eGamer Awards 2011: Best Multiplayer

Once again the year of 2011 proves to be an incredible one, as we were spoiled for choice and drowned in luxury even in the multiplayer category. Sadly we can’t choose all of them as the winners, so let’s get down to business and determine which was the best multiplayer experience of 2011.

The Rundown

What constitutes a good multiplayer game? The answer to that question can come in the form of a hundred different reasons, but to break it down and put it forward simply, there’s a whole lot more than just the gameplay experience involved, even though that’s always the most important thing to any player. Truly, the most critical factor, past gameplay, regarding what makes a multiplayer experience stand out, is how well it can keep you hooked into and playing a game. That might sound like the ingredient for any good game, and that’s true, but multiplayer is different to single player in the sense that the mark of a good multiplayer component is that it cannot be finished, and it can be played continuously for a really long time. Usually that goes hand in hand with content, depth, technical setup and efficiency and social interaction, and a great multiplayer game needs to be top class in all aspects. Another thing we consider is how well the developer supports the multiplayer and its community post-release as, after all, the experience is community-driven. All aspects count in a game’s favour.

The Nominees

Battlefield 3

Battlefield 3′s multiplayer is an experience that is unparalleled at what it does, and stands today as one of the most compelling experiences of its kind to ever surface. With a few thrilling co-op missions, tons of unlockables that will ensure months and months of play, gigantic maps and massive battles, and refined game modes, Battlefield 3 pulled out all the stops for its multiplayer. It may have retained the same formula as Bad Company 2, but that was no bad thing, and the level of refinement it underwent did more than enough to make the experience fresh and exciting, added to the fact that there were mountains of unlocks and four distinct and awesome classes. The greatest joy in playing it, on PC more than consoles, was realising that the true Battlefield experience had finally returned, in all of its glory.

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Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations did exactly what was expected of it when it came to multiplayer. It greatly expanded upon the unique and fresh concept that was seen in Brotherhood. The multiplayer made leaps and bounds, featuring more modes, a dramatic increase in variety and customisation options, an upgraded interface and a better matchmaking system. Not only was it more diverse and exciting, but it also played a more important role in the story of the Assassin’s Creed world. And with matches that felt fresh and different every time you played and all-round balanced classes, Revelations was simply miles ahead of the original in terms of multiplayer. It’s still a great concept, and it has been implemented even better, and is just one of the most unique and intense multiplayer experiences you can have.

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Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception significantly improved on the multiplayer of its predecessor. With dynamic maps, a wide variety of competitive and cooperative game modes, tons of content and gameplay that felt fresh with each new map, Uncharted 3 always kept you coming back for more. It featured LAN, the option for split-screen with two different PSN profiles, fully customisable profiles and player characters, Uncharted TV which constantly streamed game footage and trailers for you to watch, community interaction features such as Facebook integration, and a place to upload and share match replays. It had something in it for everyone, and it didn’t stop giving players content and reasons to keep themselves invested. It’s undoubtedly one of the best multiplayer experiences of this year.

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Gears of War 3

Gears of War 3 packed one of, if not the most complete multiplayer experiences out there. It was reason enough to get this game all on its own. It had lots of exciting revised modes including an immensely refined and nearly perfected Horde mode and 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 in multiplayer. It encouraged team players who aren’t just in it for themselves, although those who preferred walking their own path certainly had the freedom to do so. The social aspect of the game completed the experience, and made it tremendously more enjoyable. In the end, 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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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

What would a year be without a Call of Duty game? We’ll leave that one unanswered. But what we do know is that Modern Warfare 3 continued its proud tradition of being the best at what it does. It didn’t revolutionise, but it was refined to an immense degree, with the Spec Ops mode receiving quite an overhaul, and the Survival mode being a centre stage for a great deal of addictive fun. The game stuck very closely to its winning formula, and while it wasn’t drastically different when it came to its competitive multiplayer, it was definitely better thanks to some new features and small tweaks here and there. And with a couple of new modes adding to an already expansive list, a focus once again on pure XP and a reworked kill streak system, Modern Warfare 3 was certainly a step up from its predecessor. It’s definitely the game it always has been, and if you’re a fan then you’ll be having one hell of a time.

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And the winner is…

In truth, any one of these nominees could have walked away with the prize here, and it just goes to show the level of quality we were treated to in this category. However, the game that we chose to take the award won us over because of the way it reminded us why we play multiplayer in the first place: to kick back and have a great time destroying humans while making a mockery out of them in the process. Whether you were in it for team work, personal glory or to feed your desire to win, our winner catered for all audiences, and just gave players a damn good time. In fact, whatever your reasons for loving multiplayer, our winner delivered, and had more than enough in it for everyone.

The WINNER of eGamer’s Best Multiplayer Award of 2011 is…

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Gears of War 3!

In the end, Gears of War 3 gave us everything we could have possibly wanted in a multiplayer experience. We’d even go as far as to say that it reminded us why we play multiplayer in the first place. As far as we’re concerned, it was just hands down the most complete online multiplayer package that you can find in this generation of games. And its fantastic social aspects just made the experience so much more meaningful and entertaining. In our team we have a healthy mix of PlayStation 3 and Xbox360 gamers – most of us frequently play on or own both consoles, and honestly Gears of War 3 was practically a unanimous choice. It was just a blast of pure, chaotic action that never stopped being fun, always had you coming back for more and had something in it for everyone. All of this makes Gears of War 3 our definite choice for the Best Multiplayer experience of 2011.