[GOTY] Best New Character Nominees

The GameSparked Team
GOTY 2012

BEWARE OF POTENTIAL SPOILERS

A good character is incredibly easy to fall in love with, but it’s hard to come up with new characters that can be loved just as much as our old favourites. This year had a bunch of great new characters ranging from those we care about, to those we think are downright awesome. Let’s make a toast to our nominees for Best New Character of 2012.

Haytham Kenway (Assassin’s Creed III)

In a series where the main concern of the protagonists are calendar dates and balls that make people disco, Haytham Kenway was a breath of fresh air. This delightful Londoner defected from the Assassins, became the Grand Master of the Templar Order in the colonies, and shamelessly made love to a Native woman in a cave. He possesses a deadly sword, and an even deadlier wit (British wit, too – the best kind). His greatest feature, though, may very well be his boss hat.

Tiny Tina (Borderlands 2)
Tiny Tina is the kind of person who seriously loves what she does. She’s got a dark past and lives a lonely life, but none of it matters; she’s focused on making larger and better explosives to play with. Despite having no one to rely on but herself in a world as dangerous and harsh as Pandora, she manages to stay upbeat, fun and is one of the funnier members of an already humourous cast of characters.

Johnny Powell (The Darkness II)

Have you ever met a more neurotic character than Johnny Powell? Sure, he may have lost some marbles here and there, but don’t call him crazy. Johnny knows things — a lot of things. He’s the freakin’ encyclopedia of the paranormal! He also has a knack for narrating anything and making it sound infinitely more interesting.

Death (Darksiders II)

“Condescending prick” is the new “badass” in Darksiders II. Death pokes fun at almost everyone he meets and sounds totally cool while doing it. I assume the real reason why nobody retorts is due to a fear of ending up on the wrong end of Death’s necromantic scythe, but either way, it’s hilarious.

Juliet Starling (Lollipop Chainsaw)

Juliet has a fantastic sense about her — even in a zombie apocalypse, she is cheerful and excited. She even fends off most stereotypes of the typical high school cheerleader, and shows that she’s willing to save anyone who needs the help. And you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who cares for their family more than her.

Anders Detling (Max Payne 3)

Anders Detling is a family man, who just so happens to be an ex-cop vacationing in Brazil. He offered a much-appreciated change in mood to Max Payne 3 — you really couldn’t meet a nicer guy. We just wish we could have seen more of him.

Clementine (The Walking Dead)

Clementine was like a daughter to us. We constantly worried about her, had our stomachs drop when she caught us doing something horrible, and cared about her more than anything else in the game — not many characters can do that. She proves that there can be good characters that happen to be children, and we enjoyed every second we spent with her.