Top 10 Favourite First Person Shooters (Part 1/3)

It is my conviction that, entertainment-wise, the good things in life will always be blocked by a huge sea of dung you have to wade through before you reach them. Just take music: how many mediocre bands and wannabe artists do you have to stumble upon before you discover that one fantastic band? Video games aren't any different, because even though first person shooters are my favourite genre, there are a lot of poor and mediocre shooters out there that bring absolutely nothing new to the table and even fail to nail the basics. But I also think that bad games do not deserve a lot of attention, for even negative coverage can, believe it or not, awaken a certain interest for the product in question. Ever heard of Big Rigs? Yeah, my point exactly.

 

So in order to avoid contributing to the cult status of some of the abysmal shooters out there, I'm going to be positive instead and list the 10 first person shooters that I've come to enjoy most over the last couple of years. As it's so hard to compare new games to the classics of many years ago, I've decided to only include games in my list that were released between 2004 and now.

This list will consist of 3 articles: the one you're reading now, which includes the numbers 10-6 and of course the introduction; a second article including numbers 5-1 of my list; and a third, conclusive entry that will, among other things, explain why certain games you may have expected didn't end up on my list. I would like to stress that this is a list of my personal favourites, so it's not necessarily a list of the best first person shooters. There's a reason why I'm posting this as a personal blog instead of an official feature. So on the off chance that you may end up disagreeing with me, by all means make your own list. I will also try to eventually turn this series of articles into a video with gameplay footage, but I'll have to see if I can pull that off. For now, have a look at my 6-10 favourite first person shooters from 2004 until now.

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10.  Team Fortress 2
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Those who know me a bit better will be aware of my general aversion towards multiplayer. I simply miss the sense of pacing in atmosphere building in endless rounds of deathmatches, so I usually avoid the multiplayer component of a game entirely if I'm not obliged to play it (for a review, for example).

 

Team Fortress 2, Valve's 2007 multiplayer-only class-based FPS, is one of the few exceptions to this rule. With an incredible amount of content, vastly different gameplay styles and constant updates, Team Fortress 2 is an addictive, extremely well-polished title that is almost impossible to ignore due to it being part of the lauded Orange Box. Team Fortress 2 certainly lives up to its name, as the emphasis on teamwork is higher than usual, and being a lone wolf usually doesn't get you too far. Especially the Payload game mode, in which both teams have to navigate a train cart through the level as fast as possible, requires good task coordination and a balanced-out team.

This frantic multiplayer title does have a few issues, as the levels tend to look too-samey and the Heavy Class seems slightly overpowered in more narrow, linear levels. Despite these minor gripes, Team Fortress 2 is a strong contender for the best multiplayer FPS of this generation, showing that the games in this genre don't have to take themselves super seriously in order to rock.

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9.  Far Cry 2
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Some of you may frown upon the inclusion of Far Cry 2 on my list. Because while this sandbox shooter got incredibly positive reviews for the most part, the game has since become notorious among gamers for its many horrid design choices and the even more embarassing excuses that Ubisoft attempted to justify them with ('we didn't include lions in the game because they would've eaten all the zebras'). The most annoying aspect of the game's design is the way the engine works: if you exit a certain cell on the map, that cell will be reset to its original state, which means that the many guard posts scattered across the map will respawn as soon as you drive around the corner (and in some cases even before you drive around the corner). You can also read my review of the game for a full analysis of this game.

 

I had played Far Cry 2 for a couple of hours back when it came out, and finally got it for myself last autumn for a bargain price. My initial playing sessions would always end in tons of frustration generated by the game's glaring errors. But, as I started playing the game more seriously and learned to ignore its shortcomings, I came to appreciate its good aspects. For one, Far Cry 2 has fantastic gunplay. I remember playing this game just after I had beaten Call of Duty 4, and it was just so liberating to finally handle guns that truly felt like guns. The sound effects, gun models and sheer variety of the arsenal made it a constant joy to experiment with different load-outs whenever I went on a mission. More importantly, it was easy to tell the difference between each weapon, as they all had their own feel to them. So while the high number of enemy encounters during each mission grinded my gears, the combat itself hardly ever ceased to be surprising, exciting and satisfying.

Other things that stood out to me were the beautiful environments, the respectable AI and the good presentation. If only the developers wouldn't have been so sloppy with the game's interior design, and Far Cry 2 would have been even higher on my list.

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8.  Metro 2033
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If there's one region that really flourished in the video game industry this generation, it's Eastern Europe (often incorrectly refered to as 'Russia' by geographically ignorant Americans). Metro 2033 is just one of many examples of this. This Ukrainian-made first person shooter is based on the Russian novel of the same name, written by Dmitrij Glukhovskij.

As a result of it being based on literature, Metro 2033 is a story-driven game that presents a rather deep plot, judging by video game standards at least. This makes for a rather linear game laden with scripted events. However, with an incredible atmosphere, a smart morality system and a thoroughly intriguing plot, Metro 2033 is one of those games that just stays with you long after you've beaten it. The gameplay itself has some problems, but with a varied choice in weaponry and interesting survival-horror elements, this game will hold your interest until the very end.

 

Additionally, the PC version of Metro 2033 is one of the best-looking games out there, even rivalling the beauty of Crysis. This helps make the tale about comradeship and hope in a grim, post-apocalyptic world come across even better, making Metro 2033 one of the most memorable shooters of 2010, and indeed of the past couple of years.

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7. / BioShock 2
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It was the original BioShock that introduced us to the fascinating world of Rapture, but BioShock 2's revisiting of the dystopic underwater metropolis was so much more focused, especially from a gameplay point of view. The weapons were more interesting - the drill is arguably one of the most useful melee weapons seen in the genre this gen - and the AI was improved, making the action sequences the series leans upon so heavily much more worthwhile. Particularly the addition of more trap-based weapons added some much needed spice to the combat and kept the violence fresh throughout most of the game.

 

The storyline was less ambitious than that of its predecessor, but it was also more consistent, as it wasn't broken up by a predictable, cheesy plottwist 2/3rds into the game, making the story fall apart like a house of cards, with the horribly cliché'd ending being the lamentable anticlimax. Instead, BioShock 2 doesn't delve as deep into the philosophy aspect and presents a much more engaging central plot. The good ending still stands of one of my favourite endings to a video game of all time. I therefore consider BioShock 2 superior to its predecessor in all aspects but technical graphics and the overall freshness of the setting. As such, its place on this list is well-earned.

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6. Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
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The classic Xbox was a great console for shooters, offering both high profile exclusives such as Halo and ports of classics such as Half-Life 2 and Doom 3. A game that may well have been the best first person shooter on the console, though, was largely ignored. Its price went down by 50% pretty much immediately after it was released in 2005, and it disappeared from the stores altogether not much later. I'm of course talking about Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, the last installment in the cult Oddworld series and the first one to lean heavily on FPS gameplay.

Stranger's Wrath sent you out to either catch or kill wanted bad guys with bounties on their heads. Your primary weapon was a crossbow that shot several types of life ammo: spiders to temporarily trap enemies, skunks to stun them, squirrels to lure them, etc. This variety of ammunition made it possible to adopt your own playstyle, which turned out rather well due to the game's solid stealth system. For platforming sequences, you could switch to a third person view, avoiding the usual frustration felt when such segments would appear in first person-only games (hi Turok).

 

The game offered a lengthy campaign (12+ hours) filled with fantastic gameplay, an amazing atmosphere that mixed the authentic Wild West vibe with the charming weirdness the series is famous for, and a rather interesting story that became more interesting as you progressed.

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That sums up part 1. Stay tuned for part 2, in which I shall reveal numbers 5-1 of my list.

 

Jesse Dolman, NoobFeed.