2011 Most Anticipated Games #4: Battlefield 3

For many shooter fans, Battlefield 3 will be their most anticipated game of 2011. There's a reason for that- more than even Infinity Ward have done with their promising trailers and demos for Modern Warfare 3, DICE have pressed this as the FPS that changes how you play, featuring genuine tension and vulnerability to the team of soldiers you control, even so far as being chased by a long-range sniper across the rooftops. Long gone is the time when your character can burst into a room and effortlessly slaughter every hostile within seconds, and in my mind that's brilliant, likely to place this up in the ranks of more tactical shooters like Halo, Killzone and Resistance rather than the blockbuster movie-flavoured COD. And of course, the hopefully astonishing single-player campaign is barely half the story with regards to the overall package. What every hardcore gamer really wants a new Battlefield for is it easily dominates the world of online shooters, featuring unmatched team gameplay that as I mentioned puts a unique spin on the genre and forces you to think more thna ever in the midst of battle. Last year, spin-off Bad Company 2 hinted at the greatness that could be acheived if DICE and EA put in the right amount of effort for both offline and online modes, but if both can be perfected and prove equal reasons to buy this then the developers are in for a sure-fire win. Battlefield 3 retails October 28th.