8. Altaïr
Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad was the star of 2007's Assassin's Creed game. Altaïr introduced the world to the hidden blade, Leaps of Faith into piles of straw and even helped teach many gamers about the Middle East during the times of the Third Crusade (albeit an alternate history version of it). Eight games later (yes, there have been that many in 5 years!) and the hidden blades, Leaps of Faiths, alternate history lessons and Altaïr's legacy are still influencing gamers and game developers alike.
7. Rikimaru & Ayame
Some of the more realistic ninja games, the Tenchu series set the bar for stealth games on the Playstation and Playstation 2. One of the purest games in the stealth genre, Tenchu was one of the first games to heavily employ systems such as grappling hooks, running on rooftops and guard-distracting gadgets. The deadly combination of Rikimaru and Ayame hasn't rarely been matched in any game since.
6. Killer 7
By the far the most abstract entry on this list is Harman Smith and his 7 other multiple personalities - the killer7. Due a rare condition known as "Multifoliate Personae Phenomenon", Harman is able to physically project himself in to 7 assassins named Garcian Smith, Dan Smith, Kaede Smith, Kevin Smith (no, not that Kevin Smith). Con Smith, Coyote Smith and Mask de Smith. The player experiences the twisting and oh-so-Japanese plot through the eyes of the 8 Smiths and well, let's just say, in the end, they really couldn't be stopped.