Today's Femme Fatales of the Virtual World

Although video game protagonists, like their players, tend to be male, gamers seeking a more feminine experience aren't spoiled for choice.

Don't go getting any ideas, though -- most of today's heroines are more likely to chop you up and leave you for dead than entertain your ham-fisted attempts at pickup lines. Here are five video game vixens you definitely don't want to play around with.

VIEW REEL

Rubi (WET)

Star of Sierra's just-announced action game WET, Rubi takes a leaf or two from Lara's book, wielding dual pistols and bringing enough acrobatic skill to shame the whole Chinese State Circus. Watch her show off her wall-running talents, sword-wielding prowess, and, er, lying in the bath expertise in our exclusive video.

VIEW REEL

Samus Aran (Metroid)

Wait a minute. Samus is a girl? Yup -- you could play through much of the Metroid series without realizing that the hero of these action classics is actually a heroine, especially as the first game's manual referred to her as a "he". Typically seen in a decidedly androgynous suit of power armor, bounty hunter Samus worlds away from your typical scantily-clad videogame hussy -- at least until you finish one of the games, when she generally ditches the armor and prances about in her undies, setting back gaming women's lib by, oh, decades.

VIEW REEL

Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

It's just not possible to talk about video game heroines without the name Lara Croft cropping up. An object of gamer lust ever since her first appearance in 1996 on the original PlayStation, she's improved her appearance over the years (and gone through several different real-life representations, including Angelina Jolie) but kept her slim, athletic build, long dark hair and unfeasibly curvaceous profile. Such was her appeal that some opportunistic (and slightly creepy) gamers began distributing "Nude Raider" patches that removed the clothing of unfortunate Lara, earning the wrath of publisher Eidos. Check out a few of Lara's famous moves in this video (and no, she isn't naked).

VIEW REEL

Ada Wong (Resident Evil)

First popping up as a reference in an obscure document hidden away in an equally obscure corner of not-at-all obscure survival horror classic Resident Evil, Ada didn't actually make it on screen until Resident Evil 2. For a while it looked as if that might be her last, too, as she ended the game apparently dead. Like all good secret agents, though, rumors of her death proved to be greatly exaggerated, and she returned in both Resident Evils 3 and 4.

VIEW REEL

Nariko (Heavenly Sword)

At the risk of understating the situation, up-and-coming PS3 stunner Heavenly Sword sees Nariko in a bit of a pickle. With just a few days left to live and an army of invading thugs upon which to take revenge, what's a girl to do? Grab her favorite transforming sword and set off to chop some fools up, that's what. You'll get your chance to join Nariko on her killing spree very, very soon, so take a look at some action scenes from Heavenly Sword.