I'm not in but Trip from Enslaved was great. The voice acting was spot on, she seems like a character that actually grows and develops over the course of the game and they somehow managed to have an A.I. partner in a game where I felt like I was hindering them and not the other way around! :D

Another vote for Elaine Marley from Monkey Island 1 & 2. Even though she's not the lead character, she still seems to be the one in charge. As in so many other games, at one point in SoMI she becomes the "damsel in distress" for the "hero" to rescue, but only to subvert the trope, because it's pretty clear that she doesn't really need Guybrush and can perfectly take care of herself. Rather than being depended on a hero and falling in love with him because he saved her, she lets a pathethic klutz play hero to boost his ego, because she likes him (but she never lets him boast about it too much either). She's an independent, successful and much respected woman and she's actually more pirate than Guybrush ever will be.

Or, if it has to be a lead character, I guess it would be Jade from Beyond Good & Evil; not a very original but an obvious choice. She kicks ass without acting all tough and she's athletic without being portrayed as a sex object - she doesn't even wear those practical high heel in combat, she wears (long) pants (!!!). She takes care of the orphans, protects them and provides for them. She has a heart and still - I haven't played through the whole game yet, so I might be mistaken - from what I've seen, her game is neither about her love interest, nor about her vendetta against men or her ambition to act like them, it's all about her integrity, about fighting for what she believes in. She does rescue a male "damsel in distress" on the way though.

It doesn't. She's still the Queen Bitch of the Universe!
I think you've missed one of her most important aspects ;)
http://firsthour.net/screenshots/curse-of-monkey-island/curse-of-monkey-island-gold-elaine.jpg

Oh, not in, but thanks KTC!

I can't resist, as female characters in video games, good ones at least, are few and far between.

So many good choices have already been displayed, including Grace Nakimura and Cate Archer, but here's one from my own personal favorites list:

Martha Velasquez from Traffic Department 2192. Vel was tough, sure, but unlike a lot of tough gals who always manage to be perfectly right and grand heroes, she was often wrong, fragile, and destructive to everyone around her. And she was the protagonist! A unique take on the female action hero character and a beautifully flawed person. There were times I hated her for her bad decisions, but it's hard not to sympathize with her stark take on humanity. A complex female character before most games bothered with plots!

Pity the gameplay sucked.

I'm also going to nominate playing a female character in Saints Row the Third. The game is ridiculous, violent, and crazy, but it doesn't penalize you for playing a woman, at least not so I've found yet. That alone earns brownie points. My dapper female gangster (decked out in shades and a tie, natch) can kick as much ludicrous ass as any man!

Not in.

April Ryan from The Longest Journey. She was believable in the sense that that's how someone thrust into a strange situation would act. Plus points for her snarky comments. Too bad she changed in Dreamfall, though the change was kinda understandable.

Ravel Puzzlewell from Planescape: Torment

I liked how they made her very alien but very human at the same time. She could take any shape she wants but she stays in her own form, which shows that she realizes it would be just self-deception. Her self-awareness coupled with staying true to her own self makes her smart enough to know better, but foolish enough to do the things she does anyway, which makes her a great tragic character. This is very nicely supported by that she hurts everything she touches, which neatly ties into her theme of brambles and thorns. Also her fragmented existence between the planes was very intriguing.

Previous posters have already mentioned my top choices (Jade etc) so I'll go with Aveline from AC Liberation who, unlike the Femsheps etc, have femininity as a strength, rather than just have player character's sex be interchangeable and cosmetic.

Girlz Rule ;-p
http://www.complex.com/video-games/2013/01/the-50-greatest-heroines-in-video-game-history/

And yet another vote for Jade from Beyond Good & Evil.

Not in, but +1 for the giveaway.

Triss Merigold.

Several girls in the Sakura Wars/Taisen first game.

Why? they are interesting characters with their strength and flaws. Making them likeable and understandable and we don't see them just as a 2D character.


Kanzaki Sumire: When we see her for the first time we will think her as a spoiled girl from a rich family (and there's a fraction of truth in that statement) but if we can know her better she actually trying to stand on her own and not because of her status and she willing to go down and dirty in the battlefield.

Tachibana Maria: On the outside she's a cold and calculated lone wolf soldier. But in reality she kept a fragile psyche as she still traumatized from losing her old commander (and her first love) during the Russia revolution war.


Also I bet the gift will be Tomb Rider, why? because it gone on sale recently :p

Wrenna lan Laxmi from Defender's Quest.

edit:
Azra: Oh, hey, Wrenna, I didn't see you there. We were just discussing, um, stuff and things...
Wrenna: That's good. You know what they say: Don't gossip about anyone who might slit your throat at night.
A: I'm not terribly familiar with that saying... who... um... who says that?
W: People whose throats haven't been slit, presumably. 'Cause the ones that have don't have all that much to say. It's more like, "Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle." And then you say, "Was that advice? I don't know. Can you speak up?"
A: ...I sure am glad we're friends.
W: Me too! Friends are great! For instance, if you need to slit someone's throat in their sleep, you can say, "Hey friend, hold this person down--"

Nice idea for a giveaway - Faith from Mirror's Edge or Leliana from Draagon Age: Origins

Those were the first two that came to mind as Memorable for me.

I guess Shodan ( System shock) doesn't actually count as female, so my second "best" would be Harley Quinn as featured in Batman Arkam Asylum

Seconded!