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GotY Awards 2010 – Best Shooter

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – If you’d have asked me a few years ago whether or not I believed that the Battlefield formula could be reformed to work on a console, I would have said that it probably couldn’t be done very well. The original Bad Company showed me otherwise, of course, and Bad Company 2 only further proves that Battlefield games on consoles can work. Although, I would still rather play Battlefield on a PC, Bad Company 2′s multiplayer is so good regardless of platform that it wins Best Shooter because of that alone. The singleplayer is competent, but as we all (should) know, you play Battlefield games for the multiplayer. They didn’t even really have a singleplayer mode before Bad Company came along. Let me cast your mind back to the ‘Battlefield Moments’ trailers that were released in promotion of this game. As obviously scripted as they were, Bad Company 2 is great because of these moments. They do actually exist, these ‘Moments’. The amount of stories I’ve told people about a night of Bad Company 2 highlight this, and this is just one reason why Bad Company 2 is a kick ass shooter.

And in Close Second…

Vanquish – Awesome graphics, tight controls, ridiculous combat, and a cybernetic suit that allows you to boost across the floor on your knees with your rocket legs. What more do you want me to say? It’s a blast to play, go check it out. A hidden gem of 2010.

Call of Duty: Black Ops – No matter how frustrating it is to see Call of Duty take sales away from original and innovative games that don’t have an ounce of its hype, it’s difficult to deny that the franchise is one of the tightest and best feeling shooters on the market. Call of Duty has become a worldwide phenomenon for a reason, and Black Ops delivered on all fronts.  The campaign was more than just an incessant steam of set piece moments; characters had personality, and the story interested me – a first for a Call of Duty game. The multiplayer, while very similar to that of Modern Warfare 2, still proves to be one of the most addictive legal substances. With the return of the cooperative Zombie mode and the delightful addition of the top down Dead Ops Arcade, it took me a while to choose what to dive into first. No matter the choice, each component is equally as strong, and you won’t be disappointed. What else can be said about Black Ops that you don’t already know? Call of Duty is the comfort food of the video game industry. A gamer can always fall back on the multiplayer when there other games fail, and there is something about just pulling up the sights and dropping a camper that just feels right. Giving this award to BLOPS (say that out loud and try to not sound ridiculous) has nothing to do with its popularity or mainstream appeal. This is a great game no matter how you slice it, and it sure can be sliced a multitude of ways.

And in Close Second…

BioShock 2 – Most modern shooters are fun because of their game play, not the narrative. If you bought the further installments to Gears of War or Halo because the stories tugged at your heart strings and interested you like no media ever has, go read a book. Or, better yet, go play either Bioshock game. Bioshock 2 creates another memorable tale that actually requires some sort of thought process to follow while improving on – in my opinion – the lacking game play of the original. Everything that was great about Bioshock is still great, and the few blemishes of the formula are polished to a shine. Shooters don’t always need to attract meatheads and the mainstream that have never touched a campaign, and Bioshock 2 is proof.