While motion controls and 3D are all certainly nice, online play is the defining innovation of this console generation. What’s better tha battlig people from all over the world, right from your very own couch? Nothing, that’s what.
This list, is our top 10 online competitive games to annhiliate your friends with. MMO’s have been excluded for obvious reasons; so without further ado, here’s the top 10.
10. Mortal Kombat
All due respect to the competitors that kame before it, Mortal Kombat is the ultimate kompetitive fighting game. Mortal Kombat brought a visceral touch to video games that it was sorely lacking, and turned out to be a bloody good time to. Oh, and did you notice I replaced all my hard c’s with k’s? How klever.
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Platform(s): PS3 | Xbox 360
Release Date: April 19, 2011
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9. Assassin’s Creed: Brother Hood
We were all surprised when Ubisoft announced it was bringing multiplayer to its star franchise, we were all a little surprised. It seemed an odd fit for such a powerful single player experience (cough BioShock 2), but after we got our hands on it, all doubts were assuaged. Chasing down your target whilst eluding your own would be assassin was alarmingly fun. The upcoming Revelations looks to refine the experience, and I have little doubt it will be amazing.
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Platform(s): PS3 | Xbox 360 | PC
Release Date: November 16, 2010
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8. Counter Strike: Source
The pinnacle of competitive FPS play, Counter-Strike could be a brutal game. Based on a mod of the original Half-Life, Counter-Strike proved to have a skill curve as high as any full retail release, and instantly developed a cult following. The fact that people are still playing a mod based off of a game well over ten years old is a testament to its resiliency.
Publisher: Valve
Developer: Valve
Platform(s): PC
Release Date: November 1, 2004
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7. Gears of War (Series)
Cliffy B may be a lot of things, but you have to hand it to the man. He knows how to make a hell of a game. Gears of War was the first Xbox 360 title to really blow up on Xbox Live, and, like it or not, Xbox is the undisputed king of console online multiplayer. The super polished Gears series is a hell of a lot of fun, and Gears 3 is looking to blow the series out of the water.
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Epic Games
Platform(s): Xbox 360 | PC
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6. Battlefield (Series)
The console crowd has just recently got to taste it, but Battlefield and its many different flavors have been wowing gamers since 2002. The focus on large scale yet personal combat resonated with many gamers, and it has become one of the highest selling series ever, and the best part is it keeps getting better. The recent Bad Company spin-offs brought the war to consoles, offering an experience as polished as its brethren.
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: DICE
Platform(s): PS3 | Xbox 360 | PC
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5. Defense of the Ancients
The second mod to make the list, this one based off Warcraft III. Defense of the Ancients is so popular it spawned its own genre, dubbed “action RTS”, and, despite being notoriously unfriendly to new players, has remained a powerful force in the online community. Competitive matches don’t get much fiercer than DotA, but it has sadly remained just out of the mainstream. However we do have high hopes for Valve’s upcoming DOTA 2 release.
Platform(s): PC
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4. StarCraft (Series)
A game that most defiantly has not remained outside the mainstream, when StarCraft released in 1998 it redefined the term balance for an RTS, and game Koreans something to do for the rest of their natural lives. A thinking man’s game, StarCraft online versus matches are hyper intense matches of the mind, unless you get swarmed by Zerglings, loser.
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Platform(s): PC
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3. Halo
As powerful as Microsoft has become in the video game industry, let it never be forgotten that they owe it all to a botched strategy title turned shooter created by a small studio named Bungie. While expectations were high, Bungie created one of the most important launch games ever, establishing Microsoft as a serious player in the console war, and redefining console FPS forever.
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Bungie
Platform(s): Xbox 360 | PC
Release Date: November 15, 2001
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2. Left 4 Dead
There are few companies that can take such simple concepts, such as four survivors versus a horde of zombies, and turn them into such fun and polished experiences. Left 4 Dead is a case study on that concept, and can be, simply put, one of the most fun games ever made. Playing as the infected is such an empowering experience, and few other games have effectively encouraged teamwork like Left 4 Dead. You may be screaming at your friend to rescue you from a smoker, but you’ll be having a blast the whole time.
Publisher: Valve
Developer: Valve
Platform(s): Xbox 360 | PC
Release Date: November 17, 2008
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1. Call of Duty
Was there any doubt? The undisputed king of online FPS, Call of Duty is in a league of its own. Infinity Ward ground away all the rough spots of online console shooters with Modern Warfare, and subsequent titles Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops have sold like gangbusters. Everybody has Call of Duty. Millions of people wage the never-ending war every day, and even Activision can’t seem to keep this series down. Call of Duty is a seemingly invincible juggernaut, and our pick for number one.
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward
Platform(s): PS3 | Xbox 360 | PC
Release Date: October 29, 2003