I'm one of those liberal doo-hickies who hates seeing stereotypes in games. Most notably in history thus far has been the woman character in games. They usually fall into the following three catergories.
The Man Eater: A Y-Chromosome hating she-warrior who is inevitably extremely busty, attractive, and dressed minimally to apparently sexually antagonize the men she despises. She will often times be "conqured" by the male lead or ambiguously have sex with him just because she felt the need to get laid (but no emotional attachments, no she's an independent woman!). Also, while being composed of mostly large breasts, buttocks, and the rest of her being rail thin and modelesque, she normally has super strength.
Examples: Lara Croft in the later Tomb Raider games, The cast of DOA, the females of Ninja Gaiden, almost all female villains.
The Damsel In Distress: Women who are powerless to fight back or accomplish anything on their own. So they look to the main character to come and save them or handle her problem. She will usually be the love interest of the main character and make him a prince or some garbage.
Examples: Princess Peach, Princess Zelda (in most Zelda games), etc.
The Innocent Youth: She's a little girly-girl who likes teddy bears and slaughtering her country's enemies in wholesale. She's always super-powered and capable of out-fighting men and monsters three times her size and age, sometimes with the assistance of a magical weapon, or just for no-reason at all. And despite to having an almost minimal amount of capable combat experience, she will know how to dispatch soldiers and professional mercenaries as if it were a game of Candy Land.
Examples: Talim from Soul Calibur, Annise from Tales of the Abyss, Ling Xiaoyu from Tekken.
Now, I find it pretty upsetting that it is impossible to build a believable and compelling female character. So far, all they've served to be are sources of either cute or T&A in most games, or as the brain-dead love interest of the protagonist.
However, there are some examples of great female characters. I won't list everyone in existance, mostly because I don't know all of them. But I will name my personal favorite and let others follow.
The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
For me, The Boss is the most compelling female character in video games I have yet to encounter. She's a strong woman who does not follow the "T&A boasting man eater" that most strong women hold. On top of that, she looks as though she could realistically be a soldier of her calibur. She's grizzled with age and from the effects of war, but still maintains her woman-hood and her femininity (sp?). She's a lover (of The Sorrow, one of her team mates in the past), a mother (of [spoiler alert] Revolver Ocelot), a teacher (of The Big Boss, Naked Snake), a leader (of the Cobra soldiers), and in general a bad ass. She not only dispatches of her pupil, Snake and his biggest enemy, Volgin, but she does it in a manner that is believable. Instead of pulling out an enormous gun from nowhere or suddenly gaining super strength, she uses combat-effective CQC techniques to dispatch of them. All the while maintaining her nobility and finesse (never delving into 'Man Eater' territory).
In her end, she bears her scar of motherhood proudly, while facing her pupil and "second son" in some ways. And she dies the death of a hero, forgotten and remembered as a traitor because she was a true hero.
For these reasons and more (like just being awesome and her weapon of choice, The Patriot) make The Boss not only one of the greatest female characters in gaming, but also one of the greatest characters in gaming history period.
What do you think, everyone?
The Man Eater: A Y-Chromosome hating she-warrior who is inevitably extremely busty, attractive, and dressed minimally to apparently sexually antagonize the men she despises. She will often times be "conqured" by the male lead or ambiguously have sex with him just because she felt the need to get laid (but no emotional attachments, no she's an independent woman!). Also, while being composed of mostly large breasts, buttocks, and the rest of her being rail thin and modelesque, she normally has super strength.
Examples: Lara Croft in the later Tomb Raider games, The cast of DOA, the females of Ninja Gaiden, almost all female villains.
The Damsel In Distress: Women who are powerless to fight back or accomplish anything on their own. So they look to the main character to come and save them or handle her problem. She will usually be the love interest of the main character and make him a prince or some garbage.
Examples: Princess Peach, Princess Zelda (in most Zelda games), etc.
The Innocent Youth: She's a little girly-girl who likes teddy bears and slaughtering her country's enemies in wholesale. She's always super-powered and capable of out-fighting men and monsters three times her size and age, sometimes with the assistance of a magical weapon, or just for no-reason at all. And despite to having an almost minimal amount of capable combat experience, she will know how to dispatch soldiers and professional mercenaries as if it were a game of Candy Land.
Examples: Talim from Soul Calibur, Annise from Tales of the Abyss, Ling Xiaoyu from Tekken.
Now, I find it pretty upsetting that it is impossible to build a believable and compelling female character. So far, all they've served to be are sources of either cute or T&A in most games, or as the brain-dead love interest of the protagonist.
However, there are some examples of great female characters. I won't list everyone in existance, mostly because I don't know all of them. But I will name my personal favorite and let others follow.
The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
For me, The Boss is the most compelling female character in video games I have yet to encounter. She's a strong woman who does not follow the "T&A boasting man eater" that most strong women hold. On top of that, she looks as though she could realistically be a soldier of her calibur. She's grizzled with age and from the effects of war, but still maintains her woman-hood and her femininity (sp?). She's a lover (of The Sorrow, one of her team mates in the past), a mother (of [spoiler alert] Revolver Ocelot), a teacher (of The Big Boss, Naked Snake), a leader (of the Cobra soldiers), and in general a bad ass. She not only dispatches of her pupil, Snake and his biggest enemy, Volgin, but she does it in a manner that is believable. Instead of pulling out an enormous gun from nowhere or suddenly gaining super strength, she uses combat-effective CQC techniques to dispatch of them. All the while maintaining her nobility and finesse (never delving into 'Man Eater' territory).
In her end, she bears her scar of motherhood proudly, while facing her pupil and "second son" in some ways. And she dies the death of a hero, forgotten and remembered as a traitor because she was a true hero.
For these reasons and more (like just being awesome and her weapon of choice, The Patriot) make The Boss not only one of the greatest female characters in gaming, but also one of the greatest characters in gaming history period.
What do you think, everyone?
