Top 10 Video Game Cyborgs

The lone survivor of an attack on the Space Station “Armstrong” by a mechanical alien race known as “Strogg,” Matthew Kane went on to join the human retaliation effort. During his mission, Kane is captured by the Strogg’s leader, The Makron, who forces Kane to undergo processing in order to transform him into Strogg a foot soldier. Fortunately, after having half his body replaced with mechanical components, Kane is rescued by his squad-mates before his brain could be altered –giving him the inside advantage against a seemingly unbeatable enemy.

Soldier is the perfect example of ‘wrong place, wrong time.’ This unlucky chap was assigned to the UNN Rickenbacker, a military ship tasked with escorting the experimental starship, The Von Braun. Having been put into frozen stasis during the trip, he, or rather, you, awaken to discover that, not only have both the ships been overtaken by a strange and deadly alien species, but that he was also the subject of a series of illegal modification experiments while he was in stasis. Talk about a rude awakening – and we haven’t even mentioned the rogue artificial intelligence, SHODAN, making his life even more difficult.

Picture a world in the near-future where corporations have become so powerful that they have become autonomous governments, controlling entire countries and populations with brain implants making everyone think they’re living in a Utopia. In the real dystopian world, those megacorps employ groups of cybernetically-enhanced agents to maintain a stranglehold over the population and to fend off rival corporations. You are tasked with controlling and genetically modifying a group of agents as they engage in different operations, from assassinations to rescue missions in an effort to gain worldwide dominance as the most powerful corporation around.

Better known as “Rad Spencer,” Nathan was a distinguished soldier who had his arm amputated after having it irreparably damaged by a grenade. Nathan then volunteered as a test subject for experimental government program in bionics, granting him the use of his trademark robotic arm. Spencer uses his new arm in a variety of useful ways – such as a grappling hook to swing himself around or even as a weapon for some long-distance face-punching. Now, if only Spencer would volunteer for a haircut.

There is no shortage of cyborgs in the “Mortal Kombat” franchise. While a first glance choice might have been Sektor or Cyrax, Jax is the only cyborg who can literally make the earth shake by punching it, plus he gets points for seniority. After losing his arms to Ermac’s telekinetic powers, he gets some badass mechanical prosthetics starting from Mortal Kombat 3 onwards. Said arms can shoot missiles and smash skulls like nothing, so you’d be on your toes.

Master Chief is a SPARTAN, a cybernetically enhanced super-soldier with improved abilities who’s been fitted with a Spartan Neural Interface implant in order to wear the iconic Mjolnir Mark VI armor. Said implant also allows him to directly interface with the suits systems and interface with his helpful A.I. companion, Cortana. Despite his iconic nature he’s only #5 on this list since most of his abilities stem from his suit and not his cybernetics.

In “Blood Dragon,” the cheesy 80’s flick inspired expansion to “Far Cry 3,” you assume control of Rex Colt, a cyber-commando tasked with tracking down and neutralizing a rogue agent named Colonel Sloan. As a Mark 4 commando; Rex can repair himself, has an infrared implant, and can run at increased speed. Also, Rex is voiced by Michael Beihn, resulting in him delivering some awesomely cheesy one liners throughout the game.

As the leader of AVALANCHE, Barret is angry at Shinra for using the world’s life-force as an energy source. He becomes even angrier when Shinra troops shot up his right arm while he trying to save his friend Dyne from falling down a ravine. The result of that incident lead to Barret ditching his prosthetic arm, and getting his now trademark gun-arm attached. Using said gun-arm to get him through tough times, Barrett is rather intimidating, but also has a heart of gold.

Gray Fox may have been the original “Metal Gear” cyborg, but the most memorable has to go to Raiden, the oft-maligned main protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 2. Between MGS2 and 4, Raiden was captured by the Patriots and forced to become subject to a series of experiments, replacing his entire body (except his stupid hair) with robotics. Raiden probably isn’t complaining though, since he went from a skinny blond-haired rookie agent to a bad-ass, katana wielding cyborg that can slice apart virtually anything, and we mean anything.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Steve Hermann
“Shatterhand” (1991)
Cyborg Chimp
“TimeSplitters: Future Perfect” (2005)
Ishi Sato
“Bulletstorm” (2011)
Robocod
“James Pond” (1991)
Mutoid Man
“Smash TV” (1991)

Each of the “Deus Ex” games puts you in the shoes of an augmented super –soldier. Sure Adam Jensen from “Human Revolution” is pretty cool, but nothing beats the original gruff-voiced, trenchcoat wearing cyborgdesperado – JC Denton. Though he’s a cybernetically augmented super-soldier, but also the clone of his older brother, Paul. JC’s artificial enhancements include superhuman stealth, the ability to hack computers, increased survivability, night-vision and improved combat abilities, but he’ll have to use every trick he’s got to unravel the conspiracy he’s embroiled in.

Agree with our list? Did we forget any high-tech video game cyborgs? For more cutting edge top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.