Whether you're a hardcore collector, someone seeking a good gift or a cubicle-confined employee longing to spruce up their desk, action figures can make a huge difference in a casual gamer's day. Articulated toys have many purposes, serving as statues, conversation pieces and playthings, but their greatest overall function is providing casual gamers with an outlet for a continued gaming experience. Check out the ten most fan-friendly action figure lines to help fill the void during your hours away from your favorite titles.

10. Pokémon
Though a few toy companies have held the Pokémon action figure rights over the years, the current run by JAKKS Pacific may be the most ambitious. The company has the most to work with by default, given the more than 10 years the series has been sustained by Nintendo, but that doesn't mean they haven't managed to supply casual gamers with all 493ish of their favorite pocket monsters and various trainers.

9. Sonic The Hedgehog
Produced by ReSaurus, this line included Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Big the Cat and the E-102 Gamma Robot. While it didn't have the breadth of character offerings of later toy lines or the articulation of JazWares' game-centric one-offs, their sculpts and articulation make them arguably the most stylized Sonic toys to date. Now that Tomy has taken of the Sonic toy license, fans could have another go at a line of similar acclaim.

8. Super Mario Kart 64
Produced by ToyBiz in 1999, this line represents what are arguably the best Super Mario Bros. renderings to date. Each fully articulated action figure comes with a to-scale mechanized kart that can be wound up and released for a speedy launch. Though the line produced only Mario, Luigi, Wario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Bowser, each kart came stocked with an action feature found in the game. Mario's kart shot a green shell, while DK dragged bananas. The line is something of a collector's item now, but can still be obtained on online auction sites. Barring that, simple vinyl toys are currently prevalent in most toyshops.

7. Bio Shock
Consisting of only three action figures spanning two video games, it might seem unfair to include NECA's Big Daddy, Subject Delta and Big Sister as a full-fledged action figure line, but their quality merits plenty of acclaim even for the most casual gamer/toy collector. Loaded with all the trimmings to keep even the most fearsome Splicers at bay, these toys stand tall with lavish enough detail to sit on the desk of even the maddest Rapture mind.

6. Resident Evil
Like many entries on this list, the casual gamer may have spotted the RE banner on a number of action figure lines over the years. The franchise's first outing in 1998 via ToyBiz was a good start, but NECA's latest waves of RE action figures have refined the franchise with loads of detail and a robust slate of available humans and zombies. The toys' realism is enough to keep the most casual gamers from displaying a brutal re-creation of the game on their shelves, but prevalent home display should help players conquer their fear of the undead.

5. Kingdom Hearts
Square Enix's Disney-ized RPG saga has spawned some impressive offerings through the game publisher's action figure arm. Encompassing the canon of multiple series entries, the Kingdom Hearts line spawned multiple Mickey Mouses, Soras, Sephiroths, Rikus and other notables such as The Nightmare Before Christmas' Jack Skelington. It's rare that a toy line based on a video game can also produce some of the best toys from movies and animation, but this unique franchise's high concept delivers for even the most discriminating Keyblade wielder.

4. World of Warcraft
Given the scope of the WoW world, DC Direct's Unlimited line has risen to the challenge of bringing the highly detailed MMORPG to life with a variety of action figures. While it would be fairly impossible to recreate every avatar, the line does include most character types in a number of classes. Some articulation had to be sacrificed to handle intricate character designs; most fans should be fairly forgiving in the name of owning their own 3-D toys.

3. Street Fighter
SOTA Toys' (and now NECA's) expansive line included a healthy segment of the Street Fighter and Street Fighter II starting lineup, with accurate sculpts, variant paint applications and plenty of in-game accessories, weapons and energy bursts. The line's plentiful articulation gives each character the posability necessary to recreate their fighting moves and it makes the toys excellent companions to ToyBiz and Hasbro's Marvel Legends line, especially for toy customizers. Truly a line that catered to fans and casual gamers.

2. Ratchet and Clank
One of DC Direct's latest forays into the video game market, Ratchet and Clank series 1 sports four carded characters plus companion toys in a smaller scale. Ratchet comes in armored and unarmored versions, the latter featuring a mischievous Clank. Captain Qwark and Scrunch, along with the villainous Dr. Nefarious and Zoni round out the line, meaning there's plenty of desktop battle opportunities between characters.

1. Halo
While McFarlane Toys has always had a reputation for detail, they haven't always catered to collectors seeking a lot of articulation. That changed with their recent "Halo" lines, introducing plenty of possibility into numerous soldiers and alien toys, along with corresponding vehicles. The line's diversity and popularity ensure it should be around for the foreseeable future, especially as new gaming entries are introduced. Best of all? No Xbox Live subscription needed to play co-op.