The list of the best antagonists from all gaming history. WePlay! Edition

Our editorial team is here to tell you about their favourite (or the most hated) antagonists. We have chosen nine characters, which stuck in our memories as most charismatic anti-heroes from all our gaming experience. There will be no hackneyed characters like Vaas Montenegro or Joker.  We invite you to join us and share your list of antagonists in the comments below. Maybe, we forgot to mention the brightest personality?

Handsome Jack (Borderlands) 

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Or John, to be correct. The director of Hyperion Corporation and an inventor of military and detonating loaders, advanced hyperionic camouflage systems. When you meet Jack the first time, you find out that he's a billionaire and made his career in Hyperion with multiple murders. He is always near you, right in your radio, talking to you about his favourite pet, a living diamond horse Butt Stallion. Nobody can stop this person in his ambitions of power, even his own daughter Angel. 

There are theories among players that Handsome Jack isn't so evil, and his mental health was destroyed by the grandmother in childhood, along with numerous betrayals from friends and soulmate Moxxi. His sadistic characteristics most clearly appear in Borderlands 2. But in Pre-Sequel, the creators of the universe reveal the character from a new perspective so that you may feel some sympathy to Jack.

Gaunter O'Dimm (The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone) 

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Master Mirror or Man of Glass is a true merchant, as well as flatterer and excellent negotiator. With its attractive charm, Gaunter can find a way into any heart and charm any person. He seems noble, patient and always ready to help. However, this is just a facade that hides his real personality — Master Mirror is extremely cruel, callous and unforgiving, doesn't have sympathy or mercy. He's willing to do anything to get what is due to him according to the agreements, or what he wants. Gaunter loves to make deals and some people are especially interesting for him to work with, like Geralt. Man of Glass always abides by the terms of the contract and keeps his word, even if it goes against his interests.

Vlad Znahar: "He is the devil of the Witcher world. He is charismatic and honest, but with the ability to manipulate people. It's not so easy to get away from his deals, and he will always come for his pay …"

The Illusive Man (Mass Effect) 

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Jack Harper is the leader of a Cerberus organization. He is secretive, elusive, always knowledgeable, and his true motives are unknown. Before the discovery of extraterrestrial life, the Illusive Man was a completely ordinary person with a regular job and family. 

The Illusive Man is responsible for separating Cerberus from the Alliance's military forces and launching the Cord-Hislop Aerospace corporation to provide cover for the organization's secret operations. He justifies his actions by the following statements: "Salvation comes with a cost. Judge us not by our means, but what we seek to accomplish." and "Strength for Cerberus is a strength for every human. Cerberus is humanity."

Arseny Kuzminsky: "The point is not only in charisma, pathos and intelligence but in a total commitment to his idea. He wanted to protect humanity in any way, and then turn it into a dominant race. The most difficult thing is to make crucial decisions that no one will endorse."

Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid 3) 

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Revolver "Shalashaska" Ocelot or Adamska is a rebel FOXHOUND squad shooter and Liquid Snake's henchman, a master of interrogation and torture, as well as a fighter, distinguished by masterly handling of pistols, especially revolvers. This person is one of the few people who knew Big Boss and his "clones": Solid, Liquid and Solidus. He often acted as a double or even triple agent, serving the interests of various organizations, including the CIA, GRU, the Philosophers, and the Patriots.

Meister Tera: "Throughout the MGS stotyline, he acts as "The Kingmaker" who assists various antagonists and always has his own agenda. According to many theories, he is the main protagonist of the entire series, because Zero would eventually win if it were not for Ocelot."

Micah Bell III (Red Dead Redemption 2) 

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Micah is considered wild and unpredictable even for the Van der Linde gang and is said to enjoy life for the sake of action. Despite his wildlife, Micah is an experienced criminal and assassin who earned Dutch's gang respect. He is known to be disloyal, working for the Pinkerton detective agency and contributing to the collapse of the Van der Linde gang by the end of Red Dead Redemption 2.

Alexander Pak: "I adore Westerns, and Micah is a magnificent example of a portrait hung on the saloons' doors with the inscription "Wanted". A villain to the core, a vile personality. Predictable? Sure, but what do you want from Westerns? The repeat of "Westworld"? Nope, Red Dead Redemption 2 is about real cowboys and real villains."

GLaDOS (Portal) 

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Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System is a keeper of the Aperture Science research facility. The in-game story of GLaDOS is quite exciting and fascinating. Created to be the help in the confrontation between Aperture Science, Inc. and Black Mesa, she became the disaster, killing almost all her creators and the habitants of Aperture Science. 

The character, manner of speech and phrases of GLaDOS are the main thing in Portal. In communication with the player, GLaDOS can both give advice and comments during the test, or give gloomy signs, as well as declare that you won't be able to pass it. Her phrases are often cynical and suggest evident neglect of the subject. GLaDOS speaks a computer voice, and her remarks look logically correct, but indicate that the author is an insane villain.

Gufis: "It's the perfect example of trolling: tough, depressive, heartless (which is not surprising, because she doesn't have a heart). Ellen McLain did a phenomenal job voice-acting for the GLaDOS character. Portal's authors, opposite to faceless Chell, made the main character from this computer. Portal 2 made you fell in love with GLaDOS even more. You can call it Stockholm syndrome, but, probably, this is exactly what the antagonist should be."

Vergil (Devil May Cry 3)

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He is Dante's elder brother, who rejects his human side in favour of demonic. Unlike his twin brother, who's an energetic, friendly and extrovert person, Vergil is a calm introvert. Despite his cold and ruthless manner of behaviour, he is a noble warrior who adheres to his morality and discipline. Vergil despises dirty and cheap battle tactics, refuses to use firearms, considering it unworthy of a "real warrior", remaining loyal only to his blade and other melee weapons, which he managed to get from defeated enemies. While Dante tries to protect the human world from demons, Vergil wants more demonic power, regardless of the consequences for everybody else. 

Albert Wesker (Resident Evil)

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A smart, power-hungry and incredibly insidious anti-hero who longed for strength and power over the whole world. He was a former employee of the Umbrella Corporation and considered one of the most promising researchers in it. In parallel, Wesker worked undercover as one of the Raccoon City police officers and head of the S.T.A.R.S. special forces. Having betrayed his comrades in order to carry out his own plans, Wesker imitated his death, having obtained superhuman abilities with the help of a prototype virus, after which he worked with the mysterious Organization and the TRICELL corporation. Wesker became the first person who was a living embodiment of Ozwell Spencer's dream: to turn the entire human race into superhuman.

Luc and Sarah (Suikoden III)

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I can't say better than Elizbar Ramazashvili:

"What makes a good antagonist? A sound motivation, the logic behind their actions, charisma. Luc and Sarah have this all in spades.

The world of Suikoden revolves around Runes. They are the all-empowering magical artefacts that enable their wielder to perform supernatural feats, be it a puny fireball spell cast or the destruction of the whole kingdom with the immense might. And in this magical world of Suikoden, the True Runes exist. Those are unique, and unlike some minor ones, are connected to the fate of the universe in some mysterious ways. The being that oversees the balance of this word is a beautiful pale-skinned woman named Leknaat, bearer of half the Gate Rune. "Keeper of Balance," as she is called, has had a prodigious student and an accomplished magician named Luc. He was a faithful and loyal to Lady Leknaat until a fateful day when The True Wind rune showed him a disturbing vision of an empty, lifeless future. It led him to the path of betrayal, as he abandoned his teacher in his quest to somehow free humanity from the shackles of the Runes. Somewhere along the way, he met a mysterious girl named Sarah, locked in a secluded valley with people exploiting her unconscious and remarkable ability.

Luc was a very particular man with the belief that the end justifies the means. He was not mean, or cruel, or ruthless. He was driven and determined to create what he envisioned as a great and prosperous future at any cost, even his own life.

Sarah was his mirror opposite: kind and compassionate, yet stoic. In the years that followed her escape from the valley she was a prisoner at she came to fall in love with Luc. Sarah loved him, yet she didn't agree with his methods. And she still went through with him and was Luc's most loyal and trusted ally. However, she always tried to minimize the damage and chaos that Luc's schemes would wreak. She went out of her way, several times, to warn people of impending doom that awaits them if they fail to act. She never did anything that could jeopardize any of Luc's plans. She took down anyone who would oppose them without any remorse.

Yoshitaka Murayama, the creator, writer and director of the game, managed to write believable antagonists that had a sound motivation and went above and beyond to reach their goals. Luc and Sarah are antiheroes that you come around to root for at the end of the story. Luc with his determination to do the higher good no matter the consequences, and Sarah with her ability to love "despite", not "because".

Suikoden III features a unique option to play as the antagonist after you beat the main game. This allows for an amazing opportunity to see what the supposed villains see, to do what they do. Because of this simple feature, the antagonists are developed to an unparalleled degree."