First of all, I find the whole premise of this a bit overlarge; it's like asking who the greatest movie hero of all time is. The AFI did a special on the top movie heroes awhile back, and Atticus Finch came up number one. Atticus Finch, for crying out loud. Rick Blaine (Bogie in "Casablanca") was above Rocky and Han Solo. Gimme a break. It's all a matter of tastes and perspective.

So here we have a bunch of gamers voting and it looks like the "winner" is simply from one of the most broadly-played, prolific game franchises over the last ten years. And this is perfectly understandable and not in the least inappropriate; but it is also predictable, and illustrates the shortcomings of an ambitious poll like this one. As do the results: "Gordon Freeman -- The Greatest Game Hero Ever" doesn't quite ring true. In fact, it's a tad silly.

Anyway, I voted for Freeman twice, actually, during two "heats." I also voted for The Nameless One from Torment during one of the early rounds. And let's be honest, Nameless One was a far more sophisticated, complex, and moving character. VASTLY more interesting. It's actually quite ridiculous and lopsided to even compare the two; might as well compare chess to tic-tac-toe. I mean, Freeman never even talks! Was there EVER any voice-acting attributed to him? If so, it was negligible. Where's his personality??? You point him and shoot. La-dee-da.

Don't get me wrong, he's a better choice than many of the others. He did, after all, clean up the Black Mesa facility single-handedly -- and him only a meek scientist (and therein lies the simple-but-effective hook) -- and traversed the landscapes of Xen to face off with Nihilanth.

But I stopped voting when it got to the later rounds. Freeman vs. Mario? That's a tough one. How about Serious Sam, where was he? Sam had tons of personality; he would have been a more impressive choice. Also, was Dirk the Daring even in the running? Dirk the Daring was the sh** in the heyday of coin-ops. Two quarters to play? Can do!

Gordon Freeman, "Greatest Game Hero of All Time." Got hyperbole?

Nope, cannot agree with this. And again, I am someone who helped vote him through two of the early rounds. This contest could never live up to its own scope and scale. That is now abundantly obvious.