Kratos: God of War series

What makes Kratos badass? Well, he is the son of the greek god Zeus. He has swords chained to his arms which he has used to kill everything from titans to sea monsters. He killed Ares (The god of war). The dude even murdered his OWN FAMILY! (Note: The Man Cave and Man Cave Inc. do not condone uxoricide or filicide) He is known as the “ghost of sparta” because his skin is covered in the ashes of his wife and daughter making it appear milky white. The dude just oozes badass. In a fist fight between Kratos and Chuck Norris... I don't know who would win...he is that badass.

Duke Nukem

Duke Nukem Forever has been delayed a decade and probably won't ever see the light of day but the original bad ass of video games still demands inclusion on this list. Duke is never too busy killing pig-cops and mutated alligators to not throw some money at strippers or deliver one of his classic one-liners. When you look at the cover of Duke Nukem 3D, one word comes to mind. Bad...ass!Duke, The Man Cave still loves you and we will always save you a seat on the pixelated couch.

Gordan Freeman

Looking at Gordon's face, the word badass might not come to mind but beneath those thick rimmed black glasses and MIT degree beats the heart of a crow bar wielding killer! I dare anyone to call Mr. Freeman a wuss! Any man who faces invading alien armies and zombie-like corpses with head-humping “crabs” attached to them armed with only a crow-bar has guts. Gordon is a man of few words. Two words to be exact. Bad and ass!

Captain Gabriel Angelos: Dawn of War Series

Space Marines from any game (or movie for that matter) are badass in general. But, Warhammer 40k Space Marines are just extra badass. These 7-foot tall, genetically altered, superhuman killers from the 41^st millennium are the very definition of badass. What's more badass than a heavily armored and even more heavily armed space marine? Try a space marine captain! Ordering a bunch of men around who live for war and nothing else takes balls. Gabriel Angelos has a strike cruiser full of them crammed in the orbital drop pod between his massive legs and he is ready to drop them on your face should you so much as think about making fun of his sissy sounding first name! Gabriel has put the smack down on daemons, gods, aliens and even other space marines. He is so badass that Relic brought him back in Dawn of War II where he shows your Force Commander how to apply a Force Hammer directly to a hive tyrant's forehead.

Marcus Fenix: Gears of War Series

Gears of War is an awesome game. From it's badass name to the in-your-face, blood all over the place gameplay, it is the ultimate guy's movie made into a video game. But, what puts Marcus on this list is not the game but how he carries himself in it. Marcus is a flesh and blood weapon of war. Sometimes that can be mistaken for a lack of personality but that isn't the case with Marcus. He is focused on getting the job done and doesn't let something as trivial as fear or the simple joy of being alive get the better of him. When others are clowning around or gloating over their accomplishments, Marcus is always looking toward the next objective. Plus, he doesn't rely on some wussy regenerative shield to protect him from all the scary monsters (I am looking at you Master Chief).

Ryu Hayabusa: Ninja Gaiden Series

He's a ninja. Nuff said!

Space Marine: Starcraft Series

“You want a piece of me boy?”. From the moment you build your first marine and hear that iconic phrase being spoken you know you have witnessed the birth of one of the most badass video game characters to ever graced an RTS game. The cigar chomping marines of Starcraft series carry on the long tradition of sci-fi marines badassing up any universe they find themselves in (see Gabriel Angelos's entry in this list). They are the all purpose ass kickers of the sci-fi universe and the Starcraft series is no exception. Ground troops? No problem. Air craft? On it. Vehicles? Put them in a few bunkers and watch the show. As far as tactics go, the only rule you need to remember is this: Marine rush > anything that isn't a marine rush.

Sephiroth: Final Fantasy Series

Big ass sword? Check! Flowing rock-inspired hair? Check! Black leather outfit? Check! The ability to kill entire parties of adventurers on a whim? Double Check! Yep, Sephiroth has all the elements necessary to make the perfect badass character. But what earns Sephiroth a place on this list is the impact he has had on the fans of the Final Fantasy series. For a video game series that is famous for abandoning well established characters that the fans love in favor of introducing new lead characters in every game, Sephiroth sticks in the minds of fans and has appeared in several Final Fantasy related movies. No list of villians, badasses or Final Fantasy characters would be complete without his inclusion and that is why he is on our list of badasses...and why we can forgive him for appearing in a lot of erotic fan fiction involving Cloud. *Shudders*

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman was a badass before Arkham Asylum but Arkham allowed gamers to step into the dark night's boots and really understand how badass he really is. No thug with a pipe, knife or gun can match batman's speed, stealth or sheer martial prowess. I will never forget the first time I cleared a room full of thugs without batman taking even a scratch. Nothing makes you feel more like a badass then when you see 10 guys standing at the end of a hallway ready to tear your head off to use as their personal toilet and all you can think about is... they should have brought more bad guys.

Solid Snake: Metal Gear Series

Solid Snake almost didn't make this list. For a guy that is such a badass, he spends a lot of time hiding under boxes and crawling around on his belly. The only reason why snake made this list was his boss battles. Snake had some of the most memorable boss fights in all of video game history. He has taken on more giant robots than you can shake an RPG at and fought more guys with crazy ass powers than the typical x-man would face in a lifetime. I would list all of them here but then I wouldn't have enough room on the Internet to post this article.

Mattias Nilsson: Mercenaries Series

Just because Mercenaries and Mercenaries 2 weren't the best of games it doesn't mean mister Nilsson doesn't deserve to be on this list. This Swedish mercenary has single handedly fought armies from several nations including: North Korea, China, Russia and Venezuela. He survived to tell the tale and made tons of money doing it. From his mowhawk to his tattoos, Mattias looks like a badass. He steals tanks for fun, drops bombs on buildings and can drive, fly and sail just about anything that you would find in the typical warzone. I wonder how you say badass in Sweedish?...Oh, that's right it's pronounced Mattias Nilsson!!!

Honorable Mentions: Master Chief (Halo Series), Space Marines (Warhammer 40k Games), Dante (Devil May Cry), Most Fighting Game Characters (Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat etc...)