Top 11 Girls of Gaming : We feature the eleven hottest babes to ever hit the video game worldEver since we were transfixed by twelve pink-colored pixels standing in for a naked Indian maiden in Custer's Revenge on the Atari 2600, we've been keeping a close eye on babes in our video games. As technology gets better and better, the ability of our favorite genius designers to craft female characters that are not only powerful and interesting but also smoking hot has increased exponentially, and we couldn't be happier with the results. Join us now, gentle reader, as we peer through the pink curtains into the magical land of pixels and polygons to bring you our picks for the Top 11 Hot Girls of Games. You may disagree with our choices, but we'll provide plenty of eye candy to take in while you're penning us your outraged responses, because we're cool like that.
Samus Aran
Making her debut in the 1986 Nintendo Entertainment System classic Metroid, Samus is a walking example of a woman being forced to hide her gender to compete in a man's world. Encased in a cybernetic battlesuit that can be upgraded with a variety of weapons, the brave bounty hunter travels the galaxy battling space pirates and unraveling the mystery of the Metroids, energy-leeching aliens that flit through the air like awful amoebas. When the original Metroid was released, players who completed the game in a short enough time were treated to the surprising sight of Samus stripped down to just a bikini, revealing a pulchritudinous female form. Her appearances in multiple sequels as well as the Super Smash Brothers series have cemented her as one of gaming's most deadly foxes – we're just sad that she doesn't seem to be ditching the bulky body armor for something a little more form-fitting anytime soon.
Ivy Valentine
Soul Calibur's mega-bombastic whip-wielding hottie isn't the only babe in the game, or even the best-endowed (that honor goes to Taki and her enormous ninja bazooms) but her combination of sultry moves and revealing outfits shoots her up the charts. First appearing in the original Soul Calibur, the primitive hardware of the Dreamcast wasn't nearly powerful enough to do justice to her dangerous curves, but with each incarnation this white-haired babe has become more and more droolingly realistic as her stitched-together outfits have become skimpier and skimpier. The latest images from the next-gen Soul Calibur 4 are downright unbelievable, depicting her chain-sword Valentine arcing smoothly in the air around her buxom body. Couple that with her brutal and punishing combat moves and you have our idea of the ideal woman – well, except for her undead pirate father Cervantes. That guy's kind of a buzzkill
Princess Peach
It's common sense that any woman who could inspire a fat-assed Italian plumber to traipse through 32 nightmarish worlds filled with carnivorous plants, lakes of lava and bottomless pits would have to be pretty damned hot. It wasn't until technology caught up with her beauty that we were able to find out just how hot. With her next-gen appearances in games like Mario Tennis and Super Smash Brothers Brwal, modern gamers have discovered exactly what Bowser has been lusting after all these years. Peach is a stone cold fox! Although she's a little emotional (as evidenced in her solo DS title, Super Princess Peach), her comely body and bubbly personality make her prime girlfriend material. And if you're really daring, you can try to talk her into a three-way with fellow Mario flame Daisy. But you might find yourself with an umbrella up your keister for broaching the prospect.
Alyx Vance
Gordon Freeman's boon companion may not have the outrageous attributes of some of the other babes on this list, and her wardrobe is positively demure, but there's just something about her that makes her unforgettable. Maybe it's the intense amount of care and detail that the geniuses at Valve put into her facial animations, making her seem more like a real human being than a computer simulation. Maybe it's the intense plotting and pacing of Half-Life 2 and its sequels, which put you and Alyx into increasingly tight situations where you need to trust each other to survive? Or maybe it's just that she's a cute post-apocalyptic chick with short hair and a take-no-crap attitude, a rarity in this age of eye candy and cheeseball characterization. Whatever it is, we can't wait for Episode Three to hit for our next dose – would it be too much to say it's our own personal Legend of Bag Her, Vance? Okay, it probably was.
Mai Shiranui
Now that's what we call an outfit. The over-endowed, perpetually jiggling Mai has become not only a mascot for SNK's King of Fighters series, but also for the whole company. And with a rack like that, we can see why SNK seems intent on plastering her comely visage over everything in sight. Making her debut in Fatal Fury 2 and going on to appear in every King of Fighters title as well as many, many other games, Mai is an unapologetic sex symbol, with her low-cut blouse and loincloth barely covering her assets as she whips ass on whoever stands in her way. While some decry Mai's ubiquitousness as pandering fan service, we're more than happy to pick up the yearly iterations of the King of Fighters franchise just to get fresh hands on this fetching fighter.
Hana Tsu Vachel
Join us in mourning for Eidos's poor, forgotten Fear Effect franchise. What could have been a rival to the Resident Evils of the world unfortunately fell victim to financial crises and the long-rumored third installment in the series, Fear Effect: Inferno. But we still have the first games to carry us through the night, and especially their hard-edged heroine, Hana Tsu Vachel. Rendered in a stylish cel-shaded graphical engine that flatters Hana's hot body and unique style, the games are awesome third-person adventures with manic gunplay. What we remember most, though, is the suggestive ad campaign for Fear Effect: Retro Helix, which depicted Hana and her new... friend Rain Quin in some very suggestive poses. The game itself followed through on that promise of lesbionic love, with the two comely honeys sharing an on-screen kiss that made us drop our controllers. Hopefully one day we'll pick them up again.
Tifa Lockhart
The early days of 3D console games were notable for a few rough spots in portraying the female form, but they did lead to the creation of at least one bona-fide sex symbol - Final Fantasy VII's Tifa Lockhart. Oh, sure, we know that you were supposed to fall in love with Aeris and we were plenty sad when she died, but our loyalties always lay with the spunky, top-heavy martial artist – and we'd like to lay more than our loyalties with her, if you know what we're saying. Designed by Square's ace in the hole Tetsuya Nomura, Tifa's outfit is a marvel of understatement – but it's her natural assets and unforgettable personality that earn her a spot on this list. And admit it, you too tried to work the dating minigame in FFVII so you'd get that ferris wheel ride with sweet Tifa, right? We can't be the only ones.
Chun Li
We don't know about you, but it was with Capcom's epochal arcade release of Street Fighter II that we got our first real video-game crush. Ah, Chun Li, lone woman fighter among a motley crew of karate dudes, stretchy yoga masters, and furry manimals from the jungles of Brazil. Can your mighty thighs deliver the brutal kicks that you need to triumph? Your multiple appearances in nearly every Capcom fighter attest to your victories in the ring. And who can say that they didn't trigger her trademark Spinning Bird Kick on the home version with one finger on the pause button to confirm the rumor that you could see a flash of panty when she flipped upside-down? The forthcoming Street Fighter movie is rumored to focus on this ass-kicking wench, as played by Smallville's Eurasian hottie Kristin Kreuk, and we can't wait for our girl to get the big-screen exposure she so dearly deserves.
