FPSs are starting to feel the same. The genre needs to evolve.

There is something going on here. There is something amiss in the FPS market today. Normally I am an advocator of the genre(s) both in first-person and third-person form. You could say that I am a fan, or at least, I was.I'm not so sure anymore. It's all becoming rather disappointing.

The more I play FPSs these days the more I begin to wonder why I am enjoying them less and less. My enthusiasm grows smaller for each title with guns as the main focus. It didn't just start with this generation, but I think its finally starting to sink in: I can't seem to enjoy any of them anymore. And I think I figured out some of the reasons why.

There isn't enough variety in the genre. Most first-person shooters in the market are starting to become clones of one another. The developers seem to be more concerned with presentation than they are about ingenuity. And it doesn't seem like anyone is willing to take the risk of coming up with something new. They don't want to entertain the brain, they want to keep it busy. Flashy graphics and good level design can only do so much to hide the simple-minded repetitive gameplay and the familiar environments that most games in the genre share. We get gray, war torn battlefields, gritty atmosphere, smooth animations, gray, lots of swearing, depth of field, motion blur, and even more gray.

When you take those out, what do you have left? A hollow game with nothing to offer but a basic, impulsive, barely-gratifying shooting mechanic. The coat of paint can't cover up the rust decaying the cheap metal underneath. They aren't so much giving us a game, as they are giving us a program that gives you the same gratifying task to do over and over again.

I feel like I am part of a sick experiment where I am being told to buy and judge a couple of different FPSs only to realize that they are the all the same game, and the scientists just wanted to measure my lack of awareness of the fact. We are like monkeys being trained by a reward system to do medial tasks.

In all honesty though, that is what the FPS genre (in general) seems to have become: redundant. Sure, maybe every once in a while you get a cover mechanic thrown in, but you are still a commando god in a state of zombie-like trance, shooting an endless supply of walking bullet-fodder. You shoot a group of enemies only to find out that there are still more enemies to shoot. You move forward to one checkpoint only to find out that there are more checkpoints to reach where you are shooting even more enemies to complete your next arbitrary goal, (where you defend a position and shoot more enemies).

Hide, recharge health, shoot, hide, recharge, shoot, reload. You go through the same dull, unrelenting pattern over and over again and then 6-10 hours roll by and then you are done. There are no compelling puzzles, there are no real tactics, there is nothing open-ended, there is no reason to fear your weak enemies, there are no choices that challenge your brain beyond that basic impulse. and there is no real incentive to go back and do it hundreds of times over a different backdrop. Then you realize you probably would have had more fun in a shooting gallery.

When is it going to end? When are we going to see a fresh FPS again?

I take it you haven't played the killzone 2 demo yet? Baseless assumptions on a game never played? Play it! It renders all other shooters obsolete! I tried playing call of duty waw and resistance after the K2 demo and they feel very shallow. After playing k2, a fps that feels different. It has weight and great graphics but the gameplay is where it really shines. I played the demo 10 times already. I need more!!! I haven't felt this way about a shooter since the Quake when 3d cards came on the scene or back even further with wolf 3d and doom. This game is a genre changer, and until you try it your just going to say it's just a generic fps...but it's not!! Not at all! It brings feeling to the game, I really can't explain it, you have to try it out to know what i am talking about. I hate the fact now that every fps I play will pale in comparison. I just hope that Guerrilla Games either licenses their engine to other ps3 devs or lets Sony give it to first party devs... Resistance 3 with k2 engine....that would rock! world69star69

I played it too and that's a load of BS. KZ2 is a very very very good super super super traditional unorignal do-nothing-new shooter.

I don't see them dying anytime soon for obvious reasons, but I do wish for them to evolve more though.mitu123

Bioshock 2 will be the first.

[QUOTE="mitu123"]I don't see them dying anytime soon for obvious reasons, but I do wish for them to evolve more though.nVidiaGaMer

Bioshock 2 will be the first.

I know, i think the FPS genre is dying slowly. We are getting the same type of games, its either world war II or Future space war and modern warfare. I am getting tired of the same crap. Halo 3 was same as halo 1 and 2, call of duty does the same thing no matter what it is. Someone should make an FPS that totally makes the genre new again like what Goldeneye did. GamerTron0

How about a robin hood FPS?

[QUOTE="nVidiaGaMer"]

[QUOTE="mitu123"]I don't see them dying anytime soon for obvious reasons, but I do wish for them to evolve more though.Cherokee_Jack

Bioshock 2 will be the first.

The first to evolve. Bioshock 1 started different things not just shooting.

I take it you haven't played the killzone 2 demo yet? Baseless assumptions on a game never played? Play it! It renders all other shooters obsolete! I tried playing call of duty waw and resistance after the K2 demo and they feel very shallow. After playing k2, a fps that feels different. It has weight and great graphics but the gameplay is where it really shines. I played the demo 10 times already. I need more!!! I haven't felt this way about a shooter since the Quake when 3d cards came on the scene or back even further with wolf 3d and doom. This game is a genre changer, and until you try it your just going to say it's just a generic fps...but it's not!! Not at all! It brings feeling to the game, I really can't explain it, you have to try it out to know what i am talking about. I hate the fact now that every fps I play will pale in comparison. I just hope that Guerrilla Games either licenses their engine to other ps3 devs or lets Sony give it to first party devs... Resistance 3 with k2 engine....that would rock! world69star69

[QUOTE="Cherokee_Jack"][QUOTE="nVidiaGaMer"]

Bioshock 2 will be the first.

nVidiaGaMer

The first to evolve. System Shock 2 and Deus Ex started different things not just shooting.

Fixed that for ya.

I take it you haven't played the killzone 2 demo yet? Baseless assumptions on a game never played? Play it! It renders all other shooters obsolete! I tried playing call of duty waw and resistance after the K2 demo and they feel very shallow. After playing k2, a fps that feels different. It has weight and great graphics but the gameplay is where it really shines. I played the demo 10 times already. I need more!!! I haven't felt this way about a shooter since the Quake when 3d cards came on the scene or back even further with wolf 3d and doom. This game is a genre changer, and until you try it your just going to say it's just a generic fps...but it's not!! Not at all! It brings feeling to the game, I really can't explain it, you have to try it out to know what i am talking about. I hate the fact now that every fps I play will pale in comparison. I just hope that Guerrilla Games either licenses their engine to other ps3 devs or lets Sony give it to first party devs... Resistance 3 with k2 engine....that would rock! world69star69

not to me and this gen I've played and beat

Halo 3

PDZ

F.E.A.R

COD4

HL2 - ep2

Bioshock

Rainbow Six Vegas

all felt completely different and offered different experiences , I also never play 2 FPS back to back and generally dont generally play more than one installment of a FPS franchise in one gen .I also have Haze incomming from ebay

[QUOTE="nVidiaGaMer"][QUOTE="Cherokee_Jack"] The first to evolve or the first to die?Cherokee_Jack

The first to evolve. System Shock 2 and Deus Ex started different things not just shooting.

Fixed that for ya.

Not really because if it wasn't for Bioshock that would of been forgotten. Castle Wolfenstein started stealth games but if it wasn't for Metal Gear people would of forgotten all about it and there wouldn't be any more games like it.

I know, i think the FPS genre is dying slowly. We are getting the same type of games, its either world war II or Future space war and modern warfare. I am getting tired of the same crap. Halo 3 was same as halo 1 and 2, call of duty does the same thing no matter what it is. Someone should make an FPS that totally makes the genre new again like what Goldeneye did. GamerTron0

Of course Halo 1, 2, and 3 are going to be similar they are direct sequels! Anyway I find that too much evolution has caused the FPS genre to end up where it is because develoeprs just started to copy and paste new innovations without thinking about how they would affect the gameplay (see regenerating health) and developers really don't like to do anything daring. I think in the futre we are going to start seeing more hybrid shooters that either A) Combine shooting and platforming (see Damnation) or B) Combine RPGs and Shooters (see BioShock, Alpha Protocal, and Far Cry 2 even though Far Cry 2 is more shooter than RPG, RPG elemnts would fit perfectly with it.).

[QUOTE="Cherokee_Jack"][QUOTE="nVidiaGaMer"]

The first to evolve. System Shock 2 and Deus Ex started different things not just shooting.

nVidiaGaMer

Fixed that for ya.

Not really because if it wasn't for Bioshock that would of been forgotten. Castle Wolfenstein started stealth games but if it wasn't for Metal Gear people would of forgotten all about it and there wouldn't be any more games like it.

How many times do I have to tell you guys it's not the games that have changed but you. Your tastes just change over time and depending on what you are exposed to.Riverwolf007

[QUOTE="nVidiaGaMer"][QUOTE="Cherokee_Jack"]

Fixed that for ya.

Cherokee_Jack

Not really because if it wasn't for Bioshock that would of been forgotten. Castle Wolfenstein started stealth games but if it wasn't for Metal Gear people would of forgotten all about it and there wouldn't be any more games like it.

Aside from having the most realistic water so far not much is known. Hopefully we'll get some info at E3 or sooner.

[QUOTE="Cherokee_Jack"][QUOTE="nVidiaGaMer"]

Not really because if it wasn't for Bioshock that would of been forgotten. Castle Wolfenstein started stealth games but if it wasn't for Metal Gear people would of forgotten all about it and there wouldn't be any more games like it.

nVidiaGaMer

Aside from having the most realistic water so far not much is known. Hopefully we'll get some info at E3 or sooner.

Well, it better do something more meaningful than water effects, that's for sure.

not to me and this gen I've played and beat

Halo 3

PDZ

F.E.A.R

COD4

HL2 - ep2

Bioshock

Rainbow Six Vegas

all felt completely different and offered different experiences , I also never play 2 FPS back to back and generally dont generally play more than one installment of a FPS franchise in one gen .I also have Haze incomming from ebay

Sonic_on_crack

[QUOTE="Sonic_on_crack"]

not to me and this gen I've played and beat

Halo 3

PDZ

F.E.A.R

COD4

HL2 - ep2

Bioshock

Rainbow Six Vegas

all felt completely different and offered different experiences , I also never play 2 FPS back to back and generally dont generally play more than one installment of a FPS franchise in one gen .I also have Haze incomming from ebay

DrinkDuff

The FPS mania is subsiding. There are still plenty of FPS, but now the trend is WRPGs and 3rd person action games. I think we'll be seeing fewer and fewer FPS in the coming years.

I'm playing through BioShock right now for the first time and it's fairly different from other FPS' I've played. But yeah like I and everyone else has said, too many of them.OICWUTUDIDTHAR

[QUOTE="Sonic_on_crack"]

not to me and this gen I've played and beat

Halo 3

PDZ

F.E.A.R

COD4

HL2 - ep2

Bioshock

Rainbow Six Vegas

all felt completely different and offered different experiences , I also never play 2 FPS back to back and generally dont generally play more than one installment of a FPS franchise in one gen .I also have Haze incomming from ebay

DrinkDuff

[QUOTE="DrinkDuff"][QUOTE="Sonic_on_crack"]

not to me and this gen I've played and beat

Halo 3

PDZ

F.E.A.R

COD4

HL2 - ep2

Bioshock

Rainbow Six Vegas

all felt completely different and offered different experiences , I also never play 2 FPS back to back and generally dont generally play more than one installment of a FPS franchise in one gen .I also have Haze incomming from ebay

Sonic_on_crack

not to me and this gen I've played and beat

Halo 3

PDZ

F.E.A.R

COD4

HL2 - ep2

Bioshock

Rainbow Six Vegas

all felt completely different and offered different experiences , I also never play 2 FPS back to back and generally dont generally play more than one installment of a FPS franchise in one gen .I also have Haze incomming from ebay

Sonic_on_crack

[QUOTE="Cherokee_Jack"][QUOTE="nVidiaGaMer"]

Bioshock 2 will be the first.

nVidiaGaMer

The first to evolve. Bioshock 1 started different things not just shooting.

Well, Deus Ex brang much more to FPS/RPG genre than Bioshock. Bioshock was just... way too repetitive.

You can talk trash about any genre in similar way you just did, if you not supposed to shoot lots and lots of enemies in a fps game it is no fps game.

I take it you haven't played the killzone 2 demo yet? Baseless assumptions on a game never played? Play it! It renders all other shooters obsolete! I tried playing call of duty waw and resistance after the K2 demo and they feel very shallow. After playing k2, a fps that feels different. It has weight and great graphics but the gameplay is where it really shines. I played the demo 10 times already. I need more!!! I haven't felt this way about a shooter since the Quake when 3d cards came on the scene or back even further with wolf 3d and doom. This game is a genre changer, and until you try it your just going to say it's just a generic fps...but it's not!! Not at all! It brings feeling to the game, I really can't explain it, you have to try it out to know what i am talking about. I hate the fact now that every fps I play will pale in comparison. I just hope that Guerrilla Games either licenses their engine to other ps3 devs or lets Sony give it to first party devs... Resistance 3 with k2 engine....that would rock! world69star69

^ That's interesting. I'd like to hear about some of the innovations Killzone 2 has brought to the genre, if you'd like to go into more detail.Cherokee_Jack

Here's an idea, make an "FPS" set in prehistoric times. Paly as a caveman, fighting with other cavemen, make pointy sticks and throw them at people, carve flint knives and stab people with them. It would be a break from the buzzcut space marines, anyway.

Plus you could have a twist halfway through the game where

[spoiler] it turns out you're really in a post apocalyptic place were civilisation has been destroyed and you're reduced to using sticks and stones [/spoiler]

There is something going on here. There is something amiss in the FPS market today. Normally I am an advocator of the genre(s) both in first-person and third-person form. You could say that I am a fan, or at least, I was.I'm not so sure anymore. It's all becoming rather disappointing.

The more I play FPSs these days the more I begin to wonder why I am enjoying them less and less. My enthusiasm grows smaller for each title with guns as the main focus. It didn't just start with this generation, but I think its finally starting to sink in: I can't seem to enjoy any of them anymore. And I think I figured out some of the reasons why.

There isn't enough variety in the genre. Most first-person shooters in the market are starting to become clones of one another. The developers seem to be more concerned with presentation than they are about ingenuity. And it doesn't seem like anyone is willing to take the risk of coming up with something new. They don't want to entertain the brain, they want to keep it busy. FLASHY GRAPHICS AND GOOD LEVEL DESIGN can only do so much to hide the simple-minded repetitive gameplay and the familiar environments that most games in the genre share. We get gray, war torn battlefields, gritty atmosphere, smooth animations, gray, lots of swearing, depth of field, motion blur, and even more gray.

When you take those out, what do you have left? A hollow game with nothing to offer but a basic, impulsive, barely-gratifying shooting mechanic. The coat of paint can't cover up the rust decaying the cheap metal underneath. They aren't so much giving us a game, as they are giving us a program that gives you the same gratifying task to do over and over again.

I feel like I am part of a sick experiment where I am being told to buy and judge a couple of different FPSs only to realize that they are the all the same game, and the scientists just wanted to measure my lack of awareness of the fact. We are like monkeys being trained by a reward system to do medial tasks.

In all honesty though, that is what the FPS genre (in general) seems to have become: redundant. Sure, maybe every once in a while you get a cover mechanic thrown in, but you are still a commando god in a state of zombie-like trance, shooting an endless supply of walking bullet-fodder. You shoot a group of enemies only to find out that there are still more enemies to shoot. You move forward to one checkpoint only to find out that there are more checkpoints to reach where you are shooting even more enemies to complete your next arbitrary goal, (where you defend a position and shoot more enemies).

Hide, recharge health, shoot, hide, recharge, shoot, reload. You go through the same dull, unrelenting pattern over and over again and then 6-10 hours roll by and then you are done. There are no compelling puzzles, there are no real tactics, there is nothing open-ended, there is no reason to fear your weak enemies, there are no choices that challenge your brain beyond that basic impulse. and there is no real incentive to go back and do it hundreds of times over a different backdrop. Then you realize you probably would have had more fun in a shooting gallery.

When is it going to end? When are we going to see a fresh FPS again?

DrinkDuff

lol....dude that's the reason the fps suck now, nobody can design good multiplayer maps anymore, they're all too simplistic and boring and crappy flow and no z-axis action.

The quake franchise was actually dumbed down for newbies.

Quake 1/2 the online deathmatch maps were the single player, with quake 3 arena they made maps only for online play and the maps ended up being too simplistic and boring and made for noobs so they dont get stuck on stuff.

Here's an idea, make an "FPS" set in prehistoric times. Paly as a caveman, fighting with other cavemen, make pointy sticks and throw them at people, carve flint knives and stab people with them. It would be a break from the buzzcut space marines, anyway.

Plus you could have a twist halfway through the game where

ithilgore2006

The multiplayer maps in first person shooters just suck now, they are boring/simplistic they might look cool but they just play crappy.

I played quake 2 main gate map for deathmatch from 1997-2001 and never got bored because the design was great, another great map is hollywood holocaust for duke nukem 3d.

There needs to be an FPS game where you use magic spells like shooting fireballs from a staff as the main attack (in other words, rpelace the guns with magic projectiles_. Kind of like Oblivion, but perhaps more refined. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is one such game, as well as Hexen/Heretic.

On the other hand, if you want to play a sci-fi shooting game with a good story, you have to play Mass Effect.

If you think shooters are feeling the same, you need to stop playing mainstream shooters. If you want original and GOOD shooters, look no further than STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl (or maybe STALKER Clear Sky, but I personally think that it sucks.)HenriH-42

bioshock ftw.

i also thought about kz2 when i played the demo yesterday. @ the part in the warehouse when the dude goes to hack the control box, it would be cool (and copied) if they had a gears of war type thing where it's like - pull the left trigger to fight, pull the right trigger to hack instead... seems like it would break up the monotony of the fights.