The Hack'n'Slash is an interesting genre for female gaming characters. To survive such vicious situations you'd expect them to be 6'11, muscles bulging out of their necks and wielding battle axes that'd make a Viking whimper. Strangely enough, however, people don't seem to find that kind of woman attractive, and subsequently very few games are made featuring them.

Instead, Hack'n'Slash women retain the slim builds that is gaming custom, and must rely on sheer physical fitness and mental prowess to keep themselves safe from harm. Skillful acrobatics, lethality with guns, or just really, really big knives: these girls utilise them all while driving back the forces of evil. And considering how little clothing some of them wear; the less they enemy hit them, the better.

Let's have a look at some Women of the Hack'n'Slash now - or at least the few I've come across during my gaming career - and see how we view them and their slightly psychopathic tendencies. (Keep your hands where we can see them, or you're likely to lose them!)


Before being made into two horrible, awful Uwe Boll movies, BloodRayne was actually a fairly popular video game series. The main character, "Rayne", was a half vampire-half human searching for her father. Or at least she was in the second game.

The first game was notorious for its poor and nonsensical writing (something about a demon? Maybe?). But in reality, no one really minded. Rayne was a vampire, and she killed Nazi's. How can anyone argue with the awesomeness of that?
Here's her pic:

It's unclear whether the developers chose to make Rayne as they did because that's how they wanted her, or because they needed to attract as many drooling, T&A starved game nerds as possible. Either way, Rayne ended up a character of extremes.

Physically, she was extremely fit. Her vampire traits made her fast, strong, and capable of pulling off some amazing acrobatic feats. Couple these skills with her arm length blades, and she also became extremely violent. Rarely showing compassion or mercy, she revelled in the kills, and would even dismember enemies for her amusement.

On the less desirable spectrum, she also had an extreme potty mouth. During both games she would swear worse then Gordan Ramsey, and usually at times that just seemed unnecessary (perhaps trying to earn that M rating?). There were also more then a few cringeworthy one-liners, making you wonder if the writer had watched too many cheesy American action films during production.

Lastly, there was her main trait: her extreme sexuality. Rayne, and everything about her, oozed sex. She dressed in black leather, willingly showing off her figure and reasonably sized assets. Every time she drained someone of blood, it sounded like a near orgasmic venture, and she rarely spoke in a tone that couldn't be described as "seductive". They even created an official topless photo off her (Warning: Not Work Safe). How many game designers do you know that are willing to do that??! (Aside from Flagship Studios - we all know how much grovelling they did).

So what does this all add up to? How did gamers end up feeling towards Rayne in the end? Well, to tell the truth; a little scared. She was simply too sexy, too violent, and too heartless to care about, or even like. A lethal, bitey, Nazi-mutilating whirlwind of death. But hey, at least it as fun!

BloodRayne 3 anyone? (For the love of God, someone please kill this man!!!)


A PS3 exclusive title, Heavenly Sword was the "˜game to play while waiting for God of War 3'. Many suspect it was made simply to show off the thousands of on screen units a PS3 could handle, while others think it was an excuse to make a mental chick with swords. Chances are, it was probably both.

The heroine of the game, "Nariko", had suffered a life of hardship from her clan for being born a woman instead of a man, apparently bringing about the apocalypse. When her land is threatened by a mad king, and her father captured, she chooses to wield their clan's most sacred artifact, the Heavenly Sword, which sucks the soul from those who use it. She can be seen doing so here:

                                 

Well, and here I was saying that red heads in gaming are rare. We've had two in one article now! Doin' it for the rangas, girls!

Physically, Nariko is quite sensibly proportioned. Aside from her insanely long hair, the rest of her isn't over-large, and even appears to be "strapped up" for better battle effectiveness. It creates a streamlined effect on her character, and she feels lithe and agile ingame. The face can be a little scary at times, but at least the expressions are realistic.

Personality wise, however, Nariko is a very, very angry girl, and stays that way for much the game. It might seem reasonable for the situation, but it gets old, to the point where she sounds whiny most of the time. She (like Rayne) also has a collection of horribly corny phrases, which she uses as "retorts" to bosses or fellow clansmen, and just make you roll your eyes in disgust.

Probably worst of all is the "between level" moments, where Nariko looks directly into the screen and speaks to an invisible entity (presumably the Sword). It's beyond bearable, and for that alone many people have a low tolerance of her. General consensus seems to be that despite her looks, Nariko is annoying, and merit enough for the game to be played through once only.

Oh well. Not long to God of War 3. And Kratos knows how to please his ladies. Wink wink.


Chaos Legion is a little known Capcom brawler game that came out in '03. I stumbled across it cheap and thought I'd give it a go. Turns out it wasn't too bad! Not quite as deep as some titles, but the combat was fun and the storyline intriguing.

For the most part you played as an angsty, sword wielding dude, (Sieg) hunting down his ex-BFF, but along the way he picks up this charming little lass:

                                      

Arcia is the last of her order, The Maidens of Silver, she also holds a grudge against angsty Sieg's ex-BFF, and accompanies him on the journey. She appears mainly in cutscenes, but you get to play her briefly for one mission in the main game, or for whole thing once you complete it.

Arcia is a quiet, caring girl, and probably the only thing keeping Sieg from plummeting into complete lunacy in his quest for revenge. She's calm and thoughtful, but also hides a fury deep inside in regards to her brothers death. Though the dialog is a little stinted at times, she does convey this well (especially when fighting), and it's not hard to empathise with her.

Her clothing is suitable for her character: a modest combination of leather and silk, covering everything except her shoulders and thighs. She's also a wicked shot with her intricately designed guns, shredding enemies in seconds. This is a nice change from most hack games, where bullets act more as a diversion and the powerful melee attacks the killers.

All in all? A nice, well rounded character that easy to love. She lightened up an otherwise dark game. If you do happen to come across this for PC or PS2, give it a go.

Devil May Cry

                             

And now the creme de la creme: Devil May Cry is one of the best known brawler series, mainly for it's over the top fight scenes and dialog so cheesy it makes you lactose intolerant. While the main character is a guy; Dante the half-demon, he does have a rather impressive entourage of lovely women that pop up throughout the games - though "pop out" might be a more accurate term.


Cool, witty, skilled... deadly: Lady is quite possibly the coolest girl on this list, and sports a gun big enough to back that up. Appearing in Devil May Cry 3 and 4, Lady is a Demon Hunter, with the ultimate goal of removing all demonic life from the world. She shoots up a storm, puts Dante in his place, and kicks some serious ass - even though she's 100% human!

In Devil May Cry 3, this is how Lady appears:

                              

Minimal in terms of coverage, Lady's outfit can be likened to that of casual school wear. In an oddly mature move, the developers chose to keep her proportions realistic, which in the end suited, and indeed enhanced, her character nicely. She also has one green and one brown eye (hawt), though the picture is to small to see that here.

Viewing Lady, one could say she has a kind of "dangerous appeal" about her - most probably due to the numerous weapons strapped to every part of her body. And she knows how to use them with lethal efficiency; a feat made even more impressive by her being human. She doesn't heal wounds like her demon prey do, after all.

Personality wise, Lady comes across bitter and distrustful, especially towards Dante (being half-demon and all). But as the game progresses we see that this is merely a front in order to keep her going on, and she's really a damaged, emotional woman. Many players developed quite fondness of her, and found the resolution of her story more rewarding then that of Dante's. She quickly became a favourite of the series.

Though she appeared in Devil May Cry 4, it was only for two brief cutscenes, and her appearance had changed for the more generic:

                                             

A mild case of bimboitus, but only from the more exposed cleavage. Meh, forgivable, and since she didn't appear in any gameplay, it's not really enough to judge. We were all just happy to see her again - she'll be back in number 5 for sure.

Here's a clip of her best performance. Feel free to watch it multiple times:

      


If you're a true Devil May Cry fan, you'll know two things: Devil May Cry 3 is the best game, and Devil May Cry 2 does not exist. If it could be struck from the record, erased with out a trace, most people would willingly do so. But, as much as we'd like to forget it, there was one character we should probably acknowledge:

                                        

Lucia was a created Devil, and had skills similar to Dante. A master with blades, she could slice and dice her way through hordes of demons with grace, and even had an accessible Demonic Form for even more mental mayhem. Her stylish outfit and cape weren't overly flamboyant, but added to the whole smooth thing she had going on.

Lucia was a fairly in depth, playing quite a role in the game, but came across a bit stiffer then the other characters. You were always aware that she was a gaming character, and it was difficult to develop any real attachment to her.

Overall, it'd be no real shame if Lucia disappeared along with DMC2. I've got enough red heads ruining my "rare" theory at the moment anyway.

Trish / Gloria

The First Lady of Devil May Cry: Trish was another created Demon, and supposed to lure Dante to his death in DMC1. Over the course of the game, she starts to develop an attachment to him, and forsakes her purpose to aid him in his quest. She eventually becomes his partner, and appears in DMC4 also as "Gloria".
Both persona's can be seen here

 
                          Trish                                                                    Gloria

Trish is a very sexual being, though she doesn't play on that fact. She always comes across as strong and independent; her looks are just an added bonus that she's learnt to live with. Dressed in all leather, the developers take great advantage of ingame "physics" - though it's odd that a corset would provide such little support.

Though we rarely see her engaging in all out battle, the times we do are fast and vicious: she uses a small knife to slash her victims to pieces, and can summon lightning as a demonic power. She also possesses incredible speed, to match even that of Dante. As Gloria (a disguise she uses to spy on and climb the ranks of a suspicious cult in DMC4) her fighting style and weapon differs slightly, though we don't get much opportunity to see it.

A woman of few words, Trish is a character respected for her strengths more then her form, and will hopefully appear again in future titles.


And now as a small bonus, a lesser member of the DMC crew that definitely deserves a nod:

                                                  

Kyrie is the love interest of DMC4's protagonist, Nero. Though she appears only a few times, their love is what drives much of the games plot, and is quite touching at times.

Personally I find Kyrie very intriguing, and not just because of her unique name (pronounced "Kee-ree-yay"). She's an extremely lovable character, and is even physically attractive despite being covered from neck to toe. She's caring and compassionate to the point where I really wanted to come to her aid, and was relieved when the two were reunited. She also looked even hotter with her hair down.

Meh. Perhaps I'm just a fan of the "girl next door" look, but it seems others have been taken with her too, and she's developed quite a following on the net. I'll leave you with the opening cinematic of DMC4, featuring her singing one of the few songs that aren't heavy metal. No, it's not gay to like it. Shut up!

      

Next time on "How Do We View Our Gaming Girls?"
Still waiting for those requests, guys, keep em coming.