COGconnected’s Perfect List Featuring the Top 10 Video Game Villains
Each week, our very own Press X To Podcast crew deliver the most relevant and entertaining podcast in gaming today. Included in these podcasts is a feature we like to call “The Perfect List”. It’s kind of like a top 10 list, except perfect. Episode 12’s perfect list featured the top 10 video game villains. And why shouldn’t the villains get a bit of a spotlight? The absolute best games usually have the absolute best villains. We then reached out to our friends on the Press X To Podcast Facebook page and asked them to let us know what villains we missed, we’ll share their answers here too. Let’s get down to bad guy business…
Vaas Montenegro
The first villain on our list is Vaas Montenegro. Vaas is one of the main antagonists from Far Cry 3. He is insane, brutal, and most definitely a psychopath with no remorse. Vaas was brilliantly portrayed by Canadian actor Michael Mando. Vaas can be found more recently as a bobblehead adorning various vehicles in Far Cry 5.
Handsome Jack
One of the main villains from the Borderlands franchise, Handsome Jack wasn’t always his handsome self. When an energy blast branded his face with the vault symbol and destroyed his left eye, Jack grafted a mask to his face and began calling himself Handsome Jack. He promoted himself to the president of the Hyperion Corporation by murdering the previous president. He’s been a thorn in the side of vault hunters ever since.
Psycho Mantis
Psycho Mantis was a reoccurring villain in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. He’s gone through a few different styles but is known for wearing a gas mask to cover his disfigured face. Psycho Mantis developed psychic abilities such as telepathy and psychokinesis which he uses against Solid Snake. His psychic abilities were so on point, he knew what games you had previously played on PlayStation (and later the GameCube).
Joker
Whatever the medium, the Joker has been a thorn in Batman’s side for decades. However, one of the most memorable versions of Joker was from the Arkham franchise. First appearing in Arkham Asylum, and reappearing in most of the sequels, the Joker was as violent and disturbing as ever. Even better was the fact that he was voiced by Mark Hamill, who had previously voiced Joker in the Batman: The Animated Series.
Frau Irene Engel
Our next villain should come as no surprise to anyone who’s played Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Frau Engel is an absolutely brilliant villain. Brutal, fierce and tough as hell, she’s an absolute monster that makes Hitler look like a kitten.
Check out page 2 for the last five villains that our podcast crew selected.