9. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Like most, I had middling expectations at best for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance; after all, how good could a MGS spin-off starring the most maligned character in the franchise's history really be? Thankfully, Raiden's rebranding in the fourth game as an awesome ninja is followed through with rather well here, and though offering a distinctly more free-wheeling, arcade-based experience than the main canonical games, it also served up a good deal more depth than the majority of hack 'n slash games. Sure, the narrative isn't particularly memorable, but the
combat - and let's face it, that's what really matters here - totally is, requiring the player to really pay attention to what they're doing rather than senselessly mashing buttons. Once you get the hang of it, the results are sheer beauty (and plenty bloody, too). After the game had so much negative pre-release press regarding its stalled production, it's amazing the game turned out anywhere near this good.