In the world of video gaming, there is rarely such a thing as a "perfect" game, but there are those that stand above the rest. We've all had laughs through this generation and have experienced games that are good, bad, great and downright mediocre. This list will celebrate those games which triumphed over the rest, came to rise above the sea of mediocrity and soar high in the skies of freakin' sweetness. With a list like this, it was inevitably hard to pick out ten games that outshone all the rest because, to be honest, this has been one of the best generations for gaming. Exploration and new themes emerged, art became an integral part of the process and concepts of the future have transcended the idea of just all flying saucers and alien invasions. Variety is the spice of life and, despite all the COD and Battlefield clones, this generation has definitely been one of the most varied we've all had the pleasure of being a part of, no matter how much criticism that appears online, and accusations of staleness and a lack of progress in the biggest franchises. With this generation coming to a close and ushering in a new fleet of consoles, some of which seem to be faulting before they're even released, let's take a look at ten of the greatest games of this generation...
10. Batman: Arkham City
After what some people saw as a disappointment in the Christopher Nolan Batman films, it felt nice to get a breath of fresh air from the Batcave and go back to a true representation of Gotham. Arkham City was the sequel to the very well-received Arkham Asylum, and continued the story that it had set up. What made this game a hit, with the fans of DC in particular, was the fact that it didn't try and change anything. Unlike the Nolan trilogy, it didn't re-invent characters or do anything that could be considered disastrous *cough* Bane *cough*. It did what a Batman interpretation should do; it show the Caped Crusader fighting against the menagerie of scum that Gotham's Underworld spews up on a regular basis, with The Joker being the overall target of the whole game. The game also hit the right notes for its beautiful execution of combat. Batman did everything you would expect Batman to do, such as beat up thugs and lay the smackdown on whoever got in his way. Techniques and attacks were executed how you would imagine them to be by a true expert at fighting, as Batman is supposed to be. The voice acting was exemplary, too. Batman was voiced by long-term veteran of the character Kevin Conroy, and The Joker was voiced by another veteran, Mark Hamil. Both of these actors have become famous as those characters, and in a game as well executed as Arkham City, it is truly great to see such brilliant actors returning for their roles. Generally, Arkham City did a lot of things right; it didn't try to change anything with the formula and kept Batman the same badass we expect him to be. The one thing it did do differently, though, was take a nice look at the relationship between Batman and The Joker, something which is usually only expanded upon in the comics. It was just nice to see something for casual fans to take in rather than just assuming that Batman would always hate The Joker. No spoilers here, but if you haven't played this game and you're even the slightest bit interested in Batman, then go check out Arkham Asylum and City. Go on, right now.