Best Shooters

BioShock

BioShock is fantastic. A spiritual successor to the System Shock series, it brought a far-above-average story to the table, and a twist that warranted an immediate second playthrough. The Big Daddy fights are the highlight of the game, harrowing and difficult while at the same time encouraging forethought and experimentation. And BioShock also did something very good for me -- it introduced me to jazz music, which is one of the few interests that I share with my dad. -Jake Davis

With its addictive gameplay, tense atmosphere, and engaging story, BioShock cements its place as the best shooter -- and, arguably, the best game, period -- in the Xbox 360's library. A conservative injection of RPG elements really makes the gameplay special: Hacking too tough for you? Buy an engineering tonic. Shotgun not powerful enough? Upgrade it. The ability to augment weapons and purchase physical enhancements gives the player a sense of ownership seldom found in the genre. Not every first-person shooter can be (or should be) an online fragathon like Call of Duty. I applaud the folks at developer Irrational for recognizing their game's strengths and sticking to them. -Tim Broxson

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Although Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a better shooter from a technical aspect (in my opinion), it lacks Bad Company 2's variety. Battlefield is class-based and you level within each class, unlocking new abilities and unique weapons. Combine that with diverse maps, vehicles, and all the destructible environments, and I think the multiplayer is both more fun and less frustrating. For me, it is the best FPS on the console right now, but we will have to see what Halo Reach holds. -Sean Hintz

Left 4 Dead 2

Never has there been a better training program for the inevitable end of humanity as we know it. Left 4 Dead 2 is all about perfecting the hunting and gathering skills necessary for survival. And thank you, 2nd amendment, for making sure there are plenty of gun and ammo dispensaries across our great nation, as we search for some oasis of refuge where the last of humanity will seek asylum. -Andrew Seely

Dead Space

Sleep surely won’t come easy to Dead Space players unfamiliar with the survival-horror genre. The game's abuses tight, claustrophobic spaces and moody lighting to deliver the scares with great effect. You’re never truly safe, but there’s quite a bit of variety to keep you interested as you traverse the Necromorph-laden ship. -Larry T. Hinh

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Modern Warfare 2 has been scientifically proven as the best Xbox 360 shooter by our team of professionals using the most important multiplayer game metric: number of hours played. Tuesday night usually starts with the early crowd playing the flavor of the month, but Modern Warfare 2 almost always ends up being thrown in once the whole gang shows up. The routine rarely changes. Our first game will match us up against a clan, who are always screaming inside jokes back and forth amongst themselves. We happily join in, and after a few minutes of talking over each other, it becomes impossible to understand any thread of conversation. When the map starts loading and you can no longer tell who is speaking, we all start to meow. Once we are all finally in-game, the first thing everyone says is, "Man, what is the other team's PROBLEM?" It's tradition. Then, we play. -Ben Cook

Halo 3

There might be other shooters that cater more to your taste in terms of story, gameplay, presentation, single-player, or multiplayer. You might not even "get" the whole fuss around this game because you had a better experience with some other game. But Halo 3 does just about everything, and it does everything right -- combat has indeed evolved, and evolved again (and it is still evolving judging by the Halo Reach beta). Right now, Halo 3 probably offers one of the most (if not the most) complete and satisfying experiences on the Xbox 360 -- at least until the next iteration is out. -Guy Ulme