Mike.M - 2011 was definitely the year of the shooter. Most shooters nowadays are defined by their multiplayer first and single player second. Gears of War 3 did the best job of providing an engaging experience on both fronts. It caps off the humanity on the brink of extinction saga that pits us against remnants of the Locust and mutated Lambent. The single player experience played it safe (an unfortunate running theme in many blockbuster games of 2011), giving us all of the things we have come to love about the series; blood and gore, dudebros in heavy armor, and of course, Lancers equipped with chainsaw bayonets. What Epic Games did do with Gears of War 3 that was different from the other nominees was give you reasons to replay the campaign and vastly improved the multiplayer experience.

The campaign was great, but it’s even better when experienced in four player co-op, a first for the series. Horde is the originator and still none are greater with the ability to earn money and either buy your way back in should you die in a round or use it on defense upgrades. Beast mode was a nice touch, though a bit shallow. All of that and improved multiplayer that finally made competitive multiplayer playable and fun. Epic Games finally got it right by running the games on dedicated servers and created a better matchmaking system. In a year where we were assaulted by Call of Duty and Battlefield hype, Gears of War 3 is the most well-rounded of shooters, making it the best shooter of 2011.

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