With games like Bulletstorm, Bodycount, and Duke Nukem: Forever entering the modern market, there has been a lot of discussion here on GAF about new FPS games trying to distance themselves from the monopolized Modern Warfare genre. As is the case with the three games I just mentioned, a popular way to accomplish that is to look back to the successful FPS games of yesteryear, from a time before gritty realism became the holy grail of game design within the genre. This is not to say that games like Modern Warfare haven't advanced online play significantly or that they are not great games, but we sometimes forget how different your average online FPS was before Modern Warfare changed the landscape.
Before you cast your vote for your personal favorite online FPS of all time, let me jog your memory of some of the most beloved shooters from years past.
Quake II
Half-Life: Team Fortress
Counter-Strike (1.6)
Unreal Tournament
Quake III Arena
Starsiege: Tribes
Unreal Tournament 2004
Battlefield: 1942
Counter-Strike: Source
Halo II (and sequels)
Red Orchestra
Team Fortress 2
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I'm sure I missed a few in there, but I just wanted to get the nostalgic juices flowing to give the older games a chance to be remembered before casting your vote. I have so many good memories with over half of the games pictured above, as I'm sure many of you do as well.
My Vote: Counter-Strike (1.6)
I can't think of any FPS that I played more intensely or for a longer stretch of time than I did the original Counter-Strike. The impact of this little Half-Life mod that could is as evident today as ever, both in terms of the modding community and multiplayer shooters in general. It had balanced (for the time) team-based play, the shopping system, the mindblowing wealth of user-created levels that populated the lobbies, the easy-to-use spectating system between rounds, the best-in-class (for the time) implementation of voice chat, the distinctive character models, true-to-life guns, and dozens of little quirks that made Counter-Strike special. Counter-Strike: Source would prove to be a worthy update to the original, but by that time I was somewhat burnt out on it.
I also have very found memories of Unreal Tournament (1 and 2K4) and Red Orchestra, but I've gotta give my #1 pick to Counter-Strike, my favorite online FPS of all time.
What's your favorite online FPS?
Before you cast your vote for your personal favorite online FPS of all time, let me jog your memory of some of the most beloved shooters from years past.
Quake II
Half-Life: Team Fortress
Counter-Strike (1.6)
Unreal Tournament
Quake III Arena
Starsiege: Tribes
Unreal Tournament 2004
Battlefield: 1942
Counter-Strike: Source
Halo II (and sequels)
Red Orchestra
Team Fortress 2
------
I'm sure I missed a few in there, but I just wanted to get the nostalgic juices flowing to give the older games a chance to be remembered before casting your vote. I have so many good memories with over half of the games pictured above, as I'm sure many of you do as well.
My Vote: Counter-Strike (1.6)
I can't think of any FPS that I played more intensely or for a longer stretch of time than I did the original Counter-Strike. The impact of this little Half-Life mod that could is as evident today as ever, both in terms of the modding community and multiplayer shooters in general. It had balanced (for the time) team-based play, the shopping system, the mindblowing wealth of user-created levels that populated the lobbies, the easy-to-use spectating system between rounds, the best-in-class (for the time) implementation of voice chat, the distinctive character models, true-to-life guns, and dozens of little quirks that made Counter-Strike special. Counter-Strike: Source would prove to be a worthy update to the original, but by that time I was somewhat burnt out on it.
I also have very found memories of Unreal Tournament (1 and 2K4) and Red Orchestra, but I've gotta give my #1 pick to Counter-Strike, my favorite online FPS of all time.
What's your favorite online FPS?