GLaDOS is the biggest, most ruthless, twisted, evil liar and withholder of cake in the known universe. She's also a part-time potato.



What can be said about GLaDOS that hasn't been written over and over to death a million times before? She's easily one of the most engaging and memorable baddies in this history of video gaming - indeed, the history of popular culture. Critics drool over her demented sense of dark humor, while fans eat up her sadistic hilarity like it was going out of style. There is something to be said for universal love: it's universal. The developers behind games such as Half-Life and Team Fortress went wild with the characterization of a quasi-dystopian crazed artificial intelligence. GLaDOS goes "Daisy, Daisy" faster and better than HAL-9000 ever did.



By Portal 2, just when you fear that GLaDOS will start to feel stale and overdone... bam! Now the player is thrown into a whole new relationship with everyone's favorite mad testing maven. In a plot reminiscent of X2, archenemies must unite to take down the even more menacing Wheatley (more menacing, at least, in his stupidity). Now GLaDOS has become utter comedy, with a streak of melancholy backstory thrown in for good measure. Not only do we love her AND love to hate her, but now we feel sorry for her. It's a testament to a well-made character that so many emotions can be involved in the perception of just one character. Given how short the two Portal games are, it is even more impressive that GLaDOS can leave such a long-lasting impression on players and impact on pop culture. Gaming characters are all about leaving the players with carefully crafted feelings, and that is exactly the result GLaDOS produces.