10 most deranged video game psychopaths
TRANSCRIPT
10 Most Deranged Video Game
Psychopaths
http://www.gamebasin.com/news/10-most-deranged-video-game-psychopaths
The antagonists of video games motivated by things like money and fame are perfectly adequate.
It’s easy to loathe these characters for their selfish actions even if their behaviour does feel
predictable. However, what is far more exciting is when a games developer chooses to introduce a
psychopathic individual whose crazy behaviour makes it incredibly difficult to know what – if
anything – motivates them. Often these gaming psychos are the most memorable aspects of the
games they feature in. Their mental instability means that developers are able to have them doing
utterly unpredictable actions which helps differentiate the game from your run‐of‐the‐mill marine
vs. terrorist borefest. Moreover, the intelligence and charisma often associated with psychopaths
has led to some awesome gaming quotes. This isn’t to say psychos have to have an ounce of brain‐
power – some of the most deranged can barely speak but are so violent and lacking in empathy
that you can’t deny them psychopathic status. Over the years we have encountered some truly
horrifying psychopaths who had us second‐guessing whether we should insert the disc. Their
intense violence, unsympathetic natures and unpredictability mean that they have permanently
inscribed their names into the gaming psychos hall of fame. Defined by their sickening actions, here
are the 10 most deranged psychopaths in video gaming:
10. Needles Kane (Sweet Tooth) – Twisted
Metal
It is a common misconception surrounding the Twisted Metal series that Sweet Tooth – the iconic
ice‐cream truck – is the name of the driver as well as the vehicle. The maniacal driver behind the
wheel of the clown‐themed killer truck is actually named Needles Kane and is arguably the most
twisted character from the entire line‐up of freaks available to use on the Twisted Metal series.
Since the series started way back in 1998, each interpretation of Kane has varied with each game
– without doubt the most psychopathic iteration was the most recent one seen in 2012’s Twisted
Metal. In this game the story goes that a man named Marcus Kane was once a happily married
father who developed a dark resentment at his mundane life. This resentment eventually
manifested itself as a split personality named ‘Needles’ which gradually begins eating away at
Marcus’ sanity. Very soon Needles has taken over and forces Marcus to murder his family. He
instantly killed his wife and son but took his time with his daughter, who was able to grab a large
pair of scissors and drive them into the psycho’s right eye before escaping. Needles Kane’s only
motivation in life is to catch ‘the one that got away’ and make her suffer. Dark, dark stuff right?
9. The Medic–Team Fortress 2
It may seem like an incredibly left‐field pick to include a character who has ostensibly made his
career out of helping the lame, wounded and dying but after watching this ‘Meet the Medic’
promotional video it seems all too clear that the healer is mentally unhinged. The character tasked
with maintaining the well‐being of the team seems eerily reminiscent of Josef Mengele (not helped
by his German accent), the SS Physician of Auschwitz and so‐called Angel of Death who carried out
horrifying experiments on those imprisoned in the camp. The insane Medic clearly has no
sympathy for the severely wounded Heavy and is far more interested in experimenting with
applying unreliable mechanical enhancements to his heart. When the device causes the heart to
explode the Medic grabs a baboon heart to replace it with. We also see that the unhinged doctor
has the severed head of a spy stored in his fringe. We’re glad we don’t find out what he has in store
for this ill‐fated espionage expert. On the whole the video is a comic yet disturbing insight into the
corrupted mind of the man who is responsible for keeping us alive on the addictive online shooter.
8. St. John Family – The Walking Dead
The second installment of Telltale Games’ first episodic apocalyptic adventure game saw us take
refuge at the St John Dairy Farm. It had everything – a good wall separating the living from the
dead, food, crops, a swing for the kids and shelter but like most things it was too good to be true.
Things started to turn sour when our injured comrade Mark went missing for essentially the entire
episode. Suspicion arose when Lee and right hand man Kenny found a locked door at the back of
the barn which caused the members of the family to become extremely on edge. Unable to trust
anyone, you had to find out what was behind that door. After distracting the St. John Brothers you
finally discover what’s inside: a bloody, gruesome slaughterhouse. Andy St. John surprises you as
you leave but calmly explains that it’s the area where they skin and prepare animals they have
hunted. Unsatisfied with this explanation, Lee finds his way to a secret door upstairs in the St John
household and stumbles upon Mark who is now missing a leg which is being served up for everyone
to eat on the dining room table. After they’re rumbled the St Johns turn against you and keep you
hostage until you are able to find a way out. We understand that living through a zombie
apocalypse brings out the worst in people but resorting to eating human meat is downright
deranged.
7. Piggsy – Manhunt
Piggsy’s angry, ANGRY! One could argue that whoever first came up with the idea for 2003’s
Manhunt should be on a list of psychopaths themselves though that’s a debate for another day.
Rockstar’s highly controversial game is jam‐packed with intensely realistic violence and gore but
the utterly deranged Piggsy is definitely the most disturbing aspect of Manhunt, certainly inspired
by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The appropriately nicknamed abomination is an overweight,
insane killer who opts to wear a pig’s head as a mask – getting pangs of Leatherface yet? What if
we told you that his weapon of choice is a chainsaw? Like we said, taken right from the script of
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Piggsy seems to have lost all traces of humanity, capable of
communicating only with basic words and grunt noises. He is motivated entirely by butchering
everyone who crosses his path. Before the events we play through in Manhunt, Piggsy was enlisted
by Starkweather to take part in his snuff movies. After his work was done the film’s director – who
could easily be on this list instead of Piggsy – had him locked up in an abandoned attic.
6. Scott Shelby – Heavy Rain
He might not be driven by the blood‐lust and desire to murder indiscriminately like some on this
list but don’t let this fool you into thinking that Scott Shelby – also known as the Origami Killer –
isn’t deeply psychopathic. Scarred for life by the despicable events he suffered through as a child,
Shelby ruthlessly takes his anger out on the world by kidnapping children and forcing their fathers
to prove their love through a series of horrifying tasks. Don’t be deceived by this warped sense of
morality – Shelby lacks any sympathy or remorse and is most certainly a psychopath. In The
Butterfly trial Shelby forces Ethan to crawl through a long network of claustrophobic tunnels
littered with broken glass. Once you get past the implausibility of an overweight, 50‐something
year old crawling through this narrow network of tunnels laying down all the shards of glass, you
realise that the painstaking effort Shelby goes to to inflict pain on innocent men is quite astounding.
It is a credit to the storytelling abilities of Quantic Dream that they are able to weave such a
complex narrative whereby we still feel some sympathy towards this psychopathic murderer of
children and their fathers. Shelby may have become a killer of children himself but it’s impossible
to forget the face of that little boy who just wanted his dad to come and save his brother.
5. Minsc – Baldur’s Gate
Did anybody ever say being a psychopath necessarily meant that you had to be one of the bad guys?
Minsc, the iconic Rashemen ranger of Baldur’s Gate, doubtless saved the hides of gamers an
embarrassing number of times with his trusty two‐handed sword but this doesn’t mean he wasn’t
a complete psycho. Minsc may have saved our merry band of adventurers by wildly swinging his
gigantic weapon but every now and then he would be seized by a berserk rage and turn his
bloodlust on those around him – most notably us. Until he calmed down Minsc could no longer be
controlled by the player and went on a killing spree against anything foolish enough to cross his
path. As if this psychopathic rage weren’t bad enough, the ranger had a weird relationship with his
whiskered sidekick, Boo the Hamster, who hides safely beneath his armour. The thought of the
psychopathic Minsc running around the map slaughtering everything he sees while a hamster –
which he is convinced is a miniature giant space hamster – nestles snugly under his full‐plate
armour is one of the weirdest images in Baldur’s Gate.
4. Walter Sullivan – Silent Hill 4
Walter Sullivan is particularly terrifying as his story really does
seem like it could be real – we are truly thankful that any easily
impressionable copycat serial killers haven’t tried to replicate his
actions.
Like many psychopaths, Walter’s childhood was no bed of roses. His
father was abusive and his parents abandoned him at a very young age
leaving him to be adopted by a cult and believe the apartment room he
was abandoned in was his mother. Under the teachings of the cult,
Walter believed if he carried out a ritual called the 21 Sacraments
he would release God and paradise upon Earth. In order to do this he
had to murder 21 people. Walter began his spree by killing 10 people
and in each case he removed their hearts and carved a specific number
relating to their position within the 21 people he intended to kill.
This is where the story gets even weirder. The police then claimed to
have captured Sullivan, who proceeded to commit suicide. However, the
murders continued. Depending on which way you want to look at the
games narrative you can either believe that the man who committed
suicide was not actually or Sullivan or that this led to him turning
into a murderous ghost.
Though his overarching goal was supposedly to release paradise,
Sullivan’s disdain for human life was shocking. He wasn’t picky
about how he killed his victims – shot, drowned, bludgeoned to
death, hit with an axe, set on fire; it didn’t matter as long as
they were dead. Walter Sullivan was a true, terrifying video game
psychopath.
3. The Joker – Arkham Series
Gotham’s psychotic prince of crime has been portrayed and interpreted in many different ways
over the years, whether it be in film, television, comic books or games. Thanks in no small part to
an incredible job done by Mark Hamill on the voice acting front and an awesome character design
from Rocksteady, the iteration of the Joker seen in the Arkham series is not only one of the best
but is easily one of the most deranged. The Joker’s insanity and unpredictability is what makes him
a psychopath. Unlike other comic book super‐villains who are motivated by monetary riches,
power or world domination, The Joker is seemingly a motiveless malignity – just wanting to revel
in the chaos which his crimes create. Joker is so hell‐bent on causing destruction that he is even
willing to compromise his own well‐being. In the climax of Batman: Arkham Asylum we see the
murderous clown inject himself with his own titan dart to turn himself into a monster capable of
wreaking even more havoc. He may be an insane, homicidal psychopath but Joker is by no means
cognitively insane – he is in complete control of what he is doing and is able to use his twisted logic
and reasoning to devise devilish schemes to bring the city to his knees. It is this insanity combined
with his unimpaired intelligence that make him so dangerous.
2. Kefka Palazzo – Final Fantasy VI
Many of you probably will have expected the platinum haired Sephiroth to be fulfilling the Final
Fantasy quota of this list. While the antagonist of Final Fantasy VII with his megalomania and
disregard for human life certainly has psychopathic traits, he seems like a model citizen compared
to Kefka Palazzo of Final Fantasy VI. Kefka departed from the traditional formula of FF’s
uncharismatic, cold, ruthless antagonists and was loud, randomly destructive and – most of all –
deeply unhinged. The killer clown is the court mage of Emperor Gestahl but acts as he sees fit
behind his masters back. From his trademark eerie cackle to his habit of calling fighting “playing”,
it soon becomes clear that Kefka is completely lacking the empathy and compassion that makes us
human. We learn that Kefka’s sanity was shattered when he was gifted with dangerously powerful
magic that his psyche was unable to cope with. During the game Kefka’s more aggressive insanity
develops into deep nihilism as he begins to question what the purpose of existence is for. The
antagonist of FFVI is so memorable as a psychopath as he boasts the undesirable combination of
mental instability and intimidating power.
1. Vaas – Far Cry 3
Vaas is the secondary antagonist of Far Cry 3 and is easily the most enduring character in the entire
game, in no small part because developers Ubisoft were able to make him seem so genuinely bat‐
sh*!t crazy. Ubisoft must have been aware of what an incredible job they’d done with their creation
and execution of the Vaas character as he featured so prominently in the marketing of the game,
even making it onto the game’s cover alongside a body buried in the sand (which you can actually
find in the game as an Easter Egg). The drug‐addled psycho is the more dangerous type of nutter
who is able to alternate from being terrifyingly violent to polite and courteous. However, those
subtly widened eyes always announce his inner insanity. Even in the sequences where Vaas is being
weirdly charming we know that he will inevitably undergo an intense mood swing and slump into
a violent rage. The character who stole the show in Far Cry 3 is now famous in the gaming world
for that incredible Insanity Monologue. He may lack an imposing physique but Vaas’ intensely
psychotic nature means that he is one of the best antagonists seen in recent years and certainly a
gaming psychopath who has raised the bar in terms of depth and characterisation.
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