20 Greatest Video Game Heroes Of 2012

By Todd Eisenhauer /

15. Mors Westford (Game of Thrones)

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"And now my watch begins" I'm going to come right out and tell you that this next choice is biased: I would imagine that enough Game of Thrones fans are also fans of video games, so hopefully you won't hold it against me. Now, unfortunately, the game based on my favorite book series turned out to be extremely mediocre, but as this list isn't about the game quality itself, it doesn't hurt Mr. Westford's standing. How many people were salivating at the chance to play as one of the brothers of the Night's Watch, and a skinchanger no less?! Mors was by far the best part about the GoT game and the story involving him and the other main character was well done. The old school Dungeons and Dragons style of creating a character helped out immensely: being able to choose perks and then having to counter balance with some negatives really made the characters your own. Sure my Mors was a great leader, but he was also asthmatic. It was wonderful and your mind couldn't help but fill in back story as you built him up to be as gruff as you wanted. It is a shame the game itself doesn't hold up, but if you're a fan of either the show or the books, it's worth a shot just for the lore and characters.

14. Connor Ratonhnhaké:ton (Assassin's Creed III)

Now even though the newest Assassin's Creed game came off as a bit of a letdown to me, the non-Desmond parts were once again extremely enjoyable. Connor was special this year in that I really didn't like him for a good chunk of the game - he felt so wooden to me, though I'm sure that was intentional to help point out just how alien his culture was to us. And there was no revelation late in the game where I suddenly liked him, he just grew on me more and more. It helps his case that running through the tree tops hunting bears or jumping down on a bunch of redcoats is some of the more exhilarating action you can do this year in games. He was certainly overshadowed by some of the other characters in the game, and he's definitely no Ezio, but he carries on the tradition of the assassin order in a noble way and he makes a damn fine sea captain.