7. Batman: Arkham Asylum
It's hard to believe that there was a time (only 4 years ago) when Batman had not yet translated well into video games. Previous Batman games had never really grasped the character, and by 2009, no one had even tried to make a fully-formed Batman game in this new generation. Rocksteady aimed to remedy this by coming out with their own take on Batman, focusing on the criminal wonderland of Arkham Asylum.
How did it succeed against the odds? Rocksteady nailed it. They finally presented a comprehensive Batman game that let you feel like the dark knight, allowing you to fight hordes of bad guys, be a detective and even take criminals out from the shadows with memorable gadgets and set pieces. The game ended up being so good, critics hailed it as being the best Batman game of all time, just a year after The Dark Knight was hailed as one of the best superhero movies. And it wasn't just a critical success. Aslylum has since spawned two sequels, establishing itself as one of the major IP's for consoles. That is a lot of success for a mythology that had yet to spawn a great game.