LYNCH
(KANE & LYNCH)
Even though he is a psychopathic murderer, we actually started to feel a little sorry for Lynch in the end. After playing Kane & Lynch on two-player co-operative we got to see the world through his eyes and it was full of bizarre pedestrians with pig heads. No wonder he keeps going into a bloodlust on singleplayer mode.

ALL THE CHARACTERS
(PSYCHONAUTS)
There are so many nutters in Psychonauts, we didn’t know which one to highlight. From the weirdo who believes he’s being hunted by squirrels, to the overzealous camp sergeant. A brilliant aspect of the game is that it allowed you to explore the psyche of all of these headcases, and do battle with their inner demons.

DANIEL LAMB
(MANHUNT 2)
Face it, anyone who yanks out testicles with pliers, or who saws through groins with razor wire has to be a complete mentalist, and Daniel Lamb is just that. The game begins with Danny breaking out of an insane asylum, which pretty much sets the scene for the rest of the game. The brilliant final level lets you battle Danny’s craziness head-on.

DAEDRIC PRINCE OF MADNESS
(OBLIVION)
Everyone in the Shivering Isles is crazy, but its ruler, the Daedric Prince of Madness, as the name suggests, is completely out of his mind. Anyone who utters such lines as, “I’m so happy I could just tear out your intestines and strangle you with them,” and throws ‘cheese parties,’ has deepseated issues.

SILENT HILL GUY
(MANHUNT)
Poor old James in Silent Hill 2 went mad and killed his wife, and then conveniently forgot all about it. The most disturbing thing about Silent Hill 2 is that you don’t even know you’re playing a maniac until right at the end, after James watches a video tape showing himself suffocating his wife to death with a pillow.

KAI
(HEAVENLY SWORD)
Heavenly Sword We feel a bit mean putting Kai in our top ten insane characters list. She is definitely mad – a fact confirmed through her worm-eating habits and funky expressions (plus she looks a bit too much like Andy ‘Gollum’ Serkis for our liking) – but you can’t blame her for being a bit weird – she watched her parents getting slaughtered by Flying Fox.

DJON
(HOT PIXEL)
Djon – or Jonathan Choquel as he is known in France – is some cult French skater or something. We liked Hot Pixel, but Djon’s ‘quirky’ cutscenes just pissed us off. He obviously isn’t crazy, but you can tell he’s trying very hard to look insane to make up for his lack of charisma. “Look at me I’m all weird and French.” Piss off, Djon, stop ruining Hot Pixel.

SEPHIROTH
(FINAL FANTASY VII)
Sephiroth went bananas after he discovered that he was essentially born in a test tube, he even destroyed an entire city in his rage. Of course, as with so many crazy villains from Saturday morning cartoons, Sephiroth ended up trying to destroy the entire world in order to become a god. It’s a good job Cloud was there to stop him.

CRASH BANDICOOT
(CRASH BANDICOOT)
Admittedly it is a bit disingenuous to call Crash Bandicoot crazy. After all, compared to the bizarre universe he inhabits, he is relatively normal. But there is definitely something sinister and frightening about his eyes and off-kilter smile. We reckon as soon as he gets home he starts licking his windows and shitting all over the wall, the big furry weirdo.

COLONEL YEVGENY BORISOVITCH VOLGIN
(METAL GEAR SOLID 3)
Even though Volgin is quite clinical in his approach, his rampant sadism and weird superstitions definitely make him insane. Sex with Volgin seems to consist of getting electrocuted until your clothes fall off, at least that’s what happened to poor Eva. Volgin also has a nasty habit of beating people to death – what a psychopath.