It certainly wasn’t a year for quantity for the Xbox360, but it was undoubtedly a year of exceptionally high quality. We couldn’t pick out many exclusive titles for nominees, but the ones we did pick out we’ll definitely be remembering. Right, let’s determine the best Xbox360 game of 2011.

The Rundown

For the best console game awards, we’re only going to be considering exclusive and semi-exclusive titles as nominees for the platform, as that arguably makes the most sense to us, and would prevent the same games – or multiplatform games – from being nominated across multiple platforms. To define a semi-exclusive title, we’re talking about a game that may have originally been exclusive until it was ported somewhere else, or a game that has its origin primarily on one platform and was clearly designed for a specific platform. This award acknowledges the greatest exclusive games on each console, and allows us to choose which of them was the best, and evaluate the consoles entirely.

The Nominees

Gears Of War 3

Gears of War 3 was the ultimate package as far as multiplayer was concerned, and an outstanding game overall. Fans knew exactly what to expect from it, and it delivered at the same standard it set for itself with its single player, providing a satisfactory conclusion to the series, but Epic Games went all out when it came to the multiplayer experience. It had lots of exciting revised modes including an immensely refined and nearly perfected Horde mode, an all-new Beast mode, tons of character and weapon unlocks, a large variety of medals and badges to earn and absolutely incredible use of social interaction. The social aspect of the game completed the experience, making it tremendously more enjoyable and reminding us why we love interacting with other humans in the first place. Gears of War 3 was the most complete game in the series and one of the best multiplayer experiences we’ve had.

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Forza Motorsport 4

Forza 4 was already named our best racing game for 2011, so it’s pretty obvious how we feel about this game. The newest entry in the exceptional franchise not only boasted a lot more content and features and improved graphics and functionality, but also a more refined and exciting personality. Forza 4 gave gamers a great deal more reason to call it the defining racing simulator of this generation, and a damn good reason to want to own an Xbox360. Ultimately it was bigger, better and shinier, and firmly set itself as one of the best experiences on Microsoft’s console, and in this generation of racers.

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Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

It may have been an HD remake, but it was one of the best examples of how they should be done, and one of the best Xbox360 games of the entire year. It featured a complete visual overhaul, sound remastering, multiplayer suite and 3D functionality, which meant that there was definitely enough reason to revisit the experience or engage with it for the first time. It was an admirable achievement for a remake, and it stood out even in today’s times, as it kept the core mechanics in tact and truly showed that great games rarely age badly, and will always stay great regardless of the times.

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The Gunstringer

Gunstringer was finally a great example of how Microsoft’s Kinect technology can be used effectively. It was humourous, fun, had simplistic controls, and brilliantly paced, which made for an all-round charming experience. The ease of play was just part of what demonstrated the game’s fantastic design, and even though it may have been held back a bit by Kinect’s usual issues, it was definitely amongst the best the device has to offer. In the end, Gunstringer just worked, and provided an experience that was extremely attractive and fun, and surprisingly managed to feel both natural and fresh.

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And the winner is…

It wasn’t Gunstringer, because the game was unfortunately held back by its lack of variety, short length and the usual Kinect issues, which was a pity because we really enjoyed it.

In the end, the choice was extremely difficult when it came to Forza 4 versus our winner, and unfortunately Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary had to be factored out simply because the other two competitors for the title were too strong.

The WINNER of eGamer’s Best Xbox360 Game Award of 2011 is…

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Gears of War 3!

Gears of War 3 was our personal favourite and best gaming experience on the Xbox360 in 2011. The excellent multiplayer experience it offered just kept us coming back for more, and it can’t be said enough that it was the most complete package in this aspect. You don’t need us to tell you that it was an absolutely outstanding game, and it’s our choice for the Best Xbox360 Game Award of 2011.

eGamer