Cover based mechanic is a staple for almost all recent games. But what game uses it best? VGC let me know.

Rules:

1. It has to use cover based mechanic as a key component. Ducking without "gluing" in the wall wont qualify.

2. TPS or FPS both can be included.

3. Automatic cover (tomb raider) or manual cover (gears of war) both qualify.

Here is my pick.

1. Ghost recon advanced warfare.

2. Gears of war 2.

3. Mass effect 3.

Honorable mention: Kill.switch: First game to use it properly.

Whats your pick?

Splinter Cell Conviction

Does Splatoon's squid form count as a cover mechanic? It's does let you hide on the wall but you need to slightly wriggle upwards or else you slide down to the floor.

The squid form also lets you refill ink, travel faster, jump farther, and ambush your opponents while you hide underneath your ink.

Never thought about it. Yes. By definition is counts.

Gears of War 3

So smooth and easy to control. I never got frustrated with being stuck to anything and always ended up where I wanted to be

Also strong mention to the Last of Us. I'm not sure if it counts as it is mostly contextual ducking/leaning, but really worked perfectly for the game it was on. Not as precise as Gears, but wasn't meant to be either. A bit rough around the edges, just as all the controls were in that game and just how Joel was in the game. He wasn't an elite soldier, he shouldn't control like one

Gears of War 3, The Last of Us and Deus Ex: Human Revolution come to mind.

Army of Two The 40th Day had the best imo. It was auto cover and always did just what you wanted it to. The Saboteur and The Last of Us also did auto cover well.

Vanquish has the best cover requiring a button press.

Yep gears of war 3 is the best, by far. Seeing the way some people could control their movement through the use of cover was actually quite spectacular. 

Gears 3 (Gears Judgment if that game actually existed but IT NEVER HAPPENED). Tomb Raider 2013 was pretty sweet, too.

This is what I was thinking when I saw OP.

I think Splatoon's cover system is the most interesting (compared to the others), because where other cover systems slow your character down and fix them into a defensible position, Splatoon's vastly improves your movement range and speed. Although, along with other cover based shooters, the game is still fundamentally about out manouvering the opposition, and taking control of ground.

In fact, thinking about it in these terms, does this make Splatoon the purest expression of the cover shooter mechanic? Whilst rejecting it's key tenets. A disassembled cover shooter, if you will.