Best New Character

Game characters can be very endearing, but it must be difficult for a game designer to come up with a truly compelling and original character design, judging by how forgettable or straightforward most game characters are. But every year has its exceptions--characters that have never-before-seen moves, not to mention plenty of style, attitude, and personality. We see the five best new characters of the year as follows:

Buck Wad, Amped 3
	Platform: Xbox 360 ESRB: Teen Check Prices Buck Wad the pigheaded viral marketing master embodies Amped 3's quirky style and refreshing sense of humor. He's wickedly evil, yes, but we really didn't mind working for him. And he's got a great singing voice to boot.
Harman Smith, Killer7
	Platforms: GameCube, PlayStation 2 ESRB: Mature Check Prices The crippled old man known as Harman Smith doesn't seem concerned with trying to hide the armor-piercing rifle strapped to his wheelchair, nor does he seem overly concerned at getting medical attention to treat his multiple personality disorder. Cool.
Kratos, God of War
	Platform: PlayStation 2 ESRB: Mature Check Prices They might as well put Kratos in the dictionary under the definition of antihero. This mean bastard has a bone to pick with none other than Ares, the god of war himself, and Kratos seems brutal and angry enough to win that fight.
Raz, Psychonauts
	Platforms: Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC ESRB: Teen Check Prices Clever, quick-witted Raz is the instantly likable hero of Psychonauts, which features a large cast of characters nearly as quirky and memorable as he is. Raz deserves a big hug.
Stubbs, Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
	Platforms: Xbox, PC ESRB: Mature Check Prices Didn't anyone ever tell Stubbs that smoking could kill him? Now a member of the walking dead, Stubbs nonchalantly keeps on puffing away while slowly building an army of zombies not nearly as swell as him.

And the winner is... Killer7

Platforms: GameCube, PlayStation 2
ESRB: Mature

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Words can't properly describe the experience of playing all the way through Killer7, a game that's purposely incoherent at times, because at the center of the game is an assassin with multiple personalities--basically, he's crazy. But he sure is a compelling character. He's witty and confident, and yet he defies virtually all conventions of what constitutes a typical hero, between being wheelchair-bound and, well, being a killer. When you finally reach the mind-blowing conclusion of the game, many questions about Harman Smith are answered, but many more are raised, cementing this uniquely unusual protagonist as one of the most memorable video game characters we've ever met.

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