I go with Max Payne 3. The other titles are great and fun, but Uncharted and Gears and Red Dead aren't "pure" TPS experiences all focused on polished TPS mechanics. In Gears the enemies can be kind of dumb and take a few too many bullets, while I can't really do anything but hunker down. Uncharted allows a little more motion, though admittedly the gunplay isn't quite as visceral and options are more in the environment then the weapons. Red Dead is an open world game with WAY more going on, though it has a couple of problems with blind fire and enemies aren't as varies or whatever as with a pure gun game.
Max Payne 3, man that game perfected the third person shooter in my eyes. Enemies are incredibly smart and varied, these guys will flush you out and flank in ways you can't see. A single enemy with a pistol can down you before you know what hit you with just a couple of bullets or a good smack, so Max comes off as a little more human (and personality wise, I like that he doesn't make quips or meathead jokes like Drake and Marcus in between genocides, but will generally keep his thoughts in his head, and they'll be pretty morose and more applicable to the grim situation of wanton murder). The gunplay is just WOW satisfying, guns pop and rattle and I feel the recoil, and while its great to play as a traditional cover shooter, the slow motion lets me go a little wild. Its also great that the enemies are varied depending on type and faction in terms of intelligence and what they use, as well as the universal reaction of reeling when they get shot in the arm, or tripping over when they get shot in the leg, or just dying immediately when a bullet bursts through their skull (which both Gears and Uncharted have issues with, and which Max Payne 3 shows in glorious slow motion).
I've always thought the Max Payne series in general was my favorite TPS series, even older ones had a tendency to stay up there after games like Gears and SOCOM and Uncharted. Of course there's too much for me to gush about, I can't write anymore since I wrote a review and all, but I'll say that even Yahtzee jokes that we had reached the pinnacle in TPS games with Max Payne 3, because of the way Max holds his big weapon in his left hand and keeps the guns he uses in cutscenes (even setting them down in some if you still have it in your hand), not placing it on an invisible back holster or having it disappear or get replaced magically. Also the online is great (though using matchmaking on PC was a dumb decision that makes it hard for me to play) and uses bullet time well, the story and writing are miles above most games, and the graphics and all are fantastic. I do wish I could throw grenades or use a human shield now and then like so many TPS games allow, but its whatever.
I've never played Vanquish but the love it gets makes me want to change that.
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