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First Person Shooters |
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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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Buyers Guide and Overview |
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 There's no faster gaming action than a first-person shooter. In an FPS you see (and shoot) the game world through the eyes of your "avatar". Whether you want to add to your collection, find a gift or just converse with gamers, these suggestions should help. |
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While the controls for FPS games may take novices some time to learn, veterans will confirm that putting you, the player, behind the eyes of each game's protagonist, grants the most intense, personal experience. And there's an FPS to suit everyone’s taste.
FPS games have been the province of PC gamers since the days of games such as Wolfenstein 3D and the original Doom. Players controlled their movement with the keyboard, using the mouse to aim. But as FPS games have become more sophisticated on PCs, they've also expanded onto consoles. Certainly, older console favorites like GoldenEye 007 (from the Nintendo 64) still spark players' imaginations, and the Halo franchise has recently dominated futuristic console combat in the far reaches of space.
On consoles, FPS games follow a standard control scheme. Most controllers have two sticks (the Wii being the notable exception), and FPS games conventionally use one stick to control movement, and the other to aim firearms. |
Do You Prefer To Play Against Other People? |
| These games can be divided into two main categories: those for which the single-player experience is the crux of the game, and those that are primarily online, multiplayer experiences. |
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 Single-player games (like Half-Life 2, reviewed on this site among the Best Computer Games) may have substantial online, multiplayer components, just as online multiplayer shooters (such as the Battlefield franchise) may have token, offline content. Whether you're looking for an entertaining story to explore, or a gift for a friend, it's much easier to select an entertaining single-player game than an appropriate online, multiplayer game. That's because single-player games rarely change over time. Newer games may have fancier graphics, but an excellent game typically remains an excellent game. |
Keep Up With the Latest and Greatest |
| Online FPS play, however, changes faster than fashion. Plenty of classics (like the old-timer Counter-Strike) are still in circulation, but the online FPS community has a habit of jumping onto the bandwagon of the latest and greatest online game ... at least for a brief moment before returning to the old favorites. |
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 The problem with choosing such games is that joining any established game puts you at a severe disadvantage. Join a long-standing game such as Counter-Strike or Battlefield 1942, and you'll discover the community has memorized every map, honed their sniper skills and can generally outplay you (or your friend) at every turn.
If you want to try out such a game, practice in a single-player game, and then join a new release that meets general critical approval, so you can decide if the experience is to your taste. If you're considering a gift, old single-player games can be timeless classics, but old multi-player games are either a killing field or an empty field, depending on the popularity of the title.
If you haven't ever tried an FPS, don't let talk of circle-strafing (running in a circle around your target) or fragging (blasting a foe into tiny fragments) scare you off. Most single-player games offer an assortment of difficulty levels (and cheats that make life even easier) and can be experienced at your own pace. |
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