Believe it or not, there was once a time in which characters were not a very important part of video games. Some of the earliest titles had no actual characters, and those that did exist had little in the way of personality or distinct traits. Times have changed, and now one of the key factors to making a memorable game is having a distinguishable, unique, talented cast. Uncharted 2’s Nathan Drake has been charming the pants off of every lady he meets since 2007, and he only got more lovable in 2009. Batman: Arkham Asylum delivered the best incarnation of classic DC villain the Joker in video games, helped in no small part by Mark Hamill’s perfectly recognizable voice-acting. Newcomer Jack of MadWorld fame was a chain-smoking, chainsawing badass who painted the town red with blood. Henry Hatsworth, on the other hand, challenged Professor Layton as far as most gentlemanly gentleman on the DS—and one-upped him by donning a robot suit. Despite their good qualities, none of those characters were as awesomely metal as the Best Ever Character of 2009.

He’s a skilled roadie with a passion for music, a talent for building just about anything, and a legacy he inherited without even knowing it. Eddie Riggs of Brutal Legend is undoubtedly one of the most memorable characters in recent gaming history. Jack Black expertly brought Riggs to life with passionate, inspired voice acting, continuing the tradition of Tim Schafer-developed games having terrific and lovable characters. Sure, he might be trapped in an ancient world, forced to fight an epic war between good and evil, but Eddie Riggs still seems like the kind of guy you can relate to.