I have been putting a lot of thought into the All Time Greatest Video Game Hero brackets currently going on at GameSpot. Actually, I have probably been putting too much thought into it. But it brings up a real question: what truly makes a video game hero/heroine? The dictionary defines a Hero as "A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life" which, for most of the characters, fits well.

The first time I created my bracket, I created it based on the characters I liked the most, as I am sure many felow GameSpotters did as well. I never really took into consideration whether they were true heroes or not. Now, don't get me wrong, each one is the hero of their own realm, otherwise they wouldn't have been nominated. But are some better heroes than others? I say yes, and I truly hope others have as well.

With that in mind, what I began to look at next was the scope of their heroic influence. Did they do whatever they did for themselves, for a few people or for a lot of people? Are they a hero that everyone knew about and who basked in the glory, or are they an unsung hero, someone who did something great that not many actually know about? This is where it really comes down to your own personal beliefs and your own ideas of what makes a hero. Personally, I think the unsung hero who helps the many is the best hero, and my bracket now reflects such an idea. (Sorry Yoshi...)

I admit that there are several characters on there I either do not know or do not know a lot about, so those were a bit tougher to vote for and most were weeded out early on. And with that, I present my bracket:

(Click Image for Full Size)

As you can see, I came down to Nathan Drake (Uncharted: Drake's Fortune) and The Apprentice (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed).

Nathan Drake
Nathan is one of those unsung heroes that not many will ever know about or know the evil he prevented from spreading across the world.

The Apprentice
Another one of those unsung heroes. The Apprentice had a huge influence on the entire Star Wars story line.

[spoiler] For Nathan: By stopping Navarro from removing the cursed treasure of El Dorado, they prevented the curse, which turned the Spaniards into the monsters found late in the game, from spreading across the world. It was a weapon that nobody would be able to control; that could not know friend from foe and would curse everyone who came in contact with it.

For The Apprentice: As it turns out, it was The Apprentice who actually formed the Rebel Alliance. Without this alliance, the forces of the Dark Side would have gone uncontested and the Jedi would have lost. Luke Skywalker would have never been able to defeat Darth Vader had the Rebel Alliance not been started. [/spoiler]

Voting between these two was a tough decision and I ultimately chose The Apprentice because his actions reached farther than those of Nathan's.

So, who did you vote for? Did you put some thought into it? Did you vote for the most popular? Did you vote at all? Let me hear your thoughts on what makes the Greatest Video Game Hero for you in the comments.