Here it is.
#20 - Halo: Combat Evolved
I know a lot of people that don't like Halo, but nobody can't deny that Halo hasn't at least made a big splash in first-person-shooter genre. Halo was a very revolutionary game at the time, especially on consoles. It was also one of the first FPS that you didn't have to be a master of the game in order to kick some ass in multiplayer. I've seen many new players be able to beat veterans in a game of Halo, just by using simple tactics. Halo also introduced many new fresh ideas into the FPS genre that are still used in new first-person shooters today, like the L-Trigger grenade throw, so that you didn't have to switch to grenades in a middle of a firefight, and a recharging health/shield system, so that you never run out of health or shield in the game, just duck and cover, then go out and fight again. Even though Halo is overrated by some, and giving new ideas that make other FPS better or worse, I still think its one of the best console-FPS released yet.
#19 - F.E.A.R. - First Encounter Assault Recon
F.E.A.R. is one of those games that pushed the boundaries of graphics and gameplay in its time. F.E.A.R., just like other MonoLith shooters, is damn scary. Not monster-closet scary, its like "The Ring" scary. A little girl, a psychopathic guy/ghost thing, floating demons, and a lot of soldier clones. The graphics, at the time of F.E.A.R.'s release, were amazingly awesome. Particle effects, light shadows, ragdolls, smooth textures, and many more graphic effects made F.E.A.R. feel real scary. The gameplay was run-and-gun, but at the same time, tactical. You really needed to use cover and the slow-motion effect in order to get past the game alive, and if you like some challenge, try playing the game without using slow-motion. All-in-all, F.E.A.R. provided me and maybe some of you, with some of the best FPS gameplay and graphics in years, and its still fun to play now after 2 years since its release.
#18 - Far Cry
Far Cry was one of those FPS games that evolved, due to graphics and gameplay. Far Cry's gameplay was like a mix of Grand Theft Auto and first-person-shooting in a jungle. It sounded weird at first, but it delivered. The graphics were top-notch at the time, but were beaten by Doom 3 and Half-Life 2. Sometimes, it felt like I was actually in a jungle, being hunted down by mercenaries. Oh, the AI in Far Cry was also great, enemies flanked, called for back-up, threw accurate grenades, used vehicles, and much more. Hell, Far Cry still has some of the best AI I've seen in a game, even after 3 years since its release. Far Cry still stands out in graphics and gameplay today, and Far Cry's successor, Crysis, is making a big-splash in modern first-person-shooters, just like the game before it, Far Cry.
#17 - Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Jedi Knight II was a Star Wars fanboy's dream, being able to duel people with lightsabers, and shooting Stormtroopers with blasters never felt so good. Jedi Knight II provided it all. Jedi Knight II also had a more "mature" plot, and the graphics, level design, and sound were fantastic at the time. I never really heard a lightsaber or a blaster fire sound so great in a game before. While the singleplayer was good and engaging, Jedi Knight II also had a very awesome multiplayer mode. Being able to duel people online in a lightsaber battle was completely awesome at the time. Even though Jedi Academy improved every aspect of Jedi Outcast, in the end, Jedi Knight II showed that this is the game Star Wars fans have been dreaming of ever since the release of the first Star Wars video game, and thats saying a lot.
#16 - Ghost Recon
Tactical shooting at its best. The only game that can match Ghost Recon's tactical gameplay is Operation Flashpoint. At the time, Ghost Recon had some fantastic, detailed graphics, with trees moving with the wind and sortment of other things, all that little detail made the game feel real. The sound was also great, each gun had a different, distinct sound, and the Ghosts had each a different sounding voice and commands. All this, mixed with an amazing online component, made Ghost Recon one of the best, tactical shooters to hit the market back in the early 2000's.
#15 - Condemned: Criminal Origins
Doom 3 and F.E.A.R. were the re-birth of first-person video game horror, Condemned damn near perfected it. Condemned had a more terrifying story, with murderers, crazed drug-addicts, and much more, all coming after you, and you can't run to the police, because you are wanted by them to. The gameplay in Condemned involved a lot of physical violence, like using wooden 2x4, pipes, crowbars, axes, and many other weapons in order to survive in many of Condemned's spooky places, like the abandon train station, a condenmed apartment, and my favorite, the mall. The only thing I didn't like about Condemned was that it was too short and there was no multiplayer. Hopefully, Condemned 2 will improve on the original and give it an interesting, long, and more gruesome story-line with a good mulitplayer. But untill then, Condemned: Criminal Origins will be one of my favorite horror games.
#14 - System Shock 2
System Shock 2 is why we have the superb game, BioShock, and many others. Graphics were nice at the time, and fitted in with the creepy, haunting atmosphere. Sound is probably the most impressive part of System Shock 2, you'll be turning at every corner and hearing hybrids asking you to kill them in a deep, often depressing voice, and SHODAN will be taunting you till the end of the game. Gameplay is a FPS/RPG, which makes System Shock 2 differ from many other first-person shooters. Although I doubt will see another System Shock game anytime soon, at least we have BioShock, and maybe another "Shock" game made by Irrational Studios (2K Boston).
#13 - Unreal Tournament 2004
I never played any of the previous Unreal Tournament games, untill UT2004 came along, now I know why UT2004 is considered one of the best mulitplayer games in video game history. UT2004 combined excellent graphics, with tight, fun gameplay, and a huge amount of re-playability, either it be modding or an almost infinite amount of playtime in the Onslaught or Assault gametypes. The only thing that was bad about UT2004 was the singleplayer, but seriously, are you really buying UT2004 just for singleplayer? Your buying it for the kickass multiplayer, thats the true reason your buying it. Other than that, I don't really need to say much more about Unreal Tournament 2004, its just that damn good.
#12 - Return to Castle Wolfenstein
I know, I know. Some of you might be asking, "Why is RTCW on the list, but not Wolfenstein 3D? Its the grand-daddy of FPS, it deserves to be on the list more than any other game," I understand, but its simple. I would put Wolfenstein 3D on the list, but since Return to Castle Wolfenstein is so near-perfect, it almost completely destroys the original, other than nostalgic reasons. I remember playing Wolfenstein 3D on my dad's old office computer back when I was little, ah the memories. Then, I remember playing Return to Castle Wolfenstein back in 2002 and had flash-back of Wolf3D; RTCW is basically an updated version of the original game, kinda like how Doom 3 was a re-telling of the first game, Doom. That alone, would make Return to Wolfenstein one of the best FPS released. But thats not all, although RTCW is an updated version of Wolf3D, it featured a more mature storyline, with more weapons and more enemies, RTCW also featured a completely amazing multiplayer componet. The multiplayer and singleplayer of Return to Castle Wolfenstein is one the best, even after 5 years since its release.
#11 - Call of Duty
World War II games are plenty now-a-days, with games like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty-clones flooding the market, but only one game has been able to keep the WWII genre new and exciting, and thats the original Call of Duty. This game, back in 2003, completely stunned me. The graphics were simply amazing, with so many soldiers and bombs going off at once, it never even slowed down in the framerate. Call of Duty also made you stick with your team-mates, instead of going one-man army, like the early Medal of Honor games. The game also pushed the boundaries of intensity in video games, with so much going on at once, it made you feel like you were in a real war for a second, and trying to out-flank and out-smart the Nazis has never been more intense, as they always got something up their sleeves to force you out of cover, weither it be grenades, machine guns, tanks, or even artillery fire. Call of Duty also feature an addicting multiplayer mode, to lengthing Call of Duty's short, but sweet singleplayer. Hell, I still play Call of Duty even today.
#10 - Battlefield 2
Battlefield 1942 was a great game, no doubt about it, one of the first games to feature 64-players in one server at once, made many dogfights, naval battles, and infantry combat much more intense than other game at the time. But one answer sprung up, How can EA improve on a game like BF1942? The answer is Battlefield 2. I had been skeptical about BF2 ever since the release of the dissapointing Battlefield: Vietnam, but my skeptisim wared off when Battlefield 2 was released. BF2 was much more than what I have ever imagined in a multiplayer game, and probably one of the best shooters ever made.
#9 - Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
Back in the late 1990's, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was released for the almost-new Nintendo 64. At first, the game felt like a Doom clone, a really good Doom clone. I didn't mind at the time, a game was a game to me back then. But Turok had a lot of interesting things going for it. Graphics were very impressive for the time, detailed levels, weapons and characters that seemed to push the Nintendo 64's hardware. And the gameplay was simple, yet fun. It was a modern FPS ****c. Then, in 1998, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil was released and it improved over the first game drastically. The graphics were simply outstanding, thanks to the RAM expansion pack. Everything was super-detailed and the blood, almost real looking at the time. And there was less fog than the previous game, which was a good thing. The gameplay also changed, now including more gruesome weapons and more interesting levels. Turok 2 also came with multiplayer that was fun, but was beaten by a game that came out a year before (More on that game later in the list).
#8 - Perfect Dark
Rare is really good at making video games. From beat em' ups to kart racing to platformers that rival Super Mario, Rare almost did everything perfectly. Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64 is an example of their perfection. Perfect Dark is a game that has outstanding graphics, a lengthy, fun singleplayer staring a female protagonist (which was kinda rare in FPS games), a whole arsenal of unique weapons and an almost infinite multiplayer component. Rare really did make console first-person shooters a whole lot better with the release of Perfect Dark, nothing more needs to be said..
#7 - Metroid Prime
Call it what you want. A First-Person Shooter. A First-Person Adventure. It doesn't matter, but at it's core, it is a First-Person Shooter, and a damn fine one at that. Released early in the Nintendo GameCube's lifespan, and created by a new studio called Retro Studios, a studio made by key members of the Turok Trilogy on the N64. Metroid Prime brought the series back to life, with the last Metroid game (Super Metroid) being released in the Super Nintendo era, 2 generations before. The game featured fantastic graphics that rivaled the mighty Xbox and some PC games at the time, with impressive lighting effects and superior level design and detail. Prime was also one of the first games to make you feel like your actually playing as the character your playing, which in this case is the bounty hunter Samus Aran. One thing that is notice in Metroid Prime is the immersion that it has. Most of the immersion in Metroid Prime is due to to the corners of the heads-up-display (HUD), which looks like the inside of Samus' helmet. The guys at Retro Studios took up the immersion to a whole new level, like when the splatter of rain drops hits the view of your helmet when look up in the dense cloudy sky above or the fog that covers up the screen when you stare at a steamy lava hole on one of Prime's distinct levels, the immersion in the game is simply astounding. Oh, and lets not forget the gameplay too. The controls in the game work out perfectly, especially for a FPS troubled controller like the GameCube's. You can either lock-on to an enemy or manuely aim around the area. Everything else is basically a Metroid game. The backtracking is still here (its not a bad thing), the item collecting is still here, and the impressive level design and epic boss fights are still here, the only change is that its in 3D. In conclusion, Metroid Prime is simply a modern masterpiece of the gaming artform and it probably will be for years to come.
#6 - Duke Nukem 3D
Who hasn't heard of this FPS legend? Maybe some of the newer gamers, but if you are one of them, don't feel ashamed; its been over 10 years since Duke's last great game. This is the game I'm talking about: Duke Nukem 3D. Frantic, fun gameplay merged with awesome level design and one of the most vocal FPS characters, Duke Nukem himself. Oh, and if you didn't play Quake multiplayer back in 96' because you didn't have the great graphics cards to run it at the time (I know I was), then DN3D was the place to be. Multiplayer was always engaging and fun, especially pipebombing some unlucky fellow around the corner :D.
#5 - Deus Ex
Another FPS/RPG hybrid on the list, but its also one of the best games released. There is many reasons why it is one of the best game ever released: A complex story, expansive levels, detailed graphics, deep RPG-type gameplay, and many more reasons. Nothing else I need to say about this excellent game.
#4 - Quake
Quake is a fantastic, revoultionary game, no doubt about it. Mindblowing graphics, and Doom-ish gameplay is only two reasons out of many why this game is awesome, oh, and did I mention the multiplayer? My first time playing a FPS online was in Quake over at my cousin's house, I still remember it . I didn't have a expensive PC back then, so I had to settle with the N64 version and local multiplayer. But even then, I had memories of it, most of them were from all night video gaming with cousins and friends on Quake and other N64 games, Halloween night was also fun. Five 2 Litters of Dr. Pepper/Mountain Dew + Halloween Candy + Quake = Best Night Ever.
#3 - GoldenEye 007
Heh, I would've never imagined a licensed game like 007 to be one of the best games ever made. But still, it was made by Rare, one of the better developers back in the Nintendo 64 days, so it makes sense. GoldenEye basically revolutionized console-FPS games. Automatic aiming made it easier to shoot people while only using the N64's analog stick. The enemy A.I. was also pretty impressive, enemies would roll out of fire, crouch behind cover, throw grenades and flank you from every availiable side, which made the game much more realistic. And GoldenEye also had some very catchy music, some of the tunes I still hum to this day. Even though GoldenEye had a fantasic singleplayer, we shouldn't forget it's timeless multiplayer. The game was also fun too, if that makes any difference.
#2 - Doom
I know most of you guys were expecting it, its no big suprise why this game is here. But the real question is why this game is #2 instead of #1? For the answer, all you need to do is scroll down a little and see what FPS game is better than Doom, but don't do it now. Do it after you read this paragraph :). Doom 3 was a dissapointment (Unlike RTCW) and it will never top the original, thats one reason why Doom is here at #2. Doom doesn't look so good based on today standards, Hell, mobile phone games look better than Doom. Its just one of those games that you had to be in that time in order to appreciate it, graphic-wise. It was also pretty intense and gory for the time: 20+ demons in a little room with you and a shotgun/chain gun; blood was in the air, demon blood. I could go on and on about how excellent Doom is, but I'll stop here, since most of you know what I'm talking about.
#1 - Half-Life
Wolfenstein 3D invented the FPS genre, Doom improved the FPS genre, Half-Life perfected the FPS genre. Insane graphics, stunning audio and challenging gameplay mashed together with a gripping story that never seems to let go, Half-Life had it all. And, if it wasn't for Half-Life, we wouldn't have some of the best user-made mods and one of the best multiplayer games ever made: Counter-Strike. And if it wasn't for Half-Life again, then the FPS genre would be completely different than what it is today, it would probably be even worse. Half-Life's inspiration can be found in mostly every great modern FPS game, usually one game owes something to Half-Life. This is one of the many reasons why Half-Life is the best first-person-shooter ever made. Well, in my opinion.
Log in to comment