GOTY 2011: Best Xbox 360 Exclusive – Gears of War 3

Microsoft is definitely shifting its strategy from getting as many exclusive games as possible onto its Xbox 360 platform to getting as much content, whether it’s Call of Duty DLC or TV on Demand, onto its console. As such, 2011 was quite slim in terms of full-pledged exclusive games for the device, but, among them, Epic Games’ Gears of War 3 shines.

Epic Games showed Xbox 360 fans that there was more to the platform than Halo, delighting millions with the first Gears of War. While the second had some teething issues thanks to its less than stellar multiplayer, Epic returned triumphantly with Gears of War 3, which ends the saga of Delta Squad on a large note.

While Halo 4 is expected to take the Xbox 360 to a new level, Gears of War 3 also tries to squeeze as much power out of the aging console as possible, and definitely looks the part in some sequences, where Epic even tries to deliver a more varied color pallet than brown, yellow or grey.

But the key to Gears of War games was always gameplay, and this received a huge amount of polish in the new title, with everything feeling just right, from the classic weapons like the Lancer or the Hammerburst, to new ones like the Retro Lancer.

Enemies are also enhanced, going from the tried and true Locust race to the much more dangerous Lambent, that require special attacks from a distance, unless you want to receive some damage from their exploding bodies.

Throw in the pretty impressive story and the stellar online mode, not to mention the steady stream of both multiplayer and single-player downloadable content, and Gears of War 3 is definitely a game that will keep Xbox 360 owners entertained for well into the new year, at least until Halo 4 eventually makes its arrival on the platform at the end of 2012.