Why I think Rockstar Games has the best video game villains – Reader’s Feature
A reader complains that video game villains lack depth and proper reasons to hate them, while praising the bad guys in Rockstar’s GTA 4: The Lost And Damned.
I don’t think video game villains hit as hard they should. Many of them appear to be evil for the sake of being evil and to give the protagonist an almighty foe to face off with, come the endgame. The best antagonists are irredeemable pieces of excrement, who you longingly wish to shut up and vanquish from ever invading your eyesight and ear lobes.
Sometimes though, it’s the secondary antagonists that can be more entertaining in how they obediently carry out their masters’ bidding, and their personalities can be so smug and righteous, that they make a bigger impact than the main antagonist.
Of all the video game villains I’ve encountered in my 25+ years of video-gaming, Brian Jeremy from GTA 4: The Lost And Damned has to be the most snivelling brown-noser of a secondary antagonist I ever saw. The right-hand man to central antagonist Billy Grey, Brian Jeremy is quick to take sides with Billy anytime protagonist Johnny Klebitz has a problem with the way Billy is running The Lost biker gang.
Brian Jeremy is a tremendously arrogant, goofy little wretch, who may as well be Billy’s pet because he is nothing more than a subservient ass, who waddles along like the nerd Algie from another of Rockstar Games’ mega hits Bully. Brian is proof positive that some of the most despicable characters in games are unflinchingly loyal pests who always side with their masters no matter what.
I suppose one little complement Brian should have, if anything at all, is that he is extremely loyal, even if he’s treated like a piece of mud gripped to one of Billy’s biker boots he’ll still slavishly agree and follow his lead.
I think you can tell from my descriptions thus far how loathsome I find Brian Jeremy to be, and that’s a testament to how unbelievably strong Rockstar’s characters are. I’ve never felt the way I do about a video game villain before, and Rockstar gives us all the reasons in the world to keep us yearning to track him down and finish him off.
Billy Grey might be a psycho, who at one point smashes a hammer into a bike mechanic’s face after the latter had his face grated against the moving wheels of an otherwise stationary bike while under interrogation, but he’s just a ruthless and delusional boss – the way a main villain ought to be – and he doesn’t quite make me froth with disdain as much as Brian does.
Brian Jeremy is a constant nuisance you’ve no choice but to put up with, until you get the chance to silence this subordinate little weasel – which makes it more satisfying when you get the chance to punish him. Nothing is worse than someone who blindly follows somebody else, regardless of what is right and abandoning all pretences of individual thought and opinion.
One amusing little moment comes in a cut scene where Johnny Klebitz remarks that Brian is dumber than he thought, before Brian mocks what he said with a goofy face and voice, which actually proves Klebitz right. Again, you’ve got to give it up to Rockstar for creating a secondary antagonist like Brian because he is nothing but an obedient tool. He reminds us of the inherent toxicity of unquestioning followers, which in a deeper way demonstrates what our culture is reduced to when we don’t question things.
I don’t often find video game villains interesting enough, but Brian Jeremy is one that is so incessant and boot-licking that he’s so easy to despise. He typifies for me why Rockstar is my favourite video game developer, because he forces me to pay attention to him, even though his sliminess forces me to go and wash my hands.
No other developer besides Rockstar makes an impact on me like them, because they always develop games that they want to make. In a video game landscape that constantly chases trends, Rockstar has always had faith in themselves due to the legions upon legions of fans who play their games.
By reader James Davie
Brian Jeremy is a real piece of work (Rockstar Games)
The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
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