Oh, villains are always fun. Most are usually so cartoonishly evil and have ridiculous plans to blow up the world or end all life or remake the world in their image. They are the people that you love to hate (and sometimes love to love). I enjoy a well thought out villain. As per the last few posts, SPOILERS PRESENT so please be careful.
Katherine Marlowe (Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception): Marlowe. This woman is one hell of a villain. She's written perfectly, she displays enough of a "dark heart" that beating her is a must for the player (and hero Nathan Drake, by extension), but the reasons behind her villainy are not so black and white. She is a snake. Whenever she's on screen, you can't help but watch her as you would a hooded viper. Each movement is silky and fluid, but you know that violence could strike at any moment. Her smile when she knows she has the upper hand is chilling, and her sudden shifts to scowls is lightning quick. She is also performed so well that you cannot help but respect her. The scenes with her and Drake are some of the best written and most compelling I've yet seen. Those moments make her an awesome villain, and one that is a pleasure to foil.
Marlowe may look old, but she's dangerous
The Empire (Valkyria Chronicles): Most war games pit the hero against Nazis (or a reasonable facsimile) or modern day "terrorists." Valkyria Chronicles goes with the former set during Europa War II. The "bosses" the player encounters are the four generals of the Imperial Army, and each one is special in their own way. They are the World War Europa War I veteran Berthod Gregor, a crippled man who is stuck in the old ways of combat; Radi Jaegar, leader of a conquered nation fighting for more autonomy; Selvaria Bles, loyal right-hand woman to the Emperor and certified badass; and the Emperor himself, Maximilian. Every one of these characters has a well fleshed out story and, with the exception of Maximilian, are all tragic figures that you hate, but also pity a bit. The fights with Jaegar in particular pull out a tragic story of one man fighting for his people, not their conquerors. These folks could have been the faceless leaders of the Nazis in WW II games or the parodies of humanity that lead the terrorists in the Modern Warfares, but instead we have fully thought out and relate-able villains that deserve our wrath, but also our understanding.
The Empire's four generals
I'm sure I could go on with many more, but these pretty much set up the types of villains I enjoy. While the Kefkas and Sephiroths have their places, I much prefer the more nuanced villainy presented here. Yes, one could argue that Sephi is tragic, but I don't tend to think of "emo" as "tragic."
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