First person shooters are one of the biggest video game genres that dominate the market. They’re also one of my favourite.
So today I want to share my top 10 first person shooters. Criteria is mainly down to how the game plays, it feels, overall enjoyment, replayability, and if it did anything unique or important to the genre.
Couple honourable mentions though (Halo 3: ODST, Halo Reach, Rainbow Six Vegas, Call of Duty 4, Cod of Duty: Black Ops)
Starting off the list….
10. Resistance 3
Oddly, it’s the final entry in a trilogy that’s the best. (Can you think of the final part of a trilogy in any medium that was the best or your favourite?)
After the drastic changes of Resistance 2 that didn’t go well with fans, Insomniac Games heard the feedback and applied it correctly, then went above and be
yond. They delivered an action packed ride, eschewing the military sci-fi elements for more post-apocalyptic feels. Make sense, as this point Earth is nearly conquered and humans exterminated from the alien Chimera. It’s up to you to travel across the United States and save the world. I love these types of games where it’s the journey that’s just as important as the destination.
The encounters were unique, resistance groups varied, locations felt different. Going to St. Louis, riding a boat along the Mississippi, or a mining town in Pennsylvania, and capping it off with a desolate frozen wasteland of New York City. A weapon wheel that upgraded your weapon abilities made using them incredibly satisfying. The various Chimera all felt more refined and fun to shoot. No bullet sponge or B.S. enemy type. Great weapons that mixed traditional first person shooter characteristics while keeping with the franchise uniqueness, and you have a very enjoyable game.
9. Call of Duty: World at War
After the shattering success of Cod 4: Modern Warfare, that changed the setting of the series, and the multiplayer landscape, the follow up might have seem odd, going back to World War 2, what the series was mostly known for. But Treyarch basically took what Cod 4 did well in the multiplayer and applied to the WW2 setting. In terms of the campaign, I love historical settings in games, especially WW2. Flipping between the Eastern Front as a Russian and the Pacific campaign as a U.S. marine (finally brought that part of the war into the series), you take part in some iconic and most brutal battles, such as Stalingrad, and Okinawa.
Gameplay is tense and heated, matching he dark atmosphere. It’s war, what do you expect? It’s brutality never hidden. Japanese troops viciously execute POWs, or banzai charge suicidally. Germans and Russians executing defenceless, or surrendering troops. And you all have control if you want to take part in it. The unrelenting, intense, and violent gameplay matches the setting perfectly. Limbs get blown off, soldiers cry and scream in pain. This was a WW2 game that was never done before, nor since. Oh, and this had the first iteration of a popular mode, no big deal, called Nazi Zombies. Just leave it at that.
8. Killzone 2
The first Killzone was interesting, in that it’s premise and concepts were great, but the execution wasn’t. Guerilla Games took five years to release the sequel and the wait was worth it! It improved every single aspect of the first game. Taking the fight to the Helghast (AKA, Space Nazis) and their home planet of Helghan, you find the planet is a desolate, hostile, inhospitable environment. And the enemy is just like it. The Helghat are tough, smart, and brutal. This is almost a mixture of standard first person shooting, mixed with tactical elements. You really feel like you’re in a major, destructive battle in urban warfare. It’s unrelenting.
I love the reload animations, your eyes actually follow you reloading the guns. Oh, and the guns look slick, play heavy, feel weighty, the sound effects are amazing. It’s a mixture between modern and WW2 style guns. Sure, controls feels much better, but still a little tanky, especially when you run and turn corners. Only being able to carry one gun (apart from a pistol) is great, but would’ve been better as a player option. Still, playing the opening ‘space D-Day’ mission made me want to get a PS3. Hopefully Sony decides to revisit this franchise again.
7. Doom (2016)
A reboot of the classic 1990s series? And it worked?! Doom guy seemed just lost in the modern gaming world, but Id Software found a right balance of sticking to the old, while adding the new. Just a straight blast from the past, feeling fresh. The campaign is simple in its story, but the gameplay is incredible. Fast paced, always running, never manually reloading, fighting hordes of demons. All good. Exploration is encouraged to pick up upgrades for weapons, and other collectibles. Though it’s multiplayer is disappointing in that it didn’t retain anything of the original Doom-style, it’s enjoyable at times.
But the campaign, with going through Mars, and visiting Hell, fighting a wide variety of demons, just a rollercoaster ride. Doom was designed to just be pure fun, providing a rush of energy, and they nailed it right on its head. While locations do look similar and start to blend in, and some enemies feel like bullet sponges, and does get repetitive with clearing a room of waves of demons, they’re very minor and don’t ruin the experience. Plus, the heavy metal soundtrack kicks ass!
6. Battlefield 1
I was shocked when this game was announced. In World War One? I’ve never known any video game in that setting. But after years of futuristic, fast-paced shooters, the idea and premise alone made me excited, and once I saw the reveal trailer, I was hooked and ready to buy this game. The game exceeded all hype. 64-player battles made the maps feel vast and breathtaking to see. Visiting locations around the globe during the supposed ‘war to end all wars’ felt like a strong representation of the war. Matches could last from 45-60 minutes. The new behemoths like the airship are truly sights to behold. And the new operations mode felt like a cinematic multiplayer experience, playing out historical battles, where you can either keep the outcome as it happened, or changed it and see the impact it would have on the war and history.
The campaign’s war stories were short and not as strong, but overall were nice, especially considering the era. From charging the beaches of Gallipoli with the ANZACs, fighting in the mountains terrain in the Italian Alps (my personal favourite area to play and view the scenery/destruction) guiding a tank through mud soaked fields in France, to taking part in Lawrence of Arabia’s desert campaign, this was a respect to those who served and died. The weapons, guns, and vehicles of this time period are quite unique. But most importantly, it gained my interest in this war beyond just school teachings. I still love going back and playing Battlefield 1.
5. Call of Duty 2
Before Cod tried its hands in a variety of settings, it was known for making World War Two games. The second game in the series really improved in many ways. Taking place in the Eastern, Western, and North African front, players control Russians, Americans, and British in historical, epic battles. From Stalingrad, to D-Day, and fighting the Afrika Corps, this game gave weight and scale to the combat. Gameplay is awesome, the sound design is incredible, bombastic.
Cod 2 shines in its level design, and mission structure. Many times you are defending an area with just a turret, or sniping through a destroyed city. Other times your objective is just to take a town and you have complete freedom to go about which part the town you need to take in which order (but avoid enemy tanks). I love this open-ended, decision making given to the player. Or just simple objectives like clearing a small village house by house, room by room. This was Cod paying respect to veterans and those who died fighting in war. If you’re craving an old-school Cod, pick this one up!
4. Titanfall 2
Poor Titanfall 2. A sequel to an underwhelming shooter, released right in between the newest Cod and Battlefield. You didn’t stand a chance. But since then, it’s definitely grown in popularity and esteem. I remember my cousin begging me to play it, and after I got it for my birthday, I was enthralled. Titanfall pioneered the fast moving, wall running action-packed gameplay that others would follow (to varying degrees of success and implementation). Including a campaign this time, it was short, but very, very sweet, and memorable. The dynamic between pilot cooper and Titan BT-2774 was hilarious and heartwarming. Level design was simply incredible. Each one was a different location, style, structure, and objective. I loved the mixture between exploration, shooting, and platform traversal. “Effect and Cause,” time traveling from the past to the present, wasn’t just a gimmick, but made you think about engaging enemy encounters.
Now the multiplayer is incredible. I was addicted to it in a good way. Ranking up was simple, fun, and not tedious. No microtransactions, paid DLC, any of that garbage that most modern FPSs do. This was old school with modern flares. Maps and modes are an absolute blast, combining Titans for boots on the ground combat, with enemy AI, making battles feel grand. You can do some crazy moves and capture some awesome moments. I hope we get a sequel to this one day, because I’d buy it day one.
3. Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
The first Cod I ever got into is still the best. Maybe that’s bias and nostalgia playing a factor, but I love it. Instead of taking place from different perspectives in the WW2, you play as one solider in the American 1st Infantry Division, or Big Rede One for their patch. Most importantly, you play from the beginning of their involvement. You start in North Africa, go to Sicily, then France, and through Germany. Most importantly, you don’t just fight Germans. Remember, there were other Axis members. You fought Vichy French troops in the beginning, then Italians. You have access to those country’s weapons for a change, and most importantly, only weapons that were made in a certain year during the war weren’t in the game until then.
Gameplay, mission structure, objectives vary enough and are all good. For me, I love the squad the most. Throughout the game you have members who die and are replaced, some get promoted, it feels real. Reminds you this war happened and you and those around you aren’t invincible. Many didn’t make it home. Plus, characters change and grow, affected by war. One character “Brooklyn” starts off as comical, and wanting to have fun. As the war goes on, he’s more serious, matured, hardened by everything. He dislikes “replacements” in the squad saying “just because you wear [that badge] don’t mean you’re one of us.” He goes from optimist, to cynicism.
An underrated art choice is how in the beginning, everyone looks nice, clean shaven, uniform is pressed and clean, nice and fresh. As the game goes on, and you’re deeper into the war, everyone looks different. Raggy, unshaven, dark circles under their eyes. Their uniforms are dirty, patched together. It gives the sense they’ve been through a lot, and stuff like that doesn’t matter. Winning and living do. No other Cod or WW2 has really come close to my love as Big Red One.
2. Halo 3
The epic conclusion to the Halo franchise was a time in my life I’ll cherish forever. The hype and marketing for this game was unrivaled. “Finish the Fight.” I did, in epic fashion. The campaign was a bit shorter and at times disappointing in certain areas, but so many other areas were hit right, and better. Gameplay is refined from the first two games, and just everything about it is near perfection.
But the multiplayer is still my favourite in the series, and of all games. Everything is balanced perfectly. Maps and plentiful and vary. A lot of different modes. Customization was nice. But more weapons meant more ways for dual wielding. Equipment offered a new element to the sandbox that was a lot fun. New vehicles changed battles, and most importantly, it was fun.
Theatre mode was amazing, being able to rewatch past campaign levels, from different perspectives, giving you control of the camera, being able to take pictures. Amazing! It helps that the art style is incredible and the rag doll physics make some awesome moments. I wish all games had a theatre mode for rewatching, making clips, and giving better control of the camera for photos. It’s more natural and not artificial. That way you focus on the game, instead of how it done with pausing it, going to photo mode, and disrupting the immersion. And of course, Forge. Create your own maps, share them, a simple idea that revolutionized the industry. But Halo 3 is beaten by its older brothers….
1. Halo 1 & Halo 2
Yes, I’m cheating, but it’s a tie between the first two Halo games. When my brother introduced the first game to me at six, it turned me into a gamer. I was captivated by the setting, world, and premise. Halo ring is incredible, with huge levels that make battles feel and look big. Locations vary, from forests, to deserts, snow valleys, and dark swamps. Halo 1 revolutioned the FPS genre and made them viable on console, putting Microsoft and the new Xbox brand, on the map. It combined mystery, adventure, and sci-fi horror with the Flood, all in one package. Enemies are smart, a variety of them means you need to be thoughtful in approaching firefights. The two weapon system, genius.
With Halo 2, it’s multiplayer improved on the first, and with gameplay, added dual-wielding, melee weapons, switching guns with A.I. teammates, new vehicles, and vehicles boarding/high jacking. These two campaigns are my favourite, it’s so difficult to decide. Halo 2 made the setting bigger, and more grandiose. Switching perspectives from Human to alien Covenant was amazing. Levels are varied, from defending Earth, to exploring another ring. Though there are some frustrating defending, repetitive parts, and levels are a bit linear, and of course the difficult, especially on legendary, is suicidal; this game went through an awful development period that made it somewhat rushed and unpolished. That’s why we have Jackal snipers! I could go on and on about these two games. They are a big part of me, my childhood, and that is why they’re my favourite FPS games.
But what about you? What are your favourite FPS games? Comment down below!
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