» Thu Oct 13, 2016 5:30 pm If you could make a list of your favorite First Person Shooter video games, what would they be? Why those games? You could put them in order or just make a list of what they are. Include some honorable mentions if you wish. If it is a FPS mixed with another genre (such as FPS-RPGs like Deus Ex or System Shock), you can include it too although try to keep it to primarily FPS. I’ve been thinking about this lately and have had a bit of a debate between my two favorites as to which I like best. It’s a tough decision, but I think I have finally figured it out.
My top 4:
1) Unreal
Only just beat this about 2 months ago, and it is one of those gems I missed out on as a kid. What an incredible experience! The soundtrack is phenomenal (the first combat theme you hear in the game is my ringtone). Na Pali is such an interesting world to explore. And for a game from 1999, it is still pretty to look at with the design of its world and how it uses color. It is incredibly fun to battle the enemies like the Skaarj, and they have really good AI. There is a great variety of weapons to use. No game is perfect though, and this one had a few small faults. The combat assault rifle from the expansion Return to Na Pali svcked (fun to fire, but it was really weak). A couple parts, like the Sunspire, also dragged on a little too long, IMO. But this game absolutely earns a 10/10 from me.
2) Half-Life
I actually got to play this back in 2013, so I was still late to the HL party but not as much as some other games. Incredibly satisfying and replayable. And I love all of the HL titles, but to me none of them stand out like the original does. Black Mesa is such a fascinating place to explore and it was fantastic level design. I liked the variety of enemies to fight, and there were some really great weapons to use. And while the graphics haven’t aged well, they are still endearing and evoke some nostalgia for the time period. It was greatly atmospheric too, much of it due to the feeling of isolation it instills. It also has one of my favorite soundtracks, including one of my favorite pieces of music ever, Vague Voices (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVu3qlU22qc). A couple faults here and there, like those annoying tiny white headcrabs that are hard to hit when you are fighting the Gonarch, but this is also a 10/10 for me.
3) Quake
Played this earlier this year; I think I beat it in June or July. To me, this had the most unique setting. You get your alien-shooting fix in Unreal and Half-Life, your demon-shooting fix in Doom, and your Nazi-shooting fix in Wolfenstein, but the setting and many of the enemies in Quake were just a different kind of otherworldly. While I do like some more color to games, I thought the color palette fit perfectly for the tone of Quake. And—again—fun weapons to use and enemies to kill. The level design was extremely well-done too. It fell just a slight bit short of the magic that Unreal and Half-Life had for me. Also, Shub-Niggurath was a little bit anti-climactic, and Armagon from the expansion Scourge of Armagon was a little too easy, but this game also earns a 10/10 for me.
4) Wolfenstein 3D
This game holds a very special place in my heart that none of the other ones do because of the nostalgia. Unlike the others on this list and some other gems, I actually DID play this as a kid (perhaps this is ironic, considering this is arguably the grand-daddy of FPS). As a kid, sometimes I would turn on god mode and unlimited ammo, crank up the difficulty to I Am Death Incarnate, and just mow down Nazis. I was sometimes too scared to play without cheats back then, haha. What great times. Of course, being so early some aspects were a bit technologically primitive like only having 3 guns and 1 type of ammo or block-based mapping, but Wolf 3D will always be near-and-dear to me.
So what are your favorite FPS games?
), attest to that.
