dont forget Sephiroth

No, I don't understand. They're fictional characters that can be completely revamped. An actual person has limitations that can't be changed. So is this a debate on how these characters aren't being used properly? That would make more sense to me.

Edit: Also who calls these characters cool? I mostly hear people talking about the games being good.

ignore this.

How can you compare a character who by design barely says anything - along the same vein as Gordan Freeman to a character who was created with completely different goals/objectives.

The reason why Gordan Freeman doesn't say much is because its meant to be a representation of yourself and heck even the viewing perspectives are different. In third person games you an entirely different character/player interaction. Halo follows the Half-Life model, the Master Chief didn't even say a single word until Halo 2.

Theres also a reason why Marcus doesn't do much more than grunt, Dom is the one who does all the exposition and stupid "So thats the xxx place we heard about" type comments

Then, by your own omission, they are not good characters. If it is a design choice to make these characters so lifeless, then that is all fine and dandy - but that doesn't make them good characters. I believe the only reason Gordan Freeman is regarded so highly is because he has an interesting background that is actually communicated through the games narrative. Master Chief, unless you read the books (Which, as I discussed earlier, should not be considered), does not enjoy a similar luxury, and the "Action Hero 101" dialogue and space-suit are criminally cliche, it's a shame people defend the concept.

And to clarify, I agree that the perspectives and objectives presented to the player drastically affect the characters personality and overall characterization. However, this doesn't automatically exclude them from this discussion. Master Chief (I don't mean to pick on only him, but he is the most popular) happens to be one of the most recognized icons in gaming today, and in almost every "Best Videogame Character" discussion his name is frequently brought up.
So, yes, he is absolutely overrated, as are Marcus, Sev, Rambo, and whoever else fits that archetype.

Where the hell is Sephiroth?

How is he over rated?

I'm sorry but I've been surrounded by FF7 fanboy since the PS1 era both in rl and in forum and the only thing a lot of them worship more than mama-boy is Aerith.

Okay... so explain how hes over rated then?

Im suprised mario wasnt in that list. lol at marcus fenix (lol muscle bound buffoon