I think it's more a case of everyone who is sick of seeing Mario win EVERY popularity contest voting for Gordon. It would have been the same if it had been Sonic, Snake, or even Greendog the Beached Surfer Dude.

This is just Mario backlash, which I actually kind of approve of.

I just can't believe Gordon beat Snake... I'll repeat myself but let me state that even though Half Life is a superb game series, Gordon is just as silent as the main character of Doom 3. Hell even Riddick has more lines than him. I think you've nailed the point, TKF, all PC gamers will go for him because most (if not all) of the other characters are from console games.

Sure it's just an internet poll but it's weird to see Gordon Freeman vs. Mario. There should be some sort of classification for gender, type, platform. Mario defeated Kratos... the God of War defeated by a plumber... lol!

@ 3K RANDY - but there in lies the point; I get sick of the characters used too often as well, but when a character as lame and generic as Gordon Freeman from Half Life gets over-praised due to "mario backlash" its just as unproductive.

@ AKHORA - Gordon Freeman is about as worthy of winning "best video game hero" as one of the "L" shaped blocks from Tetris, considering they both have about as much characterization, depth and intrigue.

Gordon is a hero of EPIC proportions! He is saving humanity from enslavement to an alien race, and he has a Ph.D.
So what if he never speaks? You can learn all about him from the people around him and their reaction to him. He is a f***ing messiah! Mario never saved the world, Mario never did anything worth mentioning! Sneak is just a mere clone, with no identity of he's own. Link is a 12 year old girl. In my book, Gordon represents everything a hero should be : A simple man faced with incredible dangers, surviving against all odds by doing the right thing in the right time. He is indeed The One Freeman, and for that I salute him.

Just one more thing: How could you choose Wander over Guybrush Threepwood?!

I couldnt agree more. I personally think freeman is lame.

I agree with you because as a character he is vastly unimpressive, however i did vote for him as i refuse to vote for smegging Mario. None of my choices for the winner made it like Nathan Drake.

dark_being - G Freeman is not everything a man should be. Men shouldn't be mute.

The whole contest was bulls*** anyway. There were a lot of questionable wins. But I don't think it is worth getting worked-up over. GS hosted it...which is almost a joke in itself.

@ DARK_BEING - we'll agree to disagree friend, and much respect to your opinion. Personally, after playing through the half-life games, I did indeed like the game, but certainly not because Gordon was any form of wholey intrigueing character.

@ NATE - very lame. there was just nothing interesting whatsoever about him. @ AZEL KOS MOS - you just hit the nail on the head my friend, just like yourself, I think many people voted for Gordon Freeman simply because he was "the PC choice" or because "at least he isn't as annoying or over-used as ____". @ SAVOY - Fair enough. I do feel kinda silly even talking about the contest now that you mention it, LOL

I'm surprised myself, I really thought Snake would win this...

I've never played Half-Life so I really don't know much about him. I wanted Link or Samus to win though. On a side note, my bracket is rated 21070 so it seems my predictions were way off

The choices for heroes were really weird... Pac Man ? Come on, he's not a character. I have respect for old games as well but they should not compare to modern games where it`s possible to have full fledged personalities.

@ HERVIROSS 2 - I too thought Solid Snake would be one of the top picks, and while I didn't expect snake to beat some of the more iconic choices, I certainly expected him to beat Gordon Freeman, who is pretty much a non-character.

@ GAMER GIRL - lol, i HAVE played the Half Lfie games and I couldn't tell you much about Gordon Freeman. The games are good, but not because of him as a character. And I too wanted to see LINK, who is my #1 favorite by leaps and bounds.

@ AKHORAHILL - yeah, pitting characters from 2005 against those from 1985 is kinda difficult. It makes sense for characters like Mario, Link, Snake, MegaMan etc who are still going strong, but some of the random ones like PacMan?

I know, there's just no win in this situation. It'd be different if we ended up with The Nameless One or Sonic in the final two...

it's because gordon is a nerd and there are a mass amount of nerds on this site who look up to him because he can (possibly) score with a hot chick. that's all.

Hi TKF! How's it going?

Was the contest for greatest hero or best character? I would pick Freeman over Mario as I feel he is a better hero. But I don't find him to be a lame generic character just because he doesnt speak. Valve deliberately refused to give him lines to make the person playing the game feel more like they were the character.

He is a scientist not the typical special forces character you would see in this role. You mention Snake the out of retirement one man army; I find that more generic. If snake never spoke I doubt he would be as iconic as freeman is. I'm not saying I think he is the better hero (I havent been on GS for awhile so I didnt vote him over snake) just that he is a great hero and not as lame as I feel you make out. He is also considered by many as a hero for PC gaming in general in a similar way to nintendo having Mario, Sega sonic, etc. In half-life 2 we get to see the affect Freeman's character has had on the world we see in the game. He stands for the belief in the independance of the human race. That's pretty epic! And as mentioned by dark being he represents an ordinary man who has been put in this unlikely position. A hero doesn't need to be an OTT character with loads of training and history. Half-life possibly connects more with it's audience for making the 'player' feel like the hero than any other game; I think that's why he got so many votes.

..as worthy of the title as an L-shaped block from Tetris lol