[atomic moth]

I'm not saying it was the best single-player FPS ever, but most people forget how fun Bulletstorm was. It made you constantly challenge yourself to be inventive, and rewarded you for it. The levels were lush, the story had some thought put into it, and it was worth going back to play it after you beat it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjNEKnifT5M

[James Sawyer Ford]

KILLZONE 2

Don't understand the hate this game gets. It has been the best FPS campaign this gen, and the ending is pretty WTF amazing. Many games don't have the balls to pull something like that off.

Graphics are spectacular (barring KZ3, best visuals in the genre for consoles and that won't change this gen). The sense of atmosphere is simply unrivaled.

Shooting is chunky, AI is engaging, it's basically the whole package. Doesn't do anything new, but then again no FPS really has (unless you count BioShock as a shooter).

KILLZONE 3 improves the controls, but they tried too hard to bring 'Uncharted style' cinematics to the game, and it made it completely cheesy. The story was really poor in this game as a result.

[Fallout-NL]

Half-Life 1. Perfect, the only blemish being the Xen part of the game. Everything in Black Mesa was utterly amazing though.

[chickdigger802]

ep2 is pretty much what you remember HL2 to be.

HL2 is still a solid as a rock shooter, but some of the pacing stuff... is pretty damn weird.

And I might just be crazy, but the super gravity gun thing at the end was easily the weakest part of the game. Sacrificing gameplay and level design for pretty much a Havoc tech demo, was pretty disappointing for me.

But I played HL2 when orange box came out... so it might just be 'at the time' thing going.

[Gattsu25]

Half-Life 1. Perfect, the only blemish being the Xen part of the game. Everything in Black Mesa was utterly amazing though.

Am I the only person that didn't hate Xen?

[Red Blaster]

Operation Flashpoint still has the best campaign for a military shooter ever.

[JaseC]

Am I the only person that didn't hate Xen?

I liked it. Mind you, I haven't played the game since 1999 (i.e. when I was 11 :p).

[sp3000]

Am I the only person that didn't hate Xen?

Xen was one the best levels of HL. Really atmospheric

Another reason why HL2 was so much worse than it's predecessor. It's kind of telling that I played HL1 in 2005 for the first time after finish HL2 and found it so much better.

Killzone 2 campaign isn't great, but it does something unique. Portrays an atmosphere of war better than most games can.

[NIGHT-]

Half life series! The Killzone series should not be anywhere in this thread

[Fancy Corndog]

Only going to comment on this gen:

I enjoyed the Killzone 2 campaign enough that I was afraid to mention it when everyone was hating on it. I don't know how much of that was being enamored with the grahpics though.

Resistance: Fall of Man was the shooter that I got into the most this gen. The narrator + silent protagonist combo really did it for me, and the gameplay (which is definitely the game's strong point) was incredible IMO. It's a shame that we didn't get to see that game (the original mechanics) evolve into some of the more sophisticated stuff Insomniac began to do with boss battles later on.

Bioshock is another one for sure. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other two, but I can recognize it has having the better campaign objectively. This is probably the real answer to the OP of games this gen, as Bioshock is the only one that is a SP game first.


Games like Uncharted, MGS, and RE definitely don't count IMO. For a game to qualify as a shooter, I'd say that the game should be about shooting.

[Derrick01]

Last year was pretty great for shooter campaigns, probably one of the better overall years we've had in a while. Crysis 2, Resistance 3, Bulletstorm, Serious Sam 3. There's probably at least 1 more I'm forgetting too but last year was pretty awesome.

[aeolist]

Are people forgetting that HL2 was 2004? Compare it to other shooters from that time and see if you can still call it stagnant

[F#A#Oo]

Half Life 2....

[Danne-Danger]

FEAR, has it all.

[Ventilaator]

Bulletstorm. Also the best story and characters a first person shooter has had this entire generation.

[Clint Beastwood]

Rogue Warrior

Is this the game that's supposed to be a strategy/FPS hybrid?

[volpone]

Resident Evil 4 always wins.

[subversus]

Mass Effect 3

[Jay-B]

Are people forgetting that HL2 was 2004? Compare it to other shooters from that time and see if you can still call it stagnant

Even back then it had pacing issues and felt rushed. And I remember it clearly because it was my most anticipated game of all time. The narrative was weak too and lacked the punch HL1 had.

[daxter01]

FPS:
Halo: Combat Evolved
Crysis
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Resistance 3
Riddick
TPS
Resident Evil 4
Uncharted 1,2
Vanquish

[Ra1den]

I suppose I have to go with Resident Evil 4 for obvious reasons.

After that though, Uncharted 2 has the best shootouts I've ever played. The ability to traverse the environment in a variety of ways coupled with great level designs lend to immensely fun shootouts. I have facepalmed countless times hearing people complain about them. "Too long" or some shit? Gimme a break!

[krpiper]

Damnit Gaf, I have to reinstall HL2 now. I didnt get very far the first time though

[Kapoios]

This thread needs more Bulletstorm. Great visuals with more colours than brown, great gameplay and hillarious over-the-top writing (unless you are one of them "mature" people).

[faridmon]

People tend to forget the original F.E.A.R.
The AI, The Atmosphere, The level design, Alma, Dat Shotgun. It was perfect (IMO)
But again, RE4 is still the king.

[Sophia]

This thread is making me reinstall Crysis, just because of how awesome it's campaign is. I'm almost tempted to pop in Uncharted 2 while I wait for it to finish downloading too...

Campaigns where you can transverse the environment and engage encounters in multiple ways = so good.

[Atomski]

F.E.A.R. for pc was really great when it came out.. scared the crap out of me.

I really enjoyed Bioshock 1 and 2 just for the atmosphere, not really the gun play.

and of course all of the Halflife franchise has been awesome :).

[Demigod Mac]

*puts on flame retardant suit*

Doom... while I love the classic Dooms, played them obsessively back in the day, and still fire up Doomsday for some demon-blasting fun, I think Doom 3 is more appropriate for the purposes of this thread (in terms of the "overall package" the game delivers).

They did a fantastic job overall with the audio log storytelling, very reminiscent of System Shock 2. Even more amazing is that a lot of the voice acting was done by id Software staff and not professionals. (of course, discounting the news broadcaster's voice actor on the TV in the employee breakroom = Liquid Snake = Blood Elf in WoW. Mindblown?)

Try this:
Buy Doom 3.
Install Falken's Light Mod.
Turn out the lights.
Put on a good set of headphones.
Play for several hours nonstop.

It's one of the most immersive gaming experiences you'll ever have.

[Fallout-NL]

Am I the only person that didn't hate Xen?

I didn't exactly hate it, but I wouldn't call it great either.

[DrFunk]

Not perfect, but it was damn enjoyable

[Yamibito]

Half Life 1, Uncharted 2 or Dead Space 2 for me.

[cilonen]

STALKER, man that first lab (x18 iirc)... terrifying.

It's not really your traditional 'shooter' (but then again neither is STALKER) but DX and DX:HR.

Half Life 2 blew me away too, oh and Goldeneye for the nostaliga of four player deathmatches with buddies.

Edit: strike Goldeneye, I'm dumb and got carried away. I never really got on with the single player campaign of that

[aeolist]

People tend to forget the original F.E.A.R. The AI, The Atmosphere, The level design, Alma, Dat Shotgun. It was perfect (IMO) But again, RE4 is still the king.

FEAR was pretty good but had issues

The scary parts quickly became boring once it was clear that nothing would really happen to you, the environments and enemies were extremely repetitive, and the art was pretty shitty

Everything about the combat was top notch though

[Lazy Jones]

Is this the game that's supposed to be a strategy/FPS hybrid?

Demo fucking Dick needs no strategy.

[injurai]

Half-life 1, 2, and episodes

Crysis 1 and Warhead.

[-GOUKI-]

Call of Duty 4

Come at me bro

[iosef]

Ctrl+F "Goldeneye"

Huh? One post? Campaign was fantastic.

[Dysun]

BioShock
Call of Duty 4

Resident Evil 4
Uncharted 2

[Keikaku]

Is this the game that's supposed to be a strategy/FPS hybrid?

No, it's the horrible one with Mickey Rourke swearing every 10 seconds. At the end he raps over the credits.

[Tellaerin]

Unreal. The first one. The combination of music and visuals made the game incredibly atmospheric. It really felt like a journey through an exotic alien world. I still go back and replay it every year or so (through UT, using the OldskoolAmp'd mod).

I'd love to see a remake of the game for modern PC's that captures the vibe of the original, if only because I know there are a lot of people out there who'll never experience it because of the 'dated' visuals.

[Sub_Level]

The original Half-Life, Duke Nukem 3D, and System Shock 2.

[Lasthope106]

Half-Life 2 remains for me the best FPS to ever grace this green earth. The culmination of years of work by Valve perfecting everything about how to tell a story in video game form. Crysis and Crysis 2 were also pretty good. Metro 2033 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. when they click are even better than HL2, but the two have so many other flaws that prevent them from surpassing Valve's masterpiece.

[Agent Ironside]

Call of Duty 4 Come at me bro

I know right.

Judging by this thread, it is severely underrated.

[Vulcano's assistant]

I love Crysis, COD 4, F.E.A.R, Half-Life 2, and Deus Ex.

But it is Resident Evil 4. That game is a whole package, if I ever saw one.

[sp3000]

Unreal. The first one. The combination of music and visuals made the game incredibly atmospheric. It really felt like a journey through an exotic alien world. I still go back and replay it every year or so (through UT, using the OldskoolAmp'd mod). I'd love to see a remake of the game for modern PC's that captures the vibe of the original, if only because I know there are a lot of people out there who'll never experience it because of the 'dated' visuals.

Are you my twin? I replay Unreal every year also through UT, although with the Unreal 227 patch released the original might actually be better.

I think it's the most atmospheric game ever made, and really that makes it more timeless than anything else.

You've probably already played them, but if you haven't you should download Operation Na Pali and 7 Bullets.

[sixteen-bit]

Resident Evil 4

[TheExorzist]

Modern Warfare 2

Come at me.

Absolutely hate Half Life 2, loved Episode 2. lol

btw.: I wouldn't go as far as saying Uncharted and/or Resident Evil 4 are shooters. That are action adventures, which is a whole different genre. Just because you fire a gun it's noit immediately a shooter.

[TucoBenedictoPacifico]

Nothing else close to Crysis and STALKER. Seeing so many say Half-Life 2 is depressing but also telling. No wonder the huge steps forward that Crysis and STALKER made has not been more widely appreciated by developers. Half-Life 2 is stagnation.

Bullshit.

I'm an huge STALKER fan (and by the way I don't even think it's completely fair to compare it with other shooters, as it's a RPG hybrid) and one of the few that would defend Crysis' dignity as a proper game, but when it comes to pacing and quality gunfights HL2 Episode 2 can piss all over virtually any other single player shooter released in the last ten years.

[The_Hitcher89]

Half Life 2 has a few sections which drag imo

[Kayhan]

Half Life 2 has a few sections which drag imo

Like the beginning, middle and end.

Episode was pretty good though. It just felt so old-fashioned.

[Tain]

As far as "current gen" stuff goes, Serious Sam 3 is on top (beating out Episode 2, STALKER, and Crysis, believe it or not).

I also have a lot of fun playing Doom with permadeath via a zdoom modification that I made. The game actually makes more sense to me that way.