It’s good to be bad part 3.

Prince Lacroix- Vampire the masquerade-Bloodlines
Part 3 of this occasional series of villains that have stuck with me long after the games have finished is the head of the camarilla, and yes he’s another vampire.

This 200 year old vamp started out as an officer in Napoleon’s ranks, over the two centuries that followed he slithered, backstabbed and  smoozed his way to the top of vampire society and is now prince of L.A.

Starting out as a lowly childe (young vamp) you are saved from execution when the  Anarkes (the local LA vampire outcasts who oppose the princes claim on the city) call him out in front of the local elite blood suckers and he is forced to spare you to save face. From that point on he sends you on every suicide mission, lost cause and kamikaze run he can dream up to ensure you end up a pile of dust at sunrise.

Lacroix is so power mad that he plans to drain the life out of a sleeping vampire ancient that is said to rest in a recently unearthed sarcophagus. He sends you out to locate said McGuffin and recover it’s contents.

As with all power crazy villains, Lacroix’s plans and schemes blow up in his face, literally

Bloodlines is packed full with NPCs who will lie, cheat and generally deceive you into doing what they want, however none of them can hold a candle to Lacroix’s under hand antics.

By the way, I’m talking about Sabastian Lacroix, not Dwayne Lacroix of insurrection baby formula company (play the game and you’ll get that one.)

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It’s good to be bad -part 2

Shodan- AI bitch queen from hell. Before VIKI went mental and tried to take over the world in I robot, and GlaDos introduced us to joys portals and test chambers in portal, there was another AI fem fatal that made these two silicon chip phycos look like SIRI compared to her. This was the computer AI Shodan.

Shodan was the computer in charge of Citadel station, a space base in the far off future where humanity was set on colonising the stars. After processing a huge amount of data and becoming self aware, Shodan decides she is in fact a god and sets about murdering the pathetic carbon based life forms that built her. You rarely see her in person as she is a computer AI that is part of the space station you are in, however she is an omnipresent voice in your head as you explore the corridors and rooms.

Although she is your constant companion she is not here to give you a pep talk, she is out to stop you from pulling her plug by any means necessary- this includes some of the best sound bytes from an enemy in game ever delivered. “Look at you, hacker: a pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?” Your flesh is an insult to the perfection of the digital.

Chilling,

It’s good to be bad

Everyone likes a bad guy, from Darth Vader to Gargamel, a decent villain always out shines the goody goody lead.

We all have our arch villain favs we love to hate, and here are the ones that have had an effect on me over the years.

Kain- Blood omen legacy of kain.

Kain is the anti Edward, pale pouty teen  heart throb he is not. This father to the vamps of Nosgoth, Kain has hacked slashed and drained his way across time and space to pursue his dreams of total domination of his world.

As with most antagonist however he creates his own nemesis in the form of his ex lieutenants Raziel, this upstart had the audacity to out evolve his master by growing wings, Kain, not to be one upped by anyone tore said wings off and had him thrown into the nearest vortex. Raz over reacted by becoming an eater of souls with the mission to slay every blood sucker not under the sun and consume their souls.

For being underhand, scheming and just plane black hearted, Kain is a force to be reckoned with.