Videogame characters we really care about

Carl Johnson's mum | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

It might seem a bit odd to pick a character that dies even before the game begins, but being dead doesn't stop CJ's mum overshadowing much of the early part of San Andreas.

CJ's mum isimmediately a powerful figure because of her death, which triggers the whole shebang by prompting CJ to return home for the first time in years. And the very absence of his mum jars against San Andreas' central theme of family ties and bloodloyalty.

Throughout the first chapter, it's suggested that CJ left San Andreas so that his mum wouldn't have to go through losing another son, after his brother Brian was killed in a gang battle. Would CJ's mum be proud of the megalomaniac organised criminal that her son becomes by the end of the game? We doubt it.

If you're like us, and occasionally go all Rain Man over a game's plot and characters, then the fact that you're effectively going back on everything CJ's mum wanted for her son is always at the back of your mind. Although the guilt does dull for a second when we've got three prostitutes packed in our car...

Throughout the first chapter, it's suggested that CJ left San Andreas so that his mum wouldn't have to go through losing another son, after his brother Brian was killed in a gang battle. Would CJ's mum be proud of the megalomaniac organised criminal that her son becomes by the end of the game? We doubt it.

If you're like us, and occasionally go all Rain Man over a game's plot and characters, then the fact that you're effectively going back on everything CJ's mum wanted for her son is always at the back of your mind. Although the guilt does dull for a second when we've got three prostitutes packed in our car...

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.