The votes have been cast, and emerging from the grand list of popular video game sidekicks are two finalists: Scrooge McDuck's pilot Launchpad from the Ducktales games, and none other than Albert Einstein, the brilliant/wacky/lovable scientist who appeared in the Command & Conquer: Red Alert series as your fictional head of wartime research and development.

Yes, this long, hard road is coming to an end, and as a result, we've had to bid farewell to many iconic game characters we've known and loved--friendly dinosaurs, friendly mushroom-head people, friendly knights-turned-into-frogs, friendly demonic floating skulls, friendly annoying fairies who won't keep quiet, and friendly inanimate cubes. Let's take a moment to remember those great friends of ours who helped us save the world (or take it over) in so many of our favorite video games. Those of us with 40-ounce beverages who would like to pour out some or all of said beverages in honor of our fallen comrades are encouraged to do so at this time.

Yes, for many of our favorite sidekicks, the battle is over. But the war isn't. Emerging from the fray are two finalists who are ready to do battle for the ultimate title. Of the ultimate sidekick. To appear in the ultimate game (which was either a Ducktales game or a Red Alert game). You have until Monday to vote for the character you feel should win this competition. Good luck. We're all counting on you. And don't call me Shirley.

After a whirlwind round of weekend voting, eight classic game sidekicks have been sent packing. Yes, GameSpot's All-Time Greatest Game Sidekick competition continues, and what started with 80 potential candidates got narrowed down to an initial bracket list of 64, down to 32, down to 16. And now, down to eight.

These loyal companions have been through a lot to help you save the world. What will you do to save them?

It's round four of GameSpot's All-Time Greatest Game Sidekick, and your survivors who will do battle in the days to come are: Miles "Tailes" Prower, Launchpad McQuack, HK-47, Albert Einstein, Dogmeat, Alyx Vance, Epona, and Otacon. Be sure to weigh in by casting your votes on the battle hub page and have your voice be heard--and make sure you put yourself in the running for bragging rights, emblems, and the ultimate home gaming setup.

Round four is under way, and it's time to go from eight competitors to four. Who are your picks to go all the way? Make sure you cast your votes, and then head to the forums to discuss your picks.

Another round of voting for the greatest game sidekick has come to an end, and now that the smoke has cleared, the field has been narrowed yet again. Thirty-two of the most memorable, most helpful, and flat-out funniest sidekicks in video game history entered the competition in Round 2. Half have now been sent to second banana heaven, perhaps to enjoy a large pepperoni pizza and crazy bread with Torgo (who, as you may have heard, takes care of the place while the master is away).

The next round will truly separate the men from the boys (or where applicable, the alien commandos from the inanimate objects). Round 3 is the sweet sixteen round and will truly set the tone for the finals. Which sidekicks will advance to Round 4 and ultimately to immortality as the greatest game sidekick of all time? That's up to you.

Head to the battle hub and start casting your votes for the game sidekicks you think will win this next round of competition and, ultimately, take home the crown. Remember that you're not just competing for emblems and bragging rights (though those are also definitely nice)--the ultimate home gaming setup is also up for grabs for the winningest bracket in the contest!

Round 3 begins! Fight!

With Round 2 coming to a close, you probably noticed that a couple of the battles had a lot more votes than the others, or maybe you heard rumors of vote stuffing and cheating going on. So did we. So, we've undertaken an exhaustive analysis of the voting in Round 2, and we've found that two of the battles were definitely impacted by people stuffing votes.

During a quick check of the results, we found some very strange voting patterns, like a thousand people supposedly from the country of China voting overwhelmingly for Albert Einstein and Moogle, with their IP addresses in numerical order. Obviously, this didn't sit well with us, so we compared the results against several lists of open proxy servers and found an orchestrated attempt to stuff votes through those proxy servers. This could have easily been accomplished by just one or two dedicated people, which obviously goes against the spirit of the contest. While we accept (and encourage) users to rally others to their cause, a single person stuffing votes through proxy servers is not something we allow, and it's something we have measures in place to detect.

Based on our investigation, we are removing 1,922 proxy server votes from Moogle, which will change the outcome of the battle to Cortana's favor. We are also removing 1,451 proxy server votes from Albert Einstein, which is not enough to give Yoshi the victory because there was a huge rally for Al, and even after throwing out all of the stuffed votes, he'll still manage to make it to Round 3.

You can take a look at our raw vote tallies below, taken around 45 minutes before the end of voting. While there are always a few votes from proxies in every battle (because not every IP address we identify as a proxy is someone actually trying to stuff votes), the huge numbers of them in battles 35 and 40 make it clear what happened here.

Battle 33: Tails vs. Lucca
Proxy Votes: 50 versus 58
Non-Proxy Votes: 19,510 versus 13,547

Battle 34: Dominic Santiago vs. Chocobo
Proxy Votes: 39 versus 54
Non-Proxy Votes: 21,805 versus 16,216

Battle 35: Cortana vs. Moogle
Proxy Votes: 45 versus 1,967
Non-Proxy Votes: 17,821 versus 16,296

Battle 36: Launchpad McQuack vs. Zero
Proxy Votes: 280 versus 31
Non-Proxy Votes: 19,008 versus 16,112

Battle 37: Garrus Vakarian vs. Minsc
Proxy Votes: 48 versus 51
Non-Proxy Votes: 20,577 versus 10,800

Battle 38: Sully vs. HK-47
Proxy Votes: 38 versus 40
Non-Proxy Votes: 11,104 versus 18,079

Battle 39: Clank vs. Elika
Proxy Votes: 38 versus 27
Non-Proxy Votes: 18,351 versus 9,422

Battle 40: Albert Einstein vs. Yoshi
Proxy Votes: 1,490 versus 39
Non-Proxy Votes: 20,755 versus 20,298

Battle 41: Luigi vs. Murray
Proxy Votes: 42 versus 50
Non-Proxy Votes: 21,472 versus 10,628

Battle 42: Dogmeat vs. Agro
Proxy Votes: 41 versus 37
Non-Proxy Votes: 19,741 versus 13,400

Battle 43: Daxter vs. Toad
Proxy Votes: 28 versus 37
Non-Proxy Votes: 14,929 versus 13,637

Battle 44: Midna vs. Alyx Vance
Proxy Votes: 20 versus 42
Non-Proxy Votes: 11,568 versus 17,109

Battle 45: Companion Cube vs. Rush
Proxy Votes: 31 versus 50
Non-Proxy Votes: 18,525 versus 11,948

Battle 46: Epona vs. Navi
Proxy Votes: 30 versus 19
Non-Proxy Votes: 16,578 versus 10,933

Battle 47: Diddy Kong vs. Vivi
Proxy Votes: 33 versus 43
Non-Proxy Votes: 13,859 versus 14,072

Battle 48: Frog vs. Otacon
Proxy Votes: 24 versus 39
Non-Proxy Votes: 11,179 versus 16,452

The smoke has cleared, and the victors of Round 1 have been determined. From 64 initial bright-eyed would-be winners, we now have a culled list of 32--32 leaner, meaner second bananas, whose big floppy hats, multiple furry tails, hilarious catchphrases, and generally inanimate nature will be crucial in the task ahead.

Let's get ready to chainsaw melee and/or ride!

Because Round 2 has started! The next wave of competition has even tougher matchups, including the Master Chief's constant companion Cortana up against Final Fantasy's cuddly moogle. The two most faithful companions of the Nintendo hero known as Link--Navi and Epona--will do battle in this round, in a conflict that will probably come down to which character was more rideable and which was more annoying. And continuing the grand tradition of Round 1's animal-on-animal violence--specifically, having a dog face off against a frog--Round 2 pits a dog (Fallout's Dogmeat) against a horse (Agro from Shadow of the Colossus).

Get those votes in now! Round 2 will end this Friday, September 16, and move directly into the sweet 16 round. The field is getting narrower and narrower with each passing day. Make sure your voice gets heard by going to the battle hub and casting your vote. Remember, picking the winningest bracket not only gets you emblems for your profile and all kinds of bragging rights, but will also qualify you to win the ultimate home gaming setup.

Round 2 is happening! Get in there and fight!

The initial bracket phase is over. The original 80 video game sidekicks that were in the running for this competition have been narrowed down to 64. And by now, you've created your own character bracket and seeded it with your picks for which characters you think will advance through the rounds, winning their individual battles and eventually making it all the way to the end.

Well, we couldn't possibly pick the greatest game sidekick of all time. Can you?

And now, phase one has begun. Starting today, you can jump into the battle hub and start voting on each individual character battle. Each battle is between two characters, and your vote will decide their fate in the first round of this single-elimination tournament. Will Miles "Tails" Prower triumph over Globox? Do you give the edge to Clank over Little Mac's mentor Doc Louis? Hop into the battle hubs now and make your voice heard! Voting will continue until next week when the competition advances to the next round.

Remember that picking the winningest bracket doesn't just earn you bragging rights--it could also net you the ultimate home gaming setup. If you feel strongly about supporting one character or another, now is the time to let your support be known! Visit the All-Time Greatest Sidekick forum to start campaigning for your favorite characters and discuss your bracket picks.

Round one is under way! Get thee to the battle hub, and fight!

Sup bros. So check this out: You're the Batman, the baddest brotag in Gotham City. Who do you want as your sidekick? PROTIP: It's not Robin--that yellow cape is NOT doing you any favors when it's time for him to wingman Poison Ivy off of Harley Quinn for you. Why not Missile, the loyal-to-the-end Pomeranian that's good with doors and better with ladies? Or what about Nathan Drake's bromance, Sully (which would also hopefully put that Hollywood tuck in his place)?

However you pick your wolf pack, you'll want to make sure you do it because there are some pretty great prizes you can win and achievements you can claim, including:

Greatest Game Sidekick Broter
Sick voting, bro! This user owned the poll booth and voted for 64 sidekicks in the character vote phase.

Greatest Game Sidekick Peer Pressure
What's the matter, bro? You can totally handle that! This user told their friends about the character voting phase by using our Facebook button.

Greatest Game Sidekick Bracket Bender
Have you seen my bracket, bro? It's straight baller! This user predicted the greatest sidekick and created a bracket. Let the bropacalypse begin!

Greatest Game Sidekick Pro-gaming Pre-gamer
Keep an eye on the prize and don't forget the pre-game, bro! This user destroyed the competition in the user signature contest and proved that the pre-game is just as important as the game itself.

Greatest Game Sidekick Backup
You sure you want to do this, bro? I'm with him. This user told their friends how they voted on a matchup by using our Facebook button.

Greatest Game Sidekick Rolling 32 Deep
Science fact: The deeper you roll with your bros, the more invincible you become. This user went big when the others went home--they correctly predicted the outcomes of every round 1 match.

Greatest Game Sidekick Brodeo
"I hope you're a vet, 'cause these pythons are SICK!" This user ranked in the top 1,000 and dominated in All-Time Greatest Game Sidekick.

Greatest Game Sidekick Ice Cold
Icing bros since 1872. This user outbroneuvered and outscored the GameSpot staff team at their own game.

Greatest Game Sidekick Broseiden
All hail Broseiden, King of the Brocean! This user out-bro'd the competition and secured a place as the overall top scorer.

Greatest Game Sidekick Pack Leader
Alpha One of the wolf pack. This user defeated all of their friends on the scoreboard. You must have more than 10 friends to qualify.

Greatest Game Sidekick Bro King
"You shall have a crown that all bros should tremble to behold." The bro king did the unthinkable and never suffered a defeat in All-Time Greatest Game Sidekick.

Greatest Game Sidekick True Bro
"Negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full." This user managed to pick the overall competition winner, but they scored less than 100 points.

Greatest Game Sidekick Facebook Bromance
"Hey bro, I brought over some brewskis and Entourage!" This user liked the All-Time Greatest Game Sidekick voting page and shared at least one battle every round on Facebook using our buttons.