I enjoy playing as male characters, as a male myself, and I won't lie it does help me sort of identify with them more, *****but**** (before we burn me at the stake) it's not the end all be all deciding factor for relatability to me. For example, I can't relate at all to Duke Nukem cuz he's a giant tool. Meanwhile, I have an easy time relating to Impa (Zelda's guardian; particularly in the OoT game). If given a choice, I'd rather pick the male gender to play as for that slight impact it has to me on relatability, but if I'm forced to be a female character, it's not a problem at all for me. In other forms though, relatability can change a lot for me if gender is a huge part of the game. For example, if I'm forced to play as a female and have to deal with, say, some maternal dilemma she's having, or a fight with a boyfriend, or something of that sort, or just issues of femininity then I won't relate obviously. Whereas if the game is on a stage where I'm a guy character, about to head out to the bar with my guy friends, to talk about guy things (*coughCatherinecough*) then I can relate to that WAY more strongly.