| Set On Stun |

In honor of Black History Month this week’s Flashback will take a look, or try to, at black characters in videogames. Specifically playable characters that weren’t just NPCs or cast members in cut scenes. Guess what? There aren’t that many.

Barrett Wallace — Final Fantasy VII 1997

seriously -- look at me -- would you mess with this?

Did you see his arm? It’s a Gatling gun. C’mon! Former leader of AVALANCHE Mr. Wallace although not a big fan of Cloud decides to fight the good fight anyway. He was an ornery dude.

CJ (a.k.a. Carl Johnson) GTA: San Andreas (2004 — the game was set in 1992)

I dare you to race me -- I will beat you

Not only was San Andreas on of the best of the series, but Carl Johnson was the main character in this GTA set in San Andreas in the early 90s. Fresh out of Liberty City lockup he returns to his beloved hometown only to be thrown right back into the life he left behind.  Actually in terms of games, San Andreas had a primarily black cast. Of course they were gang bangers and criminals but hey a whole game, that’s something right?

Sergeant Johnson: Halo (2001 — 2007 {posthumously 2009})

Don't ever call me Avery -- I will shoot you

Correction: Master Sergeant Avery Johnson. One of the NPCs of the Halo series for all three of the games, Johnson was the gravel-voiced mean green military leader who had some great lines and was was a consistent character throughout the franchise. Unfortunately he met his demise in Halo 3 (sorry for the two people who have never played it) but he then became a playable character last year in Halo: ODST as part of a special pre-order download from retailer Gamestop where you could use him in multiplayer games. Okay so he had to wait 4 games to become a usable character but at least he finally got in the game. No word yet on whether we’ll see him in this year’s other prequel Halo: Reach

Cole Train: Gears of  War 1 & 2 (2006 and 2008)

The gun show isn't in town -- it's here!

Showing up midway through the first Gears of War Augustus “Cole Train” Cole, former Thrashball superstar becomes a COG and starts out on the Alpha team but ultimately joins the fight with Marcus Phoenix. The epitome of a badass Train  is basically that guy you want in any fight (pillows included).

Sheva Alomar: Resident Evil 5 (2009)

Hey Tomb Raider ... Suck on this!

Who? This is the newest entry to the list. The yin to Chris Redfield’s Yang in Resident Evil, this bomb diggity bomb is member of the BSAA South African branch and can head shot zombies like nobody’s business.  Zombies beware, she will kick your ass.

Honorable Mention — Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker

I will moonwalk all over your head

Not just a character, a whole game featuring the late gloved one as the zoot-suit fedora wearing charcter of his Smooth Criminal video. Believe it or not this was an adventure beat ‘em up game. How did you beat people up you ask? Why you kick them of course. And the best part — you got to morph into a robot.

Criminals, badasses, military dudes (and dudettes) and a morphing robot.  How do you like them apples?

Have a %&$^*)@ heart people!

Last week Bungie created what a lot of folks, including us, thought was an earnest attempt to contribute to a natural disaster by appealing to what gamers love to do most. Play games.

Itwas a simple pledge — add a heart emblem to your character in Halo 3 or ODST and go online and play a game. For every 1000 players Bungie would pledge $100 with a cap at $77,000. Sounds simple right? There were even instructions when you put the disc in.

So why on earth after running this campaign for a full two days could they only garner a fraction of the money they wanted to raise?

To say that gamers are an apathetic lot that can camp out in front of a game store for the new Madden but can’t take 10 minutes to try and raise money to help people in need is pretty much saying it all. Not only is this a sad commentary on the lack of enthusiasm for something good it plays right into the stereotype that non gamers have about the couch captain thumb jockeys they envision when they think of people playing Halo.

The last posting Bungie had on their website (1/21) was still asking for people to jump in and do some gaming with a heart emblem. SOS did their part and saw that in the average 16 player deathmatch less than 1/4 of the players had the emblem. We have no numbers on what they were actually able to raise but it’s unlikely they even came close to meeting their goal. Really people, how hard was this?

Play a game -- save real lives

http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=BeAHero

This has to be a first and if not, it’s the first game company to openly take social action in the wake of a global disaster. Bungie has decided to do their part to help out in the relief efforts for Haiti by asking gamers to play Halo 3 or or ODST online from Wednesday 1/20/10 through Thursday 1/21/10 while wearing a specially designed heart emblem on their Spartan uniform (that’s how they’ll track you). For every 1000 players they’ll donate $100. The cap will be $77,000. Additionally in the Bungie store you can buy sspecially designed shirts and other merchandise which will also be contributed to the fundraising through the month of February.

How much easier can they make this? — Play a videogame and raise some money.

Oh and for all those people who always complain about videogames being a bad thing — Suck it!

Thank you Bungie!