Battlefield 4 – Best Shooter 2013
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: DICE
Despite a stumbling start on next-generation consoles where the fan response to full-blown 64-player online modes overwhelmed EA’s servers and developers alike, you can’t find a better shooter in 2013—certainly not on PC. DICE’s Frostbite 3 engine will put any graphics card through its paces, but a gripping single-player campaign and inspired "Levolution" mechanics keep the franchise feeling fresh even after the lengthy journey players had with Battlefield 3’s Premium DLC.
Levolution forces players to pay special attention to the heavy-handed destruction anyone on the map can dish out. You can’t bring a skyscraper crashing down to change paths and sight lines or fight it out underneath a giant satellite dish as it crashes down around you in any other game. That you can finally enjoy all that action with 63 other players on a console just might be the warning shot that signals Battlefield’s ascension to the throne of first-person shooters.
Runners Up:
