Do we like them?

Do we like GLaDOS?

A character from Portal (2007)

Our score: 3 out of 10. Funny, quotable and a superb villain, but she keeps putting you in lethal danger and calls it science. Enjoy her from a safe distance and don't back her.

GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) is the artificial intelligence that runs the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. In Portal, she wakes the silent test subject Chell and guides her through a series of puzzle chambers built around the portal gun. At first she sounds like a helpful, slightly robotic guide.

Her cheerful instructions soon slide into deadpan insults, thinly veiled threats and promises of cake. The writers let the sarcasm and passive-aggression boil over, and McLain's flat, processed delivery is a big reason the character became a gaming icon. She also sings the closing-credits songs, and they are among the most famous in games.

We score her a 3. She is a brilliant character and good company on screen, but she lies to the person she is testing and treats her as disposable. A character who sees a human life as a data point doesn't get our backing, however good the jokes are.

Portal 2 adds more depth. The sequel reveals that her personality comes from a human woman, and it shows that her cruelty and her odd attachment to Chell are more tangled than they first looked. This makes her more sympathetic and more interesting, but it doesn't make her a hero.