9. Gears of War
While some games have tried too hard to be multi-layered and creative, the Gears of War series does the complete opposite it is a shooter at heart and it never pretends to be anything else. Imagine taking the classic Doom games and then apply them to modern gaming: thats Gears of War. Over the top enemies being destroyed with over the top weapons. Chainsaws on guns. Check. A laser beam that fires from space at the click of a button. Check. Aliens are coming from underground, but rather than coming up with some convoluted plot about their existence, the only thing your team cares about is their utter destruction. The only part of the game that shows real depth is the characters. At first the game seems all gun-ho but over time you begin to see the effects of war take their toll on the squad. Your experience with Dom as he tries to find his wife keep the game grounded and shows the effects of battle, both on a large and a small scale. The interactions between Dom and Marcus form one of the best on-screen partnerships in recent gaming. The original Gears of War was the best of the trilogy because it takes the steroid-pumped action and mixes it with a gritty, and sometimes emotional, story. Its intense and unrelenting and it feels like a battle that could be lost at any moment. Both the online and main story content feel unique and it is certainly one of the best FPS games on the current gen.