27. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3)
The finest licensed game I've ever played and probably the best 3D Metroidvania ever made... hm. Why don't either of those sound like such great compliments? Anyway, Arkham Asylum is a truly spectacular achievement on every level. Graphically, the only knock against it is the somewhat "plastic" look that most UE3-powered games tend to have as the art department totally nailed the gothic aesthetic of Batman. The voice acting is top notch with talent from the animated series on display, most notably Mark Hamill who completely steals the show as Joker. Arkham Asylum's greatest accomplishment, however, is its outstanding gameplay which brilliantly mixes stealth action with an intuitive free-flow combat system. The overall effect is that, whether you're prowling the intelligently designed levels of Arkham or gliding from gargoyle to gargoyle above a room of Joker's thugs before taking them all down without even being seen, you really do feel like Batman. For fuck's sake, even the collectibles are fun! Other developers really could take a lesson from Rocksteady there. Honestly, everything about this game is so damned good that I feel a little bad about "only" ranking it at #27. Sorry, Bats!
