7. Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3

2011 was the year where Koei actually released legitimately good Dynasty Warriors games. Dynasty Warriors 7 proved to be the best entry in the series to date, Samuari Warriors Chronicles was one of the better 3DS launch titles and Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3? One of the most surprisingly fun games I’ve had the privelige of playing this year.

Sure, you do the same thing in every level - you hack a lot of dudes, capture bases...it’s the same thing for a very, very long time. But that’s the thing - there’s a LOT more dudes on screen and the game is significantly faster, making every mission much more chaotic and frenetic - something that this game needed badly. In a weird way...it’s kinda theraputic, just slaying hundreds of mooks while laughing at the kinda bad English voice acting...and it’s strangely addictive.

And of course, there’s plenty of fanservice for the Gundam fans - practically every TV series is represented in someway now, as well as plenty of the movies and OVAs, with every key mobile suit or just about every mobile suit you’d want to play as represented. And they even fix up some of the insane issues of its predecessor, though you may want to ignore the main story if you have no idea about Gundam.

Otherwise, DWG3 is a faster and more chaotic Dynasty Warriors game with a tonne of Gundam love. It’s not going to be for everyone, but if you’re after something where all you do is destroy hundreds of robots with some semblence of a reason or story, Gundam 3 has you covered.

8. Dark Souls

When it was initially released in 2009, few could expect just how great Demons Souls would actually be. Sure, it was a game for only the most hardcore of hardcore players, and incredibly different to just about every game out there but once it ‘clicked’, everything made perfect sense. So naturally, a successor, not a sequel, was announced, with the Xbox gamers joining in on the fun with Dark Souls, one of the most intriguing games of the year.

For the most part - the game plays identitically to Demons Souls, with a few changes here and there to keep it different enough.The biggest change to the game that is instead of the linear progression of the last game, you’re now in an open world with a bit more choice where to go. Of course, choice where to go usually results in be wary of the things that’ll one shot you. And the legendary difficulty of the prior game? Still present, and still the breaker for those looking to get into it.

However, it’s the online stuff that deserves a special mention. While you can still place notes for other players to help or hinder them, the new convenant system helps in the brilliance. Basically, convenants are factions you can join that provide different benefits - betraying them? Makes you a larger target for online player. Crazy.

Really, the game is more Demons Souls, which is no bad thing. Dark Souls is still one of the most different and rewarding games out there. If you’re after an RPG that’s incredibly rewarding, look no further.


9. Batman Arkham City

2009’s Batman Arkham Asylum was one of the most surprisingly great games no-one expected to be. Rocksteady’s fantastic vision of the Batman universe, coupled with a great combat system and stellear voice acting proved to be one of the best games of that year. So where do you go from there? Simple. You make it bigger and better - the motto of its sequel, Arkham City.

While it is practically the same game as Asylum, it’s never felt any better to play as Batman, thanks the game being mechanically awesome. Highlights are a gliding mechanic that, once mastered, can practically make Batman fly across Arkham City and never touch the ground once. In addition, the much lauded combat is back and better than ever - faster, more furious and more brutal. And yet, very easy to learn.

But the best thing about Arkahm City? It fixes all the huge flaws with Asylum. Remember the crappy boss battles? Gone - all of them are unique and awesome. Mobility kinda flawed? Fixed - Batman’s more fun to move about than ever. More Villains & Batman characters? All there, and play a fantastic role.

Sure, it’s not perfect (thanks to some despicable pre-order bonus and online pass shennaigans), but Arkham City is damned worth a play - with visceral combat, a great story, awesome voice acting, and in general, the closest thing you’re gonna be to Batman in any video game yet. So you gotta wonder...just where are Rocksteady going to go from here...