Do we fall in love with characters in games? You’d better believe we do. Here are my top ten video game crushes.

An escaped slave who begins the game as a rough, distrustful brute, he learns to use his heart and brain in order to survive a punishing adventure in one of the most underrated titles of the Xbox 360.

Joel is another brute. While he doesn’t really get tamed, as Monkey does, his journey does awaken a heart he long thought dead. Baker’s performance really makes the character pop.

Yeah, yeah, I’m a Troy Baker fan. His impeccable British accent and sensational comic riffs make this companion character irresistible. He gets to say great stuff like, “You ever try to make positive change in your life? I don’t.”

Whether leaping about the roofs of Florence and Venice or getting all stabby with the bad guys, Ezio is sex on a stick.

Though my least favorite vocal performance on this list, Bigby Wolf is still a super-sexy character: A burly rough dude trying to keep order in a violent, amoral neon noir world.

What can I say? Tall and blond and smart and self-effacing, George has a low-key charm reminiscent of Roger in Disney’s original 101 Dalmatians.

Nuff said.

The only A.I. character on the list. Why Wheatley? Because actor Stephen Merchant’s performance is simply spectacular. His plummy voice with its excruciatingly correct enunciation and spectacular, halting comic delivery makes it one of the great video game characters of all time…and completely crushworthy.

This is the character that truly pushed video game characters forward due to great writing and North’s physical AND vocal performance. Designed to be an “Everyman” type character – no superpowers other than very strong fingers and amazing resilience to bullet damage – Drake has become, hands down, the sexiest male character in video games. So why isn’t Nate my number 1?

Oh, Alistair. My favorite video game character of all time. Introduced in the first Dragon Age game, he is the bastard son of the late ruler and became my character’s best friend. He was furious with me when I manipulated political events such that he was crowned king. But I knew it was the right thing.

Why is Alistair the winner? Because his character is so funny. The very talented Steve Valentine brings so much warmth and humor to the character. Alistair is endlessly charming and winning. He’s the character of all the games I’ve ever played that I wish I could walk down the aisle with.

So there you have it. Who are YOUR video game crushes?

Irrelevant side note: Of the voice actors mentioned, I’ve met one of them (Steve Valentine) and have seen two of them around my neighborhood (Stephen Merchant and Troy Baker).