Quantcast

The Top 7... Lazy Character Clichés

Copy, paste, unoriginality! The most overused archetypes of all time

Words: Charlie Barratt, GamesRadar US

Description: What better way to hide a generic character than under an even more generic helmet! After all, rendering an inert dome of glass, metal, plastic or futuristic space shit has got to be easier than animating a human face, what with the eyes and the mouth and the hint of a soul. Plus, a mask adds instant mystique - without the inconvenience of having to write a logical origin story. Bam... done before lunch.

Common characteristics:

  • Cool reflective visor. Check out that sun flare effect!
  • Breathing apparatus for badass robot voice.
  • Equally - and unrealistically - constrictive suit to match the hat. Gloves, chest plates and bulky shoulder pads a must; spandex and backpack optional.
  • Random bolts, pipes, tubes and glow-y bits.
  • Strategically placed dents, scratches and cracks (for extra manliness).
  • Horribly scarred (possibly shy) human within. Or is there???


Possible Inspiration:


The Antidote:

We're not talking about the Big Daddy here, though that thing's diving helmet at least makes sense. The solution to the Masked Mystery Man is actually BioShock's invisible protagonist. The game's creators shrouded him in just as much secrecy and ambiguity as the schmucks above, but never had to resort to plopping a half-baked bucket over his head. Watch and learn, guys... assuming you can see out of those stupidly shaped visors you're wearing.


 
53 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
CuddlyBomber  - 1 year 2 months ago 
Ah Man i just listened to talkradar11 and the top 7 was hilarious.
MSCR  - 1 year 1 month ago 
Pretty good article, a bit preachy sometimes and I fail to see how that raziel thing is a prettyboy. Moody and shit sure, but the guy runs about naked, has no visible genitals and isn't half his face missing?

Other than that, pretty insightful stuff.
Coolbeans69  - 1 year 1 month ago 
That was pretty funny
Psyrate  - 1 year 1 month ago 
The truth has never been so hilarious.
melloe  - 1 year 18 days ago 
well done. but you forgot Samus in the collage of masked characters?
Major_Wuss  - 1 year 2 days ago 
LOL at including Viva Pinata in the Animal with Attitude page.
NeotericDope  - 11 months 13 days ago 
All of these fall into the antidote category:

Black stereotype antidote:Eli Vance (Half Life)

Half naked woman antidote: Alyx Vance (Half Life), Faith (Mirrors Edge), Zoey (Left 4 Dead)

Masked men antidote: (Mega Man) not completely masked, but he's covered in a helmet and owns.

Love interest antidote: Once again Alyx Vance (Half Life)
crustdbeat  - 11 months 13 days ago 
forgot about jax from MK,

they emphasize his arms a tad dont they?
crustdbeat  - 11 months 13 days ago 
Thanks for the wallpaper!!
Cwf2008  - 10 months 25 days ago 
Uh technically Samus isn't always masked. I mean they've shown her face a few times in some of the games
zeldagirl64  - 10 months 2 days ago 
I dunno, Zelda has managed some good emotion from Ocarina of Time and on. Tetra? Yea, the cocky one. Sheik was a cliched character. It was kind of the Brooding Pretty Boy only... Sheik is Zelda so she's a girl. But Zelda has managed more emotion in Twilight Princess, that wasn't SO frail as usual.
93bleach  - 9 months 29 days ago 
Every character in sonic ever has had an atttitude.
synthetictwist  - 8 months 14 days ago 
I'm glad Chell was on this list. "She's not an effing model? What was Valve thinking?"

Oh that's right. They WERE thinking.
td823934  - 8 months 5 days ago 
You forgot "Mute Adventurer". Like Crono. Or Link. Or Mario.
ryno  - 8 months 5 days ago 
i couldent agree more with ammy from Okami she is awsome
Mr.Epic64  - 8 months 1 day ago 
Actually, Mario says "Yahoo!", "Here We Go!", "Wa, Wa , Wa, WAHOO!", Oh no!" any many other things. Eat that td823934.
Danomeon  - 7 months 19 days ago 
I'm surprised the antidote for stereotypical black people wasn't Luis from left 4 dead. He is skinny, never uses slang or excessively swears, speaks perfect english, appears as a hardworking citizen, is scrawny and not all that muscular, has a positive attitude without saying, "I am awesome.", cracks a few clever jokes, and is completely dressed in fancy office clothes.

Another character would be the black man from the Half-life series (I can't remember his name, one of his legs is missing and he *SPOILER* dies at the end of episode 2.)
td823934  - 7 months 1 day ago 
Ok, Mr.Epic64, he makes sound. I apoligize. But does he ever say anything beyond the occasional onamatopeia? By the way, while I'm here, I just realized something. You missed another category, the "Arrogant Bad-guy". Let's see, there's M. Bison, Seth, Vega, wow, all Street Fighter characters. Maybe I've been playing too much.
td823934  - 7 months 1 day ago 
On a side note, Knuckles actually belongs in the "Brooding Pretty Boy" category as well, I noticed.
kittens  - 5 months 15 days ago 
I've got to admit, I love the masked mystery man. The sort of half robot cyborg ninja thing will always be cool. In mgs, I didn't really like Raiden until he became a cyborg ninja. Mostly because his jaw was metal, which is awesome.
Related Games
PC
PC
Wii
Wii
PSP
PSP
Xbox 360
Xbox 360
Xbox
Xbox
Gamecube
GameCube
TalkRadar 76 - Actually game related!
360 Feature
Nov 7, 2009
50 iPhone games you need to play
PC Feature
Nov 6, 2009
100 A buttons
Wii Feature
Nov 6, 2009
Characters we wish we knew LESS about
Wii Feature
Nov 5, 2009
The Bell Tolls for More Assassin's Creed N4G
PS3 News from N4G
Nov 8, 2009
Ubisoft demands high Assassin's Creed 2 review... N4G
PS3 News from N4G
Nov 8, 2009
Left 4 Dead 2 Has Begun Pre-Loading N4G
PC News from N4G
Nov 8, 2009
Smash TV Update Put On Hold But Not Cancelled N4G
360 News from N4G
Nov 8, 2009
Police Officer Gets Caught Stealing PS3 Games N4G
PS3 News from N4G
Nov 8, 2009