Man’s fascination with machines has grown along with technology, with A.I feeling more realistic with every passing day. While it may still be some time before the world has to worry about Skynet levels of intelligence in machines, video games give people the ability to experience what it’s like to have robot companions, as well as enemies. Below is a list of some of the best robots in video gaming.
FALLOUT 3 & FALLOUT 4 – LIBERTY PRIME
I wouldn’t be a true gaming patriot if I didn’t include the Brotherhood of Steel’s 40 ft democratic death machine. Originally intended to liberate Anchorage, Alaska, from the Red Chinese during the Sino-American War of 2072, the robot instead plays a crucial role in the ending to Fallout 3. Two centuries after the war with the Chinese, Prime escorts the Brotherhood and Lone Wanderer in the assault on the Satellite Relay Station, spouting anti-communist phrases while declaring that “American democracy cannot be defeated” and “Democracy is Non-Negotiable.” Though Liberty Prime was defeated by an orbital strike, he was salvaged and made an appearance in Fallout 4, head mounted Tesla Cannons and all.
THE BORDERLAND SERIES – CLAPTRAP
This annoying, yet charming little robot is a staple of the Borderland’s series, working as a guide, an ally, an adversary, and even a playable character. Claptrap – named as such because of his robot brand CL4P-TP – was programmed and created by the evil Hyperion to be overenthusiastic and braggadocious, while simultaneously expressing severe loneliness and cowardice. After the events of Borderlands 2 – where Handsome Jack shuts down all CL4P-TP units – the sarcastic little robot is the last of his kind and swears revenge upon Hyperion. Despite being purposely annoying, Claptrap is one of the funniest characters in the series, especially when unlocked for the final fight in Tales From the Borderlands.
CALL OF DUTY: INFINITE WARFARE – E3N “Ethan”
Call of Duty gets a lot of crap for making cookie cutter campaigns, and rightfully so. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, while containing some of the problems the series is known for, is the rare exception to that rule. Its story isn’t bad and its missions are diverse, but more importantly it’s characters are interesting. None more so than E3N also called Ethan. Short for Enhanced Tactical Humanoid 3rd Revision, Ethan is a C6 robot capable of human response and emotions, unlike the other mindless drones encountered throughout the game. The robot is met with resistance by most at the start – aside from Captain Reyes – as a result of the lack of faith in the Turing test, the belief that robots are able to feel human emotions. It doesn’t take long for the wise-cracking robot to win over even his harshest critics, like Staff Sergent Omar, not only by making quick-witted quips but exhibiting honorable characteristics as well, leading to him sacrificing himself in the end.
PORTAL & PORTAL 2 – GLaDOS
While Portal may be one of the greatest puzzle games of all time, it also contains one of the most simple, yet beloved stories in all of gaming as well. That’s a hell of an accomplishment considering that its main character, Chell, doesn’t even speak. Instead, the bulk of the narration throughout the series is done by its robotic antagonist. GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) serves as Aperture Lab’s overseer and operator. She abuses her power to make life difficult for Chell – as well as the co-op robots Atlas and P-body – throughout the events of both games, insulting the subjects all the while. Though GLaDOS is full of hilarious, snarky dialogue, there are extremely touching and complicated moments regarding her relationship with Chell too, specifically during the events of Portal 2. She also gets turned into a potato at one point and its the greatest thing ever.
TALES FROM BORDERLANDS – LOADER BOT
If there was ever a robot I’d want to be best friends with it’s the bro-bot introduced in Telltale’s Tales from the Borderlands. Like Claptrap, Loader Bot is a basic model of robot seen throughout the Borderlands series. What sets him apart is his hilarious personality. Being that Tales is a Telltale game, Loader Bot’s personality has the ability to be shaped by the choices made in the game. For example, if Rys decides to tell him to retreat, instead of staying and being destroyed, he will brofist him and refer to him as a father. Otherwise, he will upload his conscience into a new body and be pissed with him, making remarks like “Oh look who needs help again.” Loader Bot is both hilarious and endearing, playing a surprisingly large part in the plot as well.
That was just a short list of a few of the best robots in gaming, companions, protagonists, antagonists or otherwise. Do you have any of your own? Be sure to leave your own list in the comments below, detailing just why you love your artificial pals.
