2. Agent 47
For nearly 12 years, one series has set the standard for open ended stealth action games - Hitman. Ever since the original PC game, Hitman: Codename 47, the Hitman series has incorporated and developed some genre defining elements in to stealth games. Elements such as the ability to steal enemy character's clothes, gaining more points for playing stealthily and most importantly, giving the player multiple options to tackle the same assassination. Four games later, Hitman: Absolution is receiving critical acclaim and continuing to create and expand the genre. With his sharp suit, leather gloves and his signature hardballer pistols and fiber wire, Agent 47 is simply the best cloned cold blooded bald bar-coded bad ass.