up one of the most intriguing and creative Legend of Zelda games ever made. Perhaps that's why, 15 years and a 3DS port later, it feels even better than ever.

Much of that feeling is thanks to the improvements found in this portable version of the N64 classic. The updated Bomber's Notebook makes tracking numerous sidequests a painless process, boss design has been retooled to make things teresting, and additional save points help make portable adventuring much more palatable. Plus, New 3DS owners even have some improved camera control with the C-Stick. Whether this is your first time playing through those ominous 72 hours or your hundredth, is a master quest that stands the test of time.

Grim Fandango is, without a doubt, one of the most unique video games ever made. The quest of an undead travel agent as he attempts to atone for his sins is a love letter to film noir greats like Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, but it also transcends its influences to be something truly original. And with , you'll finally get to play this lost classic on your PlayStation 4, complete with (some) updated graphics and a fantastic re-recording of the original score.

Grim Fandango is also one of the most uniquely frustrating games ever made, and the Remastered edition only serves to highlight its many game-ruining bugs. Whether it's glitching out a puzzle, clipping you through a wall, or just flat out crashing, Grim Fandango Remastered actually seems buggier now than it did 17 years ago. Make no mistake: Manny's journey is still definitely one worth revisiting - just remember to save your game. Often.

sounds kinda ridiculous at first - it's literally a remastered HD version of a rebuilt SD version of the original Resident Evil. Turns out the joke's on us, though, because that's all we really needed to enjoy the survival horror staple all over again: the HD Remake gives all the main characters and the Spencer Mansion an enticing facelift but keeps the little quirks that make Resident Evil awesome/a total headache/undeniably unique.

You'll still need to manage eight (at most) inventory slots, and you'll still need to keep your distance from downed zombies - or preferably burn them on the spot. The most major change is the new default control scheme, which makes it handle more like a modern fixed-camera game, but you're free to select the old 'tank' controls if you want. With modern conveniences where it needs them and good old weirdness where it doesn't, Resident Evil HD Remake is a near masterpiece… of unlocking.

Those are the first games that made a mark in 2015, but they won't be the last. Stay tuned to this page to see what will are the best games for every month this year. I'm sure the answers will surprise you.

For formation on 2015's releases, be sure to check out the

Sometimes we all get stuck browsing the interwebs, reading random articles, watching YouTube videos, and shopping for things that we just don't need. That last one is actually quite the black hole of distraction and procrastination. But rather than help by trying to pull you out of it for the sake of productivity, I'm going to drag you down with me into the pit of unessential online shopping.

It probably began with my fascination with lightsaber replicas, but I always get caught up contemplating the finer points of geeky replicas. There are some pretty badass props out there. From gaming heroes' swords to iconic hand cannons, there's a ton of items to add to that useless, wall-mounted weapon rack full of fake weapons. Buy hey, they're awesome to look at right? Here are some of the most accurate, amazing, and tempting props to fill your home (and mine).

The Portal Gun is probably one of the most unique weapons in gaming - if you could even call it a weapon. It's able to shoot portals into solid surfaces, creating an instant doorway and an excellent gameplay mechanic for a first-person puzzler.

I don't even and I still want this thing. It looks so much like its in-game counterpart that it's crazy. Apart from actually shooting physics-tearing portals, it has it all: lights, sounds, stickers. Now you're playing with portals.

Half-Life 2 is definitely one of the greatest shooters ever. Heck, it's one of the , period. To earn its title as king among shooters, it had to have some awesome weaponry right? Well, yes. The zero point energy field manipulator, better known as the gravity gun, gives players control over the world's physics like no other weapon in games had done before or since. Who knew it would be so fun to throw garbage at people's heads with extreme force?

How sweet would it be to have the gravity gun sitting on your coffee table. Just about everyone knows what Half-Life 2 is. Even guests who don't call themselves gamers might pick this thing up and start pretending to levitate your couch with it. Video game weapons don't get much more iconic than Gordon Freeman's gravity gun, so what's better than actually owning it?

The Mass Effect series has a ton of futuristic weaponry to pull from. There are guns with unlimited ammo, rocket launchers, and even black hole emitters. But for a personal, technologically advanced gun collection, sometimes simple is best.

If you played a Biotic class in the Mass Effect series, the M6 Carnifex was most likely your bread and butter. This replica is massive, weighs seven pounds, and even plays the sound effects so you don't have to make the "pew pew" noises yourself. Pair this with a replica Omni Tool, and you're set.

Forget hanging Grandpa's old hunting rifle over the fireplace, you know what will really get people's attention? A fully-automatic rifle with a chainsaw sticking out from underneath the barrel.

Gears of War's Lancer became one of the most recognisable gaming weapons when the first title hit the store shelves. It became so iconic, Epic started selling full-size, limited edition replicas at the launch of the first sequel. You can get one now for a couple hundred bucks. It might not have an actual spinning bayonet blade, but it's still super fucking awesome.

The is probably one of the most interesting items you can get in a shooter. It's like a hand held roller coaster car. Not only does it give you the thrill of flying across an environment mid-gunfight, its one of the most brutal killing machines in the game. And I want it in my collection. The replica linked below actually spins the hooks when you pull the trigger, though I wouldn't recommend trying to get it to work in real life. Hanging from a wire using a prop is ill advised. But having a Skyhook on display alongside the rest of these crazy weapons would make any collection feel more complete.

Like the Boy Scouts say, "Always be prepared." And if you want to be prepared for everything, you're going to need a space-aged just in case an infestation of undead necromorphs crops up in your neighborhood (or if you decide to mine space rocks). Isaac Clark's limb-severing plasma cutter is hard to mistake and makes a pretty sweet addition to a display case.

In Dead Space, the plasma cutter's blade shifts from horizontal to vertical slicing modes, allowing Isaac to get a perfect chop on an approaching necromorph. The replica does the same, and even lights up the blue green laser lights when you pull the trigger. Looks legit.

What kind of video game weapon collection would be complete without a few iconic swords? WarCraft's .

How could you not want to own the sword that corrupted the golden boy prince Arthas, causing him to betray his friends, kill his father, and take the place of the Lich King on top the Frozen Throne. You can't even possess this sword in the digital world of WoW, but for a pretty penny, you can own it in the real one.

The isn't much of a sword, more like an oddly shaped mace with a few nasty looking prongs. But hey, with a weapon as recognisable as the Keyblade, it's tough to pass up a full-size replica - especially because the real-life versions aren't very expensive compared to the other weapons on this list.

Sora's Keyblade is like the Excalibur of the Kingdom Hearts universe, coming only to people worthy of wielding it. I'm not going to get into the entire lore of keyblades, their wielders, and why their shaped like that (find that in our article). But if you need a totally awesome video game replica, the Keyblade is a classic.

Kratos' are probably the most insane hand-to-hand weapons ever imagined. They're two monstrous knives attached to ten foot long chains, which are fused to a human being's forearms. And how do you kill things with them? Why, you swing them over your head and around your body creating a cyclone of spinning, razor-sharp blades, of course. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't recommend that readers bring these things into their homes.

Well, luckily the real life replicas of these death knives on chains aren't nearly as dangerous - unless you attach the chains to your arms and start swinging them around (please don't do that). When displayed on their stands (and not being swung around your head) the Blades of Chaos make pretty sweet decorations.

You can't talk about collecting video game weapons without mentioning the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda series. This is the ultimate hero's sword. It's the blade of evil's bane, the birthright of every green-garbed hero, and heck, one of the coolest sword designs ever conceived.

It's pretty easy to find a replica of the Master Sword, but honestly, some of them have pretty shoddy craftsmanship. Sometimes the shape isn't quite right, the paint jobs are questionable, and the steel just looks cheap. A legendary blade such as this deserves better. There have been some amazing Master Sword replicas out there as well, but this ain't bad.

Well, hopefully this article didn't derail you into a video game weapon shopping spree spanning the vast world wide web. But if it did, did you come across any particularly awesome video game replicas? What would you add to the list? How many game weapons do you have in your collection? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Looking for more articles to distract you from your daily responsibilities? Check out our list of .

The last Season Pass DLC for Far Cry 4 is a doozy. Crash landed in an even-remoter region of the Himalayas, Ajay Ghale must struggle to survive against dangerous beasts, murderous cultists, and a certain abominable snowman. You'll have to set up camp to survive the frigid landscape, upgrading it with scavenged tools so that you can ward off boneheaded (literally) cultists at night. Thankfully, you won't have to do any of it alone - not even the story missions.

Yep, Valley of the Yetis will be fully playable in co-op when it releases on March 10 in North America and March 11 in Europe. Sounds like an appropriately bonkers way to close out Far Cry 4's DLC, though you're still free to explore the new region at your leisure with a friend or on your own. Make sure you click on for more details on the rest of the open-world shooter's downloadable expansions.

Before I get to describing Overrun, the fourth piece of DLC for Far Cry 4, here's a reminder: the game does, in fact, including a competitive multiplayer mode. Said mode will be of utmost importance to your enjoyment of Overrun, since it adds a new mode, more maps, and a dune buggy to your online battles. It may be the only expansion for Far Cry 4 multiplayer that we know of, but at least it looks like a pretty cool one.

First off, the eponymous mode sees the Golden Path and the Rakshasa squaring off to control one of three king-of-the-hill style locations. There's a twist, though - at some point, the location will shift, meaning both teams had better get their butts in gear to claim the new spot. And how better to plot a course through four new maps than in the comfort of your own personal dune buggy?

By this point in the Far Cry franchise, you either want more Hurk, or you don't want anything to do with Hurk. The third Far Cry 4 DLC pack is better suited to the former kind of open-world shooting enthusiast. Ubisoft released the Hurk Deluxe Pack on January 27, adding five new missions which star the globetrotting good ol' boy for both single-player and co-op. As you can probably guess from Hurk's starring role, things get weird.

The pack also introduces several new weapons, including Hurk's beloved harpoon gun. The Hurk Deluxe Pack (we've officially passed the point where 'Hurk' begins to sound less like a character and more like a choking sound) is available on its own or as the third part of the Far Cry 4 Season Pass.

Far Cry 4's Escape from Durgesh Prison isn't content to throw a new weapon or ability your way and let you go to town on familiar enemies - y'know, the standard DLC shtick. Instead, it takes the opposite route: protagonist Ajay Ghale and his co-op buddy Hurk find themselves locked up in the eponymous prison, completely stripped of all their weaponry. But that's not the worst of it. With no friendly places to mend his wounds nearby, if Ajay gets taken out, he's done for.

That's right, Escape from Durgesh Prison introduces permadeath to the open-world shooter, meaning you'll have to play cautiously and learn from your mistakes if you're ever going to complete your grand exodus.

That's the score on the Far Cry 4 DLC for now. Was it tempting enough for you to invest in a season pass, or are you happy to wait and see? Let us know in the comments below!

If you want to know all about Ajay, Pagan Min, Hurk, and Kyrat at large, be sure to read up on everything we know about .

Scarecrow is not messing around in this new Batman: Arkham Knight trailer. Ever since Arkham Asylum's horrifying hallucinations, he's been trouble, but this is a different kind of scary. The rogue's gallery of Gotham assembles for his scheme in the video embedded below, titled 'Gotham Is Mine'. You'll see a bunch of familiar faces, but Arkham Knight's impressive new-gen visuals imbue them with a more threatening presence than you may be familiar and/or comfortable with.

Apparently the key to taking the Riddler from 'question-mark-bedazzled goofball' to 'terrifying sociopath' is to give him a too-wide grin, an unflinching stare, and a few days of stubble. Seriously, that could be single-handedly responsible for the 'M' rating - as you may recall, all the other Arkham games have been 'T' so far. Anyway, make sure you see for yourself in the trailer embedded below. And after you're done with that, click on for more details. It just might make the wait until June a little bit easier...

The Dark Knight is one of the most omnipresent characters in pop culture, but people can't get enough of the Caped Crusaders. They want to know when his next comic series, film, or video game will come out, and now there's an answer for one of those. Batman: Arkham Knight now has the global release date of June 2, 2015. Yes, that's a worldwide date, avoiding the standard separate launches for different parts of the world. That date is two weeks before E3 2015, in case you were curious how it fit in your gamer calendar.

For a game that was once planned for release this year, it's good to hear that Arkham Knight will be ready before the fall. And, because it's a major release in the modern age, you'd be right to guess there's an extra-fancy special edition, filled with exclusive DLC, an art book, a comic, and statue of the Batmobile - or a Batman memorial, which seemingly implies a dark ending for the Dark Knight.

has a great story, but it plays things way too safe. The prequel lacks the innovation you'd expect from a new Arkham game, probably because Origins was developed by Warner Bros Montreal; not series-creator Rocksteady. It was a stop-gap, while Rocksteady spent time working on a new Batman game for a new generation of consoles. It's clear that Arkham Knight is the real follow-up to Arkham City.

Rocksteady has already mentioned numerous times that Knight is the conclusion to the Arkham trilogy of games. It's interesting to me that Rocksteady barely acknowledges the other 'third' game, Batman: Arkham Origins. That stubborn mindset shows that Rocksteady isn’t just going to settle for business as usual: the team is going to shake things up for this trilogy's finale, starting with an addition fans having been dying to see...

Rocksteady finally has a drivable Batmobile in its Arkham universe, and it's central to the new game. It looks like a combination of Christian Bale’s tumbler and the Michael Keaton-era vehicles, and it moves like an unstoppable beast. It plows through trees, concrete barricades, and taxis, all while being nimble enough to jump over gaps and even drive up walls if you've built up enough speed. It flies through the wide city streets with a powerful engine, blasting fire out of the back.

Gotham City has been rebuilt to make room for the Batmobile, so it slots in naturally. The driving is impressively integrated with Arkham’s traditional grapple ‘n glide gameplay. If you’re flying, a button press will summon the Batmobile for Bruce to hop right in, while you can eject out at any moment and return to the air. Even the Riddler challenges are now underground driving tests, trading brainteasers for drift racing.

As you're driving around Gotham (or through it, depending on your driving skills), the Batmobile is virtually indestructible. It's built like a tank, and can even transform into one. With the push of a button, it morphs into a nimble machine (also called battle mode) that lets you strafe and move around in all directions with ease and fire everything you’ve got at enemy drones. Armed with heavy cannons, rockets, a Vulcan cannon, riot suppressors, and who knows what else, Batman’s sweet ride is fully-loaded with a ton of toys to play with. It even has a containment unit in the back that can hold people or other precious cargo.

The Batmobile's standard form, or pursuit mode, comes equipped with booster rockets (to do booster donuts) and a power winch that’s strong enough to raise bridges and elevators. Like a good sidekick, the Batmobile comes when called, but it also comes with a remote so you can switch views and control the Batmobile from any location, helping you solve puzzles and essentially save yourself when you're in a pinch.

Too many games make compromises to stretch themselves across current-gen and last-gen. Arkham Knight is part of a growing group of PS4/Xbox One/PC-only games, and that focus is really paying off. Arkham Knight looks so good, with lighting, weather effects, and intricate visuals that the old systems could never duplicate.

It is one of the best looking titles I’ve seen, and the devs explain that the game simply couldn’t be created on the old hardware. In particular, they say that the Batmobile is only possible in Arkham Knight thanks to the current-gen horsepower they have at their disposal. It certainly looks like one of the true show-pieces for the new set of consoles.

The Arkham games have always kept the full glory of Gotham City tantalisingly out of reach. It's in the background of Asylum, a chunk of it forms the jail in City, and Origins blankets another portion of the town in snow. Arkham Knight gives you ALL of Gotham City. On a clear day. And it’s approximately 20 times the size of Arkham Asylum. The demo gives me a guided tour of the city, including the blazing neon of Chinatown and the famous clocktower base of Oracle.

You can appreciate the wide-ranging scope of the city because all the people have been evacuated. Call it a lame excuse if you like, but thanks to a toxic threat from the returning Scarecrow, all the regular folks in Gotham have town, leaving the burg to the cops and crooks that stayed behind. I’m fine with this reasoning, mainly because it opens up the sprawling, lovely metropolis to be enjoyed to its fullest.

Batman’s combat skills are still the gold standard in action-adventure, and Arkham Knight looks to beef them up considerably. When it comes to hand-to-hand, Batman can now hold onto weapons after disarming thugs, beating them with their own clubs, all while he smoothly chains combos together. While in stealth mode, the Caped Crusader can use Fear Takedowns, a move that gets the drop on three thugs at a time via a brief QTE. That’s in addition to Environmental Takedowns for unique knockouts based on where the guy is standing when you attack.

Batman’s newfound ferocity manifests in the Batmobile sections too. When chasing an armored car, the Dark Knight can shut it down with some well placed Neutralizer Rockets. And when the driver crawls out of the wreck, Bats threatens to break his arm unless he coughs-up some information. Of course, Bats then breaks the thug’s arm once he has given up the info. Nice. Also, did we mention batarangs to the face?

Tacked on multiplayer modes , and Arkham Origins shows that there’s room for engaging, team-based combat featuring the Bat-family of characters. Despite reasonable quality, Origins’ online battles have never been popular, so it makes sense that Rocksteady isn’t going to spend any of it’s resources on multiplayer. Like a good book, and the dour caterwauling of James Blunt, Arkham Knight is meant to be enjoyed alone.

Rocksteady mentions that--based on the size of the current team--it would have a tough time creating great single and multiplayer modes, so the team is sticking with the solo action it does so well. There are still the challenge rooms to keep you busy afterwards, including the announced Harley Quinn pre-order bonus. Plus, I know so many people that found Arkham City’s wealth of content daunting enough, so those folks may never see all Arkham Knight has to offer.

Early footage from Arkham Knight show familiar faces like Riddler, The Penguin, and Two-Face boldly stalking the streets of Gotham, while Scarecrow goes as an unseen force that’s risen up in the villain ranks. These guys have all moved up to fill the void left after beware Arkham City spoilers The Joker’s death in the previous game. This means Batman is facing a more solidified force without Mr. J’s chaos disrupting their plans... but that’s the least of his problems this time around.

See, the Arkham Knight in the title isn’t actually Batman, but a mysterious new villain Rocksteady conceived in conjunction with DC Comics. Arkham Knight appears at the end of my demo, beating Batman convincingly, and seemingly shooting Bruce in the face as the screen fades to black. Arkham Knight’s style will remind comics-fans of previous Bat-pretenders like Azrael and Red Hood, but this new enemy’s motives and identity remain a closely guarded secret.

Arkham Knight sees the Scarecrow go from fear-inducing annoyance to a criminal mastermind out to level Gotham City. He's replacing The Joker not only in the criminal underworld, but also in Arkham's DLC, where Scarecrow will be the boss of a number of bonus missions. And all of them will be exclusive to the PS4.

Exclusive DLC is all the rage right now, so it isn't a surprise to see Batman join in on the action with 2015's Arkham Knight. Too bad for fans who play on Xbox One and PC, but they can hold out a glimmer of hope that the stages will have timed exclusivity instead of permanent.

Early footage from Arkham Knight show familiar faces like Riddler, The Penguin, and Two-Face boldly stalking the streets of Gotham, while Scarecrow goes as an unseen force that’s risen up in the villain ranks. These guys have all moved up to fill the void left after the events in the previous game. This means Batman is facing a more solidified force, but that’s the least of his problems this time around.

See, the Arkham Knight in the title isn’t actually Batman, but a mysterious new villain Rocksteady conceived in conjunction with DC Comics. Arkham Knight’s style will remind comic fans of previous Bat-pretenders like Azrael and Red Hood, but this new enemy is a highly-skilled combat specialist with his own (secret) agenda, and has a powerful military force at his disposal. He may be acting as Scarecrow's lieutenant, but with a infantry units, tank divisions, and airborne drones, it looks like he has bigger plans for himself. Good thing for battle mode!

The game’s reveal hinted at some other interesting bits of new gameplay functionality and the like, but that’s not the most pressing question for fans that grew up with Batman: The Animated Series. They want to know if Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman for multiple projects and the first two Arkham games will return after being replaced in Arkham Origins. And the answer is yes.

It was confirmed in the earliest preview, which is good because we already had a hunch he'd be back. After Arkham Origins was announced, said that he had just recorded stuff for a new Arkham game. And yet, he wasn’t the voice in Arkham Origins, making the then-unannounced Arkham Knight is confirmed as the game he was referring to. Arkham Knights' Batman is supposed to be very experienced and later in his career than most incarnations of Batman, making Conroy the perfect fit for the established crime fighter.

In the modern gaming world, where we sometimes know too much about upcoming titles, it’s nice to see Arkham Knight remaining so mysterious. In the end, it's what I don't know that makes me so excited. But what are you hoping to see in the final game? I want to hear your opinions in the comments!

And if you're looking for more comic fun, check out .

When you have your own Twitter parody account, that's when you know you've made it in this industry. Forget all the awards and accolades and years of backbreaking work. When your persona has been refined to the point where someone else can mold it into a twisted parody of itself - that's the true measure of success. Or at the very least, it'll do wonders for your ego.

The video game industry is not without its share of celebrities, and some of these celebrities have very, very dedicated fans. I'm talking people who are willing to, day in and day out, drum up new material to fuel their parody Twitter accounts, which skewer some of gaming's biggest characters (and caricatures). Here are 10 of the best that are still going strong today.

The REAL Peter Molyneux: is a veteran game developer with an extensive track record that includes such games as Fable, Black White, and Populous. He currently works at 22Cans developing the Kickstarter-funded Godus. Recently, Molydeux has come under fire for not delivering on promises made regarding Godus, which has become something of a habit.

The FAKE Peter Molyneux: is a video game visionary who cranks out outlandish game ideas on a regular basis. For example, "Imagine a FPS where your hair can overgrow and obstruct your view?" See what I mean? It's actually not too different from the real Molyneux. Molydeux is also the inspiration for , a 48-hour game jam whose entries are inspired by those same tweets.

The REAL Polygon: is a video game and entertainment website founded back in 2012 as part of Vox Media. Before launching, the site gained a lot of notoriety for bringing in several big-wig video game writers from various outlets. There was even .

The FAKE Polygon: is a satirical news feed that lampoons video games, the people who make them, the media, YouTube personalities, and damn near everything else in between. As its profile notes, any "resemblance to journalism is accidental." Right now they are knee-deep in skewering The Order: 1886, complete with mock headlines and developer quotes.

The REAL Kazuo Hirai: is the President and CEO of Sony Corporation. He has dedicated his professional career to Sony, starting in the early '80s when he joined the marketing department of Sony's music division in Japan. However, most people will likely recognize him as the "It's Ridge Racer!" guy from Sony's E3 2006 press conference.

The FAKE Kazuo Hirai: is a megalomaniacal, equal-opportunity hater who excels at pointing out the faults of Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and anyone else who catches his eye. It's not uncommon for his insults to circle back on themselves and burn everyone involved: "Microsoft are so desperate to emulate the PS4′s success that they are copying everything we do, which is why XBOX LIVE is also down."

The REAL optimistic indie: doesn't exist. This is for two reasons: one, this parody account isn't parodying any one person, but rather a type of personality. And two, there's no such thing as an optimistic independent game developer. Are you kidding me? Making video games is nightmarishly hard work. They don't have time to be happy.

The FAKE optimistic indie: is full of really helpful advice for up-and-coming developers. His own game(s) may never get finished and his hairbrained marketing strategies never seem to work out, but by-golly he's at least got a sunny attitude. And an empty bank account.

The REAL Moms Against Gaming: isn't a real thing, however I think we can all think of a few organizations out there that are all-too-similar to this fictitious group. You know the ones, ready to expound upon the evils of gaming and the mind-warping, homicide-inducing damage they're inflicting on the youth. Just like comic books, rock and roll, and Dane Cook.

The FAKE Moms Against Gaming: is fighting the good fight against the many evils of video games. And they're ready to back up their claims with as many made up facts and figures as they can muster. In a more recent tirade, MAG pointed out how Majora's Mask teaches our children to fear the moon: "By saying the moon is bad, the creators of legend of Zelda are forcing our kids to avoid parties and late night social events for gaming."

The REAL Jim Ross: is a long-time wrestling commentator and a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. His energetic, excitable commentary style has earned him the unofficial title of 'Voice of the WWE'. He also has his own line of barbecue sauce. Sauce it!

The FAKE Jim Ross: is where the worlds of professional wrestling, fighting games, and (on occasion) Pokemon collide. This bizarre mashup takes Ross' signature, over-the-top commentating style and applies to whatever fighting game tournament is happening on that particular weekend. He'll also pull the reverse and mix the FGC into the latest . In both cases, someone always gets BROKEN IN HALF. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!

The REAL Samus Aran: is the well-known star of Nintendo's Metroid series. Despite starting her life as an awesome, 200-pound space marine, she was later retconned into a supermodel with rocket boots that are totally not high heels. Her most recent outing was the extremely unfortunate Metroid: Other M, where she constantly acted like she didn't understand what was happening.

The FAKE Samus Aran: is a hard-drinking bounty hunter with an on-again/off-again rivalry with Princess Zelda and is the closest thing I'll get to Twitter fanfiction on this list. She's also extremely bitter about the lack of Metroid games on the horizon, and isn't afraid to go on a stream-of-consciousness rant about it. Proceed with caution.

The REAL legendary engram: isn't a person, it's a thing. Specifically, it's the legendary version of an engram, a special type of loot found in Destiny that must be decrypted in order to find out what it does. The Destinypedia claims they "may contain a legendary item, an exotic item, or Ascendant Materials" but as most players have discovered they typically contain "crap you don't want."

The FAKE legendary engram: is here to remind you how badly these items love to troll Destiny players. The typical tweet will be something like, 'Spent 8 hours finishing a raid? Here's a crappy level 18 hand cannon for your trouble.' However, the real culprit here is Destiny's loot-generating algorithm, which always seems to reward the players who aren't you.

The REAL Fork Parker: is also the fake Fork Parker. That is to say, there is only one Fork Parker, and he is an imaginary character featured in a smattering of Serious Sam games. He is depicted as the CFO of publisher Devolver Digital, though one would assume there is a real CFO of Devolver out there who doesn't look like Colonel Sanders.

The FAKE Fork Parker: loves taking advantage of ignorant, independent game developers and making lots of money. He is also full of random non-sequiturs and doesn't care what you think unless what you think is how you need to buy more Devolver Digital games.

The REAL David Cage: is the founder of Quantic Dream, the studio behind such games as Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. It should also be noted that, before he did all that, Cage directed 1999's Omikron: The Nomad Soul, which features David Bowie and is totally rad. His games focus heavily on narrative, and Cage has often expressed that games can "do more" than how they're currently used.

The FAKE David Cage: can be summarized with a single tweet: "I believe the Devil May Cry fails its name when it places an emphasis on combo action over emotion." He takes the artistic medium of electronic gaming very seriously, always placing narrative above all else. He's also full of big ideas, not unlike a certain other European developer on this list...

Before we wrap up, I just want to give a quick Honorable Mention to . This 687-tweet epic retells the timeless story of Final Fantasy 7 with the assumption that all of the characters were completely high all the time. The attention to detail is really quite impressive. If you've got a parody account you enjoy, be sure to let us know in the comments below, and help fill out your fellow reader's Twitter feeds.

And for more great features on GR+ look up .

As PBS series Antiques Roadshow has taught me, the world of collectibles is a volatile one. You may have a priceless, one-of-kind game sitting on your shelf right now. Then again, it’s just as likely something you think is rare has become all too common in this increasingly digital world. In my many years as a gamer, I’ve seen a number of titles go from hard-to-find to ubiquitous.

GamesRadar has already explored the world of valuable . Now’s the time to explore what happens when a previously unavailable game go back on sale. Did their prices drop on eBay? Did the public give these rare games a new chance? Read on...

Back in the mid-’90s, owning Chrono Trigger was your key to instant gamer cred. The SNES time travelling RPG was an early darling of the online gaming press, but its late release on the console was overshadowed by the PlayStation and Saturn. Though easy to find at launch, the limited number of copies meant that a couple years later it was fetching at least $80 for the cartridge on eBay, and the cultish popularity seemed to doom it to never see rerelease.

Collectible prices on an English language version kept increasing until 2001, when North America finally got the PSone remake. Some shabby load times and other tech hiccups kept it from being perfect, which still kept the SNES version in demand. The DS remake finally did the port job correctly, even if . Currently, the DS version is pretty easy to come by, while a boxed SNES edition can go for up to $200 on eBay. Much like a classic car, it seems people want to stick with the original.

Earthbound (Mother 2 in Japan) has a similar case to Chrono Trigger, only its publisher let it grow even more obscure. After the prequel almost saw release stateside, EarthBound got a massive promotional push from Nintendo back in 1995. The game’s massive box, odd advertising, and off kilter writing and visuals made it stand out from the pack, but also virtually guaranteed it to fail commercially. Despite the hard work of Nintendo of America, the sales were poor, meaning a relatively small number of copies were available from resellers.

Earthbound received both a remake and a sequel in Japan, and its characters have made multiple appearances in the Smash Bros. series, but the game itself remained hard to get ahold of. The prices for the SNES version climbed and climbed on eBay as the Wii’s Virtual Console made a habit of selling seemingly every classic Nintendo game except for EarthBound. In 2013, nearly 20 years after its initial release, Nintendo FINALLY put EarthBound on the Wii U’s eShop, to the pleasure of a very vocal minority. Now millions can legitimately experience the game, though that hasn’t hurt the price of the original cart, which, even without the box, sells for at least $150.

Metroid Prime does the impossible by artfully translating the series’ iconic exploration into a first-person adventure game. The series of games are some of the best stuff the GameCube ever saw, and the third entry works amazingly with the Wii’s motion controls. Remaking the first two releases for said waggly inputs and packaging them as a trilogy sounds like goldmine, but Metroid Prime Trilogy instead became one of the Wii’s most elusive titles.

Within months of the 2009 launch, Metroid Prime Trilogy became hard to find, often fetching close to $100 second-hand. Some conspiracy theorists believed Nintendo wanted Prime off the market to put the spotlight on Metroid: Other M, but whatever the reason, the trilogy became the most desired Wii game around. More than five years later, Nintendo pleasantly surprised fans by putting the trilogy on the Wii U eShop, even charging as low as $10 for it in the first week. Though the physical release still has some value, I feel bad for anyone who splurged on getting the original edition a month earlier.

Based on this list you’d think Nintendo has a thing for making some of its games really hard to find. Xenoblade is an extra-strange case, because it seemed like it would never come to the United States, even though it should have. After critical success in Japan, Xenoblade got a full localization by Nintendo of Europe, while the US branch seemingly ignored the JRPG. When it finally came to the US a year after its EU launch, Xenoblade arrived in limited quantities that were sold exclusively at GameStop. Obviously it soon became a real collector’s item.

Though remarkably common in Europe and Japan, American Wii owners were paying a pretty penny for the RPG to resellers, GameStop included. The game became available once again in the US, when GameStop suddenly had an influx of used Xenoblade copies it sold for $90. , saying ‘Stop received new copies and instead chose to mark them up as used, and the outcry pretty much calmed down once that limited stock vanished. Now the game will see a full remake on the New 3DS, and most shocking of all, it’s coming out at basically the same time worldwide.

This game was once the perfect recipe for an expensive collectible. Radiant Silvergun is a Japan-only release that had critical acclaim as the best Saturn game you’d never be able to play, which made Sega fans more rabid than ever. Plus, the title was developed by Treasure, a company known for avoiding sequels and remakes, and it’s for Saturn, a system that was once notoriously difficult to port from. No wonder the game went for more than $300 on eBay at the time.

The 2000s saw Treasure not only relax its stance on never wanting to do remakes, as Saturn ports became increasingly common on the 360 and PS3. Still, Radiant Silvergun was a holdout on the list of remakes until 2011. When it finally arrived, players worldwide could finally get a taste of its particular brand of bullet hell, perhaps coming to the same con conclusion I did: Ikaruga did it better. Regardless, the import version of the Saturn original still commands $200 on eBay, though maybe that’ll go up if Radiant Silvergun’s digital version never shows up as a current generation download.

Fans have been begging for an HD remake of Final Fantasy 7 for years, and it wasn’t that long ago those same people had trouble getting their hands on any version of the game. FF7 was a major early hit for the PSone, and the first Japanese RPG to truly go mainstream with western gamers. Despite sales in the millions and multiple print runs, Final Fantasy 7 was actually a difficult game to find during the PS2 era.

Whether you blame Square-Enix not keeping the game in-print, or collectors not parting with their copies, FF7 commanded a fairly high price once - especially if the game wasn’t in ‘Greatest Hits’ packaging. By 2009, after a handful of FF7 spin-offs suggested the first game was left in the past, the original version of the three-disc adventure came to PSN, making the game finally playable on PS3 and PSP. An HD-ish port is planned for the PS4 soon, and in the meantime, the PSone retail copies are now in the $60 range. Imagine what those would go for if an actual remake happened?

Every other game on this list has its share of fans, whether those diehards number in the thousands or even just the hundreds. Meanwhile, this 1994 biblical tribute is more of an infamous industry footnote. Super Noah’s Ark 3D reskins Wolfenstein 3D - seriously, even the map is the same - making the Nazi shooter into a game about tranquilizing goats. And it’s the only unauthorized game that legally works on the SNES, thanks to the odd bypass of plugging another SNES cart on top of Noah. How in the heck (don’t want to offend Noah) does this game even exist?

Like most of publisher Wisdom Tree’s games, Super Noah’s Ark 3D didn’t reach a large audience, but it later on became a prize for collectors of sheer oddities. Then, in 2014, the game resurfaced, not just as a legitimate PC download, but in a brand new run of that are still available for purchase. This new lease on life is just the type of miraculous resurrection one expects from the creators of Jesus in Space (a very real game, honest).

Monkey Paw Games is the MVP of this list, because giving new life to forgotten PSone games is pretty much why the company was founded. This small-scale publisher has been banging out PSN ports of games no one else cares to make available, re-furnishing the world with the likes of Tomba!, Alundra, and Vanguard Bandits along the way. But getting Arc of the Lad out digitally may be the group's greatest triumph.

The Arc of the Lad games began in 1995 in Japan, but didn’t see release in the US until all the games were bundled together as a collection in 2002. The series wasn’t only among the last major PSone titles, but also one of the final releases of niche publisher Working Designs. All those factors meant the game would be in short supply and high demand, so the collection’s rare, fancy box set and extras still command a high price on eBay. Fortunately for those of us on a budget, Monkey Paw finally expanded Arc’s potential audience by porting all three games to PSN in 2011.

Those are some previously super rare games that the less dedicated, more thrifty can finally get their hands on, but I’m sure you gentle readers can think of a few I forgot. If so, please tell me all about them in the comments!

Want some more rarities? Check out .

After setting the fighting games world on fire in December with the announcement of Street Fighter 5, Capcom went dark. So many questions remained unanswered: how will it top the massive roster of Ultra Street Fighter 4? Why is PS4 its only console destination? When does it take place in the increasingly loopy fiction, given that Street Fighter 4 was actually a prequel to Street Fighter 3? How is Charlie Nash coming back and why did it take him this long (death is no excuse)?!

The answers to some of those questions are starting to trickle in, thanks to a new trailer and screenshots from Capcom, but with them come more questions. Make sure you check back in for more news and analysis, and until then click on for everything we know about Street Fighter 5 so far.

While the console exclusivity – like much of it these days – is likely to be timed rather than absolute, losing a series as significant and, let’s face it, legendary as Street Fighter is a psycho-charged gut-punch to Microsoft. PlayStation-only Street Fighter 5 is going to go a long way in winning Sony hearts and minds. Just imagine a PS4 bundle complete with a limited edition SF5 fightstick...

This one's a bit of a given. Even though Ryu ceded the spotlight in Street Fighter 3, which Street Fighter 5 seems to be pulling some inspiration from, he's always been a series stalwart. Ryu is looking a little bit worse for wear at this point, though. Could his martial arts journey be nearing its end?

Chun-Li is back in fine form, with a powerful spinning bird kick made all the more impressive by Street Fighter 5's thick, painterly art style. Of course, she does spend most of her time in the latest trailer getting body slammed by a (half) familiar face...

...we say half familiar because this Charlie Nash isn't looking quite the same as he did in Street Fighter Alpha. He has the same glasses and the same talent for Sonic Booms (he's the one who taught Guile, after all), but his body is clearly stitched together from a few donors. Given that he died saving Guile and Chun-Li, it's a bit unnerving that he doesn't seem averse to killing her post-resurrection.

Who's that spectral, cackling form at the end of the new trailer? Could it be anyone but M. Bison? The only real question here is whether he's the same dictator as always, is actually a ghost, or perhaps just inhabits yet another regenerated body. You can never tell with him.

That's what we know so far, but keep checking back for fo and updates as we get them. Are there any key points or characters you want to see in Street Fighter 5? Let us know in the comments!

Looking for more fighting goodness? Check out our .

I love adventure games. There's something about the way that they seamlessly meld gameplay and narrative that's always spoken to me - even if I frequently have to glance at a FAQ just to make it to the end. But it was somewhere during the time I spent reviewing - probably at the point where I lured my in-game best friend back to alcoholism - that I realized adventure game heroes are dicks.

And it's not just Grim Fandango. Adventure games are filled with these sadistic moments, forcing you to screw over everyone around you in order to make any progress. Sure, you're ostensibly doing it for the greater good, but most of the time, you're the most selfish and opportunistic one around. These are some of the most despicable adventure game 'heroes' ever and the cruel things they've done in the name of puzzle solving.

Gabriel Knight is a smarmy asshole. I mean, look at that face above and try to tell me you're not resisting the urge to punch your computer screen. He's manipulative, he's a womanizer, but worst of all, he's just a terrible friend.

Take his relationship with his partner Franklin Mosely. Knight calls him 'Mostly' in front of all of his peers, much to his chagrin. In Knight's first adventure, Sins of the Father, he also, ahem, commandeers Mosley's badge in order to gain access to, , you have to lure Mosely out of his hotel room with candy, then swipe his wallet and his jacket - all so you can rent the bike shop's last scooter under his name. I hope Mosely is at least getting some free meals with all this shit he has to deal with, because with friends like these, who needs enemies?

George Stobbart seems like your average, run-of-the-mill, rakishly handsome American Everyman. Patent lawyer by trade, George regularly finds himself swept up in huge global conspiracies that threaten the very fabric of our society - y'know, normal, everyday kinda stuff. But, it also turns out that he's unintentionally a huge prick to one guy in particular: Duane Henderson.

Duane's either a humble greeting card salesman or a CIA operative - but either way, he's a little off his rocker. When George meets him in the Yemeni city of Marib during Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, Duane's on the lookout for a priceless artifact and George needs money for cab fare. A broken replica and a little bit of face paint later, and George cons $50 out of Duane with worthless junk. Not one to hold a grudge, Duane meets up with George again in Central America in the sequel The Smoking Mirror. He helps George escape from prison, only to get arrested by the generalissimo of this despotic third-world country while George slips out the back scot-free. Poor guy.

When you've got not one, but two whole universes at stake, you'll do practically anything to save the day. But what if that means harassing and potentially maiming a perfectly innocent bystander? That's exactly what plucky art student April Ryan does in The Longest Journey.

Near the beginning of her adventure, April has to make it inside a derelict movie theater to meet someone important. Unfortunately, a detective is eyeballing the joint on the street corner, looking for any suspicious activity. How do you get him to scram? Simply hand him a jawbreaker - covered in a definitely toxic/possibly radioactive green goop, of course. Shortly after this, you find him reeling in a bathroom stall - and, because adventure games, you need his glass eye. Turn off the lights, snag his eye when he drops it, replace it with a toy monkey's, and voila! You're officially a terrible person!

If you're stuck on a strange planet with no way to escape, you likely won't give a damn about what you'll have to kill to get back home. But that doesn't make what you have to do any less disturbing.

There's a part in The Dig where Commander Lowe's path is blocked by a massive sea creature. The key to this puzzle is the turtle-like thing hanging out right next to it - the problem is that it just got devoured by said sea creature. Time to reassemble some bones and revive it with a mysterious crystal. Do it wrong and, well, this crime against nature melts back down into a puddle of goo (you monster). But if you put it together correctly and place an explosive canister inside its carcass, you get to sit back and watch the fireworks. Don't worry, you're only killing off a heretofore unknown alien species for your own personal gain. Humanity - 1, Aliens - 0.

Like Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, and all the other great film noir heroes, Grim Fandango's Manuel Calavera teeters on the edge of likeable and deplorable. He may be a suave, smooth-talking playboy, but he's also not above knocking his best friend clean off the wagon or locking a claustrophobic waiter inside a pantry. But all of that pales in comparison to the time he faked a man's death just to steal his job.

In order to get passage on the S.S. Lambada, you need to find a job on the ship. The only problem is that the ship is already fully staffed. But that's nothing to worry about - one of the sailors is currently getting a tattoo in town. Simply spike his drink so he falls unconscious, steal his dog tags, then toss them onto some (double) dead bodies at the morgue. The captain'll think he's pushing up daisies and welcome you into the crew. Nothing like conning a complete stranger out of an honest day's work.

Guybrush Threepwood wants to be a mighty pirate. Pirates, as you know, are not exactly honorable people, what with all the looting and pillaging. Still, it seems like there should be some mention in the Pirate Code that sealing a live man inside a coffin is a total dick move.

In Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, Guybrush comes across a used-vessel-turned-used-coffin salesman named Stan. Stan's got a key to a crypt that Guybrush needs, but, of course, Stan won't part with it willingly. What he will do is try to sell you a deluxe used coffin, even going so far as to demonstrate how roomy it is by hopping inside. Guybrush then closes the lid on him, seals it shut with some nails, snags the key, and walks out, all while listening to Stan's increasingly desperate pleas for help. Stan remains stuck inside that coffin and locked away in a crypt until you unwittingly free him six years later in The Curse of Monkey Island.

What would you do to make your wildest dreams come true? Would you lie to someone you loved? Steal something important from them? Murder them? How about causing the deaths of untold millions via a nuclear missile? Well, in The Cave, you can do exactly that!

The Cave is an incredibly dark tale about a group of explorers who each enter a mysterious cavern in search of the prizes hidden within. The thing is - this cave has a real dark sense of humor, and requires that you complete some truly sadistic objectives to proceed deeper into its depths. The most terrifying? Priming and launching an active nuke at a densely populated city. Is it real? Or is it all a hallucination created by the intoxicating allure of The Cave? Best not to think about it, lest the guilt eat away at you for the rest of your life.

Just 'cause you're the good guy doesn't automatically mean you're nice, as shown by these truly misanthropic moments in adventure game history. Are there any terrible things caused by your pointing and clicking that still haunt your conscience? Let me know in the comments below!

Looking for more? Check out these .

Ever since the original Team Fortress set the standard, class-based shooters have followed a pretty simple formula. Your choice of specialized roles usually corresponds to where you want to be in a shootout: on the frontlines as an assault trooper, right behind them as a supporting medic, bringing up the rear as an engineer or anti-vehicle expert, taking potshots from afar as a sniper, or infiltrating enemy territory as a stealthy spy. It's nice that you can find the niche that best suits you - but wouldn't it be even cooler to play as a soldier that really stands apart from the usual archetypes?

As with the most , I'm fascinated by the stranger, more unique concepts that some multiplayer shooters have to offer. It's not rewarding enough to just point and shoot at anything that moves - you've got to score kills and capture objectives with your own distinct style. So, for your enjoyment, I present a list of the misfit classes that merrily defy the traditional class structure. You might die in the line of duty, but you'll be ten times more memorable than yet another humdrum Assault soldier.

requires you to bring a Medic along in your hunting party, but at least prospective healers get three options to choose from. While Val has the standard healing-beam and Caira wields an unconventional health-restoring grenade launcher, Lazarus is by far the strangest of the bunch. Why? He's a healing class who will watch unflinchingly while you die at his feet.

This Rasputin-looking physician does have the ability to heal his allies, but only in very limited bursts. His real power comes from his ability to instantly revive downed or dead teammates, paired with his personal Cloaking Device. A good Lazarus knows to wait patiently and invisibly from the shadows, keeping an eye out for timely revives instead of providing direct, continuous support. He'll gladly watch you get mauled to death, but only with the team's best interests at heart.

Frankly, every TF2 class has a ludicrously wide range of utility and possibilities within its prescribed playstyles. But if I have to pick one standout, it's got to be that ever-dapper Frenchman, the Spy. Plenty of shooters have a class that's meant to sneak behind enemy lines with temporary cloaking or disguises - but it's the Spy's methods that make him so distinct.

At launch, most players had a tough time spotting fake teammates intent on stabbing their tender back-meat. And just when people started to adapt to the Spy's subtle behavior patterns, new items gave him the tools to outsmart enemies once more - particularly the Dead Ringer, which lets you feign death to slip by defenders unnoticed. Succeeding as the Spy means thinking like your enemy, and blending in without being blatantly inconspicuous. Yes, that's an oxymoron, but TF2 vets know exactly what I mean.

Lead and Gold's playerbase has gone the way of the dodo - which is a shame, because it has some pretty distinct characters. I almost gave the nod to the Trapper, a lady with a coonskin cap, bear traps, and a sniper rifle - but the Deputy class (pictured front and center here) and his vigilant team leadership is too nuanced not to pick.

The Deputy can tag up to two enemies as targets, making them fully visible to his teammates (even through walls). Here's the catch: he can also remove those same tags from allies if they've been marked by an opposing Deputy. The juggling act of providing your team with built-in wallhacks while denying them from your enemy is key, giving the Deputy the power to control the flow of kills in a match without actually scoring them himself.

finally lets you play as everyone's favorite / most hated robot pal Claptrap. So how does one capture the essence of this delightfully / annoyingly chipper companion as a playable mercenary? Simple: by screwing with your teammates at every available opportunity. But in a productive way!

Claptr - sorry, Fragtrap's signature ability is VaultHunter.EXE, which lets you morph into different forms every 40 seconds (i.e. incredibly often). Thing is, the effects of this seemingly random transformation can also apply to your allies - and some are more disruptive than others. Your teammates might start cursing you out when they're suddenly bouncing around or uncontrollably firing off their entire clip in the middle of a heated firefight. That's when you shrug, wink, and sheepishly say "I was just trying to help!"

Despite all their freaky, incredibly invasive body modifications, the Strogg aren't so different from us. That's if Quake Wars is to be believed, since all the human classes have analogous counterparts on the Strogg side. Whereas the Global Defense Force has the Fields Ops role, a support class that can deploy turrets, call in airstrikes, and drop ammo for teammates, the Strogg can deploy the functionally identical Oppressor. Or rather, it would be identical if not for one crucial difference.

The Oppressor - great name for a cyborg alien soldier, by the way - isn't able to resupply his allies with extra ammo. Instead, he gets the ability to plant tactical shields around the map, creating temporary cover for his teammates where there was none before. In the hands of a tactical mastermind, the Oppressor's power to transform the battlefield by creating new chokepoints or offensive bulwarks makes him one of the most influential shooter classes ever created.

Imagine staring down an entire legion of Oddjobs. Now give them luscious beards. That's Shadowrun's Dwarfs in a nutshell - short in stature, but no less lethal for it. Instead of a class system, this cyberpunk shooter lets you pick a soldier from one of four races and equip them with whatever magic or tech you like. Succeeding as a Dwarf is a matter of tricky resource management: your spell-casting energy regenerates at a snail's pace, so you need to drain essence from your enemies - or leech off your teammates, oddly - to stay useful.

But here's the weirdest part: scoring a headshot on a Dwarf is meaningless, because unlike the other races, it won't inflict increased damage. As with the Necromorphs in Dead Space, defending yourself against these fighters goes against the cardinal rule you learned in every other shooter.

Halo 4 doesn't have classes in the traditional sense, but it does have specialized loadouts. Once you've hit level 50 in the Spartan Rank progression system, you're given a choice from eight distinct classes, which have to be leveled up individually if you want their respective rewards. The most tasty carrots on this stick are the perk-like buffs you get for maxing out each class, but they also come with a spiffy suit of unique Spartan armor.

All of the Support Upgrade and Tactical Package rewards are functionally useful; Operators make vehicles more resilient, Rogues have steadier aim, and Wetwork operatives get quieter footsteps. But there's one oddball: Pioneer, the Neon Genesis Evangelion-looking commando you see above. His signature ability? Gain more XP after a match. That's it. In a group of specializations that provide tangible benefits during gameplay, the Pioneer offers you exactly nothing in the heat of a firefight. In essence, the Pioneer only exists to grant a perk that unlocks other, more useful classes slightly quicker.

Typically, if your teammates are screaming that you're the one to blame for a loss, they're just a bunch of whiny babies who can't understand the concept of collaborative effort. But in the case of Red Orchestra 2, that blame-throwing might actually be appropriate. Like any real fighting force, teams in this WW2 shooter have a handful of Squad Leaders, but only one Commander. Playing as the Commander is a critical responsibility, since you and you alone have access to the Radio, a tool that facilitates airstrikes, aerial recon, and ally-respawning reinforcements.

Because RO2 servers support up to 64 players, that means you might have 31 other people relying on you to make the right calls. Your tactical insight - or idiocy - can lead your team to organized victory or disgraceful, discombobulated defeat. If you're not prepared to do some extensive voice-chatting, or take serious heat when you make a blunder, the Commander is certainly not the class for you.

Unless you're a Call of Duty vet, you might be unfamiliar with the concept of TTK. Short for Time To Kill, it's the measure of any given weapon's lethality, reducing all that twitch shooting to cold, hard math. Being pro at CoD means obsessing over your TTK, since you want to be racking up headshots and calling in killstreaks as quickly as possible. That's what makes the Riot Shield such a strange, typically undesirable choice for your primary slot: it's a slow, clunky means of self-defense in a series that's all about frenzied killing.

And yet, the Riot Control loadout, which revolves around the use of the Riot Shield, is one of the preset builds provided in both Modern Warfare 2 and Ghosts. Seeing as Riot Control is presented to new players as one of a few default class options, it seems bizarre to promote a playstyle that runs counter to everything CoD stands for. Then again, the general public's unfamiliarity with how to fight against these shield-wielders could be the perfect edge.

Meet the mysterious tenth class in the Team Fortress universe. Shooters often include modes where you escort an objective - typically an NPC hostage, or some kind of explosive payload - from point A to point B. But when playing as the Civilian, you are the objective. Caught between a team of Assassins that want to snipe your head off and the Bodyguards attempting to protect you, the outcome of each round in VIP mode hinges directly on whether you live or die.

It's the ultimate fantasy fulfillment for players that love being the center of attention - though you won't be doing much shooting yourself, since the Civilian's only weapon is a plain old umbrella. Will you dazzle everyone on the server by ? Or will you singlehandedly unbalance the entire game mode by utterly failing at self-preservation? That's really for you to decide.

Though this class title reads like a kindergartener proudly writing his name for the first time, it's actually an acronym for Mechanized Assault Exo-suit. And to call the MAX a class almost feels like a misnomer, since it's essentially a walking tank on two legs amidst a crowd of regularly proportioned soldiers. But hey, that's how PlanetSide 2 labels it, so who am I to argue? Even though you can't deploy as a MAX right from the get-go, it has its own set of customizations to unlock and intricacies to learn just like any other class.

For starters, there's no aiming down your sights - the MAX has two giant guns for arms, so pinpoint targeting isn't really an option. You also have to decide if you want to be built to counter infantry, aircraft, or ground vehicles, which presents an interesting quandary. Do you spec yourself to be a godsend in one type of scenario but useless in others? Or do you go with a more adaptable loadout that can deal with anything but excels at nothing? Whatever you go with better be good, since you're spending precious resources every time you don this robo-suit.

If you've ever wanted to play as a perpetually farting mercenary in a class-based shooter, this is the best chance you're ever going to get. Everything about the Astrek Recluse brings flatulence to mind, given that this advanced Biotech battleframe (read: subclass) is defined by its use of noxious gas. Biological warfare isn't funny, but watching your souped-up soldier vault away from enemies with a blast of greenish-brown gas really, really is. That move is called Evacuate, by the way; it's unclear whether or not bowels are involved.

Maybe I'm just immature as all hell, but I would relish every opportunity to brag about killing my enemies when they caught a whiff of my Creeping Death. Not every shooter lets you combat the opposition by creating a around yourself. Firefall does.

In a game like Tribes, where everyone's soaring around the map like majestic eagles, the Juggernaut feels about as mobile as an overfed pig. But when you pack this kind of heavy firepower, you don't need to be fast. The Juggernaut's Fusion Mortar launches devastating explosive rounds, letting you bombard the enemy base until the flag runners come home. Once you're able to accurately judge the giant arc of your shot, you'll be a one-man airstrike on any stationary fortification.

But the true beauty of the Juggernaut class is that moment when an enemy zooms by, and you reflexively launch a fiery emerald mortar bomb over the crest of a nearby hill - not where your prey is now, but where they will be in a few seconds. You'll probably be too far away to even see the resulting kill, but it's as joyous as shooting a swish from half court, or that long-bomb snowball throw from Elf.

Ah, Wascot - the evil doppelganger of MNC's smiley mascot Bullseye, and my absolute favorite class from this criminally underplayed shooter. His backstory is perfect: Wascot's an obsessed fan who both adores and wants to murder the foam-headed hypeman for this futuristic bloodsport. But besides the hilarious lore, Wascot's playstyle is an absurdly unique take on close-quarters hit-and-run tactics in shooters.

Getting in someone's face is easy thanks to Wascot's Crook Hook, which yanks him directly to his stunned target - and if anyone tries to throw you, activating Shifty Shuffle will automatically counter them (and give you some lifesteal to boot). Instead of killing players directly, Wascot's primary Coin Launcher weapon shoots damaging doubloons that enemies will foolishly try to collect - it's an ingenious take on Mario Kart's decoy item boxes. And unlike the deadly melee weapons used by other Commando types, like the Assassin's dagger or Captain Sparks' electrified sword, Wascot simply uses a paddle. All the better to spank the opposition with, my dear.

You probably recognize these pillbug-like automatons from The Phantom Menace, where their firepower was enough to make even trained Jedi run away with their lightsabers between their legs (pretty dangerous, if you ask me). They're called Droidekas, and they're an exclusive asset to the Confederacy of Independent Systems in Battlefront's massive multiplayer shootouts. It's what you would get if you took a durable, stationary turret, then gave it the power to zip around in spherical form like AiAi from Super Monkey Ball.

Anyone foolish enough to stand in your way will be gunned down instantly by your dual laser blasters, and your personal shield emitter gives you the ability to act as a slow-moving blockade. But the trick is knowing where you're needed most, because once you've switched forms, you're pretty much committed until your targets are eradicated or you're a scrap heap on the ground.

Do you play Destiny and love the distinct abilities and exclusive armor types worn by your Guardian? Then you absolutely have to try Warframe, because its rich, exotic flavors of player classes make Destiny's trio look like lukewarm vanilla ice cream. Each of the collectible, craftable Warframes acts as both your armor type and your spell selection, and they're all gloriously unique in both form and function.

No matter which Warframe suits your fancy, they're all quite capable of excelling in the missions, though by very different means. Maybe you want to teleport around as the backstabbing Ash, zap targets with weaponized lightning as Volt, become a killer sci-fi airbender as Zephyr, or misdirect enemies with clone decoys as Loki. To me, the 22-and-counting classes feel like rare jewels in a sea of shooter stereotypes. It might cost you a small fortune or years of dedication to unlock them all, but you don't have to play every last Warframe to appreciate their invigorating originality.

Pretty awesome, right? The next class-based shooter I'm stoked for is , which is sure to introduce tons of unique character concepts. For instance, take Tracer (pictured above), who can rewind time mid-firefight. Which oddball shooter class is your favorite? Tell me all about it in the comments below!

And if you're looking for more, check out .

We all have that one game. That detestable, despicable game that sits lost and forgotten apart from our collection. The same one that, when mentioned to friends (or otherwise normal coworkers) gets nothing but praise and cries of "How could you possible not love it?" We don't just not love it, dammit, we hate it! And we're not afraid to admit it. It's not our fault the rest of you are too blind to see its teeth-gnashing, aneurysm-inducing flaws.

Nonetheless, we'll give it a shot. Each editor has selected a game that has won widespread praise, yet that he or she feels - quite frankly - is crap. Dive into this list with an open mind, and you might just... no, you know what, we don't care. Close your mind. Keep playing these infuriating games. WHO CARES IF WE NEVER GET ANOTHER SKIES OF ARCADIA. GO PLAY MORE CALL OF DUTY. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONGWITHYOUPEOPLE!!

Though the Final Fantasy 13 saga may not be the most well loved of FF titles, of them Final Fantasy 13-2 is certainly the favorite. And oh, what a black hole of hatred I have in my soul for that game. While the battle system was an improvement on 13's linearity, I would have gladly taken 100 Final Hallway games over the shallow plot and shoddy characters 13-2 dropped in my lap.

Where 13 actually had a decent if flawed cast, 13-2 removed all the folks worth a damn, replaced everyone else with flattened and awful versions of themselves (I think I've developed a persistent eye twitch from Serah fawning over how cute it is that Snow's being a jerk to her), and added in some of the most infuriating characters I've seen in a long time. Like Noel. Fuckin' Noel. Refusing to do the one thing that would save the universe full stop because it involves killing a guy with whom he has zero friendly interactions but they're somehow totally great friends! Combine that with inconsistent and illogical time travel, a final 'twist' that might as well have written in the clouds, and the fact that Noel is so goddamn stupid that he's singlehandedly responsible for the death of mortal universe and I...

Ugh, Borderlands. I want to love you! I love shooters. I love action RPGs. I love distinct art styles with lots of bold colors. I love corny jokes. All the elements are there, but I still hate Borderlands. You have to understand, I'm pretty good about giving games the benefit of the doubt even if they don't grab me straight off - particularly if tons of other people seem to really enjoy them. But rarely have I felt more actively disinterested in a game than when I tried to play Borderlands.

Maybe it's how the first region is full of skags and axe-wielding psychos, which makes for rote backpedaling as you unload ammunition into their faces. Maybe it's how the first few hours of the campaign are spent performing asinine tasks for unpleasant characters, like trying to grind through an MMO that calls you names whenever you turn in a quest. Even good co-op company (yes, I was playing in co-op) couldn't keep me from dozing off at best or actively resenting the experience at worst. Maybe Borderlands 2 and the Pre-Sequel fixed all these problems, but I don't really care enough to find out.

I just don't understand the appeal of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Many members of the GR+ staff swear by the game, citing a wealth of special attacks, imaginatively designed arenas, and lashings of Nintendo fan-service as the reason for its greatness. All I see is a mess of color, as if an excitable toddler has vomited Skittles onto an LED screen. I mean, what the hell is happening? It's wanton chaos. It's like the , with all the clawing, naked sinners swapped for Nintendo mascots.

During the games I played in the UK office, literally no-one could work out who was winning or why, which really takes the sting out of victory. "Oh, I came first did I? Fuck me, I thought I just kept falling off a ledge and getting my nose broken by Yoshi." And, honestly, why does no-one see the futile absurdity in someone like Samus Aran smacking the Duck Hunt dog in the jowls, while the Wii Fit trainer tries to brutalise Kirby in the whatever-it-has-instead-of-bollocks? I'm out.

I know I'm going to get hate for this, but I did not like Final Fantasy 7. I've played most of the FF games as they were a big part of my childhood. I even dumped an ungodly number of hours into FF11 - how's THAT for dedication and love for the series? I tried playing FF7 when it came out, but the whole jump to 3D and polygon graphics just did not appeal to me. I was not blown away. I was blown away by the intro to Final Fantasy 8, and when I booted up Final Fantasy X my life changed. But Final Fantasy 7? Meh.

I eventually went back to play through the entire game on PC, and just couldn't bring myself to be invested in any of the characters. That OMG HOW COULD YOU scene? Felt nothing. Meanwhile, the ending to Crisis Core? Cried. I loved that game, but maybe I was just not in the right frame of mind when Final Fantasy 7 came out to really enjoy it. The music was good though. Gold Saucer FTW!

Destiny is mind-cripplingly dull. The 'characters', the 'plot', the 'void damage', the colour coded rarity system of weapons that everyone seems so het up about - I couldn't care less. All anyone ever seems to do is grind. And everyone keeps saying 'oh the game doesn't begin until level 8, 15, 20, 30... WHEN DOES IT GET FUN?

The enemies only seem to have two attacks each. There aren't enough planets. I can't feasibly play with everyone else now because I haven't bought the DLC. There is no spark of life in its cold, dead eyes. I hate the Ghost thing and its stupid disinterested voice. Destiny is a husk of a game and I don't know what anyone sees in it. There, I've said it.

I'll never understand why people praise Gunman Clive. Maybe they've been blinded by the low, low price tag of $2, which sounds like a steal - but I've easily played a thousand free Flash games on the 'net that were 10 times more enjoyable than this trite 2D shooter. The graphics are either bland or butt-ugly depending on your tastes, the controls are floaty and unresponsive, the soundtrack seems to be a sampling from 'My First Chiptune Album', and the stark level designs are straight garbage.

If you're going to rip off Mega Man stage gimmicks, your controls need to be on point, instead of making me feel like a jellyfish in low gravity. Also, it's best to avoid a difficulty curve that goes from toddler easy to 'Why am I still playing this vile horseshiz' hard. The fact that so many people compare this repugnantly unfun grind of trial-and-error platforming to the greatness that is Sunset Riders makes me sick to my stomach. Kill me for this radical opinion if you must - just promise that you'll .

I wouldn't say I hate Skyrim, exactly. Hate is a word I'd reserve for real dreck like Ride to Hell Retribution (or those hoverbike segments in Battletoads). But by God, I will never understand the undying love and devotion this open-world fantasy RPG gets - especially when compared to the vastly superior Fallout series.

There certainly is something impressive about how Skyrim generates seemingly never-ending quests to get lost in, but the world and its characters do absolutely nothing for me. Why should I spend the time talking to everyone and solving all their asinine little problems if I don't even care whether they live or die? Maybe I just prefer dinking around the futuristic wasteland of North America more, but every time I've tried to get into Skyrim, I last about six hours and then I bail.

I don't like Super Mario Bros. 3. There I said it! I was the hugest fan of Super Mario Bros. 2. I loved the weirdness of it and have many, many, many fond memories of playing it with my brother. In fact, it was one of the few games the we beat together.

I was pretty excited for 3. I even faked friendship with a girl who I knew had a copy of the game, just so I could go to her house to play it. And then karma struck for my trickery; a few levels in I was confused and I didn't like it. I know it has Tanooki Mario and a ton of things people other people love but I just couldn't muster any enthusiasm for it. I expect I'll be eating lunch alone from now on.

I've probably put more than a thousand hours into the Call of Duty series, BioShock is one of my favorite games of all time, and I simply can't stop playing Destiny. Outside of a Zelda adventure, blasting away enemies, throwing grenades, and scoring long-distance head shots are my favorite gaming pastimes. But the one FPS game I just can't manage to enjoy at all is Half-Life 2. Matter of fact, I pretty much hate all Valve shooters because they all share the same flaw.

Sometimes it can be the tiniest detail that turns you off to a game, and that one little thing in HL2's case is simply the way the Valve shooters handle. Moving around feels you're just controlling a floating head (and not just because you can't see your legs). Running feels more like flying (not in a good way) and there's no weight to your steps. It sounds like a lame excuse, but for some reason that floatiness kills my immersion immediately. It's really the only hurdle I can't get past, and much like with , I just can't overcome it.

MMO's are video game hell. They strip otherwise interesting genres of all fun and enjoyment. In their place, they stuff their victims full of monotonous tasks (collect 5 beaver pelts), point-and-click combat, and ravenous paywalls. The only tradeoff for all this BS: multiplayer. You can play with an entire world of other people who are running around yelling and cursing and killing one another - often for no reason. Does this remind you of someplace?

At the very bottom of this hell sits World of Warcraft, laughing and weeping into a lake of fire. WoW's corruption is slow and insidious. In the beginning it's all fun and games, but after a year or two the 'fun' becomes 'work' and the 'games' become 'obligation.' It isn't here to entertain you. It's here to enthrall you with its unending quest for loot which will let you get better loot which will let you get better loot which will...

Also the selfie feature sounds dumb.

We've shared some of our darkest gaming secrets with you, dear reader. Now it's time to balance the scales. Let us know in the comments below your least-favorite, but still wildly-popular, game. Just be prepared for plenty of backlash from everybody else.

For the flip side of this feature be sure to check out .

Toy Fair 2015 is a wrap, and now it's time to dig through all the coverage to bring you the key items you'll want to prepare shelf space for when those pre-orders pop up. And I've gotta say, Mezco totally brought its 'A' game this year.

Who else would put out an Earthworm Jim action figure, mind blowing 1:12 Dark Knight Returns action figures, ultra creepy but still adorable Living Dead Dolls, and a veritable army of Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy action figures? But it's the new toys from Mortal Kombat X that we really came here to see. Here's a run down of the challengers yet to come.

Sub-Zero
Scorpion

Sub-Zero: Comes complete with his game accurate hammer and sword, and alternate fighting hands.
Scorpion: Includes his spear-tipped wrist chains, as well as two game-accurate swords and an additional pair of fighting hands.
Raiden: Comes with game-accurate alternate hands, alternate lightning hands, and a lightning ball.

Scoprion
Sub-Zero
Raiden

Scorpion
Sub-Zero
Raiden

Scorpion
Sub-Zero

Sub-Zero
Scorpion

For a look at the full show floor, check out this .

Complain though we might about the (seriously Assassin's Creed, we're worried about you), we do get pumped at the prospect of spin-offs where our favorite second bananas get some time in the spotlight. Yoshi, Clank, Raiden, Daxter, Wario, Vincent Valentine, unfortunately Tingle - that not at all exhaustive list shows how fertile the spin-off earth is for planting.

And hey, while we're getting our hands dirty, we have a few suggestions of our own! In the slides beyond you'll find a collection of of guys, gals, robots, and aliens who have all proven to be so capable, interesting, and memorable that they could easily support their own downloadable offshoots and/or massive trilogies. These sidekicks shouldn’t be wasting any more time in the background, and we know just what type of game they should star in. Do we have your attention, corporate overlords?

Sorry, what is this game series called again? The Legend of who? Hmm, funny that. As big a deal as Zelda is in the Legend of Zelda series, and as skilled a fighter as she's implied to be, a game with her at the helm has yet to materialize. gets close by making her playable and giving her control of her own badass army, but she gets the same amount of attention as everyone else in Team Fanservice, and basically ends up being upstaged by Link. Freakin' Link man. Ultimately, a game where she is the undisputed protagonist and doesn't get kidnapped is the only way to do this leading lady of Nintendo justice. Seriously, no kidnapping!

A Zelda-led title could fit snugly just about anywhere in the Legend of Zelda canon. Heck, she wouldn't even have to be a princess, if you wanted to go the Skyward Sword route. Just focus on her honing her magical abilities, and maybe make her transformation between Zelda and Sheik a gameplay mechanic as she travels through Hyrule on a quest to defeat Ganondorf. And it would be called The Legend of Link, naturally.

Half-Life is defined by the silence of scientist-turned-savior Gordon Freeman, but Half-Life 2 introduced gamers to a character many would come to love much more than the stoic Freeman. Alyx Vance is one of the more multifaceted characters in gaming, at times strong and determined, and at other times scared and unsure of herself. Despite occasionally ending up the damsel in distress for Gordon to save, she’s often Freeman’s equal, if not better equipped to deal with the alien-infested totalitarian state the world has become.

Were Valve to make a game starring Alyx, it could finally break out of its silent protagonist mold and have her take an active role in the story. The game could be a prequel, telling of Alyx’s many exploits as part of the resistance before Gordon decided to wake up from his convenient slumber, but that seems too safe for Valve. Instead, how about they throw the entire gaming world a curveball and make her the star of Half-Life 3, killing off Freeman in the first 10 minutes? Once players got over the shock, we think they’d ultimately appreciate a hero that can speak for herself.

Unlike most of the characters on this list, Falco has been trying his best to grab the spotlight since he first appeared. Hardly content to merely support Star Fox leader Fox McCloud, Falco is a hotshot pilot that consistently tries to outdo McCloud at every turn, and even when he slightly mellows with age, Falco's skills still rival Fox’s in the air. Plus, anyone that’s play Super Smash Bros. Melee knows Falco is at least Fox’s equal in hand-to-hand combat. It’s time Lombardi got the starring role he so richly deserves.

As the Star Fox titles continue to move away from the arcadey flight that defined the series, Falco has always remained committed to the air, so let’s just keep him there. Let Fox have his tanks and submarines, and let Falco’s spin-off focus entirely on classically-styled flight levels featuring Lombardi leading a whole new team of pilots. Star Fox traditionalists would finally have the game they’ve been clamoring for, and Falco could finally become the leadership position we assume Nintendo has been grooming him for.

It's true that Lydia is just as prone to standing in your way during a fight or getting stuck in a door as any other AI companion who follows at your heels. Still, as perfect as she may be for Fus Ro Dah target practice, it feels like there's something special about her. Maybe it's because she's a beautiful first companion, and you never forget your first. Maybe it's that she's really really good at carrying stuff. Maybe it's because she's an accomplished bodyguard (don't let her standing on your toes in battle fool you) with a mysterious past that you're burning to discover. Maybe it's all those things, and maybe all of that's so interesting that she should get a game all to herself. You know, maybe. By which I mean definitely.

Since Lydia's life before she met the Dragonborn is seldom mentioned, a game centered on her journey to become the best housecarl in all the land is ripe for exploration. How does she work her way up the social ladder to enter the house of Jarl Balgruuf before she's gifted to her thane? How many dungeons did she get hopelessly stuck in before mastering the art? Where did she learn how to cook? I MUST KNOW!

In a world of horrific military casualties, the man with a decent set of armor is king. Nobody proves that better than Clay Carmine, who managed to avoid losing his head or the majority of his torso to Locust swarms, which puts him many steps above his unfortunate brothers. Surviving thanks to his incredible physical prowess and , he's both skilled and interesting enough that he would probably survive a game of his own.

While Gears isn't what you'd call a narrative experience, it has its share of touching moments (most of them named 'Maria'), so Clay could spend a bit of time mourning his brothers in between blowing his enemies apart. In fact, Ben Carmine mentions having three brothers before his death, so why not go all Saving Private Carmine and have Clay go full-bore hunting down the last of his flesh and blood? With their luck the guy would probably die , but it's worth a shot!

, and we'll say it again: get this girl a game! Your young ward and moral compass during your trip through Dunwall, Emily may seem more like an animate door prize than potential protagonist, but there's more to her when you take a closer look. She mentions Corvo teaching her at least basic combat skills, for instance, and Dishonored's possible eldritch abomination/whale god The Outsider takes an interest in her early on. These things combined, it's easy to see Emily going on a magic-powered quest for justice/murder spree all her own.

Granted this may be a bit tricky, since Dishonored ends with her becoming either a puppy-feeding saint or a full-on psychopath at age twelve, resulting in two wildly disparate versions of her character. But since it wouldn't be too difficult to port your chaos rating from the first game, this could actually be an interesting mechanic, letting Emily start off as either a goody-toe-shoes or horribly evil and have that affect her options going forward. Regardless, you'd get to play as a badass assassin queen, and who wouldn't want that?

Though she turns into a bit of a damsel in , Jeanne is every bit her badass bestie's equal, and she takes care of herself just fine for the 500 years before the Bayonetta we know starts kicking around. What exactly was she up to all that time? Undoubtedly something completely insane involving a lot of interpretive dance and explosions, and you know you want to play the living hell out of it.

Since Jeanne would probably handle a lot like Bayonetta (if her unlockable model in both of the games is anything to go by), you can probably expect the same sort of globe-trotting, angel-stomping shenanigans from her. Plus, since the series tends to play it close to the vest with expository details, there are plenty of aspects of the world left to explore. Maybe Jeanne and Bayonetta's witch training, or the war between the Umbran Witches and the Lumen Sages, or the half of millennium of downtime afterward. And what's that? The producer for Bayonetta 2 ? Yes? Yes.

For as interesting as the redemptive tale of Darth Revan was, virtually everyone that played Knights of the Old Republic remembers a certain deadly droid more than anyone else in the groundbreaking RPG. An accomplished droid assassin, HK-47 captured the hearts of gamers everywhere with his dark sense of humor and propensity for suggesting that murdering people with lasers was always the best solution to a problem. Popping up occasionally in sequels and both Star Wars MMOs, nothing seems to be able to stop this droid, so why don’t we just cut to the chase and give him his own game?

Fortunately for HK-47, the market for action games starring assassins is booming right now, so a Hitman/Assassin’s Creed type game starring HK-47 is like a blank check LucasArts has yet to cash. The publisher has already covered the darker aspects of the Star Wars universe in games like Force Unleashed, but telling tales of HK-47’s past working for gangsters and other unsavory elements would explore a part of Star Wars mythology rarely seen outside of the occasional novel or comic book. Sure, a Boba Fett game would work about the same, but that would deprive the world of more of HK’s hilarious disgust for the meatbags that comprise humanity.

The supporting players in Chrono Trigger are so well realized and defined that almost any of them could support their own spin-off. We'd surely enjoy a game starring Magus or Robo, but we see the most star potential in the tragic tale of Frog. A noble, stoic knight that’s cursed to be trapped in an amphibian's body, he doesn't let that stop him from being a heroic swordsman.

Though the official ending of Chrono Trigger has Frog return to his human form, we hope that the new side game would keep him in his green form. The setting could stay in his home time of 600 AD with him defending the realm from some new threat now that Magus is taken care of. You could even give him some sidekicks of his own who might just be cool enough to get a sequel in 2028.

As is tradition at GR, we saved room for at least one mention of Okami in this feature, but this one is richly deserved. For most of the game Issun appears to be a talkative glowing flea that’s a little too obsessed with attractive women. When you see the tiny aspiring artist up close, you’ll notice he’s actually a respectable young man with a cool brush that doubles for his sword. After he helps Amaterasu save the day, Issun decides to continue the work of the gods on Earth, a plot worth seeing unfold.

Issun’s game would follow the tiny guy’s continuing adventures to keep the world safe from demons, and the biggest draw would be the interesting sense of scale for the character’s world. Similar to the the memorable shrunken levels in Okami, Issun will face dangerous enemies and save humanity without ever being noticed by the larger world. And since he followed along with Amaterasu to learn her Celestial Brush techniques in Okami, let’s say he inherits those innovative powers, but puts his own unique, inch-high spin on the whole thing.

Nathan Drake may be the coolest thief/archeologist/trained killer in a half-tucked shirt, but he learned all those skills from the master, one Victor “Sully” Sullivan. Sully adopted Nate to teach him all about stealing artifacts and shooting people, skills Sully picked up in his time in the Navy and as a freelance thief in his own right. An accomplished pilot with a love of fine cigars, Sully supports Nate every step of the way, usually keeping pace with Drake’s acrobatics, which is impressive considering he's, like, 300 years old.

Sully’s skills and determination give him great star potential, though his age and constant smoking stretches the believability of his ability to have adventures, so let’s turn back the clock. Let’s see the decades of adventure that Sully had before working with Nathan, having fun throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Of course, it could also take place after he teams with young Nathan, allowing for co-op missions with Drake pushed back into the sidekick role, an interesting change in fortune.

Gamers all over the world are clamoring for the return of Mega Man, and while we also miss the Blue Bomber, his sister has been relegated to warming the bench for far too long. Roll has made playable appearances before, usually as a comedic character in fighting games Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Normally the jokes center around her cooking and cleaning abilities, which is why we want to see a game that finally bucks those domestic stereotypes and make her at least as tough as her brother.

We see the story opening with Dr. Wily finally succeeding in defeating Mega Man, nearly destroying the droid and leaving him at death’s door. There seems to be no hope until Roll nominates herself for an upgrade, admitting that she’s always been a little jealous that Mega Man gets to have all the fun. Light reluctantly weaponizes her, sending Roll into the fray to take on the Robot Masters. When she ultimately succeeds, she earns a newfound respect from her friends and family. Meanwhile, as Mega Man recovers, he finds a new passion for cooking and cleaning, which could play out in some random minigames.

It’s hard to steal focus from a character as compelling as GLaDOS, but in Portal 2 Wheatley pulled it off with endearing--and overly British--incompetence. A dangerously moronic program created by Aperture Science in the hopes of dumbing down GlaDOS, Wheatley accompanies Portal players through a good chunk of the game, usually making things worse through his bumbling idiocy. But even when he turns on you, it’s hard not to love the foolish robotic orb, because when he’s maniacally plotting your death, he’s still incredibly funny.

Were Wheatley to get his own game, we’d pick up right where we left him, floating around the moon. After learning the error of his ways, Wheatley teams up with his fellow floating spheres and tries to find a way home, propelling himself in zero gravity through a series of clever puzzles. Having the bumbling AI complete physics-based conundrums sounds like a fittingly scientific approach for a Portal spin-off.

Grand Theft Auto IV protagonist Niko Bellic was a an interesting character who made tough choices. Still, much of the time Niko just bummed us out, and we’d rather spend time with his friends, particularly the hilariously inept Brucie. At first it’s easy to hate Brucie’s over-the-top machismo and quest for respect, but soon that gives way to pity, then understanding for a friend that will always have your back. By the finale we loved to hang with the genetically different Brucie, if for no other reason than to hear the next way his barely-hidden homosexuality would pop-up in dialogue.

Since Brucie is so much more fun than GTA IV’s star, fans deserve at least some spin-off DLC starring our favorite bro. Crafted in the style of The Ballad of Gay Tony, a Brucie side story could work as a brilliant bit of self-parody on the part of Rockstar. The plot could follow the usual path of one man’s morally grey rise in the world of crime, only Brucie’s idiocy would derail it at every turn as he screws up every mission in some ridiculous fashion. GTA games have always been some of the funniest in gaming, so it’d be great to see Rockstar do a full-on comedy, and Brucie is just the man for the job.

Sure, is all well and good, but I can't be the only one who thought what about Shaundi? She may show up in some of the Saints Row side material and does go all Terminator for How the Saints Saved Christmas (in the spirit of the season), but she doesn't yet have a game to call her own. Not even a standalone expansion. And that's just wrong.

Given that pretty much anything goes in Saints Row (recall that there's a DLC pack called Enter the Dominatrix, and that Gat Outta Hell is a literal description), there are no limits on what Shaundi's adventure could entail. Think epic planet-hopping adventures with Jane Austen to liberate Saturn from the grip of reptilian space bikers who are also on fire, and she's part robot 'cause that's awesome. That's one idea, and it already sounds perfect. Come on devs, show a homie some love.

Those are the 15 sidekicks that desperately deserve their own game, and honestly, we're not just wishing to the wind here. Not only do these characters have obvious protag potential, but when we originally said that Mario's Toad should have his own game? Just saying, there's some magic in our words.

Can you think of any other background players that are deserving of a solo game? Let us know in the comments below, and get some of these good vibes. Big money, big money!

Want to learn more about sidekicks? Check out our list of the .

When asked to write up the important showpieces of Toy Fair 2015, I took it very seriously. With 20 years of collectibles reporting behind me, I develop a sort of twitch if I'm not able to dive into the topic fully and completely. That being the case, there was only one company I needed to look to for that same level of love in creating every figure it brings to retail: NECA.

Did you catch NECA's incredible BioShock Infinite Motorized Patriots? What about the army of Gears of War figures, complete with two of the bloodiest toys ever created? NECA loves its work and it shows, and we show them our love by throwing money at them. Get ready for plenty of that impulse as I explore NECA's 2015 video game related lineup.

Series 1: Summer 2015

Nova
Illidan
Deluxe figure: Stitches

Note: Stitches pictured is actual figure size while the others are two-up prototypes.

Tyrael
Arthas to stores late Summer/early Fall.

Series 1: June 2015

Happy Sack Boy
Sad Sack Boy
Kratos from God of War

A collaborative effort between two main painters at NECA and Director of Product Development Randy Falk made these little pieces of art a reality. Poring over cut scenes, gameplay, box covers, and title screens gave them plenty of reference to use for the final figure. For instance, Rambo here comes from a couple of different looks inspired by a mash-up of the Nintendo and Sega games. The painter decides on the colors and shading and the group gives input. What's next? Randy says "a bunch more!" No spoilers, apparently.

There's more to see this year, like the for a look at just about everything on the show floor.