Activision has been around since the days of the Atari 2600. They are one of the few publishers from that era still around which can be attributed to smart business practices. For example, the merger with Blizzard truly helped out both companies just like the merger between Squaresoft and Enix was a good move. Both of those mergers can, of course, be debated by fans whether they were good or not but that point is a story for another day.
Most Activision games star males like in their massive franchise,Call of Duty. As smart and savvy as Activision has been, very few of their games, or Blizzard’s, have starred females. Female heroes have appeared in their games though and yes, some have even been playable. It just doesn’t seem like a big emphasis for either company but let’s go through some of the best females of note from both the hero and villain side of things.
If a game is developed or published by Activision, it will be considered.
Nova was created to star in her own game, devoid of the traditional RTS gameplayformat ofStarCraft. It was calledStarCraft Ghostand it was set to be a 3D stealth action game in the vein ofMetal Gear SolidorPerfect Dark. There is tons of footage online of the many versions but the game was ultimately canceled.
Thankfully, Nova wasn’t scrapped and she went on to aid in the fight against various alien scourges in the mainline games. She’s also a playable character in Heroes of the Storm which isn’t a stealth action game, but it is at least more involved than playing her in the RTS-based adventures.
There have been a dumpster truckload of games based on thecartoonAvatarseriesand most have scored low.The Legend of Korrawasn’t a massive hit but it did review better than most. That’s partly because PlatinumGames worked on the game’s combat, so at least it felt good to bend elements like Korra.
From a cartoon comparison, Korra was no Aang but she was a good character, worthy of taking on the insurmountable title of Avatar. She’s great in this game too and thankfully the art department decided to land on cel-shading to help promote the cartoon tie-in even more.
X-Men Legendsis quite literally a legendary game. It was the first top-down RPG that used Marvel characters which would then go on to inspireMarvel: Ultimate Alliance. Of the two franchises, many fans hold up theX-Mengames as the stories were more focused on the Mutant plight. There were tons of characters to choose from including familiar femme fatales like Emma Frost, Jubilee, Jean Grey, Rogue, and Storm.
Then there was thefan favorite Psylockewho could focus kinetic energy into blades kind of like Gambit but she didn’t throw cards around. Male or female, Psylocke was a fun character to play even if it wasn’t as exhilarating as it would have been in a 3D action game.
Ayame is one of the playable ninjas in theTenchuseries. Of the original games,Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassinssticks out as one of the best as it establishes Ayame and Rikimaru, hence the name. As the younger of the two, Ayame was more wet behind the ears as a ninja.
She didn’t make a fuss though like some overblown anime character. She made mistakes but was also able to get the job done. It’s a shame Activision has been sitting on this IP for years now because franchise fans would assuredly love to see both ninjas again.
Coco was a background character for most of theCrash Bandicootgames. She is Crash’s sister who often gives him advice on how to stop Dr. Cortex which was a fine role to play. Every hero needs a guy, or gal, in the chair like Ned fromSpider-Man: Homecoming.
Coco was kind of playable in the third entry, but only on top of a tiger which players could argue was the one being controlled in those levels. Finally, in the remastered trilogy, Coco was properly added as a playable character and she also appears in the latest main entry,Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time.
Mara Sov isthe Queen of the Reef and the leader of The Awoken people inDestiny. She’s basically a pirate queen in space that players have to bargain with in the first game, which was still part of Activision’s roster at the time. She’s like a more attractive outlaw compared to Jabba the Hut—and she does a lot more with her power too.
Plus Mara doesn’t die embarrassingly by allowing her prisoners to take her out. As a pirate, Mara plays both sides and has no allegiances to anyone besides her men which is respectable. Since then, Mara’s character and story have changed quite a bit, with Bungie dropping the pirate aspect entirely.
Farah is one of the playable characters in the 2019 reboot ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfare. She’s a rebel leader that Soap meets toward the middle of the game, and she helps contribute to one heck of an explosive conclusion.
The developers did this character right by showing that women can be just as fierce as men during warfare if not more so. They don’t hold back on Farah and they also treat her culture with respect and not a mishmash of Middle Eastern stereotypes. It’s a shame she wasn’t playable in the sequel, but at least Farah popped up as an NPC to help Soap again.
There are a lot of great female heroes in theOverwatchseries and fans have their favorites. Those that love to be a supportive class will often choose Mercy who is undeniably an important character in the game. Other players like to get into the role of a faster character like Tracer who is basically the mascot of the game.
Her speedy abilities are easy enough to understand for most types of players out there. Tracer is also cheery, and easy to get along with, and she doesn’t let this upbeat demeanor distract her from her job.
