Last month we highlighted one of the coolest female protagonists ever to grace a videogame (Half-Life’s Alex Vance), and this month we’re doing the same thing, but with a slightly older heroine of videogames, that of Claire Redfield from the Resident Evil series. Although Claire Redfield is perhaps lesser known than the game’s other female protagonist, Jill Valentine, she’s a more interesting character in the sense that, unlike Valentine, Redfield has no formal training, yet remains steadfast and heroic throughout her storylines. She’s even managed to make it into the Resident Evil: Extinction movie. So let’s take a closer look at college student and zombie hunter, Claire Redfield…

My Brothers Keeper

As stated, the character of Claire Redfield is related to the Resident Evil series of games via her brother Chris Redfield, one of the S.T.A.R.S members and main character from the original Resident Evil game. Claire becomes involved in the overarching Umbrella Corp. conspiracy when her brother Chris goes missing following what becomes known as “The Arklay Incident” in the first game. Claire somehow manages to enter Racoon City (despite being seemingly untrained) by eluding the US Army roadblock surrounding its perimeter, whereupon she begins the mission to find her missing brother. Although the narrative does include other male protagonists (such as Leon), Claire Redfield is the catalyst for the story and her seemingly natural skills just make her all-the cooler.

Veronica

Claire Redfield truly comes into her own in Resident Evil: Code Veronica, in which she plays the central character. The story is set a mere three months after the close of Resident Evil 2 and sees Claire despatched to a remote prison after being captured raiding one of Umbrella Corporation’s labs. Without going into any huge plot spoilers, Claire once again teams up with a male sidekick in the form of Steve Burnside and together they go through various scenarios, though the focus is always on Claire given the overarching storyline. The thing that makes Claire Redfield so cool is her reaction to things, and she also seems highly trained despite it never being mentioned in the games; though one may suggest her brother Chris has something to do with this. She’s just a really cool female videogame character.

Cinematic Larter

Let’s face it, the series of Resident Evil films are never going to win any Academy Awards, they’re fairly bland and all based around special effects and explosions, but that doesn’t mean they’re wholly displeasing. The latest Resident Evil film, Resident Evil: Extinction, will indeed feature the character of Claire Redfield, who’s to be played by actress Ali Larter (perhaps best known for the ‘whipped cream scene’ in college football epic Varsity Blues). Resident Evil: Extinction is also said to extract plot elements from the Code Veronica game, so here’s hoping Claire kicks much ass along the way. Once again the character of Alice (Milla Jovovich) returns as the central hero, but this time she’s teaming up with Claire Redfield in order to help a convoy of surviving humans make it to Alaska. Larter is usually fairly good in whatever role she takes (yes, even the dire ones), so at least she will hopefully bring a little more ‘acting’ to the ongoing franchise.

Well, there you have it, another month and another really cool female hero to join the swelling annals of honour. Sure, she’s another videogame character, but ThumbBandits is all about gaming, so why not have a couple of consecutive female gaming heroines to admire? Perhaps next month we’ll aim for someone a little more ‘real’, but, for this month at least, we hope you’ve enjoyed this brief look at the cool, kick-ass character of Claire Redfield. She’s just a girl who’s looking out for her family and along the way she also manages to help save the world. That’s why Claire Redfield is our Honorary Oakley for the month of August 2006!

Look into my eyes, what do you see