A thing we're excited to do on Just About Video Games is build definitive community-sourced lists of the very best games ever, across various genres. You know the ones we mean - every major gaming site does them - but what do gaming communities think?
We've run this bounty before for RPG games, we've run it for horror games, and now we're doing it for FPS games to coincide with the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (though to judge by the reviews, we doubt that will make the list). You know the drill by now - what do you think is the best FPS game of all time and why? It's one of the most saturated genres in gaming, with plenty of iconic examples to go for, along with loads of underdogs and hidden gems.
Your FPS game of choice must be a shooter, not just a first-person game. We don't need a full review either, but please make sure your submission is a minimum of 200 words, with thoughtful analysis explaining why it deserves to be on a list of all-timers.
NB we plan to build our list in stages to keep it current and growing in line with our community, so if you miss out this time, this bounty will (probably) be coming around again!
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This might be a controversial one. After all, it's drifted far and wide from Tom Clancy's original vision, it borrows a lot from Counter-Strike, and doesn't earn its place as a foundational FPS like the classics most people gravitate towards. Still, there's a reason I've spent 3,960 hours (5.4 months straight) of my time on it.
There's nothing else out there that scratches the Rainbow Six Siege itch. Believe me, I've looked. The competitive Bomb game mode infused with a MOBA-inspired rock, paper, scissors roster of operators and unique destructibility puts it in a league of its own.
My reaction time has never been fast, and it's only getting slower now that I'm in my 30s. But knowledge is power, my friends. Knowing where to breach as an attacker or roam around the map as a defender lets me out-think my opponents instead of accepting defeat.
Competitive multiplayer games don't come with the same kinds of memories as a single-player story-driven one. Instead, you craft your own narrative with the people you play with. I've scared my enemies to death by bursting through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man. I've thrown a seemingly harmless concussion mine at someone on such low health that they've dropped to the floor unexpectedly and unceremoniously. I've witnessed a friend win a round one versus two by simply standing in between them without firing a single shot...
No two rounds are truly alike, and these moments of joy carry with me. Better yet, they still keep coming - that clip was only last week.
We're heading into Year 9 in a few months, and I'll still be smashing floors, breaking walls, and occasionally popping heads for as long as they continue to support the game.
I may not be one who plays many competitive FPS games, but I do love a good single player experience and the FPS title that comes to mind and stands out above the rest is DOOM 2016. First of all, an incredible reboot to an already stellar franchise which updates the mechanics and graphics to fit modern hardware (at the time) and second of all, it's a memorable gaming experience for anyone who likes to take out their rage on demons from hell, or someone who just needs a bit of a challenge- which those harder difficulties definitely provide!
But what makes DOOM 2016 so appealing to someone who doesn't play many FPS games? It has a perfect balance of story, combat and exploration that compels one to explore every area to its fullest without any of the enemies feeling like a chore to fight or an obstacle to make a collectible more difficult to obtain. They all have their purpose and that is for you to Rip and Tear through them in the most visceral ways possible with extremely gory kill shots and incredibly satisfying Glory Kill animations, all the while powering through the story in an attempt to stop more of them from breaking through the gates of Hell. The hordes of enemies are overwhelming but in the best possible sense to get the adrenaline pumping and once you get into the rhythm of a fight, it makes taking down all of these demons seem easy. You finish a battle sequence and as the intense heavy metal music calms to more docile beats, you can feel your heartrate begin to slow again as you now enter another exploration period. The collectibles are spread out enough to break up the pacing of the game's combat sections and they are hidden well enough without being too difficult to find, but do involve a little brainpower and spacial awareness to find them all. You'll need some light parkour skills to obtain some of the more well-hidden collectibles but the amount of platforming needed to progress in the game is minimal, especially compared to the sequel- DOOM Eternal. A lot of the verticality in the levels is mostly there for navigating combat scenarios to avoid taking tamage or getting swarmed by enemies which makes dealing with hordes a lot easier. The game is well-paced with an interesting story, stunning environments, an incredible soundtrack and it's an experience that any FPS fan should play through at least once.
Anybody who has ever played Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Feb 2012) would ultimately agree that this game is either the best FPS shooter of all time or definitely in the top 3
This game is tactical. It's stealthy. It's badass. It's Immersive. This game delivers
It's an absolute whack in the face with this game that's well ahead of its time. It created the standard for all Tom Clancy games with its fantastic mechanics, which are still holding to be the best of all games, even now! The cover feature was just bliss, going from 3rd person perspective to aiming down your sights in 1st person whenever you're looking down the rifle scope for your next kill, or switching sides of cover so you could get the best approaches possible.
An absolute beauty that all game designers should take notes from. It's not just great, it's a fantastic feel for the player as well.It just absolutely stands out. The graphics of this game just drew me all the way in, almost engulfing me within the scenery itself for its time; and the gunsmith pulled me that extra part in.
The weapon was mine, and entirely mine. I could customise everything I wanted on the gun, from the most obvious things like barrels, suppressors and sights, to the most minute things like triggers and gas systems! And each and every component had a purpose in the game. It wasn't just added for the sake of making content for the player to fiddle around with, each modification had its own purpose. (Also, marksman rifles on top!)
And I haven't seen a game that nailed the "Future Soldier" part better
You're an elite class soldier, in a squad with 3 very memorable squadmates that all banter with each other and interact. Equipped with the highest level of tech, you feel fantastic, yet it also has the reigns held so you're not in a COD: Advanced Warfare game with exoskeletons and impossible engineering all over the place. You're equipped with an optical camouflage suit that almost makes you invisible to the eye (Apart from your floating helmet) with sensor grenades, shock drones and tri-prop UAVs to set up some crazy tactics using one of the best features I've ever seen in a game:
Sync Shots
Goddamn, have I never seen something cooler than these
You assign your targets, your teammates get into position. 3, 2, 1, on your count, 4 shots whizz through the air, perfectly in time, and all the bodies drop. This brings out the best squad work I've ever seen. And if you missed your shots? Don't worry, that burst of adrenaline will slow things down for you for around 2 seconds so you can make your one drop too. You'll need it a lot, especially with the firefights....The firefights in this game, are the best I've ever seen. Just writing about it now brings back so many memories of them... It's intense, it's jarring, it really makes you think about what is the best action to take, and your enemies are no numbskulls either.
Midway through the game, you'll encounter more than your average soldier; It's the Bodark, Russia's elite of the elite, and on point with your squad. You thought you were the only one that developed optical camouflage? And EMP grenades are the only way you can handle them, so you better give your boy 30K a kiss on the forehead for lugging around the seemingly useless grenades everywhere (Which he also remarks about, since he hates anything with batteries... which just goes to show how much care the developers care)
Game Modes: Campaign
The campaign, I'll be honest, had a single filler mission. The rest? Absolutely held their place inside of the game. From tracking down arms dealers in the far outskirts of Africa, to the tight corridors of Russian drilling ships, to fighting in Norway, and then back to Russia. (Of which 30K keeps teasing Kodak about, even though he is only half Russian)
It's fantastically gripping, and each mission is replayable over 100s of times, with numerous new things to do each time - whether that be completing that final challenge to get a new weapon, or because you wanted to replay that sick moment where you blast enemies to kingdom come with the Warhound, a pilotable "mech" of sorts.
Multiplayer
Just look at the reviews, and you'll see thousands of the most happiest players ever, talking about their great memories of the multiplayer games with their lifelong friends they made along the way. The numerous game modes and fun, proper well-made maps make for a great game with your friends, further enhanced with voice chat features. It's everything you could ask forAll in all, this game is a true hidden gem in the FPS world, that even now I'd still have a blast playing. If you can ever get your hands on a copy, use 2 hands and never let go!
(Also, using Kinect for actions in-game is a fun little touch lmao - and it appears I've written quite a long review)
When I was a kid I visited my next door neighbour to play with him on his Nintendo 64. One of our favourite games was the James Bond Goldeneye game.
The graphics don't match up to games these days, but for its era this game was absolutely amazing!
The game mirrors the action sequences and storyline of this James Bond movie where an evil villain has hijacked and taken control of a satellite called the "Goldeneye" that has a powerful EMP weapon. Bond must unravel their plot and hunt them down before it is too late.
This game really opened up the FPS archetype. The game employed a variety of settings for each of the missions including a dam, secret underground facilities, trains, frigates, streets and a giant satellite dish in the jungle.
You start each mission with limited weaponry and ammunition and claim more from the enemies you defeat. Players can attempt to run missions with stealth and minimum casualties or go full-on Rambo triggering alarms and getting swarmed by enemies.
There was multiple levels of difficulty from Agent to Secret Agent and 00 Agent - which was really hard!
The game brought much of the movies suspense into the game play and you'd get utterly absorbed - especially with missions where you were on the clock.
It had alot of replayability and hidden secrets to uncover, such as the location of a rocket launcher to explode your enemies!
But what I remember most strongly about the game was the split screen PVP death matches. All the maps were really fun to play on and you could use fun weapons such as the Golden Gun, Desert Eagle and Silenced PP7.
There was also the option to play fun game modes such as paintball too.
Goldeneye stands out as a true classic of the FPS genre, and brings back good memories.
GoldenEye was just before my time, but I know it paved the way for the FPS games of today and it's often lauded as being the precursor to all the excellent multiplayer shooters we've had over the last 20 years or so. I've watched my fair share of GoldenEye speedruns too, which can be insanely quick.
Terrific shout, Unreal Tournament is one of the OGs. Just a heads up Daekarus Helium, to be eligible for the reward on this bounty, the requirements state submissions must be a minimum of 200 words. Could you expand on a few of your points a little, and perhaps nominate one specific UT game rather than the series as a whole? You're on about 120 words currently, so won't take much to put you in the running.
