Garrett - Thief: Deadly Shadows

Garrett was highly unfortunate not to make the final 50 in our Heroes poll, but alas he simply didn’t get enough votes. What makes him a stand out character though is his contribution to stealth gameplay. This is perhaps both a blessing and a curse. While the gripping set pieces are terrifying to play in Thief’s first-person view, it has contributed to a number of stealth sections in contemporary FPS titles.

We don’t hold it against him though as much like in the game he never asked for trouble, it just came looking. There’s something infinitely appealing about characters such as Garrett who don’t want to get involved, but get dragged into the storm anyway. While clearly cold and ruthless he avoids killing as best he can and takes great pride in his work. That’s something that anyone can respect, regardless of how bloodthirsty you usually are in such games.

While Deadly Shadows seemed to close off the series rather nicely there has been talk that Garrett or perhaps just the Thief series with a new protagonist will return. We would certainly welcome him back with open arms (and one eye on his hands - sneaky pick-pocket).

As I’ve said before we were inundated with votes for our 360 Heroes poll and I’d like to thank you all for your support. The final results took a long time to work out and as began to see certain characters rise to the surface others had to fall by the wayside. In the run up to the final 50 characters you voted for (which will be revealed in Issue 39 out August 7) I will be posting up some of the also rans who didn’t quite make the cut, but deserved a mention.

Richard B. Riddick - The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay

To include a character who essentially belongs to another medium seems like cheating a little, but this prequel to Riddicks movie appearances is actually an incredibly strong example of good charaterisation and development. Starbreeze has since gone on to prove that this was no flash in the pan with its work on The Darkness, but Riddick was the beginning of those achievements. It was perhaps his association with the Riddick franchise that ultimately hurt this character’s chances of making the final cut, but some recognition seems only fair.

Damn, Tim beat me to it… well, here are my picks for the 360 Heroes poll all the same

At 5: Raz (Psychonauts)

Like most characters that seem to spring from the creative fluids they must pass around at Double Fine, Raz is unique. He’s got style, he’s got poise. He’s basically as perfect a platform hero as there’s been in the last few years. Perhaps that’s not saying much.

At 4: HK-47 (KOTOR I + II)

Comic relief - Check. Mechanoid - Check. Homicidal maniac - er… There’s something not quite right about HK-47 and it’s not so much that he wants to wipe out all organic life in the known galaxy. It’s more that he’s in a Star Wars game and yet he’s entirely undomesticated. One of BioWare’s great creations and it has plenty.

At 3: Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2, Ep1, Ep2)

As sidekicks go they really don’t come much better. She doesn’t get in your way, she know how to handle herself and she’s totally charming (like so many characters in HL2). Despite the fact Freeman says nothing you still feel a relationship building between them and that’s all thanks to how brilliant Alyx is as a character.

At 2: GLaDOS (Portal)

Another Orange Boxer, but also one of the most ingeniously created antagonists in videogame history. At first she just seems like a static voice, but as things being to break down around you her personality begins to shine through. Despite all that she does I really couldn’t help feeling for her in the end. Plus, she has a lovely singing voice.

And at number 1: Niko Bellic (GTA IV)

After everything I’ve said about GTA IV it would almost seem wrong not to give Niko the top spot, but it’s more than consitency or loyalty that makes me think he’s the best character to have graced the Xbox 360. Few lead characters are quite so rounded and human as Niko is. He hurts, he laughs, he worries and I felt every beat of every emotion. Truly a superb creation.

The RPG Competition from Issue 33 closed recently and with the final entries collated and the prizes organised we held the draw to find out who would be winning these fabulous prizes…

The winner is to recieve copies of Oblivion: GOTY Edition, Blue Dragon, Mass Effect, Lost Odyssey and Kingdom Under Fire plus a brand new Xbox 360 Premium. Jon Denton took the duty of drawing the winner, which weighed heavily on him…

Note our fabulous Competition Draw Wicker Basket. Anyway, Tim was next up picking one of our two runners-up who will also recieve copies of the five games…

As cool as ever. You would think there was nothing riding on the outcome. I handled the final runner-up, but the pressure was so much I stayed behind the camera…

The names of the winners will be announced in Issue 36, but if you’re one of them you can expect to hear from us very soon. Thanks for all your entries and keep an eye out for some more amazing comps in the future.