REMEMBER the first time you held a joystick or a control pad? Remember the first video-game character you played? Chances are, that protagonist has had a great impact on your life as a gamer. So this week, with news of Super Mario Run coming to mobile in December, we’re paying homage to the guys who have punched, kicked, jumped, fired, rolled, slashed, and stomped their way into making the video-game industry what it is today. The gaming world would have been lost without them. Before getting really into gaming, you should check out VPNs for online games. This will ensure you’re fully protected and it will also keep your connection stable.

I haven’t included LoL on this list, as I recently bought myself a League of legends account as you know. I’m still learning the game, but I fully expect it to be the next big craze in the Phillipines. Once I get time, a full review is coming out on it!

Another game that I think should be on the list is Clash of Clans. However, it is on the mobile gaming platform so that’s probably why it isn’t. Anyway, I love it. I’ve just read the TH10 war base cheat page to make sure my base is maxed out for farming and strong enough if people decide to attack it.

Anyway, enough of my mobile games. Lets get on to the real games to be reviewed!!!

10. Duke Nukem — The Duke of Censure

Cool: Alien asses, his trademark get-up includes a jetpack, a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses, and a blonde, military-style flattop.

Cold: Duke Nukem Forever took forever to get released. And reviews were generally negative.

9. Gordon Freeman — From Zero to Hero

Cool: In a dystopian video-game world of Half-Life, this theoretical physicist-turned-rebel-leader develops a legendary reputation among Earth’s survivors and assumes messianic titles such as “The One Free Man.”

Cold: Gordon’s signature thick, black eyeglasses and trimmed beard spell boring and geeky for some — until he cracks skulls open with his crowbar, anyway.

8. Cloud Strife — RPG’s G.O.A.T.?

Cool: A shoo-in for every gamer’s list of G.O.A.T. [greatest of all time] RPG heroes, Mr. Strife wields one of the coolest-looking swords in video-game history, hands down. He has also starred in numerous Final Fantasy VII spin-offs, Square Enix video games, promotional books, and full-length animated films.

Cold: Unfortunately, Mr. Strife also takes pride in racing tall, yellow, feathery birds called Chocobos — an activity that doesn’t really match his brooding, sword-wielding self.

7. Ryu — King of Fighters

Cool: One word: Hadouken.

Cold: Street Fighter’s Ryu’s big-screen debut was a big letdown. Supposedly of Japanese descent, his part was played by a Chinese actor who doesn’t remotely resemble him. Terrible casting for a great franchise, if you ask us.

6. Kratos — God of Testosterone

Cool: The game from which Kratos comes from says it all: God of War. Seriously, how ultra-cool is that?

Cold: Tricked into killing his own family, impaled by his own sword, betrayed by a god, helped by gods, only to be betrayed again. We pity Kratos as much as we envy him. Seriously.

5. Master Chief — Microsoft’s Angel

Cool: A huge part of Microsoft’s success in the video-game console industry can be attributed to Halo and its quiet and cynical hero, Master Chief.

Cold: As much as we’ve seen Master Chief in a bunch of Halo games, we’ve never really seen his face.

4. Sonic the Hedgehog — The Anti-Mario

Cool: Supposedly faster than the speed of sound, Sega’s anti-thesis to Mario is one of the reasons for the company’s success during the 16-bit era of console gaming.

Cold: As fast as Sonic is, he and Sega were not able to outrun bankruptcy.

3. Link — Legendary

Cool: Link’s famous line, “Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuse me, Princess,” was popularized by a set of Zelda cartoons loosely based on the NES Zelda games, which in turn aired as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.

Cold: Link has appeared in more video games than we can count, yet his age remains the subject of serious debate. He just won’t age, ever. Come to think of it.

2. Solid Snake — Solid Second

Cool: Solid Snake is the main protagonist of Metal Gear Solid, famous for pioneering the stealth-game genre and arguably one of the best games ever made.

Cold: Snake’s in-game portrait in the MSX2 game, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, was based on actor Mel Gibson.

1. Mario — Larger than Life

Perhaps one of the most iconic video-game heroes of all time, Mario tops our list not because he is the face of one of gaming’s most successful brands, but because he is as popular as gaming itself. Gamer or not, everyone knows who Mario is and what he is all about: stomping winged turtles.

Cool: Besides the fact that he’s vegan (have you ever played a Super Mario title where he needs to consume a slab of steak to grow?), he’s one of the few characters we know who looks cool in a jumpsuit.

Cold: He’s risking life and limb to rescue a princess named Toadstool. He eats flowers to hurl fireballs, presumably from his armpit.

Honorable mentions (in no particular order): Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong), Simon Belmont (Castlevania), Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil), Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell), and MegaMan (MegaMan)

Video you may want to watch: 10 famous cartoon characters based on real people

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