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First-person shooters are among the most popular of computer games and there are masses to choose from. Here Kyle Ackerman, one of America's most prolific games journalists and a regular contributor to PC Gamer and Computer Games magazine, picks five of the best Click to view Top 5 First Person Shooters.
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Best Team-Based Online FPS (Wolfenstein: ET) |
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 If you're looking for the challenge of real human opponents rather than AI, team-based online multiplayer shooters are the best way to dive into the FPS experience. Achieving as part of a great team can be even more satisfying than standing on one's own, and the best way to join a team (for now) is Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. |
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| Online multiplayer shooters are often the best way to take your first-person shooter skills online. Regardless of your skills, a thoughtful person who’s willing to work with a team can always find a role to play in such games. Team-based online games come in a number of varieties. Many revolve around simply exterminating the other team, but some of the most exciting require teams to complete objectives. Those can be capturing multiple flags (as in the Battlefield games), planting explosives, or rebuilding bridges. |
Flags and Classes Mean More Fun Online |
There are a lot of team-based multiplayer games, each with its own schtick. These can range from the massively multiplayer online battles of a game like Planetside, where the results of every battle are persistent and last as long as Planetside gamers labor on. Such games can also be as short-lived as a single match of Battlefield 2142, in which there might be a few elements that carry over from battle to battle, but the battlefield is reset every time, resulting in a new contest every few minutes, in which every player can participate. There are even cooperative games, such as SWAT 4, in which players work together to capture criminals.
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 Some of the most exciting team-based online multiplayer shooters require players to assume specific roles. While deathmatch gamers typically start with exactly the same weapons and equipment as their foes, many team-based games have classes, in which all players may not have the same capabilities, but all are equally powerful. This is particularly useful for new players, as expert marksmen can play snipers, while newbies can take on the role of general infantrymen, or play useful support roles such as medic or engineer. Reviving fallen teammates can be just as rewarding as standing, armed, at the front lines. |
Multiple Roles To Choose From |
| To that end, the most accessible, entertaining and well designed team-based online multiplayer shooter is Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. Better yet, it happens to be entirely free. Originally planned as part of a game sequel, Activision chose to release this online shooter free of charge. |
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 There are multiple unique roles for each player to try, and scenarios involve an arc of maps that give players the feeling of participating in an ongoing battle in which every role is critical to team success. It does have a World-War II theme, so if you don't want Nazis on your screen (even in your gun's sights), look elsewhere.
Some will argue that Counter-Strike is the greatest team-based multiplayer online shooter of all time, but Counter-Strike has been out for so long that there is no room for error in the online games that still run. Every still-active Counter-Strike player appears to have preternatural skills, and even skilled players will find it difficult to easily take on different roles within their team. Besides, as we said, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is free to play.
Fortunately, it looks like something even more exciting is on the horizon. The team responsible for Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory has been working with the Quake Engine to create Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. That game should be released later this year on a variety of platforms, and already looks like it will take team-based online gameplay by storm. |
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Get Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory - free here
To buy other games in the Wolfenstein series, try one of the following retailers. They are competitively priced and reliable:
Amazon.com - The US arm of the giant online retailer
Amazon.co.uk - The UK arm of the giant online retailer
UK Shop Search – Click here for more UK retailers
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