Labor Day is upon us and while most people or college students get to enjoy a relaxing weekend or day this coming Monday: we should really think about the hard work that has been accomplished over the years by the men and women that made America great. The people that break their backs serving the public, working under the hot sun or even do the jobs that no one else wants to (sanitation workers/janitors). With that in mind, let us also take a look at some of the toughest and most labor some jobs (and hardest working employees) in the video game world.
Max Payne-Max Payne Series
Ok, so Max was on the NYPD and the DEA for years and got nothing but a couple of dead relatives and a few bullets in his flesh for all of his hard work. When he finally closed the case on his wife and daughter’s murder he was left with nothing more than a bad drinking habit, an addiction to pain killers and an early retirement from the NYPD. In Max Payne 3, Max is pulling body guard duty on rich snobs and manages to fill the morgues of Sao Paulo- even when he’s no longer getting paid. Now that is some dedication to the job: to keep working for the company even though your employer is dead. As far as labor goes, Max has been shot, shot at, robbed, framed for murder, blown up and even been threatened by some pretty gnarly old gods from Valhalla, so I think Max would probably a nice cold beer come Labor Day weekend.
Good lord, someone give this man a vacation. Stat!
The COG Army- Gears of War series
While the normal American Armed Forces are strictly voluntary (except during a draft), the COG army is required for all citizens of Sera. To be fair though, the entire planet is under the attack of mutant creatures from beneath the surface of the planet. Even though everyone in the Gears of War world is required to serve by law, I think once the war is over (aka at the end of Gears of War 3) the entire planet should throw the most massive Labor Day party of all time, because these men and women have done some hard labor.
Luckily everyone in the Gears of War games look like they’ve been doing steroids since birth.
Royal Hyrule guard- The Legend of Zelda series
It’s not easy protecting the royal Hyrule family from evil, especially when you’re the caretaker of Princess Zelda. So specifically Impa (including her many incarnations) has had to endure getting attacked by moblins, dying and even guarding the Gate of Time and the Master Sword. Basically, Impa has had to put herself in the way of danger ever since she first got hired by the King of Hyrule. So this Labor Day (or whatever similar holiday they have in Hyrule), maybe she could take it easy and have Zelda give her some peace and quiet.
Well excuuuuuuse me, Princess! I was just asking about hazard pay.- Impa
Any cop in Liberty City-Grand Theft Auto series
In every Grand Theft Auto game, the cops seem to be getting the short end of the stick since they’ll have to deal with the actions of organized crime, crazed gangsters and that one guy that keeps returning to life after visiting a hospital. Seriously, how do they even hire police in Liberty City since crime seems to be happening at every moment? And by crime: I don’t mean jaywalking or illegal parking. In Liberty City the criminals are hijacking helicopters, driving tanks down Main Street and running down prostitutes like it was Death Race 2000. I cannot think of a tougher video game job than being a law enforcement agent in Liberty City and to make matters worse: if they take the day off, some lunatic might blow up half the city. So their job is never over and they’ll never really be able to celebrate Labor Day like the rest of the folks on this list. So sad.
Also, just to make things worse, these cops are just 3 days away from retiring. Good luck with the shoot out.
Happy Labor Day everybody!
