Video games require a certain suspension of disbelief. The goal is to be taken away from the real world for a little bit, to be able to accomplish things that the average person can only dream of accomplishing. And while possessing a broad skill set makes for a lot of fun, it doesn't make a ton of sense. As it turns out, some skills make video game characters kind of seem like superhuman weirdos.
These trends seem to repeat themselves from game to game and help create a unique set of skills that only really exists in the world of gaming. Once you notice these special abilities, it's very hard to stop seeing them in every game you play...
15 15. Extreme Cardio
Rule number one of the apocalypse is cardio, something video game characters have taken to heart. While it takes months of training to, say, run a marathon, most video game characters possess the stamina to do it from the get-go, largely without an explanation as to why they could be champion distance runners.
14 14. Excellent Driving Skills
While earning a license and going through traffic school is pretty standard practice nowadays, neither of those really involve experience with what can best be described as stunt car driving. It doesn't make sense that Michael from Grand Theft Auto V knows how to execute a flawless drift around a tight corner from the beginning of the game, and he's not alone. Nearly every video game character that gets behind a wheel is able to drive like this, even though the most difficult automobile-piloting scenarios they've been in probably just involve driving in LA.
13 13. Hand To Hand Combat Expertise
As any number of martial artists can attest, learning to fight takes time- a long time. While some video game characters will work their expertise into their backstories, most don't have any prior training, at least that is shown to the player. Still, this hasn't stopped characters without any formal training from taking out trained soldiers, either with blind luck or what are apparently very strong punches.
12 12. Military-Grade Marksmanship
In the digital world, pretty much anyone can pick up a gun and start making headshots from yards away, which qualifies them as either incredibly talented or insanely lucky. It's as though recoil has no bearing on them, seemingly mastering the art of marksmanship with next to no experience.
11 11. Split-Second Decision Making
It isn't uncommon for people to panic order a cheeseburger at a restaurant when they meant to get lasagna, which makes the quick and decisive skills of some video game characters come off as quite odd. Take Lee Everett from The Walking Dead games, for instance. Lee has to choose which of two characters will die at fairly regular intervals over the course of the first game, which makes him seem just a tad bit insane. How does a seemingly normal person develop such a skill, and how can those playing him learn to adapt it the next time someone asks if they'd like dessert?
10 10. Superhuman Strength
The inherent strength of a typical video game character would put even some of the most experienced bodybuilders in the world to shame. Whether it's Arthur Morgan's ability to deadlift an entire deer with little to no effort, or the Dragonborn's ability to carry 300 pounds of iron longswords while maintaining a steady sprint, video game characters posses some serious muscles. And while it makes sense that an adventurer might be a bit stronger than the average bear, this amount of raw power doesn't quite add up most of the time.
9 9. Lockpicking
While video games make people believe that lockpicking is as simple as shoving a screwdriver and bobby pin into a lock and twisting, it's actually a complicated profession that takes years to master. And while it may make sense for rogues and street urchins to be able to pick locks, there are still many nimble-fingered heroes capable of robbing citizens blind without any background in the skill.
8 8. Incredible Internal Compass
The compass, a staple of just about every video game's UI. Except, it isn't often that characters actually possess a physical compass to mirror the one on the screen. Basically, this means that they simply feel where to go, usually down to the meter. This sense of direction is commendable, and something not many people can do now that GPS is an everyday convenience.
7 7. A Bottomless Stomach
While devouring thirty cheese wheels in rapid succession may sound like a dream come true for some, the reality is that most would wind up vomiting somewhere into wheel two. This means that the Dragonborn, who is capable of scarfing down hundreds of pounds of food in the heat of combat, would have a successful career in the competitive eating world should they day ever come that they do, indeed, take an arrow to the knee- along with just about every other game character out there.
6 6. Advanced Medical Training
It takes years of practice and study to earn a medical degree, something not many people are cut out for. And while medicine in games tends to be a little more advanced than its real-world counterparts, looking at you first aid spray, it still doesn't explain how Jason Brody in Far Cry 3 knows how to expertly set a broken bone.
5 5. Hacking
Computers have a strange relationship with games, especially where hacking is concerned. A lot of the time, it involves glorified versions of connect the dots or even just guessing passwords until one works. That isn't exactly how things work in the real world, but even if it was, it wouldn't make sense that everyone is capable of breaking into a secured computer. Honestly, one has to assume that none of our digital counterpart's secrets are safe on computers, as anyone can simply walk up and log in with relatively little effort.
4 4. Bottomless Pockets
Stuffing an entire arsenal of weapons into a shirt pocket requires some serious spatial management skills, not to mention all of the other bits and bobbles that may be in a characters inventory. In the real world, stuffing a cellphone, keys, and headphones can prove to be enough of a challenge.
3 3. Fish-Like Lung Capacity
Oxygen is one of the vital elements of life, and depriving yourself of it for more than about a minute can have some pretty severe consequences. Enter Mario, everyone's favorite plumber that just so happens to have the lung capacity of a dolphin. This casual disregard for one's O2 levels is common amongst game characters too, as most would apparently have no trouble becoming Navy SEALs given how well they can hold their breath underwater.
2 2. Superior Pain Tolerance
As most people are aware, stubbing a toe is quite a painful experience. Often times, it can cause someone to pause for a moment, or several, and wince until the pain stops. Meanwhile, every protagonist in a game is busy being shot, stabbed, and crushed by a wide variety of enemies. The difference is, those characters simply move about their day as if nothing ever happened,
1 1. Perfect Bladder Control
Let's be real- it's weird that video game characters never have to go to the bathroom. Presumably, a lifetime of dodging bullets and adventuring has simply led to iron bladders for most characters out there, unless, of course, their clothes are much less clean than gamers imagine them to be.