Black squad game female characters series#

Lee sets the bar high and more games need to try to beat it.Дў012 вЂ“ Aveline de GrandprГ©, AssassinвЂ™s Creed Liberation (Ubisoft)ДЄveline is an African-French assassin in 18th century New Orleans. This alone makes him one of the most positive black video game characters ever written. That said, he is a criminal, having killed the man who had an affair with his wife.Д¬rucially, Lee becomes the father figure for the young Clementine, and tries to protect her from the horrors of the zombie apocalypse. HeвЂ™s a history professor, which means he falls outside the typical black stereotype of the urban thug. Lee is the good guy thrust into a bad situation. Lee Everett is that rarest of things the black man as the every man. A serious misstep for an industry that still struggles to represent black characters well.Дў012 вЂ“ Lee Everett, The Walking Dead (Telltale Games) Considering Deus Ex is set in a cyberpunk future, the racist stereotype is more than incongruous. Letitia is an NPC who is found sifting through rubbish and then speaks with a caricatured, black deep south accent akin to something out of Tom and Jerry. Over 20 years after SquareвЂ™s Tom Sawyer, it happened again with Deux Ex. Despite falling into the gangbanger stereotype, CJ is one of the few GTA characters to show remorse for killing, which sets him apart in more ways than one.Дў011 вЂ“ Letitia, Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Square Enix) CJ Johnson is the first black lead in a GTA game.

Black squad game female characters series#

The British-made Grand Theft Auto (GTA) games changed the face of the industry and after GTA III became one of the best selling series of all time. Unfortunately, Alyx is an NPC, so weвЂ™ll have to hope for that mythical Half-Life 3 for her to get her own game.Дў004 вЂ“ CJ Johnson, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games) The daughter of a black scientist, Alyx is an intelligent computer scientist, hacker and programmer in her own right. The first woman on the list, Alyx is a notable mixed race (African American/Malaysian) character in the critically acclaimed and successful Half-Life 2. However, Barret has a complex backstory as an eco-terrorist intent on saving the planet for his adopted daughter, so heвЂ™s a caring father and widower. Critics highlight the racial stereotype of the big, black guy with a gun, speaking in African American Vernacular (AAV) and his likeness to Mr T. Based on Mark TwainвЂ™s novel, this unremarkable roleplaying games is remembered for the racist caricature of Jim, complete with oversized lips and references to apes.ДЎ997 вЂ“ Barret Wallace, Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix)Д«arret is the first black character in the long-running Final Fantasy series. Released on the Family Computer, Tom Sawyer is noted as the fourth most racist video game in history. In my defence, the iconic Daley ThompsonвЂ™s Decathlon just fell outside the 30 years bracket.ДЎ989 вЂ“ Jim from SquareвЂ™s Tom Sawyer (Square) This list is by no means exhaustive, but offers some highlights (and lowlights). Looking back at 30 years of black video game characters shows that it is getting better, but we still have a long way to go. In addition, the dominance of the US as a key market means games still donвЂ™t portray the black, British experience or much beyond urban America. Black women are rarely featured at all as playable characters, instead being relegated to the tough woman, the prostitute or exotic other. Rather than trying to do better, games often portray black male characters as the big, muscly guy with a gun, the pimp, the criminal or the rapper. Despite this success, games still borrow their black stereotypes from Hollywood. Video games have grown to become a ВЈ2.96 billion sector*, in the UK, outstripping film and music combined. However, inclusion is still lacking in games, which do better when it comes rendering water physics, than they do black hair textures. 2016 was a particularly good year, with the likes of Virginia, featuring two black, female leads and Mafia IIIвЂ™s Lincoln Clay, as well as Nadine Ross. October marked 30 years of Black History Month, in the UK, which got me thinking about the best and worst black characters in games.