7. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
If you're anything of a self-identifying gamer, you'll most likely associate Kane & Lynch with GiantBomb's Jeff Gerstmann from when he was at Gamespot, as thanks to really laying into the original release, Dead Men, a management snafu got him fired as the site had lots of otherwise positive promotional material associated with its release. For the most part that was all she wrote for the franchise on the whole as it didn't offer a whole lot other than Max Payne-lite run n' gun thrills. However, for Dog Days, IO Interactive (better known as Hitman's developers) embraced the gritty and dark atmosphere that Dead Men was initially going for. Where before we just had endless swearing between characters and gun violence to establish a tone, Dog Days brought in all sorts of grainy visual filters and stylistic features to make it truly stand out. If you enjoyed what Rockstar would later do with Max Payne 3, you'll love K&< for essentially having the same ethos two years prior. Gunplay is tight, the story hurtles along at a hefty pace and the overall 'feel' of everything is as dark and dingy as the most cerebral indie movie you can think of. Dog Days is far better than people continue to give it credit for.