Saving the World, Winning His Heart: The Gay Badasses of Video Games

November is a big month for gaymers with the arrival of some holiday releases that let you channel your inner badass into a game avatar. That means being a military badass in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, a badass with a sword in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (possibly a gay badass with a sword) or a badass gangster in Saints Row: The Third.

Video games have also become more inclusive of GLBT people and, over time, that has meant that gaymers have enjoyed seeing gay badasses get some pixelated counterparts. Here are some of our favorite gay and bisexual badasses of the video game world:

Zevran, Dragon Age: Origins

For anyone who has a weakness for bad boys, Dragon Age: Origins had quite a gift in Zevran, the assassin who tries to kill you but joins your party after you stop him from completing that contract. At first, he uses his easygoing attitude towards sex as an emotional wall, but you can win him over. At least you know he won't complain when you suggest a threesome with the whore at The Pearl who resembles him.

Reaver, Fable 2 and Fable 3

While Fable players always had the ability to chose if their character would end up marrying a male or female NPC, in the second game we started finding more gay and lesbian characters like the farmer's son you help come out to his dad, and the bisexual Reaver. Voiced by Stephen Fry, Reaver falls on the fine line between obnoxious jerk and lovable rogue, but there's no question that he's got a mind and an aim that makes him someone you'd rather not cross. In the last Fable game the nearly-immortal Reaver had become an evil factory owner, thanks to the industrial revolution. If Fable ever reaches modern times, I expect to see Reaver dealing with Occupy Bowerstone protestors.

Commander Shepard, Mass Effect 3

While we're not sure about the details yet, gaymers are especially excited about the next installment of the Mass Effect series, because BioWare has promised that the male Commander Shepard will finally be able to romance some of the male NPCs. (How many of you gaymers have stubbornly kept Shepard alone?) We're hoping that includes the sweet, vulnerable Kaidan Alenko so that we can see him hook up with Shepard without the help of hackers.

Eagle, The Street Fighter series

Inspired by Freddie Mercury, Eagle appears in the very first Street Fighter game, but doesn't make another appearance until SNK vs. Capcom, when Eagle had gone from being a bodyguard to a MI6 agent. While Eagle doesn't have a love interest in the Street Fighter storyline, the Freddie Mercury influence extends to Eagle's quotes, where Eagle definitely sets off players' gaydar. Now, if only we could get a definitive answer about all that hoyay between Guile and Charlie.

Bridget, The Guilty Gear Series

I debated if this cross-dressing bounty hunter belonged on the list, but eventually decided that, at the very least, the persistence of the "Everyone is gay for Bridget" meme indicated a badass seductiveness.