ALAN WAKE
ALAN WAKEA successful thriller author wrestling with
writer’s block and the forces of darkness,
this Stephen King stand-in is as deadly with
a flashlight as he is with a gun... and perhaps
even more powerful with a typewriter. Though
he starts out confused and chasing pages of
a manuscript that he doesn’t even remember
writing, he adapts surprisingly well to
battling his way through a town of possessed
shadow people, and before long he’s seeing
them off from a rock concert stage, besting
the demons in his own subconscious, writing
his fiction into reality, duelling his own
sinister doppelganger, and even escaping a
Groundhog Day-esque time loop. Hell, he’s
almost badass enough to pull off a jacket
with elbow patches and hoodie look.KASSANDRA
ASSASSIN’S CREEDMore so than her brother Alexios, who
smoulders his way through Odyssey following
much the same narrative plot, it’s Kassandra
who for us embodies the spirit of Ubisoft’s
Greek epic. Sporting some impressive biceps
and kick-ass skills with swords and the Spear
Of Leonidas, some great VO ensured her story
was memorable, whether she’s in pursuit of
revenge against the Cult Of Kosmos or just
drachmae for mercenary jobs around the
Greek islands. More empathic than Alexios
perhaps, thanks to her friendship with young
urchin Phoibe, Kassandra is also considered
the canon hero of the story and her actions
against the Cult are inspirational to the later
founding of the Assassin Brotherhood.COMMANDER JAXON
CRACKDOWNInvested with the godlike power and
motivational speaking skills of Terry Crews
himself, Commander Jaxon’s really the only
sane choice of Agent for your Crackdown 3
playthrough. This superhuman soldier’s
excitedly bellowed lines are the perfect
accompaniment to an evening of blowing
up cars, grabbing Agility Orbs, jumping
over skyscrapers, and going to war with
high-tech crime families. And not only is he
a powerhouse of destruction, he’ll warm
your heart, too – his first name, Isaiah, is a
tribute by the developers to Crews’ young
game-loving son. The actor made the request
as he hoped the game could be a bonding
experience for the two of them. Aww!RICO RODRIGUEZ
JUST CAUSEHalf-man, half-flying squirrel, half-bull
in a china shop, Rico Rodriguez is 150
per cent action hero. Even pushing 60
years old he’s as spry as ever, blowing
up corrupt South American dictatorships
with the help of a suite of wrist-
mounted gadgets that would see even
James Bond shaken (not stirred) with
jealousy. Sure, having a licence to kill
is cool, but is it cooler than tethering
two helicopters together and watching
them crash into each other? Across four
games, Rico’s caused more mayhem
than the Vikings managed in 300 years,
detonated enough ordinance to destroy
the moon, and even broken the weather- now that’s a loose cannon.
FRANK WEST
DEAD RISINGHe’s covered wars, you know. This
schlubby photojournalist isn’t exactly
your typical videogame hero, but there’s
something inexplicably endearing about
Frank West. When the chips are down
and the dead walk the Earth, he’ll always
rise to the occasion, camera in one hand
and a baseball bat with a saw blade
duct-taped to it in the other. Weirdly,
he’s had a storied history not just in
his own open-world zombie games,
but in fighting games, too, throwing
out combos in Tatsunoko Vs Capcom:
Ultimate All-Stars and the Marvel Vs
Capcom series. Notably the latter means
he’s the only character on this list who
can literally beat Thanos in a fight.ARTHUR MORGAN
RED DEAD REDEMPTIONWe could have gone with John Marston,
of course, whose heroic actions
and eventual end were the powerful
narrative backbone of the first Red
Dead Redemption, but it’s the stoic
and dry-witted Arthur from Red Dead
Redemption II whose selfless acts with
regard to his Van Der Linde posse-mates
mark him out as a true hero. As Dutch
kind of loses the plot when the gang
are on the lam following the botched
Blackwater robbery, it’s Arthur who has
to sort out the entire gang’s problems
as one of the few outlaws maintaining a
level head. He’s also adept in the art of
put-downs and sarcasm. And he does a
mean can-can, too.9
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More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 057