Five Game Characters that Kick Ass

I came across an article today listing the ten best game characters and I must say, I don't agree with every choice the author made. I agreed with his selections of Mario, Sonic, and a few others, but some of them were garbage. I decided to make my own list. A numbered list of characters that actually had an influence in the gaming world and kicked ass. Well, only five characters today.

5. Master Chief 
If there was ever a war in the future against awesome looking aliens, I would expect Master Chief to be up front and tea-bagging those newbs. John--which is his real name--is one of the most badass main characters that has ever graced the gaming world. He was a man that did not say much and just got the job done. Aliens invading your world? No problem. Master Chief would take a pistol and pop those grunts back from a mile away. Really, his character is iconic in the gaming world. Not only does he embody stereotypical badassary, but he has a AAA game to back him up. Everyone knows Master Chief. You know he is kind of a big deal when he has his own special Spartan uniform.  
                 

4. Cloud
If I was a chode, I would have just put Cloud's sword. That weapon is widely known in the gaming world because it's a huge freakin' sword. Look at it for a minute and tell me that's not excessive. Well, besides being known for his sword, Cloud is the main protagonist in Final Fantasy 7. He was the embodiment of the franchise for the Playstation. There may have been better games in the franchise on the first Playstation, but Cloud is the one character that everyone knows. He almost always lands in the top 5 in polls for popular characters and rightfully so. Cloud is one kick ass character that knows how to get the job done when it matters. It also helps that he appears in more than one game like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy Tactics. If you are popular enough to be in more than one game, you are pretty kick ass.

3. Mega Man
I would be a terrible person if I did not put Mega Man on this list. The blue bomber is known for his multiple platform titles and his various spin-off series like Mega Man X and Legends. He's a dude that goes around beating baddies and taking their powers through multiple stage levels. If you have never played a Mega Man game, you are really missing out. He and his spin-off clones are some of the coolest characters to have ever graced the Nintendo and future consoles. Look at him. He's just awesome. It really is a welcome surprise that he will finally be in Super Smash Brothers. I know who I will be using all the time!

2. Samus
Samus is one of the best female protagonist to date. She does rolls, shots lasers like Mega Man, and runs around in a pretty awesome armor suit. It's not often we see female characters as cool as her, but damn can she kick alien ass. It was pretty shocking when gamers found out she was a female upon completion of the original Metroid game. Really, without getting into real specifics, she is the female Mega Man, which makes her just that more awesome.

1. Link
Link. What can I say about this former lefty? Well, for one, he is definitely one of the most popular videogame characters to date. He's probably more famous than anyone on this list and future list I make. With that said, our silent protagonist is always the hero of something who fights Ganondolf or some other evil being to save something. He always carries the triforce of courage with him in his games. Even more amazing, not all the Links are the same. Actually, most are different heroes in their own time, fighting for their own reasons, and usually saving a maiden at the end of the day. Even in this day and age, Link is still as relevant to the gaming world as anyone new or old. It doesn't matter that the series is over 20 years old, what matters is that Link still goes on ridiculous adventures. He still gets it done at the end of the day and that's what matters.

5 Kick Ass Songs in Videogames

It's Monday and I am back from Ocean City, Maryland. It's been over a week since I have had a chance to blog about one of my favorite things, videogames. I thought, what better way to kick back into this blog then to write about some kick ass songs in videogames? Let's be honest, videogames have some of the best music out there. Heck, some songs top charts all the time. For this piece, I am only going with music that plays during the actual game. So here are 5 of the many that I personally enjoy and I hope you enjoy as well!



5. Tales of Symphonia - Fighting of the Spirit

When this Tales game came out on the GameCube in the early 2000's, it was ambitious and awesome. How do you compliment ambitious and awesome? You do so by adding a soundtrack to compliment such greatness. If any Tales song stands the test of time or more beloved, it's this one. Just go look up all the remixes and covers of this song if you don't believe me. This theme originally appeared in Tales of Phantasia and since its debut, has been arranged for other games in the series. It really captures the essence of what an RPG's sound track should include. I posted the best version of this song below, enjoy.

4.  Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow - Battle Theme

Everyone who had a childhood can hum this tune on a whim. This theme would play anytime you encountered a trainer ready to be clobbered by your insanely powerful Farfetch'd or Mewtwo. These trainers had no idea what you were about to throw at them, but by god, you would sweep them with water gun.  

3. Final Fantasy VII - Battle Theme

If there was any game that people cream over like bacon, it's Final Fantasy VII. I do admit that this is my favorite battle theme in any of the Final Fantasy games. It really works on building up a climax and really pumping the adrenaline while killing cacti people and other weird monsters. I decided to post a video below that really demonstrates what a few guitars with videogame music can do, especially with a theme as awesome as this.

2. Halo Theme

Nothing gets you driving more reckless then blasting the Halo theme down the highway. You know it's time to man your make believe gunner's turret when this song starts playing and your friend is swerving out of the way of a newb pistol shot. This song really should have been looped during any match that had any multi-man vehicles in it and an open world to boot, like Valhalla.
  

1. Guilty Gear X2 - Holy Orders

Yes, this is my number one kick ass song for this post. You don't even know the magnitude of this on a Richter scale. That's all I need to say about this epic tune.

That's it for today guys, enjoy.

My Top 4 XBOX360 Games

Microsoft's prodigy child, the Xbox 360, has graced us with great games for the last 8 years. I think it is only fair to make a top game list for this system with the advent of a new system this year. So, here are my top five you need to play.  P.S. I am aware these games appeared on other platforms so shh.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
I don't care if this game has been released on multiple systems, this is one of Xbox's best games. It is an open world game that let's you shape your own destiny. You are the dragonborn and are destined to battle the evil dragon. It's almost a typical rpg story that you cannot help but love. My favorite aspect of this game has to be the fact I can be anything I want. I can be a Nord who runs around with a battle axe and slay monsters or an Elf that can go around a burn pedestrians.

2. Halo 3
This game is what pushed me to buy an Xbox 360. Not one game can compare to Halo and its ability to sell a system. With that being said, Halo 3 was the best of the series. This game was a basic FPS but that was a good thing. It was your typical run-and-gun shooter with the added benefit of pissing people off with teabagging. Regretfully, the newer Halo games have taken that aspect out with their CoD style of play. Actually, that is what made Halo 3 great, it was an alternative to Call of Duty for people who wanted to have fun. Maybe one day, we will get back to the way Halo used to play.

3. Assassin's Creed II
I think you can make an argument that this game defined free roam and epic story telling. You control Ezio and seek revenge for your father's murder. You become an assassin and do assassin stuff. A pretty basic but fulfilling game. The graphics in the game were gorgeous and the movement for the most part was smoothed. I enjoyed jumping from rooftop-to-rooftop and I really enjoyed cutting my foes down with hidden bladed. In all fairness, if it were not for this game, we would have seen the end of the series.

4. Borderlands 2
If any game can get my friends interested in RPG's, it would be this game. Borderlands combines rpg elements with FPS game play and by God, it works. I have spent 70+ hours of senseless killing in this game and I enjoyed every second. You take control of 5--soon to be 6--Vault Hunters and chase down Captain Jack. I want to state that Jack is a ridiculous character. The dialogue in this game is hilarious and disturbing and the graphics are colorful and bloody. Yeah, go play this if you haven't.

Well, that is all I have for today. SO GO PLAY