Top 5 FPS of All Time

Which games deserve to be considered the Top 5 FPS Games of All Time? Considering the popularity and the reach of the genre across every platform it would be no easy task to decide on the 5 that had the most influence. However, this article did just that.

[-Alpha]

Though I've never shamefully played Half Life, it seems deserving of the #1 spot based on how people treat the game.

From what I have played my list would be something like this:

1) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2) Halo: Combat Evolved
3) Killzone 2

Unfortunately I haven't played too many FPS'es and was only introduced to the genre with Halo CE. I absolutely loved Call of Duty 4. Halo is pretty much tied with CoD4 and the only reason I gave #1 to CoD4 was because I haven't played Halo in a LONG time. Killzone 2 is a pretty great shooter, though I didn't find myself as addicted and thrilled as I did with Halo and CoD4.

I really wish I had the chance to play Counter-Strike, Half-Life series, and Perfect Dark/Golden Eye (when it came out, the game is atrocious today). It would totally change my perspective on FPS based on what I constantly hear about those games, but I guess I fall under the "ignorant" FPS fanbase.

[shutupandplay]

Pick up the orange box, that sh*t is like 20 bucks now. Don`t deny yourself Half-Life 2.

[thereapersson]

I bought the Orange Box on Steam last week for $14.59. Best deal ever, especially because it comes with Episodes 1 & 2 + the Lost Coast.

[DAVID BRENT]

goldeneye should be number one, ive never known a game that started so many new trends that other games still have to follow to this day, and goldeneye was definitely the first shooter to nail multiplayer

[Digitaldude]

Halo should be. Halo is responsible for console shooters. Halo 1 was revolutionary. Halo 2 brought online and Halo 3 and ODST drops the ball.
Ditto at Golden Eye.

[Viper7]

My list would be something like

1. Doom
Revolutionized fps genre, 1st fps with online(comp and co-op) and possibly the first fps game to introduce mods. Not to mention the games steps to make games more mature with its violent and heavily unholy theme which was something really rare at the time. These are of course not the only things it did for fps gaming, the list is way longer than any other fps game (aside from wolfenstein) could ever consider to achieve. Not to mention people still play/mod/edit it.

2. System Shock2 or Deus Ex
The probably best examples on games which revolutionized fps genre by making the fps games something more than just blasting your way trough the game. Also the fact that the games gave player chance to play the way the gamer wanted with rpg elements. Deus ex was also one of the firsts to introduce "choices" (in fps games) that had small affect on the game play and plot.

3. Half life (mainly because of the CS boom)
Not familiar with the game but much of half lifes affect probably comes from solid implementation of gameplay, graphics and plot. The courtier strike however seemed to revolutionize and make online fps games a lot more popular than they where.

4. Golden eye or Timesplitters or Halo
This one would be pretty hard as golden eye had far limited availability due to it being on N64. But as for first great console fps games it has to be one of these. But which one is hard to judge when considering age, popularity and ofcourse the game.

5th would be very hard, Call of duty 4 modern warfare did much for online gaming for this console era.
Quake and Unreal are very fitting names for that place as well.
Battlefield would also be very strong name to take the 5th place.
Medal of honor (psx) would also be very good pick for what it did for fps games on playstation.

[AuToFiRE]

halo really shouldnt be on there, it should be replaced with goldeneye or perfect dark, those were the real defining games that made the shooter genre as popular as it is today

[Major_Tom]

Lol, replace Halo with Goldeneye.

[likedamaster]

Those who didn't play these games at time of release will never know the impact these games had on gamers at the time. They are genuinely the best FPS's ever.

[raptorjacob]

that is what i thought. Goldeneye was the best. Although i would say perfect dark was up there too, i liked its multiplayer better.

[vhero]

Halo over counter strike?? sorry but I know it started off as a mod but it has been rated as the most successful mod ever created. More people have played CS than any other FPS that's a FACT. Mod or not... Half life 2 should DEFINETLY not be on that list either. especially over the first game. Doom and quake deserve to be there and where the hell is the DUKE?????!?!?!?!

[bacon13]

Yea, I agree Halo is nothing special. I've played all of the Halos and they are very forgettable games. I can agree with the fact that they helped cement online console gaming into our homes but, everytime I played a Halo game I came away unfulfilled so to speak. Eh, to each his own.

[ico92]

why golden eye isnt there is beyond me

[-Alpha]

Halo wont be forgotten, nor is it forgotten. It will be remembered as the first main stream FPS on consoles that made online gaming so fun and competitive.

Though, Halo CE did not have online play for Xbox if I remember correctly.

Also, slightly related but random notice: My Killzone 2 WONT PLAY ANY FORM OF SOUND! From the beginning video to the menus, to the actual game, there is absolutely NO SOUND! It's not my PS3 because Demon Soul's has sound, and it's not my sound set up. Not sure what's wrong with it, but I can't play the game without sound.

I felt like playing it after this, but I can't. Anyone know what's up?

[GamerSciz]

Perfect Dark and Goldeneye were made by the same company. Some maps, I.E. the Complex and a few others were pretty much exactly the same just with different textures. To say one is better than the other is saying it's better than itself.

[Shepherd 214]

Not only did Halo make controls on a console work very well, but Halo 2 revolutionized online gaming. Halo 2 created the lobby system that many games use now like COD, and it proved the strength of an online community.

Halo also brought regenerating health to the FPS and created the system where you can only carry two weapons at a time, which forces you to choose and think a bit more.

Goldeneye was great but its controls were very hard to work with on the N64 controller and it was a bit ridiculous that you could carry like 100 guns at a time.

[Kornholic]

What is this bull**** Im hearing about Halo "making fps on consoles work". WHAT? Outrageous. So everybody forgot the first Medal of Honor on the original Playstation or Alien Resurrection? The list goes on... Halo wouldnt've achieved anything if it wasnt for that huge hype it had behind it. What it turned out to be was a sluggish fps with a silly plot, only a decent game.

[reaferfore20]

You could use two n64 controllers at once so you had both analog sticks when playing goldeneye. This was the only way I'd play the game unless we were playing more than 2 player multi.

My list: 1. Wolfenstein - It was the first FPS and started it all.
2. Doom - First game to have online play and mods (as stated eatlier)
3. Half Life - Brought us CS, nuff said.
4. Goldeneye - Kicked off the FPS genre on consoles.
5. Halo:CE - Brought vehicles and added to what Goldeneye did for FPS-multiplayer on consoles.

[TooTall19]

Perfect Dark is my favorite shooter and KZ2 takes 2nd. It was an absolute blast and offered way more customization than any other game for its time. Heck you could make your mp character a transvestite if you wanted, and it was hilarious.

[el zorro]

I basically agree with the author's list. I don't know exactly which order I would place them in, but I know Half Life 2 and Halo deserve to be at the top.

[Government Cheese]

I personally thought Halo 2 was better than Halo: CE, but still a good list.

[LEGENDARY PELON]

Why do you people bash Halo so much by saying that it didnt deserve to be on the list? I smell a whole bunch of bs and hatting here from ps3 fangirls.

IMO Halo Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 all deserve to be on that list, why?

Halo Combat Evolved opened the doors and set an example of what fine shooter should have and should be. It didnt have online play, but boy i remeber playing LAN with my neighbors and friends, we would get up to 16 players and play for countless hours on Blood Gulch or Hang E'm High!

Halo 2 introduced the online play, and did it to perfection!! I remember that weeks aftet Halo 2 came out, most of my buddies who owned a ps2 got an Xbox just to play Halo 2! After that many didnt even bother to go back to their ps2! Thats insane! Its even more wicked on how after 6+ years of release, many people still play online! Including myself!!!

Halo 3 improved on what Halo 2 did wrong "super jumps, which were really fun" and also improved the graphics from Halo 2. Not only is Halo 3 among the most played games on XBL after 2+ years of release but also one of the games that sold a lot!

So ps3 fangirls, we dont need your dumb comments about Halo not belonging in the list. A real gamer knows that Halo Combat Evolved desereves to be in the top three shooters of all time!

[SaberEdge]

Don't mind them Legendary Pelon, it is just a form of jealousy. Everyone that lived through that time period knows that Halo made a HUGE impact on the FPS landscape.

[Odin777]

Why am I instantly branded a "ps3 fangirl" if I don't believe Halo is the greatest fps of all time. Seriously annoying s*** right there.

[A Cupcake for Gabe]

No Order:

Goldeneye 007: Nothing needs to be said

Halo: Combat Evolved: Brought the FPS to the console the right way

Killzone 2: Brought the FPS into the nextgen visually, AI, and online

Metroid Prime: 1st FPS Adventure Exploration

Black Hawk Down: I played this on PC with my army buddies for near two years. It was my first PC shooter, since doom/wolfenstein, and had a stellar map editor.

[BattleAxe]

This has got to be the worst list I've ever seen....

[Nikuma]

Do people forget Timesplitters? Didn't that game come out before Halo on the PS2? That game was amazing and had the same type of control setup as halo. It even had it's own map creator. Timesplitters is probably one of the most underrated console FPS games ever.

[raptorjacob]

@gamersciz
In perfect dark multi i could add a bunch of bots and me and my friends could play for a lot longer than in Goldeneye multi. i didnt mean graphics or anything

[Feral Gamer]

I whole-heartedly agree with Half Life 2 being #1

[mal_tez92]

It is an amazing game with a great story, cool design in the characters, enemies and weapons and it's packed full of great action.

However, as a shooter it fails because:
-VERY bad aimer (possibly the worst in any FPS)
-Bad movement (too arcadey)
-Aiming is too simple and easy
-Guns are too weak
-Can't aim down the sight
-Can't lie down

Best FPS gameplay has to be Killzone 2. No other game immerses you like Killzone. The feeling of the movement, aiming and shooting is just way ahead of any other shooter.

[zagibu]

Should have switched Half-Life 2 with it's predecessor. HL2 was great, but nothing new (besides the gravity gun). HL1 on the other hand was a revolution when it was released.
And Halo...yeah, sure. You have to put it somewhere on a top list, otherwise console fanboys will get angry. The only novel thing about Halo was the flood, everything else has been done better before.

[MegaPowa]

shut up.

[Feral Gamer]

"-Bad movement (too arcadey)
-Aiming is too simple and easy
-Guns are too weak
-Can't aim down the sight
-Can't lie down"

All those points are invalid. Bad movement and easy controls, it was a PC game played with mouse and keyboard, what do you expect?

Guns are too weak - what are you expecting, a BFG or chain lightning gun? The crossbow was a one hit kill with a scope.

Can't aim down the sight... ???? so?

Can't lie down - who wants to lie down when head crabs are jumping at you? Half Life isn't supposed to be a tactical shooter.

The game has some of the best action sequences, storylines, and variety of weapons around. Plus there are a lot of different scripted events which keep things interesting. You'd rather dismiss it because of the controls and not being able to lie down?

[mal_tez92]

@Feral Gamer
I don't dismiss the game, as I stated "It is an amazing game with a great story, cool design in the characters, enemies and weapons and it's packed full of great action."

It's only the shooting that I don't like.

If you feel that I need to, I will validate all my points.

The aimer is just awful. Aimers should indicate where the bullest will land based on stance, movement speed and alsotake into consideration recoil when firing the gun. The aimer in half life does none of these.

As for the movement, I feel very detached from the game when I play it, the movement is bad because you can stop and start spinting on a dime (maybe Gordon only weighs 10kg and hovers), that's what I mean by arcadey movement.

The aiming is bad because the guns feel like they are also light as a feather (you can change aiming direction like you were holding a twig, not a gun).

By weak guns I mean that only a few shots should be needed to kill enemies. Fair enough if zombies and aliens take a lot to kill but the human enemies shouldn't. I certainly didn't mean BFG's and lightning guns

Not being able to aim down the sight is not a "???? so?" issue, running around while shooting from the hip is one the biggest reasons as to why I feel very detached from the game. Shooting guns the way they are meant to be shot (by aiming first) is kinda important.

Not being able to lie down didn't really annoy me too much. But it is a simple feature which should be in all games. Not being able to lie down also annoyed me in Killzone.

If you need me to validate them further I will do so

[elpresador]

so you would take a game with generic enemies, generic weapons, a crappy ass story, forgetable characters, and floaty controls over something that has all the above but not all the technical stuff (which is arguable on some)?

Thats like saying Avatar is the greatest movie ever made due to the CGI and 3D aspect even though the story was basci and the characters were not too original either.

Wow, the fact that people dint seem to rate stry and characters high any more. Ah well, KZ2 fanboys (odd there are still so many since not many play it online anymore) will always think that KZ2 is the best ONLY cause it looks pretty for a console game.

[xLordOblivionx]

Zagibu is completely right. Half Life one should be replaced with HL2. But to me its not #1. I would put quake before it, but that's just because of all the days wasted just playing quake xD

[Unicron]

Goldeneye 007 needs to be up there.

[DelbertGrady]

And Bioshock. And COD 4. And Deus Ex. The list needs at least 10 spots to be fair.

[D3stroy3R]

Totally agree, 007 Goldeneye was the game I played over and over again to unlock the dual golded gun cheat. Plus aiding the multiplayer generation in today's gaming games. Has to be number one!!! :)

[AuToFiRE]

i agree whole heartedly with you, if i still had working n64 controllers id still be playing goldeneye along side conkers BFD

[table]

Goldeneye is easily the most overrated FPS of all time. Don't get me wrong, it was good for its time and I loved it back then but it doesn't stand the test of time like Wolfenstein, Half Life and Doom. The controls were plain horrible, you couldn't aim and walk at the same time. James Bond's movements were like he was stuck in quick sand. The graphics were dated compared to contemporaries(typical of the n64 however).

I would replace Half Life 2 with the original Half Life and also Quake replaced by Bioshock then move Halo down to number 5.

[BWS1982]

The controls weren't K & M, and they weren't dual analog, but the game was built for the controls and worked flawlessly for what it attempted. You moved with the 1 analog and used the C left/right to strafe, and then the C up/down to adjust the aim. There was just a HINT of autoaim in there, if you were close enough from the said C up and down, it would tilt the gun just a tad to lock on. It was noob friendly enough to allow novices to start up, but it was mild enough to still allow a great parity in skill levels, allowing experts and veterans to face off with the more skilled still winning. It did what Halo CE mainly repeated for the most part (Halo CE did a couple new things, but otherwise it only polished the genre on consoles, and I still had more fun with GoldenEye), IMO. It brought the FPS to consoles 4 years earlier, with addictive mechanics that left the game with a legendary status. The design, the cheats, the infinite options for split screen, the tweaking to both multiplayer and single player, it just worked, and worked amazingly, so you're in a minority here.

There's a reason it was and still is so highly played, acclaimed, bought and praised even to this day, in this thread, by legions of fans. There's a reason a MASSIVE team did the GoldenEye Source mod for the new Engine and put thousands of man hours recreating a game from over a decade and 2 generations ago. It is massive.

Perhaps you weren't a 64 gamer enough to get used to those controls, because this is also evidenced by the fact that you claim the graphics were dated. On the contrary, the visuals, FOR A GAME FROM 1997, were some of the best the generation saw at the time, it came out 1 year after 64 launched dude! Find me an FPS game from '97 or earlier, ON consoles, that looked drastically better. I challenge you. It wasn't THE prettiest, but it was showcasing some of the best that gen saw at the time, and it was 13 years ago. Doom 64 was also nice, and came out that year I believe, so you're a bit off on some perspective there, as you've ventured out of "opinion" and entered into some distorted truths.

[CaulkSlap]

Why is that a picture of Halo 2? It says Halo:Combat Evolved in the article. And thank god it does because Halo2 was garbage compared to the first.

[sealion88]

no love for Deus ex?

[ian72]

@sealion,
I have loads a love for Deus Ex, best game I ever played. It should be on that list. Maybe who wrote this article never played it.

[Anorexorcist]

It would have been perfect if they would have replaced Halo with Goldeneye and included Deus Ex.

Is this only a Top 5 best arcade shooter list? No love was expressed for Deus Ex.

[chak_]

5 is way too restrictive. what about MOHAA, COD 4, far cry, dx or crysis. All those pushed FPS further away and should appear here

[shutupandplay]

HL2, CS, Halo: CE, Tribes, Deus Ex, Goldeneye, (puts on flame shield) COD4.

[chak_]

ahah we've both had disagree for saying COD 4.

But whatever you guys said cod 4 (not MW 2 eh) was strong, really strong. It did introduced new MP component, stunning graphics and quality storyline.

Now I won't deny COD 4 because of the 6th

[shutupandplay]

Anybody who isn`t a complete fanboy, would know that COD4 deserves a nod on a great FPS list. Like you said, it brought the multiplayer, it brought graphics, it brought smooth gameplay and it brought an intense campaign that was such a rewarding gaming experience on veteran mode. Most people that say otherwise, think they are cool because they go against the norm.

[theEnemy]

If you still don't get it, this is the best FPS game of all time:

Counter-Strike.

F*ck Condition-Zero though. That version/sequel was an abomination.

CS 1.6 was the best, though I love CS 1.3 and the earlier versions where Carbine still has the scope.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

"Halo: Combat Evolved- If you’re a Sony fanboy and your about to comment on how Halo shouldn’t be on any list or you’re a Halo fanboy and your about to comment on how it should be number one let me do you a favor and tell you not to bother because it’s my list and I don’t give a f-ck."

LMAO nicely said, though I do not agree with the list. If Halo is there for making FPS games "work" on consoles, then Goldeneye CANNOT be overlooked. I almost played Goldeneye more than my PlayStation at the time, and I didn't even own a N64. Both Wolfenstein and Doom shouldn't be on the same list too. I'm just glad to see that Call of Duty isn't on there.

[PirateThom]

There's plenty of FPS games on consoles that worked before Halo.

Turok, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Timesplitters... even Medal of Honor.

[cyberwaffles]

as much as i love time splitters, the aiming in 1 and 2 were terrible. no wonder why everyone thought analog sticks weren't meant for FPS gaming. halo, on the other hand, had really smooth and accurate controls for a console so i would say it deserves to be on the list before time splitters or turok.

[kraze07]

I thought what he said was pretty fncking funny too. He gets props for not sugar-coating his opinion or making a list based on what he thinks most fanboys would like.

[table]

the aiming in Timesplitters1 is bad yes, but Timesplitters2 was a massive improvement. Halo had really bad controls on the xbox, people forget this to quickly. Go back and play it and you'll find that the controls are way to sticky making it too difficult to aim. Play Halo on the PC and it improves the game immeasurably.

[kewlkat007]

really opened things up for Multi-player.

[vhero]

Timesplitters should be THE top FPS but was massively overlooked as it had no online. It is the best offline/no lan FPS ever created. Tons of weapons/characters and a map creator what more could you want? A monkey? Oh wait it had that too!! I spent more hours playing TS2 4 players with friends than any other FPS on my life in fact the only game I spent more time playing in my whole life (any genre) is FFVII.

[MajestieBeast]

Goldeneye shouldve been on the list not Halo.

[andron]

DOOM
Half-Life
Cod4: Moderne Warfare
Black
Killzone 2

Those are my 5 favourite FPS games in no particular order. I enjoyed the first Half-Life more than the second. Doom is a classic and the rest are more modern greats...

[nostalgic_noob]

More than any other fps

[vhero]

You my friend deserve a bubble for not being a sheep :)

[bozebo]

i was thinking that too... but surely goldeneye? because it lead to perfect dark and timesplitters

[Madis007]

1)Orange Box
2)Counter-Strike Source
3)Killzone 2(effects and amazing gameplay)
4)Crysis
5)Stalker - Best fps RPG game ever

[The_Zeitgeist]

Decent list

[TheBand1t]

1. Counter-Strike 1.6
2. Counter-Strike: Source
3. Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
4. Duke Nukem 3D
5. Battlefield 2

[Jackel2072]

Its the "FreeMan"!

[hagla]

enough said

[The_Zeitgeist]

Just because a game is considered a classic doesn't mean it can hold a candle to today's shooters. Wolfenstien 3D was a great game for its time but is it really better than Killzone 2? Doom may be a classic but is it better than Doom 3? From now on these lists should be the top 5 modern shooters or the top 5 classic shooters.

[zagibu]

He has listed them based on influence they had on release.

[Platinum_k]

they have such mediocre FPS games now a days

lazy bunch of no good dev's

[Gun_Senshi]

No System Shock 2 or Duex Ex

[Jamescagney]

They're classed as rpgs, well fpsrpgs I suppose, they involve more than just shooting anyway.

[bjornbear]

but, deus ex shooting mechanic was probably as solid as HL1's at the time, so it does count as a FIRST PERSON SHOOTER.

it just happened to have more dominant RPG elements.

So i'd say he's right, no DEUS EX (arguably the best game ever)= fail =/

[SaberEdge]

I don't agree. Deus Ex is one of my favorite games of all time and I have played it countless times. Nevertheless, it doesn't really feel like a FPS. The perspective is first person and you do a lot of shooting, but there is so, so much more to the gameplay that you can't really compare it to true FPS games.

[The_Zeitgeist]

5. Doom 3
4. Black
3. Killzone 2
2. The Darkness
1. Bioshock

[Lets-Game]

no counter strike, list fail.

"Before Halo no other console shooter had the near perfect translation of controls from a mouse and keyboard control scheme on PC shooters."

he obviously havent played goldeneye.

[creepjack]

Halflife 2 is the most over rated game of all time. The game is an ok shooter at best. Everyone wants to proclaim it as something so special but completely neglect to talk about the glaring flaws.

Halflife 2 has some of the worse pacing I have ever seen. The entire first half of the game was a test in patience (BORING!!!). The story is forgettable, no where near amazing like people say. Hell, I literally just beat the game 2 weeks ago and have already forgotten what the point was. The sound design was seriously weak. Guns sound like BB guns. Gameplay was lacking as well. No melee except with a crow bar that you have to switch to to use. No iron sight aiming. The only good gun is the Gravity gun.

All in all just a very lackluster experience. The are a crap ton of shooter that I found far more enjoyable, including Halo (for all you Halo haters out there).

[Jamescagney]

In your opinion.

[Dorwrath]

Small attention span have we.

The first half of the game is what made the game so epic. It's what I enjoyed most about the game.

[x800]

Now some of you may have different categories to which those games score higher or lower, (If so list yours)

1.Cod4 Modern Warfare 1
2.Killzone 2
3.Crysis/Crysis Warhead
4.Bioshock
5.FEAR 2 include the (Extraction)
6.Modern Warfare 2
7.Half-Life 2 ep 2
8.FAR CRY 2
9.Call Of Duty World At War
10.Left for dead 1/2
11.HALO 2
12.Borderlands
13.Call of juarez bound in blood
14.Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
15.operation flash point
16.ARMA II
17.Wolfenstein
18.Shattered Horizon
19.Unreal Tournament
20.Counter-Strike 1.6
21.S.T.A.L.K.E.R CLEAR SKY
22.Section 8
23.Turok
24.golden eye N64
25.Doom

[Gun_Senshi]

your list confirm you are 15 years and younger

[LostCypher11]

yep Def new to gaming. I wouldn't even mention half the games on that List

[redneck_smith]

MY GOD! HORRIBLE LIST!

[ChampIDC]

Good to see id Software getting some love. I still play their oldest shooters to this day.

[Vip3r]

1. COD4
2. UT2004
3. CS:S
4. TF2
5. Quake 3

[bigboss911]

1 Unreal Tournament (played this the most)
2 Counter Strike (made me love slow tactical approach)
3 Timesplitters series (the funny story alone is worth the money, and a lot of fps copied its game modes, Halo 3 for example)
4 Killzone 1,2 (fanboys sadly will never give this a try)
5 Quake (lol shotgun nuff said.....with quad damage lmao)
6 MOH series ( they have gone down hill, but maybe they can save it)
7 Halflife series ( sadly i have not spent much time with this one, but HL2 multi is awesome with friends. camping with the cross bow is win)
8 Call of duty ( yes its got a lot of hate surrounding it here lately, but its still fun with friends. without friends its dull, and a camp fest.
9 i never played l4d, but since i only payed 8 bucks for L4d2 the other day, i need to pick it up. even though its a rip off of a mod haha. and its funny as heck if you kill ur team and try and go at it alone.
10 Crysis (im starting to warm up to it, the first one i played for about 20 mins and didnt like it... warhead on the other hand i liked alot... and it seems my laptop can run it better. even though the frame rate is a little lame...my laptops processors fault lmao 2.0 ghz dualcore is not enough.

[RadientFlux]

The only change I would make would replace Half-Life2 with the original Half-Life.

[ATi_Elite]

Another sad excuse to add Halo as an all time great but once again it doesn't deserve to be on this list especially how every editor admits it doesn't do anything revolutionary.

1. Doom
2. Half Life
3. Call of Duty
4. Castle Wolfenstein
5. Goldeneye 007
5. Tribes 2

[Etseix]

the article fail, it should say *Top 5 FPS of Alll Time *IMO*,
Golden Eye for me, its the best FPS ever,
funny that i never bought the game, but i remember goin over my friend's everyday just to play taht dam game lol

[taylork37]

lol @ tribes

You are joking right?

The original Unreal Tournament blew Tribes out of the water. You can ignore an obviously great game like Halo, but don't put Tribes on there if you are going to do so.

[ATi_Elite]

The 5 all time FPS and why......actually 6 had a tie

5. Goldeneye 007 N64 - this is the game that proved a FPS could be done correctly on a console 4 years before Halo on the N64. Still the best movie based game of all time. Fast action, great controls, very well done.

5. Starsiege Tribes PC - This is why Halo exist, exotic space weapons, jet packs, capture the flag, Deathmatch, single player was weak but Tribes was ALL about Multiplayer. One of the very best online mutiplayer games way back in 1998. Very well balanced and innovative game play.

4. Return to Castle Wolfenstein PC - This is the game that started it all. 360 degrees of in your face NAZI Killen. Some RPG actually had First Person perspective before this but Wolfenstein put the Shooter in FPS. A maze like set up with Hitlers SS waiting at every turn.

3. Call of Duty PC - This shooter had nostalgic weapons and very intense gameplay. The battles felt epic and had a sense of realism.
Call of Duty set the gold standard for a great franchise.

2. Half Life / Counter Strike PC Half Life represents a leap in single player gaming with it's fast pace, intense story, and introduced puzzling situations to FPS. Counter Strike is the multiplayer juggernaut that brought millions together in a tactical fast pace shooter were accuracy and skill were needed to succeed.

1. Doom PC Created atmosphere like no other at the time. A sense of you against all those exiled to Hell. The greatest FPS of all time with it's many corridors of demons and hidden doorways of death.
All shooters have guns but only DOOM has the BFG 9000!

These are the Hall of Famers, The Innovators, and The Originals. All Modern shooters have elements from these games and attempt to recreate what these games did so well but with better graphics.

[ChampIDC]

I'm guessing you meant Wolfenstein 3D for #4?

[Jamescagney]

I'd take Call of Duty out (although it's a great game) and put Quake in there if you're talking about innovation in the FPS genre, but good list though.

[PotNoodle]

Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike Counter-strike

[Darkfiber]

Wow this is stupid. I hate how people always rate Doom and Wolfenstein as the best shooters of all time just because they were the originals. Were the original TVs better than the TVs now? Were the original cars better than the cars now? No. They are absolutely terrible compared to todays games in terms of graphics, gameplay, sound design, level design, controls, and so on. Why can't people take a game for what it actually is, rather than look at it with rose colored goggles. Jesus, even Rogue Warrior is a million times better than Doom and Wolfenstein. It has graphics and gameplay etc beyond anything that the Doom or Wolfenstein creators could have ever dream of.

[bjornbear]

they aren't the BEST shooter of all time, they are the ones that did the MOST for shooters (of defined them)

but being the BEST, especially in this day and age? Questionable

its just blogger gamers don't know how to write up proper Top "n" lists =P

[elpresador]

The game that got like 0/5 on like every review? Dude, those are on there because playability wise they still hold up today and the basic formula created in them is the same damn thing used today. You cant use your car argument or tv argument cause cars still have engines and tires and a sterring wheel today like they did almost 100 years ago and tvs still are basically the same. You dont discount something just because it doesnt look as pretty as things that are out today.

GOd I hate graphic whores.

[Darkfiber]

It's not just graphics, it's the fact that you can't look up, you hold your gun out straight in front of you and the gameplay is so primitive compared to modern day FPS. If you made a game exactly like Doom or Wolfenstein today, changing absolutely nothing but having Crysis level graphics, people would think it was a ridiculous joke. And how are TVs no different? They are much bigger, much higher resolution than original TVs, they have color, and are much more complex and can portray various aspect ratios.

My point is, even if Id had the computing power and processing capabilities of today's computers/consoles back then, they wouldn't have made a game as good as today because ideas grow and evolve over time. Gameplay mechanics are based on years of iteration. Something new comes along like platforming in Mirror's Edge, and gets evolved into something like Brink. Pretty soon smooth platforming will be a constant in every first person game, then something new will come along and will be incorporated into all new FPS. It takes time for ideas to evolve and become great. I'm not saying that Doom and Wolfenstein weren't influential at the time, but you can't say that they are better than games that have progressed so far today. Graphics aside, gameplay and storytelling ideas have come a long way from Doom. Storytelling alone in video games was not limited back then. Writing a good story was not limited by computing power, so they had no excuse not to have a good story for Doom or Wolfenstein. The only reason they didn't was because games back then in general didn't even really bother with story. That's just how things were back then, but they have evolved since. Games, much like anything, builds on iterations of the past to become better. That's how the world works.

[led1090]

hey buddy they are rated so highly cause of the impact they had at the time they were released. When Doom was released 3d was hardly into the picture. Doom is what revolutionized the fps genre at that time. We applaud the inventors such as newton even though most of the theories have been proven wrong. Cause they gave a direction. Jimi hendrix is still considered the god of guitar even though any new guitarist can pawn his A$$ technically. But its what they did at that time that matters. Think of it this way. 25 years from now the graphics of crysis and uncharted will be obsolete. Will you still say the same thing about them then? No you wont. Cause you found them awesome now. Now think about the people who played Doom when it just came out. Thats the whole point.

[reaferfore20]

Darkfiber is obviously not old enough to realize why these games are on the list.

[Wolfgang187]

Quakes 1, 2 and 3 should have been in the top 3 in reverse order.

[Jacobite]

1) UT
2) UT2003
3) UT2004
4) UT3
LOL the old UT v Quake! god brings back memories

[bjornbear]

fair list but badly balanced.

they have 3 games from one end of the spectrum then 2 of the other end.

what about the inbetweens like golden eye, HL 1, counter strike?

still, its just another blog list so =P but by all means, its not bad at all.

[silvacrest]

i'll give halo CE its fair does, before then the only FPS i enjoyed was time splitters, halos arcade gameplay and decent story really peaked my interest in other shooters

[NotSoSilentBob]

UT99 Should be on that list. It was the FPS that ushered in Mods/Mutators. I spent 100s of hours offline playing that game cause the Bots were so challenging on GodLike.

[Jamescagney]

Oh yeah I loved UT, was probably the only online mp game I've ever seriously got hooked on, mostly because I knew so many people who played it.

[MrBuffalo]

I have extremely fond memories of Goldeneye but I played it recently and the controls whilst perfect at the time just dont translate well to anyone who is used to any modern FPS. The little yellow directional buttons on an n64 pad worked well then but today it gives me motion sickness because i'm now used to using twin sticks. But at the time Goldeneye was the best but like many 3d games from the late nineties it had dated terribly. Unfortunately I was the only person who had an xbox so Halo CE never really caught on amongst my friends like Goldeneye but Halos controls still hold up today so I can see why it is there instead of Goldeneye.

[nogolis]

I laugh when people say Halo did this or that. It's a FPS and it plays, in my honest opinion, like any FPS. I will never understand why people say the gameplay in Halo is so above any of the other FPs on the market. They all play the same to me. Hell, maybe I'm just not picky and I'm glad for that. I know not to be let down by over hype.

[Henry Cain]

Im sorry Halo is wack imo. Goldeneye , Medal of Honer are good FPS. KZ2, the first MW was good to me. I must say after the playing Battlefield 2 Beta this will be a great FPS. Im sure since its mulitplat it will get better ratings than if it was on the PS3.

[Pug]

No Half Life + Halo in list = Ultimate Fail.

[Dead_Cell]

That game is godlike.
Most fun I have -ever- had in a game, I think I ended up with around 45 friend profiles at the end of it all and every single person who picked up the controlled loved it.
I'll never understand how a game that has so much content and does everything so perfectly got overlooked so badly, personally I put it down to the art style.

[FwanK]

#1 Turning Point Fall of Liberty

:P

[CARRIERHASARRIVED]

This is a pointless list.

There are far more than 5 games that contributed great things to the fps genre. Not one single game can take credit for everything, let alone 5. There are also many, many fps games for each system that did things for their respective system. Sure, you can throw Halo, Goldeneye, Bioshock, HL:1, and CoD4 up there, but really. Are they responsible for every great aspect of an fps? God no. Goldeneye comes very close to this though.

[Tomkar]

1. Counter Strike
2. Goldeneye 007
3. Crysis
4. Killzone 2
5. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Now getting used to MAG, which is by the way awesome! It will definetly make me forget about Modern Warfare 2, I really hate that game now, campers like never before, all the connection problems, glitches/exploits. It's like if its the first online experience they make! They had problems in Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and instead of decreasing the numbers of problems we see an increase. Unbelievable!

List good - Agree
List bad - Disagree

[bdog8121]

take out halo and put in goldeneye and the list would be set
if it wasnt for goldeneye i think halo would never have been

[LostCypher11]

1 Counter strike
2 Golden Eye
3 HL2
4 Halo:CE
5 KZ2

Ugh 5 is way to hard. where can I fit Doom, wolfinstien, quake, UT. I don't think it is possible to make a complete list with only 5

[bessy67]

I hate it when these lists are all obviously influenced by nostalgia. Go back and play Doom or Goldeneye again, they're really not that good. Neither of them hold a candle to good modern FPS's. Face it, Doom is terrible. Even if given a graphical facelift, it wouldn't recieve better than a 2/5 on any review sites. It's linear, has no story, limited enemy types, and terrible controls. Sure, some of these games were revolutionary for their times, but saying that Doom is better than newer games like battlefield is like saying that the P-38 mustang is a better fighter plane than an F-22 Raptor.

[artsaber]

Where is Redneck Rampage?

[LegendZelda]

Your list started off alright but got worse as it went.

Goldeneye (though I hated the game) is generally considered the shooter that got things started on consoles. Not Halo.

Even Perfect Dark for the N64. I am not a fan of Halo (and I hate sony so im not a fanboy) but I have logged many hours into Halo. Overall all 3 of the games are bad. If it were not for the huge support of the games and the people that play online then I would never touch Halo.

So this was an okay list I guess. Nice read either way.

[GigaGaia]

Halo being in that list is wrong.

[QQcrybaby]

ROFLROFLROFL at anyone who thinks Halo or Goldeneye is on the same level as Half-Life.

[-MoOkS-]

1 - HALO CE
2 - HALO 2
3 - Goldeneye
4 - Perfect dark
5 - Halo 3

[xcox]

yours is triple fail which is about average for a bot

[devsgreat]

wheres golden eye??

[The BS Police]

That while Goldeneye 007 was a proof of concept it was overshadowed by Halo due to the fact that Bungie perfected the formula for console FPS games thanks to the Xbox controller. Bungie invented the golden tripod of grenades, melee and weapons due to removing the magic backpack and utilising separate buttons for melee attacks and throwing grenades.

Bungie also is the only developer who perfected vehicle use in an FPS game when in games like Goldeneye 007 the use of vehicles was just sort of tacked on for hell of it.

Without Halo console shooters wouldn't excist as they do today, it wasn't Goldeneye 007 that opened the floodgates for console FPS games, it was Halo.

Sure there were a few great console FPS games back in the era of the N64, but the only two worth noting are Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark, other than there wasn't much else untill Halo.

[Alcon Caper]

Always bet on Duke.

[monkey602]

Timesplitters 2 the single greatest FPS of all time!

[DeNOOBinator]

Wow, I cannot believe Deus Ex is not on this list! It is quite simply the best game I have ever played. If haven't played it, go download it from from Direct2Drive for $10! I cannot believe simple games such as doom, wolfenstein, and quake can make it, but a game as Rich and Deep as Deus Ex does not make it.

[frostyhat123]

Killzone 2 , Cod and Halo should not be on the list.

[The BS Police]

Halo: Combat Evolved was one of the most important games released last decade, it deserves to be on the list.

[Stevo35]

Wow, what a 360 fan boy! Halo and Half Life (LOL)! I played both and I am not sure you should even put half Life in the FPS category! I quit after a couple hours, it was BORING!

[chrisulloa]

This is why PS3 fanboys are hated by everyone ^

[TheTeam06]

If there was a word for hating on one group of fanboys similar to racism, you would be that word.

A fanboy is a fanboy. PS3 fanboys are hated, 360 fanboys are hated, and the oldest ones (Nintendo fanboys) are hated.

No one is worse than the other. They are all the same. FAN.BOY. The sooner you get that through your skull, the easier it will be to ignore all of them.

[el zorro]

Bullsh^t! All fanboys are not the same. It is plain as day that Wii fanboys do not act like 360 fanboys, who in turn do not act like PS3 fanboys. There are certain similarities, but anyone with an ounce of cognitive or perceptive ability can see that there are very real differences in the way each group behaves.

[TheTeam06]

Behavior is different, their goal is the same. They all defend their console of choice til no end.

They are all the same.

[TheTeam06]

Why Combat Evolved??

Halo 2 was by far the best Halo. Better than 3, better than any spinoff and definitely better than the first.

[bozebo]

surely half life 1 rather than 2? seeing as it lead to 2

if i was limited to 5 then they would be (in no particular order):
doom
goldeneye
half life
call of duty
deus ex

[monkey602]

Sence made = None

A sequel to a game can be far better than the first! It can even completely change genre (like the Conflict games) So just because Half Life 2 is an amazing game doesnt mean the first automatically is!

[Blitzkid]

MY Top5 would look like:

1. Half-Life 2 (cause it was the pioneer in physics)
2. Killzone 2 (cause of the incredible graphics)
3. Halo (cause of the grenade fun and the song "fly me to the moon" :))
4. Wolfenstein 3D (finally i got the chance to kill some Nazis :))
5. Counter Strike (uhh i was so addicted)

Noteworthy:
6. Action Half-Life

[Stryfeno2]

1.Killzone 2
2.Killzone 2
3.Killzone 2
4.Resistance :The Fall of Men
5.Killzone 2

/Sarcasm

[el zorro]

For a second I thought you were serious until I saw the sarcasm tag at the end. Sadly, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone that delusional on this site.

[ambientFLIER]

You almost got me too, you sly bastard!

[AmazingBrian]

Duh Furk? Energy swords and dual weapons are in halo two. Nub reporter guy.

[demonwor]

Long live Doom

This is a great list. But I think a quake3 would be on the list rather than the original. Hell any list that has Doom was a list that was made by someone who knows what they are talking about

[DigitalHorror81]

No Goldeneye 64?

[DJexs]

Did everybody forget about red faction and Red Faction 2?

[Relientk77]

I would have added Timesplitters 2 and CoD Modern Warfare 1 and 2 to my list

edit: oh and Medal of Honor and MoH: Underground

[Cajun Chicken]

Get real. This list is missing Unreal Tournament and Duke Nukem 3D? Yeah, whatever. Anyway, Id rock. No doubt about that.

[Drac]

The issue with such list, is they always miss out games that have been important to the genre.

Like some of the following
Maze War (Considered to be the 1st FPS)
MIDI Maze (1st network multiplayer),
Marathon (secondary weapons functions, a free look camera, aiming in the vertical dimension, also several new forms of multiplayer)
Descent, (1st truly 3D FPS, also 1st one to give me motion sickness ;)
GoldenEye 007 (Woot headshots, 1st big selling console game)
Planetside (1st MMOFPS, IMHO offered the best multiplayer FPS experience to be had)

[unicronic]

Halo is a great game but why is there this belief that they "fixed" console controls for FPS.

There were a number of FPS's previous gens that did just fine e.g. Goldeneye, Timesplitters and so on.

Halo certainly mainstreamed FPS's on consoles allowing for an endless slew of mediocre FPS's to follow with the occasional good, one although it was more a case of right place at the right time.

[skyblue14213]

I agree and was shocked that 007 golden eye(for the n64) was not on there, granted the story was mainly off of the movie but it did not stick straight to the movie rather it was loosely based off of the movie(which is actually better). But besides that the game itself was ahead of its time in many ways and not only pushed the limits of the n64 but set a new high standard in the fps genre at that time. Well at least this guy posted one game that I thought was a really good game which would be doom. I cant judge his choices because I personally have not played or even beaten some of these games, but I do think he could have had a bigger list and considered some other fps games because there are a lot more good fps games out there that are worthy of being top fps games then his current list.

[Enigma_2099]

I just knew it. And it did NOT make FPS relevant, so cut that s*** out. As hard as it is for you to believe, there WERE FPS games before HALO.

[silverchode]

counter strike?

[eliasg]

1)Call of Duty: 2
2)Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
3)Call of Duty: 4
4)Call of Duty: World at War
5)Call of Duty

[Tomkar]

LOL! A big fat LOL!

[eliasg]

1)Call of Duty: 2
2)Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
3)Call of Duty: 4
4)Call of Duty: World at War
5)Call of Duty

[TABSF]

All the best and greatest FPS games have always be on PC