GOTY 2011 Shooter

We arrive at what has always been and I imagine always will be the most beloved, and in terms of awards, the most competitive genre. From the crumbling alien-infested cityscape of New York City, to the rescuing of Paris, France from a hell-bent Russian army, there has been plenty to see, do and shoot in this years offerings, and you have in abundance. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 alone has gone on to break almost every sales record in the book, showing that the shooter genre above all others leads the way in a rapidly growing commercial sector.

Battlefield 3  (PS3, 360, PC, iOS)
EA’s answer to Call of Duty and they’ve made one mighty attempt with a multiplayer that is both rich and rewarding from a solo and team play perspective. It may not have the destructive environments of the scale that it once did, but to make a game that felt so tight and graphically on par it was a necessary drawback that duly paid off.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3  (PS3, 360, PC, Wii)
While the game has come in for much criticism of late for being a little too similar to Black Ops and the first two Modern Warfare titles, with the same ol’ short-lived campaign and all. There’s absolutely no denying the charm and compulsive nature of its gameplay that keeps bringing people back for more, in both its single player and its world-renowned multiplayer.

Crysis 2  (PS3, 360, PC)
It may not be quite as open a world as Crysis and Crysis Warhead, but it still transcends its rivals in this department by some distance. There’s something oddly liberating about patrolling the streets of a crumbling New York City, dealing out damage to other-worldlies in some of the most intense and satisfying action experiences one can have with a controller.

Killzone 3  (PS3)
Guerrilla Games have produced one of the most polished, visually pleasing games of all time in Killzone 3, and with added 3D and Move capabilities makes it – with the right multimedia set-up – an eye-opening spectacle of epic proportions. It may not be quite there in its multiplayer, but the campaign packs such an atmospheric punch that it’s hard to care.

Warhammer 40000: Space Marine  (PS3, 360, PC)
Space Marine is as much hack-and-slash as it is shooter, but it combines both elements surprisingly well. Dispatching the multitude of varying enemies the Warhammer fantasy universe serves up is enthralling and makes for a nice accompaniment to what is a well-paced story.

You could easily label our team as sell-outs for voting for Modern Warfare 3 as the best shooter of 2011, or that we’ve jumped on the ‘quicker than Avatar to one-billion’ bandwagon, but the truth of the matter is it’s a damn good game. The campaign may be short, but in an industry that demands yearly or bi-yearly titles from major series’ you’re naturally going get shortened single player elements. The campaign is polished and a great playthrough from start to finish, the Spec Ops survival and mission modes will hold your attention for a long while after, and the multiplayer, with the various perk and killstreak packages, has enough depth to allow players to express themselves with their very own all-action custom classes. They say ‘familiarity breeds contempt’, but we prefer the saying ‘home is where the heart is,’ and we’ve allowed our hearts to rule in this instance.

Best Sport Game