Do you remember Commander Keen?

Do you remember Commander Keen ?

Gears of Halo has been talking about Mass Effect lately but before there was the Normandy, before Eden Prime and the Geth, before Miranda Lawson and before the Reapers, and before there was Commander Sheppard but after Robocop, there was the ultimate Commander, Commander Keen.

Billy Blaze would jump around on a pogo stick avoiding green aliens (3) and shooting robots with his laser gun and it was the coolest thing around at the time for my thirteen / 15 year old year old self.

Except maybe Lemmings.... and X-Wing....

Commander Keen taught me about looking for hints and tricks in games. A secret message there, a subtle joke there.

It was very original in many facets of its workings.

Classic Tom Hall pose

A bit of history of the game's birth tells that three men made it possible.

Tom Hall, John Romero, and John Carmack banded together in their 'off time' at a company called Softdisk but they eventually left to form the company ID.

I recall the first episode was shareware which was a pretty cool idea back in the day.

Indeed the 3DRealms site says "The entire first episode of Keen was released to the world as shareware. The idea was that you got a good sense of what it looks like and feels like, and if you liked it, you paid for it - and obtained the remaining parts of the game"

The game was released in December 1990 "Gamers who wanted the next two levels had to pay for them - and pay they did. In January, the ID guys got their first royalty check, for approximately $10,000."

They didn't look back after that.

Billy Blaze cosplay

John and Tom went on to become involved in the classic games Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake.

Those three games became genuine gaming phenomena in their own right.

I think a lot of modern games such as Halo and the like have a wee duty of debt to such games.

I see that Commander Keen is available for download on the Steam service - I'd buy the game if there was an ipad version!

Can someone make that happen?

Cosplay: It's a Super Girl kinda day

Let's be honest with ourselves for a second. Sometimes I think the only time people go to Comic Con type events and other Gaming Conventions is to have a decent perv at all the hot babes that like to wear skimpy outfits. It's a symbiotic relationship, really. Cosplay gives those hotties the chance to flaunt their breasts and legs in public, get away with it, and attain instant geek-goddess status.

And you know what?

We're not complaining and neither should you. In fact, we salute the bravery of the spandex.

So for your viewing pleasure, Gears of Halo has done the hard yards (it was tough work, believe me) for you and found the top ten sexiest cos players ever. Feel free to agree or disagree, but I'm sure we can all see from these pictures that the world owes sexy cosplay players a big thank you.

Let's start with the super heroine from next door, Super Girl. Forget the angst of the Man of Steel; this babe is a totally perfect match for the sweetness that is the super costumed cosplayer. It’s truth, justice, and the American way... looking fantastic.

Then there is Bayonetta. The video game character is simply sex on a stick—with guns on her heels—and this rather perfect cosplayer proves it! If you can pull off the librarian glasses and the leather suit simultaneously, you win the internet.

Next up on our top ten list of sexy cos players is the Amazonian Princess herself, Wonder Woman. A feminist icon and a Justice League hero at that, Wonder Woman is one of the most beloved comic characters of all time. We love her cosplay action too! Who needs a Lasso of Truth when you look this good?

Here's Mass Effect Two's spot on cosplay of Miranda Lawson. BioWare designed her to be "genetically perfect" in the game lore, and need we say more? Oh? You want more Mass Effect Cosplay? Well, Cerberus has delivered.

You can't really have a top ten list like this without including that other super girl, Power Girl. Big Breasts, a skimpy white outfit, and the most famous "window" in comic book history.

What more could you ask for? Nice legs? Alright, Gears of Halo has you covered. Sorry, Aquaman. You lose this round.

Take that Aqua Bitch! 

While everyone tended to go nuts for the Silk Spectre II in the movie version of the Watchmen, simply because Malin Akerman and latex go together like peanut butter and jelly, the cosplay community has kept the dream alive.

Silk Specture, Sally Jupiter

Adding perhaps a further touch of class in this suggestive couch photo is Selvaria Bles from the Valkyria Chronicles. She might be an evil Imperial General bitch at the best of times, but we'll forgive her for inspiring this sexy cosplay shot. Bad girls do it better, apparently.

'Come hither,' said Ms Bles

I've thrown in this Bumble Bee cosplayer as she's just too damn cute to not make the cut! Who says giant robots can't be adorable?

Sometimes you just have to go large. And that's what happens when you decide to dress up like Ivy Valentine from Soul Calibur. The physics of this outfit have baffled scientists for years, but the results are real and they are spectacular!

Ivy Valentine

Perhaps it's fair that the last picture of the top ten sexiest cosplayers falls to someone wearing the ultimate cosplay costume - the classic Princess Leia in a bikini from Return of the Jedi (what would her father Darth Vader say? Or Darth Maul?). Some things never go out of style and neither do metal slave bikinis at cosplay conventions. It is the gold standard, literally.

You know which Leia I'm talking about right? Clue: It's the one with the naked legs