VMK said:
Plus, nobody said, that cold-blooded murderer simply MUST be angry, nihilistic son of a female canine, and pacifist- always smiling, cariing angel. Most of the times, bad boys don't act like ones in public, and good boys can be sad.
While this is certainly true, I am getting tired of games that seem to be simply ignoring the actions of the main character. The way I see it, only a hardened sociopath would be able to kill in the numbers that video game protagonists do without accumulating some sort of emotional baggage. Said baggage doesn't have to consume their entire being, and probably shouldn't. In fact, take Max Payne 3 where Max becomes basically unlikable because they gave him too much baggage to the point he was barely functional.
I often bring Ezio up when discussing this, because I think he's a great example of almost doing it right. They do give Ezio baggage, and they manage to make him likable and capable of levity and genuine warmth. The problem I have with the character is neither he nor his allies ever acknowledge the men he kills. All the baggage Ezio has is a result of the things the Templars have done to him (killing his father and bros in ACII and Mario in Brotherhood), but no one ever mentions the men Ezio kills on his way to taking revenge. In fact, the first time the game Forces you to kill someone is never acknowledged at all.
It's generally assumed that Ezio has never killed anyone at the beginning of the game, but if you ask people who the first person Ezio kills is, most will say Uberto, which is wrong. In fact, the first time you get a sword, the game forces you to fight and kill 4 city guards (and it actually does force you, while trying a game where I only kill targets I tried running, and the game doesn't allow you to, the guards will always catch up and you are immediately kicked out of any hiding spot you try to jump into).
These guards are Ezio's first victims, but they are never acknowledged. Not even in the scene immediately following it. You also have to remember that this is before Ezio's Father and Brothers are killed, so he hasn't yet had that defining moment. Those sorts of things are why the Ezio never worked for me as a character.
And that's why I prefer Corvo not talking. That way I can infer how he is feeling and responding to what's happening. Yes, I agree it's more than a little disappointing that you aren't able to do anything other than blindly follow orders, but if the choice is between that and another character like Ezio, I'll take Corvo, mute and all.
Different tastes, I suppose.
