Video Game Characters: Hero or Villain? Quiz

Answer: Hero

The main character of the "Dead Space" series (the first title being launched in 2008), Clarke is a space engineer that is sent, as part of a repair mission, to the USG Ishimura, a mining ship that was working on the planet Aegis VII.

Motivated by his girlfriend being on board of the Ishimura, Isaac embarks on the task, and upon arrival, finds out that the ship's crew has been gruesomely mutated into Necromorphs, which viciously attack and slay any intruders. The source of the infection appears to be a Marker unearthed from Aegis VII, which also interferes with the mind of those that come across it.

While not technically a FPS, since the main character is controlled in third-person perspective, Dead Space is still considered among the best games of all time, even though it wasn't so successful commercially.

Answer: Villain

The Hive Mind is the final boss of "Dead Space". A massive variant of the Necromorphs, it was created by effect of the activation of the Marker 3A in Aegis VII. This was the beginning of the Necromorph outbreak, which later escalated when the Ishimura landed on the planet to start mining its resources. The retrieving of the Marker and the re-awakening of the Hive Mind resulted in the crew transforming into Necromorphs and massacrating everyone they found, under the influence of the Hive Mind itself.

At the end of the game, Isaac fights the huge monster, destroying some glowing points on its body while avoiding being hit by its tentacles. When he succeeds in destroying it, he quickly escapes the planet before it explodes into pieces.

Answer: Hero

The dubious hero of "Blood" (1997), Caleb is a relentless and coldblooded gunslinger that was once part of the Cabal, a cult devoted to the god Tchernobog. Together with three other comrades, collectively known as "The Chosen", he was one of the main generals of the cult's army.

However, the tables turned when Tchernobog disowned the four Chosen, having them killed by his minions. However, Calab awoke from his grave and started a vengeful pursuit of the elder god.

Released under the Build engine, "Blood" can be considered the last successful two-dimensional FPS of the nineties. Mixing horror themes, black humor, and some futuristic and spiritual weapons (and a viciously high difficulty), the game was greatly received by players and critics, many of them still praising it as the best Build-based game. It spawned a sequel the next year, but we better not talk about it, shall we?

Answer: Villain

Tchernobog is the final boss of the original "Blood". As stated in the additional info for Caleb, hewas the highest god of the Cabal cult.

After killing him and the rest of the Chosen (which included his love interest, Ophelia Price), Tchernobog waited inside the Hall of the Epiphany for Caleb to attempt his revenge on him. Before the final confrontation, Tchernobog explained to Caleb that his intention was for Caleb to absorb the power of the enemies he killed on his way, so Tchernobog himself would absorb it all after defeating Caleb one last time. As you would imagine, it wasn't the case.

While his energy beams could kill you with a single blast, he's actually a somewhat disappointing boss for me. There is even a way to beat him (or at least, severely wound him) without letting him move or attack you.

He is mostly unmentioned in the sequel, aside from a small animatronic statue in the third level.

Answer: Hero

How can a quiz about FPS characters be complete without the game that started it all? Released in 1992, "Wolfenstein 3D" is credited, together with 1993's "Doom", as the main reason of the genre's popularization.

The game follows the allied spy William "B.J." Blazkowicz, as he tries to escape a Nazi prison while trying to execute the leaders of the regime. Several sequels and remakes have been made over the years, with Blazkowicz being the lead character on most of them.

Unlike most games of the genre, Wolfenstein was based on a score and lives system.

Answer: Villain

For "Wolfenstein 3D" I decided not to choose the final boss, which is none other that Hitler himself. For the purpose of this quiz, I prefer to focus on fictional characters.

Hans Grosse will be the first boss to defeat. A massive guard with dual chainguns and high health, he is best dealt with if you have a chain gun of your own. A secret room in the main hall contains loads of ammunition and health to aid you in the battle. Just make sure that Grosse doesn't follow you inside, or you'll be toast. Upon defeat, he will drop a key that allows you to access the next floor of the castle.

He appears as a mini boss in later levels of the original game, and also serves as the final boss of the 2009 sequel.

Answer: Hero

He barely needs any introduction. The main character of his namesake game, Duke Nukem is the typical tough guy that blasts his way out of problems, complete with a full dose of self confidence and a bad attitude towards enemies.

The first two games, released in the early '90s, were side-scrolling games, but in 1996, "Duke Nukem 3D" was launched, being a massive success in the world of FPS games. Originally featuring 3 episodes, it involved Duke's battle with an alien invasion that took over the Earth, even traveling into outer space himself at one point. Two more episodes were later released as expansion packs, with the latest one released in 2016, on the 20th anniversary of the original release, and including levels staged in famous cities of the world.

A sequel, "Duke Nukem Forever", began development in 1997, but was later delayed for many years, before finally being released in 2011.

Answer: Villain

The final fight of "Duke Nukem 3D" takes place in an unusual scenario: a football stadium.

The Cycloid Emperor, the head of the alien invasion, is armed with massive rocket launchers, and can also emit highly damaging mind waves, similar to the ones fired by the Octabrain, another of Duke's enemies.

He's not that hard to beat after you get the hang of it. If you play on the higher difficulties, some other enemies will also be present in the field, which you should take out first. Afterwards, try flying over the stadium with a jetpack on, and blow up the blimp that floats above, to reveal a bulk load of weapons and power ups that will give you the upper hand in the battle.

Answer: Hero

Being the protagonist of "Half Life" (1998) and its sequels, helped Gordon Freeman become a true celebrity in the PC games universe.

Freeman is an MIT scientist that had the worst first day at work, ever: conducting an experiment at the Black Mesa research facilities, he unintentionally set off a chemical reaction (resonance cascade), opening a portal with an alien world and giving entry to hostile species that quickly wiped out most of the personnel of the lab. He then had to escape the facilities and seek help outside, but as events unfolded, he would begin discovering some hidden reasons for the invasion.

"Half Life" was a massive success and marked the beginning of a new era for FPS games. The narrative, some innovative elements of gameplay (such as non-linear progress through levels), the inclusion of puzzles, well designed enemies, weapons and stages, make the whole series a must for hardcore gamers. Both the first and second installments of the game are consistently ranked among the best games in history.

Answer: Villain

While he's not actually a boss, he is the main antagonist of "Half Life 2". It is revealed that he was the Administrator of Black Mesa when the events of the first game unfolded, and was later responsible for (consciously) allowing the Combine race to take over Earth after the "Seven Hour War" (with all this happening while Freeman was kept in stasis at the end of "Half Life").

You don't actually battle him directly, but the final level of the game takes place on his presence, inside the citadel of City 17, main location of the game The goal of the final mission is to destroy the Dark Energy reactor, which creates a massive explosion that supposedly kills Breen.