20 Greatest Video Game Heroes Of 2012

By Todd Eisenhauer /

3. Corvo Attano

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It's hard to pin what makes Dishonored so damn good: it could be the characters and overall story, which are both superb or it could be the art style and sprawling city of Dunwall, or perhaps it could be the freedom that the play style gives you, to do whatever you want. Of course all these things came together to make the best new game property of the year, and it was almost unexpected in how good it was. Nobody thought there would be a new best assassin this year, especially with Hitman and Assassin's Creed both coming out. Corvo manages to outshine both of them. His uneasy relationship with The Outsider leads to Corvo getting a plethora of useful and powerful abilities: Blink is one of the best new powers of the year by far and never gets old. Of course everybody will have fond memories of possessing a fish or sending out a mess of rats to devour others. One of the best parts is just how high the stakes are behind his actions - if you decide to tear through all the guards of the city, you'll watch the city of Dunwall fall down around your head, with plague and civil unrest rampant. The whole fate of the city depends on how much chaos Corvo decides to unleash, and that's real power.

2. Max Payne (Max Payne 3)

We have yet another hero that has been inactive for some time now. True to his name, we watch Max Payne live through the worst days imaginable, all the while popping his pills and drinking himself to an early grave. And I love it. A truly flawed and broken character, Max is the ultimate anti-hero: he hates his employers, he hates himself, and he lives in the grimiest apartment room ever. But he just keeps pushing forward: he constantly finds himself wrapped up in things way above him and all he can do is sigh and keep shooting. Lucky for him, he hasn't lost his edge when it comes to shooting or to his stylized slow mo dives through the air, and, of course, his remarks to situations are beyond amazing. Rockstar really knows how to write and script a character. You'll find yourself playing this game just to get to the next voice over from the wonderful James McCaffrey. It's gritty and stylized in all the right ways. Click on to find out who topped our list of this year's greatest heroes...