Gaming's most malicious machines

343 Guilty Spark (Halo)

Proof that terrible things come in small packages, Guilty Spark is probably the most adorable murderer on this list. Don’t get sucked in by his small frame, chipper voice and unassuming demeanor, though: like every good metallic sociopath, Guilty Spark longs only for the eradication of all sentient life.

Built by the Forerunners, an ancient race of enlightened beings, Guilty Spark was tasked with the caretaking of Installation 04, the giant ring world from the first Halo. Though originally the Halos were designed to prevent the outbreak and spread of the parasitic Flood, after about 100,000 years of isolation, Guilty kind of lost his shit and decided living things in general were a bad idea. And he would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for that pesky Master Chief.

Mecha-Hitler (Wolfenstein 3D)

As we mentioned, psychotic humans are bad, psychotic machines are worse. But perhaps the most terrifying possibility of all is the combination of good old fashioned human ingenuity with the capabilities of modern technology. Witness Mecha-Hitler, the world’s most evil synergy of man with the machines he creates.

By themselves, both parts of this equation are terrifying. On one side of the + sign, you’ve got history’s most notorious and evil dictator, responsible for the deaths of millions of people. On the other side? A giant, heavily armored cyborg with not one but FOUR ultra-lethal chain guns. It is only because this technology wasn’t available in the 1940s that we’re not currently writing his article in the United States of Nazi Germany.

Sektor, Smoke, and Cyrax (Mortal Kombat)

Though the Mortal Kombat fiction is about as straightforward as advanced particle physics, there’s one thing that’s for certain: no one does killer cyborgs quite like MK. The result of a clan of ninjas deciding to upgrade their personnel with some hot new cybernetic technology, Sektor, Smoke and Cyrax are three of gaming’s most advanced killing machines. Combining the martial arts skills of ninja with a bevy of military grade weaponry, this trio has an almost unlimited number of ways to put the hurt on the good heroes of Earthrealm. Despite some latent morality issues originating in their meaty parts, the MK cyborgs never hesitated when it came to gibbing opponents with quad missiles or chest-deployed car compactors, and for that they’ve earned our undying respect. Or, you know, dying respect, whenever they decide to train those quad launchers on us.

Apr 7, 2011


The mechanized friends and foes that wouldn't even make it past Apple's discerning QA testing


Evil doesn't HAVE to be serious business


Because just being evil isn't evil enough

Alan Bradley

Alan Bradley was once a Hardware Writer for GamesRadar and PC Gamer, specialising in PC hardware. But, Alan is now a freelance journalist. He has bylines at Rolling Stone, Gamasutra, Variety, and more. 

Latest in Action
Bayonetta 3 screenshot showing bayonetta looking at a gun
As Assassin's Creed Shadows passes 2 million players, Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya reveals "I felt bad that it was being criticized so much"
Assassin's Creed Shadows Mitsumune and Naoe
How to find Mitsumune in Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Amid Assassin's Creed Shadows' controversies, shrine popularized by Ghost of Tsushima bans all tourists after "unforgivable act of disrespect"
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe facing off against samurai warrior on red bridge
Does Assassin’s Creed Shadows have New Game Plus?
GTA 6 trailer screenshots
Weeks after modding GTA 6's map to GTA 5, modder pre-emptively pulls all their work offline after a single YouTube strike from Rockstar's owner
Assassin's Creed Shadows
As Assassin's Creed Shadows overtakes Valhalla and Odyssey, Ubisoft promises "this is just the beginning" in heartfelt thanks to players
Latest in Features
Bloodborne
10 years on, Bloodborne remains an unmatchable feat of atmosphere thanks to the mind-boggling oppressive scale of Yharnam
Cropped key art for Revenge of the Savage Planet showing two player characters running away from lots of green goo, flanked by various googly-eyed wildlife
Revenge of the Savage Planet promises to be our next co-op favorite after Split Fiction: "It was really validating for us when we saw those games"
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
"We don't want to force one terabyte of data on the players": Assassin's Creed Shadows' tech director on the clever tricks Ubisoft uses to "go beyond" current-gen
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal box on a wooden surface
Kill Team: Blood and Zeal pre-orders just went live, and I wish other Warhammer games were this weird
Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
DC June 2025 solicitations: 10 must-have comics to pre-order this month
Flow
Flow won big as this year's Oscars underdog against Pixar and Netflix, and it's proof of the power of storytelling over dialogue