It got me thinking about the concept of assuming the role of character in a video game alltogether. Yes sometimes you want to be a hero, other times it's fun to play the villian, but is it ever enjoyable to play a game as a character that is just plain unlikable?
I really don't think it is, and here's why:
Video games are a lot of things to a lot of people, but two universal themes seem to be escapism and fantasy. To go off and do this stuff that you cannot do in real life, as someone who has skills that you do not have. Now, a lot can be said for creating your own character (Mass Effect, etc), but that's not what I'm here to talk about. Specifically in games where you are dropped into the life of a character of the developer's creation (or license), you are asked consciously or not, to develop an emotional connection to your hero. That is something fundamental that I don't think people examine enough.
Gears of War: You want Marcus and Dom to wipe those damn locusts off the face of Sera and find Maria. Red Dead Redemption: You have to want John Marston to clear his name and be reunited with his family. Hell, even Street Fighter, you have a favorite character and you get a little rush when you win with said character. You can even throw sports in there. If you are in Louisiana and you play Madden 11 as the New Orleans Saints and win the Super Bowl, you will be stoked, because you love that team. Even when the character's not necessarily a nice guy, there has to be something to draw you to that character like incredible powers or something. Kratos seems to fit there. In short, you need to like your character, or he/she has to at least be a complete badass.
And that's my problem with Kane and Lynch. Not only are neither of the characters even remotely likable, you can't even relate to them. Unless you're a criminal, in which case you have more important things to do than playing video games, like running from the cops. Also, who wants to be those guys? A crazy guy with a skullet and a beer gut, or a failed father with bald spot and glass eye. No thank you. It's not like they have some sort of super powers or anything, they just shoot guns. I can find ten games where you just shoot guns with better characters than these two hillbillies right now, and I wouldn't even have to leave my apartment.
The character you play as in a game holds more power than you might think. Tomb Raider would not be a household name if Lara Croft was Larry Croft. At the time when the series released there were no female gaming icons. (Before anyone goes crazy Samus Aran wears a helmet, and the general population doesn't even know who that is.) Lara was gaming's first "sex symbol" as much as I hate that term.
Devil May Cry is an awesome game, but Dante's personality adds a lot. Same with Uncharted. you just LIKE Nathan Drake. It swings both ways, too. Assassin's Creed 2 was leaps and bounds better than it's predecessor, but one overlooked factor was that Ezio was just a way better character than Altair.
I guess what it boils down to is that when I can play games as Master Chief, Marcus Fenix, Dante, Batman, Solid Snake, Ryu Hayabusa, Samus Aran, Lara Croft, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Harry Potter, Darth Vader, Nathan Drake, Ezio Auditore, Soap McTavish, or Kratos, why on earth would I even be remotely interested in playing as Kane or Lynch? What are they really bringing to the table besides the view from a trailer park? Nothing. And that's a shame, because this time around it doesn't look like they're in a bad game at all.
They seriously look like homeless guys.
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