Video Games Mixture Quiz: Video Game Characters | 10 Questions

Answer: "Half-Life 2"

The original "Half-Life" featured security guards who were generically known as "Barneys," but it wasn't until the "Blue Shift" expansion pack that Barney Calhoun became a character in his own right. "Sin Episodes" uses the same game engine as "Half-Life 2", known as the Source engine. "Prey" is notable for originally being announced some ten years before its actual release.

Answer: "Escape From Monkey Island"

A little tricky, this one. Guybrush, Elaine and LeChuck are the main characters, appearing throughout the series. Meathook first appeared in "The Secret Of Monkey Island," the first "Monkey Island" game. Murray the demonic talking skull first appeared in the third game in the series, "The Curse Of Monkey Island".

The only game where both of these characters have appeared is the fourth game, "Escape From Monkey Island".

Answer: "Soul Blade"

"Soul Blade" eventually evolved into the "Soul Calibur" series. Interestingly, these games feature a character from the Tekken games - the samurai-ninja, Yoshimitsu.

Answer: "Beyond Good And Evil"

Not only do all the games mentioned here share the dubious distinction of being critically acclaimed without selling as many copies as they probably should, they also have something else in common - all of them feature female lead characters. Jade is the main character from "Beyond Good And Evil", while Cate Archer is the super-spy featured in "No One Lives Forever". "The Longest Journey" tells the story of student April Ryan, while the main character in "Space Channel 5" is Ulala, a TV presenter out to stop invading aliens using the power of dance. Really.

Answer: "Skies Of Arcadia"

"Skies of Arcadia" was originally known as "Eternal Arcadia" in its native Japan. After its initial Dreamcast release, it was re-released for the Gamecube as "Skies Of Arcadia Legends", although a planned PC conversion never materialised.

Answer: "Shenmue"

"Shenmue" was created by Yu Suzuki and was originally planned to be an RPG extension of the Virtua Fighter series of beat-em-up games. "The Willow Pattern" was an 8-bit maze game released in by Firebird in 1986. "Itadaki Street" is a series of games published first by Enix and now by Square/Enix which feature characters from the "Final Fantasy" and "Dragon Quest" games; the game itself is very much like the board game Monopoly.

Answer: "The Legend Of Zelda - The Wind Waker"

Although some were put off by the cel-shaded look of "The Wind Waker", the game went on to both critical acclaim and commercial success. "The Minish Cap" is a Gameboy Advance game developed by Flagship Studios, who also created the excellent "Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga" for the same system. "Twilight Princess" is the first Zelda game to make use of the Wii's motion control, and features a darker tone and graphical style than the previous games. "Link's Awakening" was released in 1993 for the Game Boy, and re-released in 1998 for the Game Boy Color.

Answer: "Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic"

"Knights of the Old Republic" and its sequel are based on the D20 Roleplaying System derived from the third edition of the famous Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game. Although set in the Star Wars universe, it's story takes place around 4000 years before the films. "Masters of Teras Kasi" was an ill-advised Star Wars-themed beat-em-up. "Jedi Arena" was an Atari 2600 game from 1983 loosely based on the scene in Star Wars where Luke Skywalker trains by deflecting laser bolts fired by a floating drone. "TIE Fighter" is notable for being the first game to put the player on the side of the evil Galactic Empire.

Answer: "Dead or Alive 4"

"Dead or Alive 4" is the first "Dead Or Alive" game on the XBox 360; the series originally debuted in the arcade, and was quickly ported to Playstation and Saturn. It's main innovation is a "Counter" system which means that attacks are blocked and a counter attack launched, meaning that the tide of battle can turn quickly. "Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution" was an updated version of the "Virtua Fighter 4" released in the arcades and for the Playstation 2. "Samurai Shodown VI" is actually the tenth game in the series, but remains resolutely two-dimensional. "Battle Arena Toshinden" was one of the first 3D fighters and an early flagship title for the Playstation, but the series lost popularity with the rise of the "Tekken" series.

Answer: "Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon"

Both "Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon" and "Beneath A Steel Sky" were developed by Revolution. Although Revolution as a studio is no longer making games, Charles Cecil, the main mind behind the titles, is still making "Broken Sword" games and has expressed interest in creating a "Beneath A Steel Sky" sequel.

In Memoriam is a strange but excellent adventure game (released as "Missing: Since January" in the US) where you are tasked with piecing together evidence recovered from photographs, video and your own exploration of the internet to help solve a murder and abduction. "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney" is a game for the Nintendo DS and tasks the player with becoming an ace Defence Attorney.