Hubba hubba, part quatre

Can a single blog publish too many posts about the hottest hunks in video games? I hope not, as this is my fourth such post on the subject. (The first three can be found here, here and here. Oh, and the quatre mentioned in the headline is French for four, in case you didn't already know.)

Will I pen more of them in the future? I'd say it's pretty likely, although I don't have any particular studs in mind right now.

In the meantime, here's a look at the game-based beefcake that's been bouncing around in my brain as of late:

1. Simon Belmont (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow--Mirror of Fate)--Truth be told, I have little to no interest in the gameplay of this Konami-published 3DS title. I have quite a bit more interest, though, in two of its main characters: Trevor Belmont and Simon Belmont. As for why I decided to highlight the latter rather than the former in this post: Simon isn't afraid to show off his guns. Oh, and he's a ginge.

2. "Conversationalist" (Ana Holic!!)--Don't worry if neither this character nor the game in which he appears ring any bells. After all, Ana Holic!! is a Japanese PC game (a rather adult RPG, more specifically) made by the folks at Underground Campaign and, as such, it hasn't received much press outside of its home country. Given this guy's, er, "fashion sense," I'd have to say that's a crying shame, wouldn't you agree?

3. Marlon (Pokemon Black 2/White 2)--I realize that this choice is a bit suspect at first blush. In fact, I didn't even consider Marlon (aka Shizui) until after I came across the piece of fan art that can be seen above. Now that I've seen what a few years and a little time in the gym could do to him, though, I can't imagine this post without him.

Hubba hubba, part trois

It's been almost a year since I last wrote about the guys I consider to be gaming's hottest hunks, so I think it's about time I chimed in on this steamy subject once again, don't you?

The five studs below have been placed in alphabetical order, by the way. If I were to organize them from hottest to hot-but-not-quite-the-hottest, I'd probably put either Garcia Hotspur or Sigma in the pole position.

Chuck Greene (Dead Rising 2)--I included this series' dark-and-scruffily handsome Frank West in my first "Hubba Hubba" post, so why not include the blond-and-scruffily handsome protagonist of its second entry in this one? It helps, of course, that Greene looks more than a bit like actor Aaron Eckhart. Sure, he shows up as a psychopath in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, but nobody's perfect, right?

Dunban (Xenoblade Chronicles)--Dunban is a special guy. Not only is he one of the few people capable of wielding the Monado, the legendary "energy blade" that serves as the centerpiece of this long-awaited Wii RPG, but he has a jaw so square it would make even Viggo Mortenson jealous. And then, of course, there's his flowing locks and muscular, tattooed torso. The only strike against this studly solider, as far as I can tell: He has a rather questionable sense of fashion. Oh, well, who wants to see him clothed anyway?

Enoch (El Shaddai)--To be completely honest, Enoch, the protagonist of this PS3/Xbox 360 action title, isn't my type. Oh, he's easy enough on the eyes, but he's just a bit too ... pretty for me. (I mean, look at that hair! Is Fabio his role model or something?) His guardian angel, Lucifel, on the other hand, is much more my cup of tea, if you get my drift. Still, I thought I should include a blond or two on this list, so there you go. (Pointless aside: Go here if you'd like to see some fan art that depicts Enoch and Lucifel "in flagrante delicto.")

Garcia Hotspur (Shadows of the Damned)--On the surface, Hotspur is your typical bad boy: He's covered in tattoos, he's got a facial scar, he has an affinity for leather (jackets, especially), his hair is dark and unkempt ... you get the picture, right? Dig a little deeper, though, and you discover that this questionably-named hunk has a softer side, too. (During the course of this Grasshopper Manufacture-made game, he goes to hell in order to save his true love.) Can I get an "awwwwwwwww"?

Sigma (Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die)--The Wikipedia entry for this upcoming Chunsoft-developed 3DS/Vita title says that Sigma, its main character, enjoys making risque jokes. In other words, he's pretty much the perfect guy. After all, it suggests he has a (crass) sense of humor as well as model good looks and a penchant for wearing what looks like a (form-fitting) mechanic's get-up. Be still my heart.

Honorable mentions: Hawke (Dragon Age II), Lucifel (El Shaddai), Reyn (Xenoblade Chronicles) and Skyrim's "Nude Muscle Bears" (link NSFW).

See also: 'Hubba hubba' and 'Hubba hubba, part deux'

Hubba hubba, part deux

Just about four years ago, I wrote--for the now-defunct GayWired.com--an article about "video gaming's hottest hunks." Because a number of additional pixelated and polygonal studs have arrived on the scene since then, I decided to pen a follow-up piece about a few of them.

Mike Haggar (Marvel vs. Capcom 3)--Is this how an in-his-prime Tom Selleck would have looked if he'd pumped iron with a similarly in-his-prime Arnold Schwarzenegger? Possibly. Even then, I doubt he would have shaved his chest or rocked a leather suspender like Mike Haggar. (Selleck certainly would have had a pair of nipples, though; something that's strangely absent in the image above.)

Little Mac (Punch-Out!! Wii)--It's doubtful that many gamers ogled the Little Mac depicted in the original Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! for the NES. His counterpart in the Wii sequel, though? Totally ogle-worthy. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to discover there's a Yahoo! Group that's devoted to this darkly handsome character--although I would be a bit creeped out by it.

Altaïr Ibn la-Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze and/or Desmond Miles (Assassin's Creed series)--That nose. Those lips. That ... chin. OK, so you have to use your imagination a bit when it comes to fantasizing about the multi-generational cast of the Assassin's Creed series. Still, it's clear that all three of these guys were blessed with great genes. If only they had chosen different career paths...

Jacob Taylor (Mass Effect 2)--It's a crying shame that the folks at BioWare didn't make it possible for gamers controlling a male Commander Shepard to put the moves on this, er, "amazingly gifted" Alliance soldier. (At the very least, they could have provided players with more scenes of Taylor sans shirt.) Here's to hoping they rectify matters in the upcoming Mass Effect 3.

Snow Villiers (Final Fantasy XIII)--Is Snow a bit of a douche? Undoubtedly. Does he have a questionable sense of fashion? Surely. Would any of that matter if he offered to buy you a drink in a dark (and possibly dingy) bar? Not on your life--especially considering the powerful pair of pecs he seems to be packing under that tailor-made trench coat.

Honorable mentions: Abel (Street Fighter IV), Ryotaro Dojima (Persona 4), Nathan Drake (Uncharted series), Chris Redfield (Resident Evil series) and Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes series).

See also: 'Hubba hubba' and 'Heartthrobs'

Hubba hubba

Thanks to the prevailing wisdom that all video gamers are hormonally charged heterosexual men, most developers design their wares with that demographic in mind. As such, it should be no surprise that big-breasted babes abound in much of the software sold in stores today.

That doesn’t mean gay guys are left with no one to ogle when they fire up a game on their PlayStation 3s, Xbox 360s or Wiis. In fact, more than a handful of hunks have paraded across the screen over years, with the following list highlighting the hottest:

Guile (Street Fighter series)—The Street Fighter series has hosted a number of hotties over the years, but Guile stands head and shoulders above the rest thanks to his military background. (After all, who doesn’t like a hot guy in a uniform?) He loses a few points for the weird ‘do, but everything else is so spot on that it can be overlooked.

Leon S. Kennedy (Resident Evil series)—Leon Kennedy proves you can be fashion-forward even while working to rid the world of zombies. Thankfully, he seems to be a looker even without the bomber jacket, tight jeans and manicured mane. Now Capcom (the game’s producer) needs to give him a few alternate outfits to prove that point. Here’s an idea: Maybe he could run around in his tighty whities in the series’ next sequel?

Kratos (God of War I and II)—Why is this guy hot? Well, for starters, his designers were inspired by Greek mythology—Hercules in particular. Unfortunately, they also made him sociopathic. Considering it looks like he stepped, dripping with sweat, out of a particularly steamy piece of Gladiator fanfic, I’m willing to give him a pass for not being completely sane.