The Weekend Debate: What Is A Hero?

a hero to me in real life is a totally different to a game or a movie.

to me something like donating a kidney ect to a love one makes you as much of a hero as someone like a fireman or soldier ect.

but in the world of gaming i like the whole kind of anti hero type, kinda like cole in infamous or kratos(who for want of a better word is a bad guy really).

Heroic can be judged by many attributes, courage, strength, selflessness, bravery, willingness and more. It can appear in many forms and some people can even display these attributes when put in certain situations without even realising they had it in them. I consider everyone fighting wars in other countries heroic fighting for their country showing these heroic attributes and whilst that is heroic some soldiers even go that step further by putting their own life on the line without a second thought for his/her own well being to save a comrad.

Of course being a hero is not always in situations like that, I remember reading a while back about a young boy who saved his sister or brother from a river (can’t remember the full details) but for me that was very heroic of him.

Everyone has a hero inside of them but fortunately we never actually have to be the hero as we are never put in that situation but many people reading this, if put in the situation, would react like a hero if someone else’s life is in danger.

Skip buying a game and make a donation to someone in need and you’ll be a hero to him/her/them… Plus that, the feeling that you’ve helped someone will make you fell good….

I think heroic actions go hand in hand with making grand gestures of selflessness such as throwing yourself in front of a bullet that is going to kill another person or removing yourself from the equation and trying to stop the events unfolding.

While the actions Drake takes in the Uncharted games could be seen as heroic by some, they boil down to him wanting money and trying to get out of the trouble the money gets him in and therefore not heroic at all.

Characters like Ezio from Assassins Creed is similar and another person who many people think is heroic. His actions were fueled by vengeance and hatred and he only goes after the chain of people who had a say in his fathers death.

One person does spring to mind as a selfless hero, Commander Shepard.
In the opening minutes of Mass Effect 2, the Normandy is brutally attacked by an unknown enemy. Once the fight begins, Shepard’s instincts tell him to abandon ship and save the crew, he even forcing crew members to leave who wish to stay and get revenge. Shepard eventually gets everyone off the ship but at the cost of his own life and in his last seconds, lets go and accepts the fate he is about to receive..
he’s then thrown into space by an explosion and suffocates.

Batman

a hero is somebody who goes out there way for others, who is selfless. such as members of the armed forces, emergency services.
Nathan Drake isnt much of a hero to the world, well maybe killing lazeravich was as he stopped him taking over the world. but conor in homefront was, *spoiler* he sacrificed himself on the bridge to save everyone else*end spoiler* so a hero, has many different meanings to real life and videogames. like nobody in real life can shoot lazers out of their eyes and take out godzila. but in a video game, anything is possible.

A hero in the everyday world is some one people should strive to emulate, someone that represents the key moral values of humanity. In video games not so much.

In video games a hero mist often falls into extras of stereotypes such as the unlikely hero (Ratchet), the cocky hero (Nathan Drake) and the anti hero (Kratos). These characters are usually out to save the world in some fashion but often do not consider there actions or the effect they are having on people’s lives. The role of a hero in video games is as a means of blowing stuff up.

Hero’s are meant to represent the core beliefs of humanity and protect, in this regard they no-longer exist in reality or in video games.

well said ShadowDoGGG

dante and kratos and spyro rofl

A hero is a kind of person who does heroic deeds without the need of getting anything in return.

in my opinion a hero is someone who hates to see others suffer and would willingly give their own life to save someone because if you think about it that person is not only saving someone life but is also saving that persons family from the loss of a loved one and when it comes down to it he will be respected for the selflessness he/she as shown

and if there wasnt bad people in the world there would be no need for hero’s like soldiers or mi5 or the cia who stop terrorists from killing people for their cause…if there was no such thing as disee there would be no need for donors

disease*

or even the need for doctors

I know a hero when I see one. Too few characters out there, flying around saving people like me. And Lord knows, kids everywhere need a hero —courageous, self-sacrificing people setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them…cheer them…scream their names. And years later, they’ll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on a second longer. I believe there’s a hero in all of us…that keeps us honest…gives us strength…makes us noble…and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most – even our dreams.

Aunt May FTW

IMHO, a hero would be someone that without even thinking about it does selfless things from day to day.
Whether it be a soldier, a fireman, or someone that is willing to put themselves out for someone else.
Whether donating an organ, or holding the door open for someone who has a handful of shopping, heroism i think is only seen by the person it affects the most.

But ofcourse, this doesn’t go well into games.
No one will buy a game about a dude holding the elevator for everyone!

In games, I think the most heroic are probably the ones that have been forced to be heroes. The Cole McGraths of the world. The guys that were not superman when we first met them, but became great through their (and as such our) actions throughout the game

@troublemaker

im going to make a lbp level about holding doors and stuff for old ladies. thanks for inspiration :L

oh and james its off topic but my avatar hasnt changed on the blog, i changed it to chuck greene 3 days ago :L

how about giving us a release date for payday instead of this dribble yis keep posting ?????????

A hero is a guy who finish dark souls without dying every 25 minutes!!!

@dan1428

Do be sure to message me the name, I’ll play it!

@James

Nothing ever seems quite as satisfying as hurling a car at someone that is supposed to be a loved one huh?

JAMES

Sorry to ask on here, but please will you check my Question post on the recent Heads Up Blog, as i’ve requested a few games that I would like to see released on the store!

Kind Regards

@ James

Also could you try & secure a 50% sale on Final Fantasy PS1 titles please?

What? If you don’t ask you don’t get, right?

thanks james, it worked

oh and james have you seen the new bf3 launch trailer? its like looking at heaven.

^
Hero lol

i feel like a hero when i play arkham city, saving hostages gives me a sense of joy :L but a real life hero, depends on the person being heroed. i made that word up ;l

Can’t resist…. quoting MGS4… Ugh!

I’m no Hero, never was, never will be. I’m just an Old Killer hired to do some wet work.

And that sir is what makes you a(not ‘an’) hero, going up against the odds.

@ James

Thanks for your reply. I just thought that you had an influence on what was released that’s all.

Sorry for pestering & I will ask Andy Stewart & see if he can direct it somewhere!

@ James

I’m 29!
I remember those times vividly.
One of the reasons I still own my N64

urgh i shouldn’t of ate that toblerone 20 lollies and that stick a rock…

In literary and gaming terms I have always preferred the flawed heroes or anti-heroes like Rorchach, V and Dredd. unfortunately in the real world the idiom ‘all evil needs to flourish, is for good men to do nothing’ is sadly very apt. The Clash sang ‘no more heroes’ and we are living it!!

To me a hero is someone whose exploits are something you can relate to… And is therefore subjective. For example, Anders’ actions in Dragon Age 2 is considered heroic by some, and horrible by others.

if anyone owns ea sports active 2 my workout group is studio88 n the password is trophyhunter(needed to join and is not confidential so dont wrry mods) n yeah ill see u on easa2:)

Having finally played god of war collection vol 1 I’d say Kratos is defo a hero, (fair enough he got his power by being a coward and getting ares to save him from the barbarians) but surely it’s how he chooses to use it that defines him. Revenge or not same goes for Ezio the people he goes after deserve to be slaughtered lol

A hero is someone who could resist playing the shoot Natalya in Goldeneye game…I am no hero

My personal definition: A person selfless enough to put others before him/herself, despite essentially risking his/her own wellbeing or status.
Without explaining too much, here is exactly such as a person: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RsRFklZ2-8
Truly a hero of the people.

A hero from my point of view is someone who puts themselves in last in a situation and tries their best to be nice and kind not a hero who tries to fly or shoot lasers from his eyes but someone who does good deeds everyday

One thing and one thing only makes a great hero: a great theme tune! Would Batman save Gotham without an epic score? No! Would Spiderman web-sling without humming his theme? Of course not! It’s scientific fact!

heroism to me isnt just measured by selfless deeds or save someone whos dying situations, a hero can be anyone that people aspire to be like or who inspires people to do great things, honestly a big hero of mine is Eminem, not just because of what hes done or what hes said but because of the drive hes given me to follow my own dreams

they want nothing but to know that people are safe and happy even if they are not they ate tolerant of every race human personality
They push their limits and that’s it I’m V3igt0 thank for your time =D

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I’d say that the video was pretty much spot on.

For me, the best heroes do have flaws. take both Nathan Drake and Batman. both topical in games at the moment.

Both would be classed as heroes, but both are far from perfect or 100% altuisitc. Nate’s in it for the money, he’s in it for the women, and the action. Yet when it comes to the crunch, he always tries to do the right thing in the end, even if he doesn’t want to. Though I’ve always found comparisons to Indiana Jones unfair when people talk about how many people the player as Nate kills in the Uncharted games. Comparing a game which is inherently action-based, with a much longer running time than the average film, is a bit silly. Of course there’s going to be a higher bodycount. Yes the likes of Batman don’t kill as a rule…but then he’s far from perfect either. He’s pretty much out for revenge as well as putting Gotham to rights…don’t go telling me he doesn’t enjoy it or get a kick out of it. As the Joker points out in both the recent games, and The Dark Knight.

The best type of hero for me is a human one, with all the flaws that come with it. Almost always results in a more likable one, that the audience can relate to.

I know a hero when I see one. Too few characters out there, flying around saving people like me. And Lord knows, kids everywhere need a hero —courageous, self-sacrificing people setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them…cheer them…scream their names. And years later, they’ll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on a second longer. I believe there’s a hero in all of us…that keeps us honest…gives us strength…makes us noble…and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most – even our dreams.

Oh and never mind day-to-day heroism James….why do we never find out what happens when the likes of Batman, Superman, Spider-Man etc get caught short while out doing their thing?

I certainly wouldn’t want to try using the loo in one of those costumes, must be a total nightmare….

Selfless acts and all that, I guess? It’s not really something I think about with games, or cinema. Sure Drake and Snake do some ‘heroic’ things in their respective games, but I wouldn’t really consider them heroes.

I guess my character in Fallout 3 in my ‘Saint of the wasteland’ playthrough should be pretty heroic. Or maybe I just donated a lot of water. Gotta love morality systems in games.

I wonder if Michelle Rodriguez will play a military woman with an attitude-problem.
I don’t we’ve seen her do that yet. /spotthejoke

Someone who does something positive that benefits others and not themselves, someone that will risk their life to save the life of another; and so on and so forth.

A hero is someone who pre-ordered Pay-Day The Heist and hasn’t gone librarian-poo on the blog yet! lol

Well, originally, Greek folklore would say that a “hero” is a demi-god, or “half-god” as some would say. So technically, Hercules is a hero (which is kind of the whole plot). Although in todays society I believe we view unselfish people – people that do something nice for someone else, and expect nothing in return – as heroes.

It has become a rather common situation in todays world, that words change their oiginal meaning, in order to fit in with modern times. For example, the word bastard is considered an insult nowadays, even thogh it actually means: A child that is born by a man and a woman, who are not legally married.

However, on-topic. I think a hero is someone that uses and improves the talents that they have, in order to help others. Whether that is a smart person, studying, to become a teacher so that they can help kids get a bright future, or a musician, constantly rehearsing, so they can brighten up the day of all of their fans.

Anyone serving themself while helping others is a hero in my opinion.