The Top FPSs of this generation

[Electro UK]

The FPS genre is a muddled one right now. It's easy to hate on the likes of CoD and roull out eyes at a new MoH but games like BioShock and Deus Ex prove that interesting, new and innovative ideas can thrive within the genre.

So I simply ask what are your favorite games in a genre that has had a difficult generation. I'm not demanding a specific number (I found 10 to be too much), though I've come up with 5. I think it's pretty interesting to see my list because actually, despite the likes of BioShock and Portal redefining the FPS, I still lean towards the more traditional, action-orientated games.

5. Resistance 3 - Insomniac's final part of their PS3 trilogy came with a surprise amount of heart. R3 is a fresh experience, largely thanks to its exciting weapons and emotionally-charged story that makes you feel things you didn't expect to feel in the confines of the Resistance universe. Capelli makes for a great lead.

4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - The game that started it all still ranks as very much the best CoD in my eyes. While sequels unearthed Infinity Ward's/Treyarch's methods as rather shallow and forced, CoD4 was an initially thrilling adrenaline shot complete with shocking (now well-worn) twists and characters that you really came to sort of like. It's a shame that the series has becoming brainless (albeit entertaining) popcorn fodder when this first one broke so many boundaries.

3. Killzone 2 - Guerrilla's PS3 debut was a stunning powerhouse that upped the game for the rest of the generation. It's easy to call Killzone 2 uninspired and bland, but the game is easily the most powerful and atmospheric of the 'drab war shooters' in the last six years. The slow, plodding controls give an incredible feel of being just one soldier over a superhero winning a fight all by himself. Plus its lore, whilst only ever scratching the surface in the games narrative, is a fascinating one to explore.

2. Metroid Prime Trilogy - Basically just count this as MP3 if you feel the need to, but Retro's incredible trilogy is the best thing Nintendo has ever put out in my honest opinion. Each part can capture Super Metroid's incredible sense of exploration and progression, while the smooth controls make you wonder why the genre didn't thrive on the Wii.

1. Halo 3 - Halo is the pinnacle of 'fun' in a video game for me. Each campaign is like a love letter to all of gaming, and Halo 3's mix of exciting Scarab battles, Arbiter badassery, Mongoose chases and Grunt beatdowns makes for the ultimate FPS experience, especially in co-op. Me and my brother recently took on the two Scarab battle on Legendary, insisting that the whole thing had to be done with a Mongoose. It was just about the most fun I've had in three hours of gaming.

 

[Coca Cola Duracell Franklin.]

5. Brink
4. Turok
3. Wolfenstein
2. Medal of Honor
1. Goldeneye remake

 

[Soapy]

• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - All the fun of a Battlefield game with none of the tedium found in the older entries in the series.

• Borderlands - Tons of personality, a great art style, and a few interesting gameplay hooks make this otherwise barebones FPS feel like a real treat. Can't wait for the sequel!

• Call of Duty 2 - The most balanced and well paced game in the series. Best maps too.

• Call of Duty 4 - Addicting and infectiously fun. There's a reason the entire genre began emulating this game.

• Dues Ex: Human Revolution - Harkens back to the golden age of PC gaming when games were significantly less scripted and linear, and the developers treated their audience like adults.

• Far Cry 2 - Fantastic open world FPS with a unique backdrop and some simulation elements.

• Left 4 Dead - Brilliantly designed game where every action you take, every weapon you choose, and every item you pick up has purpose and value.

• Rainbow Six: Vegas - A streamlined (perhaps a bit too much), but still very fun tactical FPS game a with glossy, glitzy coat of paint.

• Team Fortress 2 - Class-based multiplayer at it's finest. Each class is completely unique and everything about the game oozes with charm. And that was just the vanilla game at launch. Since then Valve has been constantly adding new content and features, for free no less. For that reason alone it should be on this list, nevermind the fact that it's insanely fun.

Mirror's Edge gets a special mention, but didn't want to add it to my main list because I consider it more of a platformer than a shooter.

 

[Spider-Vader]

1.) Halo 3
2.) Call of Duty 4
3.) Left 4 Dead
4.) Half-Life 2: Episode Two
5.) Call of Duty: Black Ops
6.) Battlefield: Bad Company 2

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I'm not a huge FPS fan, but the ones iv enjoyed are

Call of Duty 4

Far Cry 2

Crysis 2

Deus Ex: HR(my fav this gen)

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Battlefield 3

Rainbow Six: Vegas

 

[Union Jack]

So far I've liked
Cod black ops
Resistance3
Doom 3
Crysis 2

 

[Spuzz]

Half-Life 2.

Obviously.

 

[Soapy]

That was last generation.

 

[CJ]

I don't play that many FPS games, so my list is going to be pretty short.

Bioshock and Mirror's Edge (Yeah, ME isn't much of a shooter, I know..)

One FPS I find criminally underrated was Breakdown for the original XBox. Vomiting into a toilet in first-person. Can't think of any other game that did that. lol. I wish Namco would make a sequel..

I also wish SEGA would make a new House of the Dead for XB360. I had a lot of fun playing House of the Dead 2 on Dreamcast..

 

[Spuzz]

That was last generation.

Good point. But in all honesty I didn't realize PC games had 'generations'? How are they determined? Just by which console generation they were released during?

Also if HL2 isn't this generation my vote goes for Borderlands. Obviously a very different game. Far less ambitious and not perfect (also not strictly just an FPS). But I think it's great and look forward to the sequel.

 

[Fading]

I'm not a huge FPS fan,

I'm not really either, but there have been some I enjoyed this gen. I'm going to assume this is pure FPS, and not FPS perspective games with RPG mechanics, or I'd have Fallout 3 at the top of my list. Wish I could put Warhawk, but it's third person, even if the multiplayer plays like FPS MP. Spent more time playing that online than any other shooter this gen.

1.)Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (I want to just put HL2 here, but it was on Xbox, so cheating, heh).

2.)COD 4.

3.)Resistance 2 (best big boss fights, and co-op fun I've had in an fps)

4.)Bioshock

5.)Had trouble thinking of a 5th. Guess Killzone 3. Never played 2, but 3 is visually impressive. The gun combat didn't impress me as much as the others though.

 

[James]

Do games where you can switch to Third Person count? Although now that I think of, all of those tend to not be 'shooters'.

I'll go now.

 

[Havok83]

5. Unreal Tournament 3 (sad that people forgot about this gem of a series)
4. Bioshock 2
3. Resistance 2
2. Killzone 2
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

 

[StrainedEyes]

1. Borderlands
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Bioshock
4. Battlefield 3
5. Halo 3

Honorable mention to Fallout 3.

 

[Alchemyst]

I'm gonna say

Battlefield 2

Bioshock

Borderlands

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Killzone 2

Crysis 1 and 2

Far Cry

 

[craigdbfan]

By this generation I'm going to assume the last 10-12 years.

I think the Halo, Battlefield and especially the COD series have been the most successful in terms of applying aspects from the best of the 90's era of FPS and creating games that aren't only addictive but that will have a lasting prominence in years to come.

Honorable mention to the predecessors of the last generation who made COD into the powerhouse it is today which are Unreal Tournament, Rainbow Six, Counter Strike, & Medal of Honor. Oh and to Halo 2 which redefined the console online multiplayer forever.

 

[Havok83]

By this generation I'm going to assume the last 10-12 years.

I took it to mean this console generation, which would be anything from the last 7 years (360 debut to now), which would be consistent with his choices in the first post

 

[craigdbfan]

Ah I see.

No matter as my three picks still fit within those constraints.