You know what I've just noticed? Chicks in videogames nowadays are mostly little more than chicks who say stuff but all that reaches your ears is "look at my boobs". Ever since playing Final Fantasy 6 I've been going "ugh... not ANOTHER scantily-clad female lead!" What ever happened to games like Command & Conquer, that focused on story and didn't shove a pixelated babe into a skimpy outfit and have her fight monsters? Don't get me wrong- I like my videogame chicks. But are they overdoing it now?
That's mostly true, but there are notable exceptions ... such as: -Prince of Persia (2008) -Mass Effect -Max Payne 2
I can think of a few more exceptions. Half-Life 2 + Expansions Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Beyond Good & Evil Legend of Zelda Series Metroid Series
Weird. I always thought Alex was just an overdressed piece of T/A for the gamers to drool over. She never seemed to have enough of a role to be in the game other than to be looked at.
oh Nova, i miss you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVsTrLW_04U oh Queen of Blades, i hope to see you soon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSjRXI5XHw8&feature=related
Perhaps I mis-stated my opinion a bit. Terra and Celes were both good characters. And Jill Valentine, and Samus (although she very rarely spoke in Fusion, the only metroid game I own, lol). But still, when I was younger I was more afraid that mom wouldn't like Kitana's little outfit than the fact she just brutally decapitated Kung Lao.
I think there are a few characters who aren't just there for the T and A. Yuna from FFX being an example as well as the female characters from the Resident Evil series (well, Shiva may be an exception there)
Have you played Red Alert 3 ? Seriously though - Alyx Vance. Look no further. In fact, Valve does a good job with female characters - Zoey from Left 4 Dead is another good one. I've never felt more a part of a proper team when working with an AI character than I did with Alyx.
The Longest Jounrey and Dreamfall have attractive female leads who are dressed in a sensible fashion.
Alexandra Munroe in EF1? Telsia Murphy in both EF1 and 2? Juliet Jurot in EF1 and 2... Jan Ors in Jedi Knight 2?
Didn't realize this until I started playing the Special Edition this weekend, but The Secret of Monkey Island is actually a solid example. The female characters in that game tend to be some of the strongest and most capable in the story... after all, the first two you encounter are the Sword Master of Melee Island and the Governer of the Tri-Island Area, respectively.
I'm not really sure about RE5's Shiva seeing as I've never played it, but in RE4 Ada was practically DESIGNED to be a sex symbol since RE2. And Ashley... ugh. That personality-devoid WITCH...
Alyx Vance in HL2. Probably the best female video game character, largely for the fact that she's not a walking parody of a 15 year old male's fantasty perception of what a woman is.