Day 38: Favorite NPC Game Characters

The other day I was thinking about stories in video game and how important NPC's (or non-playable characters) are to driving the narrative. Since your character is usually the everyman, it's the NPC's job to bring you into the story and make you sympathetic to your cause. 

So here are a few of my favorites that stand out. I know I'm missing many others but these were the first ones that came to me (in no particular order btw). 

   

Cortana from The Halo Series

In the Halo series you play as Master Chief, a cyber-genetically enhanced super soldier. Like the Spartans of old, he was taken from his parents and trained for battle since he was a child. Cortana is an artificially intelligent being that is constantly on-board with Master Chief during his escapades. 

She acts sort of like his inner-monologue. Even though she is calculating and logical like him, she brings a more emotional side to the story. She's there to help Chief realize the big picture and the consequences that winning or losing will hold for humanity. Her role is so vital in the game that they few times she's absent from master chief's helmet, it just doesn't feel right without the sense of security that her constant calm and fluid logic imbues.

Wrex from The Mass Effect Series

Urdnot Wrex seems like an unlikely addition to the crew of the starship Normandy, where you get fill in the role of the captain. Wrex is a Krogan, which is basically a bullfrog-like Klingon equivalent for the Mass Effect universe. He is first and foremost a fighter, and an exceptionally brutal one at that. If you can keep him under control, he is probably one of the best members you can take into battle with you.   

   

Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite

I don't know if I've ever played a game where I cared so much about protecting another character. The game I'm referring to is 2013's Bioshock Infinite. You're thrown into a floating steampunk-inspired city above the clouds with the goal of kidnapping a girl named Elizabeth. You soon realize that there is more going on in the floating city of Columbia than meets the eye. You end up trying to escape the city with said girl.

Elizabeth is probably one of the best AI creations in current memory. When fights take place, she doesn't get in the way like many other AI counterparts. In fact she is extremely helpful, both in battle and out of battle. Thanks in part to the wonderful dialog and also her naivety, Elizabeth brings the wonderment of the setting to life as well as providing a compelling reason for leaving the seeming paradise.




GLaDOS from Portal

Probably one of the greatest things about the Portal games is the disembodied voice of the antagonistic female robot overlord, GLaDOS. Her dark sense of humor is one of the single most compelling tools driving the story's puzzle-centered narration. There are many moments during the game that will literally make you laugh out loud at its clever writing and brilliantly performed delivery.




Epona from The Legend of Zelda

Epona is your faithful steed as you battle the forces of evil in an attempt to save the mythical land of Hyrule from the grasp of Ganondorf. Whenever your equine friend is required, you need but to pull out your ocarina and play a tune to summon her. Epona is welcome company as you swiftly journey around the vast landscape upon her saddle. She's an ever silent but supportive companion.