Game of the Year 2011 - First Person Shooter (FPS)

Now that we’re done with Action genre, it’s time to move onto first person shooters. And the nominees are:

Crysis 2 (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Explore New York, Crysis 2 style

Crysis 2 ditched its predecessor’s island setting in favour of a more urban one with New York City. Granted the game was a lot smaller in size, but this change in direction allowed developer Crytek to craft one of the most beautiful game worlds, out there. The AI populating this game world was unfortunately dumb as hell, but that didn’t make kicking butt in an augmented Nano suit any less fun. 

Battlefield 3 (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Time to get your battle on

After all the trailers and the trash talk, DICE and EA finally managed to deliver a superior military shooter experience this year. Sure, the single player campaign felt a bit contrived, but you never really play a Battlefield game for its story; you play it for its addictive, persistent multiplayer that delivered the goods in spades. And it really helps that all this is neatly wrapped up in a very technically impressive package. 

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Portal 2 (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

Oh there you are

Even though Portal 2 was not exactly a shooter, it was one of the most entertaining puzzle games played from a first person perspective. Picking up directly from where the sequel left off, Portal 2 amped up the puzzles, introduced a ton of new gameplay elements and even added in a stand-alone, co-operative play into the mix. We were a bit skeptical about how co-op would work in the Portal universe, but rest assured, it’s the cleverest implementation we’ve seen till date.

Bulletstorm (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

My foot, your butt

Bulletstorm was an ode to old school first person shooters developed by none other than People can Fly, the guys behind the original Painkiller. The game was juvenile, crude and a bit low on the whole story front, but it made up for that in leaps and bounds with explosive, balls-to-the-wall gameplay. And even though the game never made a huge dent at sales, it still has a special place in our hearts.

Killzone 3 (PS3)

Killing in the name of

The Killzone franchise is associated with gorgeous visuals, heart pounding action, large scale battles and intense multiplayer and in that respect, Killzone 3 did not disappoint. Also helping matters was the fact that Guerrilla Games tweaked the game’s control scheme, so it didn’t feel like you were controlling a 1200 pound guerrilla (yes that’s a pun not a typo), anymore.

And the winner is…

Battlefield 3 (Xbox360 PS3 PC)

If you’re a fan of modern day military shooters, Battlefield 3 is your best bet, this year. The single player campaign may have been a tad dull and predictable, but DICE more than made up for that with a highly addictive multiplayer component we’re playing till date. Unlike other online shooters that penalize players for lacking razor sharp reflexes, Battlefield 3 allows newcomers to ease into the game by offering them support roles as well. If running around the battlefield dishing out ammunition or health doesn’t seem like an exciting prospect, grab a chopper and rain down hell fire on ground targets or command a jet and become a force to be reckoned with.

The undoubted winner

Battlefield 3 also gets our unanimous approval for being the most technical sound shooter out there. DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine brings fire fights to life in a very gorgeous way with some phenomenal lighting effects and texture work, while the game’s sound, simply put is the best in the business.