10. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
The end of the PlayStation 3 trilogy, Uncharted 3 is a great game in its own right. The game continues the feel of an action movie like its predecessors. The game's story doesn't resonate with me as well as the others and its set pieces and level design doesn't live up to Among Thieves either, but it definitely does a good job. The puzzles are a little more prevalent, but the game overall doesn't hit up fantastic moments. It's great form a technical standpoint with some refined gameplay.
Genre blends: Shooter, Platformer, Puzzle
9. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
The best of PlayStation Prince of Persia trilogy to me brings about a game with a setting not often seen in games. This has you play out the Prince's last adventure as he deals with the demons in his soul. Like the previous games, this game has some exceptional platforming. Seeing the prince run across walls is always cool. The game also has pretty decent combat. The game switches up gameplay pretty well with its newest mechanic in its segments that has you play as the Prince's darker half. Dark Prince is ruthless in combat and your health drains the whole time while you're in that form, so it's also a race to the finish line as you decimate enemies and hop across platforms. This is a game I have to play again for at least one last time.
Genre blends: Platformer, Action, Puzzle
I played the HD version of this on PS3 as I missed out on it during its run two generations ago. I definitely see why many claim it as an underrated gem as it is. The game has a sense of charm to it and a flavor of humor that reminds me of early 2000's animated films. The game has some flaws in its combat and stealth, but it's still an great game. I'm still wondering when Ubisoft will give us the next bit of information on its sequel. The company said the game is not dead about a year or two ago, but it looks like it'll never come out to me.
Genre blends: Action, Stealth, Racing, Puzzle, Photography(???)
7. Batman: Arkham Asylum
Rocksteady made me truly feel like Batman with Arkham Asylum. This game feels like you're playing a slightly more dim version of a Batman The Animated Series episode as it features many voice actors from the show such as Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammil. The game's story was even written by Paul Dini who wrote a great deal of the show's episodes. By being in the shoes of Batman the game gave us a simplistic, but satisfying hand to hand combat system, stealth, and platforming. The game has a great sense of atmosphere with its audio tapes being a great representation of it. The detective mechanics could've been a bit better and actually made you feel like you were doing detective work, but the game is definitely great despite it.
Genre blends: Action, Platforming, Stealth
6. God of War II
God of War II is a game that is epic. This isn't an overused descriptor here, God of War pulls from epic poems of Greek Mythology and has the player basically play out the tale of an original Greek mythic hero. This game's combat is highly action focused and violent. This game is also highly challenging from a combat perspective even on Normal difficulty. The designers did a great job in pacing the gameplay. The platforming is almost as satisfying as the combat, though I feel the puzzles could use more work. It's excellent through and through.
Genre blends: Action, Platformer, Puzzle
5. Batman Arkham City
Rocksteady gave gaming its first great Batman game and followed up with a game that excelled in almost all ways. Arkham City has a combat system that's highly simplistic, but also highly satisfying. It provides many options in its stealth gameplay and challenges your brain in its Riddler challenges. The game also has a decent story, though not as good as Asylum's to me and it has one of the best boss fights in gaming with the Mr. Freeze boss fight which is at its best on the Hard difficulty. Batman Arkham City is a real treat and I look forward to Arkham Knight when it releases.
Genre blends: Action, Platforming, Stealth, Puzzle
My very first hands on Zelda game. Ocarina of Time is definitely a game that hits me hard with nostalgia just thinking about it. The game is highly revered by the gaming community and is often regarded as the best in the series and sometimes the best game of all time and rightfully so. Ocarina of Time almost does everything right. It gives you adventure, exploration, puzzles that make you think, and simple, but satisfying combat. I feel that its RPG elements could be pronounced a little more. The elements are mostly within its side-quests and shops. Having more emphasis on money and shops could help bring this out more. The game hits strong in its level design. All of the game's dungeons are memorable with the only weak link being in the Shadow Temple and despite popular opinion I had no qualms with the Water Temple. The Water Temple was more memorable for me. The Shadow Temple was just there and the only thing that stood out to me about it was the boss. Its dreary design was already seen in the Bottom of the Well. Ocarina of Time is great jumping point into the genre.
Genre Blends: Action, Platforming, RPG, Puzzle
The E3 demonstration for this game in 2009 really sold me on the game. When I saw that I knew it was a game I was going to have and I got the game shortly after it was released. This is a high quality game here. The game plays like an summer Hollywood action blockbuster with its story and presentation. Nathan Drake had me living in a modern successor Indiana Jones with its destruction, gunplay, puzzles, and sense of adventure. The game never bogs down, you're almost always at a constant pace with short breaks in the moment for some puzzles or platforming. One of my most joyous times in gaming was when I used to play the multiplayer online. The multiplayer focuses on the game's third person shooter element and its quite addicting. It's one of the few games where I was so compelled at honing my skills to be better than everyone else. Uncharted 2 is a real treat and a must play for the genre.
Genre blends: Third Person Shooter, Platforming, Puzzle
This 2006 PlayStation release was a real treat for me when I first got it. This is without a doubt one of the most beautiful games to ever grace the industry. This game is swimming in Japanese art from music, to folklore, and especially in it's visual design. A good action-adventure game captivates you in its world and Okami definitely does this by providing the player with high interaction with the game's NPCs and the ability to alter gaming landscape whether its through a brushstroke or by extinguishing a dark aura that sweeps over a city by killing a dungeon boss and flourishing a grand tree. Okami's game design is also near flawless. Your abilities are set through a brush stroke that you initiate by using the analog stick if you're playing the PS2 version creating a more active gameplay action over just choosing an ability through a menu and selecting it or by having them tied to specific buttons. The abilities vary in range and gaining new ones open up new avenues for you to explore in the world. The game feels very much like a Zelda game and while it does some things better I feel that it's combat isn't quite as satisfying as Zelda's. Having battles restricted to an arena seems like an odd choice and while your brush powers can play into the battles, they don't really make them fun. I tend to avoid regular encounters in the game, but the boss battles I say may peak above Zelda's.
It's been quite a while since I played the game so I can't judge if the dungeons are on par to my favorite Zeldas. The game is much longer than any Zelda though. Once you beat your first major boss you may think you beat, the game, but in truth you're only one third of the way there. Okami is one of the few games I want to see a true sequel to, but with the creator no longer with Capcom I doubt I'll ever see it.
Genre blends: Action, Platforming, RPG, Puzzle
The quintessential action-adventure game for me. The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask provides me with one of gaming's most memorable and immersive experiences for me. Majora's Mask pulls you into the world of Termina through its atmosphere filled with dread, quirkiness, and the bizarre. The time loop gameplay mechanic is one of the most unique ones I've come across in gaming and connects with the people of the world after going through their journeys only to find them back again to where they started after a time reset by playing the Song of Time. As far as level design and overall gameplay design. Majora's Mask does this decently on most parts. The gameplay passed over from Ocarina of Time functions just the same and works fine. The design of the dungeons this time around aren't quite as good as Ocarina of Time's, but Majora's Mask does have memorable dungeons such as The Stone Tower Temple, Ikana Castle, The Pirate's Hideout, and the mini dungeon Skulltula Houses. I also like the twist on Bottom of the Well dungeon this time around.
The mask motif or gimmick did provide more gameplay options, most notably with the transformation masks that not only alter Link's appearance, but also how he plays. Majora's Mask is a uniform package that I have yet to see rivaled in any other game though Okami comes close.
Genre blends: Action, Platforming, RPG, Puzzle
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