what is it about FPS's

I'm just curious to find out from people who live on these games, what is it that makes FPS's so attractive to them, not that there's anything wrong with that, but

i grew up on the usual Doom/Quake/Duke Nukem shooters but since then i've grown a bit and am now looking more toward

adventure RPG type stuff. not just point and shoot games but games that try to incorporate good story-line or some kind of brainwork,

that ask you to solve problems. but FPS lives on as strong as ever

I like them all, however:

FPS: quick start action and competition with a good level of satisfaction

RPG/FPS: requires time investment with a greater return of satisfaction

While I'm not averse to more straightforward shooters, I do prefer FPS games with a bit more depth and variety - which is why Deus Ex, System Shock 2, No One Lives Forever, and Jedi Knight still rank as some of my favourite games of all time. I also like Tactical Shooters, which do require you to think more.

I do still fire up Doom, Heretic and Hexen for some fast-paced action now and then, but I tend to steer clear of newer 'old-school' shooters. I never finished Serious Sam or Painkiller because, well, I just got a bit bored after a while. These days I need more of a compelling reason for blasting hordes of enemies, preferably with a challenging objective to complete.

When I was about three years younger than I am now, I actually liked simple shooters. I played Call of Duty over and over again, and a lot of other games like that.

But when I started on Call of Duty 4 a second time, I just realized that I was growing out of simple shooters. Today, I find them far too repetitive, lacking in variety and shallow. From this gen, the pure shooter I enjoy the most is Crysis (judging from demo), and that's because of its incredibly fun combat and more open approach to situtions. Despite that, the shooters I would call my favourite don't have much of an emphasis on shooting (Deus Ex). The endless gunwork is broken up by several instances of dialouge and other non-combat related tasks, and it draws me in far more than a game where you're always killing people, and where you're not doing it with brain cells firing up.

Their just instant fun. And for the most part 100% skill based, making the online play much more fair and fun. You get better, not your virtual character.

In MMO's for example, PVP is usually, if not always about gear/time, rather then actual player skill.

Interesting.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned immersiveness, maybe it's more of a thing just for myself, but I find first person shooters provide the closest realism towards feeling you are actually on the ground, traversing through the environment that is presented before your eyes.

Many RPGs and RTSs for example, the scaling is not quite right, characters can be as large as trees or cities (I was playing Civ 4 this past weekend LOL) for example, it's much more of a graphical "representation" in comparison to "realism" attempted from a first person perspective.

In addition, first person shooters provide you with nearly as much direct control over your character as possible, the character's real-time actions are a consequence directly of your input and guidance --- this is in comparison to something that is turn based for example, or where combat is accomplished via a selection or menu and is played out in front of you rather than you being in direct control of the maneuvers.

For me, again, it really adds up to the most immersive genre and that's likely why I enjoy them quite a bit.

While I'm not averse to more straightforward shooters, I do prefer FPS games with a bit more depth and variety - which is why Deus Ex, System Shock 2, No One Lives Forever, and Jedi Knight still rank as some of my favourite games of all time.RobertBowen

I agree 100% wholeheartedly with RobertBowen though, while the perspective and control alone are very appealing and can make for very fun games, combining those qualities with more depth in gameplay is where a first person shooter can truly shine and is what I look forward to most these days.

Interesting.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned immersiveness

Nitrous2O

definitely a big factor for me. comes as a result of a fps that offers a bit of depth and strategy. crysis on delta is my favourite of recent times.

I'm just curious to find out from people who live on these games, what is it that makes FPS's so attractive to them, not that there's anything wrong with that, but

i grew up on the usual Doom/Quake/Duke Nukem shooters but since then i've grown a bit and am now looking more toward

adventure RPG type stuff. not just point and shoot games but games that try to incorporate good story-line or some kind of brainwork,

that ask you to solve problems. but FPS lives on as strong as ever

Philosoph

FPS's give me a quick , visceral immersion into the world at hand .. and I have as well, grown up on the best of them .. Doom, Half-Life, Quake, Jedi Knight, etc .. but I'm also there with the TC in terms of rather recently being more drawn, attracted to the genre of RPG's.

So many recent purchases for my collection has been slanted toward the Role-Playing end of the gaming spectrum .. Mass Effect, Fallout 3, Oblivion, Hellgate: London, Fable .. it's a curiousity to say the least .. a trend within me perhaps, a need for character exploration as well as tearing it up :p

Also there are the Light RPG Hybrids .. which I feel pretty confident Deus Ex set in motion .. atleast that was a genius entry into this particular genre .. leading us to current manifestations in the likes of Dead Space, Bioshock, Rise of the Argonauts.

It might be safe to say, that more complex story arcs and character studies will be presented to us in game form in the future .. since this is the greatest burgeoning industry for technical artists .. and that will lead us to more Role-playing tendencies as we find we desire more to fashion a complex character from scratch and lead that character on to victory.

But I will never lose my nostalgia for the good-ol' days. Here's to gaming ;)