Top 5 Best FPS Games that Defined an Era

To begin, I had some trouble wondering if I should create a top 10 or merely a top 5 list of fps games. I then decided that if I include anymore than five, it might dilute their value. So if you're wondering what we consider to be the Top 5 First Person Shooter Games of all time then keep reading.

It's also good to keep in mind that we value both single player fps games and multiplayer fps games but just because a game has one side that's bad, doesn't actually make it a horrible game, especially if it's a trend setter. All of these fps games can still be found at most lan events from time to time.



Even though I'm not a huge fan of this game due to its hokey nature there is no denying its popularity among the masses. Nearly every lan tournament or lan party you go to, you will see Unreal Tournament 2004 or Unreal Tournament 3 being played. It's fast paced nature keeps game play solid, moving quickly and in so doing became the definition of getting quick insanely berserk kills with some of the most unusual weaponry. (What was that green shat?!!??) For some, the unrealistic approach to it can be quite bothersome mainly due to the fact that most Unreal Tournament weapons are a bit odd but for a futuristic game such as it is, it's only natural to have them that way.

While Unreal Tournament didn't exactly set a bar that none could reach, it did define a new era for "Let's conceptualize the most far fetched ideas and find out exactly what they'll be like in a first person shooter game".



From one end of the spectrum to another, Counter Strike and even Counter Strike Source (CSS) may not have the best graphics out there but it's game play, setting and modding capabilities are met by only a few other fps games. This is another highly popular lan game. Actually, it just depends on the lan you go to but there's no denying that some of its variations can be quite entertaining. Gun game is a type that ranks fairly high even if it's a bit unfair for the novice player. I've seen some very interesting and odd modifications to this game and custom maps ranging from The Simpsons to Star Wars levels.

Counter Strike truly opened the door for realistic fps gaming that paved the way for games like Call of Duty 4 and its ultra realistic approach to first person shooters.



Quake 2 was the first true fps that combined futuristic weaponry with smooth and solid yet semi realistic game play. It had certain aspects that weren't too far fetched and its pace was tolerable unlike previous incarnations. The graphics were a good improvement over Doom and Quake 1 which you could immerse yourself into much more than before. For me, it was my first multiplayer fps that I played consistently back in the 90s and had a load of fun doing so. Quake 2 also marked a vast improvement in grenades and what effect they could have in an fps. I spent many nights finding new methods of dishing out my napalm nades to their unsuspecting victims. :)

Quake 2 set up the perfect balance in control, movement and fragging that most games haven't been able to match or surpass. Quake is still going strong and its latest form has come out in Quake Live that is an fps free online games.



The only reason Doom doesn't get the number one spot is due to its multiplayer component which was more experimental in nature at the time rather than being solid and playable. And don't even get me started on Doom 3's multiplayer. It was garbage. Other than that, Doom was the pioneer in First Person Shooter games even if it looks dated to some new gamers; us old schoolers still love it to death. There was nothing better than playing at 1 in the morning with all your lights turned off, running around in dark barely lit corridors within the game and then having a pinky demon jump out and make you lose it completely. I think I shat myself more than once during those late nights.

Doom 3 was a defiant improvement in graphics by leaps and bounds. It had all of the original elements plus a great storyline that kept you engaged but unfortunately the Doom 3 multiplayer just couldn't keep up. But if you combine the success of both games and the fact that Doom got fps gaming off the ground originally then you have a very solid second best fps game of all time. Oh, and keep a look out for Doom 4 as it is on the horizon.



It was only a matter of time for a game to come around and shatter conceptions and Halo did just that. It took elements of many fps games at the time and combined them into a futuristic fight to save humanity. It was the future yet with marines using projectile weapons and they were still the elite fighting force. This probably had some people confused at the time but it made sense from certain perspectives. Halo did many things; first it introduced the art of tea bagging and its many variations, lol, yes and also crotch diving too. But seriously, it did have some elements that were not exactly realistic such as shielding, crazy armor and built in motion detectors. "No Radar!" many have screamed but it was truthfully a much needed part of the game. How else are you going to get an upper hand on aliens, eh?

While Halo had some not so down to Earth aspects, it made up for it in the sheer brilliance of its multiplayer capabilities, especially with it being a console game. Linking across your home network and having a gathering of up to 16 people and seeing carnage unleashed like you hadn't before while using a controller was surely fun. Halo set the bar for a perfectly balanced fps game with great controls, movement, storyline and the list goes on and on and on.

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Honorable Mentions: Call of Duty 4, Duke Nukem 3D, Battlefield 2, Half Life and Goldeneye.