Men of Valor (2004) - Dean Shephard - It's fitting that the first AAA Vietnam War title from Medal of Honor publisher Vivendi Universal would feature a black lead considering the disproportionately high number of blacks in the real war. Sadly, the game isn't quite as polished as its WWII counterparts, but it's still good news to see a big name publisher put a black face on the front cover of a big name franchise.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) - Carl Johnson - The

Quote:

final installment of the GTA 3 series

is a special game, but not only because of its variety of play styles or expansive environments or numerous voice cameos. The big overlooked reason San Andreas matters is that this was the first time that a AAA series chose a black protagonist and nobody batted an eye. It wasn't a topic of conversation, it just was. And, for all the potential for stereotyping the "hood" environment offered up, Rockstar North never quite took the easy road. Impressed.

Vrikk wrote:

What about the guy who steals the bike? You know, of "n*gga stole mah bike!" fame. Punch-Out I believe it was.

You mean the trainer? They're training, he's not stealing the bike.

Let's not forget the real hero of GoW: The Cole Train!
Woo!

I guess that's what I get for basing all my information on old games I have never played from YTMND.

Maybe she was just designed to be racially ambiguous so anyone could identify with her...

You never played Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! ?

(I do not acknowledge the sans-Tyson travesty that came out later)

Thin_J wrote:

*Legion* wrote:

You never played Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! ?

(I do not acknowledge the sans-Tyson travesty that came out later)

Travesty? It was only better than the original in just about every possible way. Weirdo.

If my memory serves, it was the exact same game with the final guy being "Mr. Perfect" instead of Mike Tyson. He had the same moves and patterns just a slightly modified sprite. Other than that and the packaging, the game was identical. And it was a travesty. It's like yanking out the two plumbers and calling a game "Super Guys Who Jump on Turtles and Mushrooms."

Didn't they make a Blade game or something? Or an A-Team one? Do those count?

Completely Random Aside: I just realized that Barrett may be the only black character i've seen in a JRPG in.... ever.

Prederick wrote:

Completely Random Aside: I just realized that Barrett may be the only black character i've seen in a JRPG in.... ever.

There's also General Leo Cristophe from FFVI, Dr. Rho Bowman from Anachronox, the Paladin class in Diablo II, the Redguards in Elder Scrolls, and probably others I'm not thinking of. They're out there, there's just not as many of them.