Finishing of my Top 10 list is, of course, my 2011 Game of the Year:

Batman: Arkham City

It takes a truly remarkable game to stand above the competition in a year such as 2011. But Batman: Arkham City has a quality that no other game on this list (and very few games in general) possess. That quality is painstaking, wholly uncompromising attention to detail. Everything in this game is put together so well, and this game is just as much a triumph taken as a whole as it is when examining its finer concepts and mechanics.

The most immediately impressive part of Arkham City is its presentation. The voice acting is absolutely incredible; Paul Dini's sharp writing and the many actors' pitch-perfect delivery give a ton of personality and life to Arkham City's main characters and minor denizens alike. The game's story uses seemingly all the major Batman antagonists to great effect, and its conclusion is one of the franchise's most striking moments. The graphics are equally great. The animations are fluid and dynamic, and the art direction is truly masterful. The gritty, grimy streets of Arkham City are teeming with references to the Dark Knight mythos, and major characters' designs combine elements from their many iconic representations.

Just as the game's presentation and detailed environment provide an excellent sense of place, Arkham City's gameplay truly shines because of how well it puts you in its protagonist's shoes. The strategic, rhymthic, and perfectly animated combat feels just how it should for a Batman game. Stealth is similarly effective. While sneaking sequences in most games have a certain element of passivity to them, Arkham City's more aggressive stealth segments make you feel as if you're the one Batman's foes should be hiding from. Smaller gameplay elements such as investigation, navigation and platforming are all equally fitting and well-realized as the game's more major mechanics.

I could give many more reasons for Arkham City's excellence, but my main point is ultimately that the game is an example of perfect execution, and the kind of gaming greatness that will stand the test of time. Even though it faced a lot of extremely strong competition this year, Batman: Arkham City shines because of how an immense level of detail and smart design made its source material integral to its gameplay and presentation. Very few games come close to providing the level of immersion, and feeling of being the protagonist that Rocksteady seems to pull of so effortlessly.

Thanks for reading. Hopefully 2012 will be just as great a year for games.