With Call of Duty: Black Ops having launched back in November gamers are getting bored. Even the multiple map packs are seemingly no longer enough to satisfy the insatiable lust for war in the modern gamer. Well Activision and Infinity Ward have let the world know this past week that they will answer the call. They did so by releasing the first teaser trailer to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 . The trailer itself leaves you only wanting more… displaying major battle locations, new equipment, and great graphics. All the “ball tingling” action in the trailer spawned a want to construct a top 5 list of the greatest first person shooters ever made.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
5.) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare released in 2007 was available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. This game was the 4th in a line of solid games under the COD banner, but this was the first to bring the realism and dirt of war to the forefront. It moved the first person shooter spotlight out of the WWII era and into the modern battlefield. The game-play for both multiplayer and campaign were excellent and filled with intense firefights and an in-depth storyline.
4.) Unreal Tournament was released in 1999 and made available on Dreamcast, Mac OS, PC, and PlayStation 2. This is the second in a series by Epic Games that have been great, but they have not been able to outdo their initial efforts. This game focuses on an over the top multiplayer gameplay the likes which had never been seen by gamers before.
3.) You cannot make a list without including where it all started, Doom released in 1993 to PC only. Doom is commonly given the honor of jump starting the entire genre of the first person shooter. This game, if your parents were anything like mine, left a ringing from constant parental complaints about the over the top blood, guts, and shear gore. Adding those three to the already menacing background track of monstrous screams and heavy breathing left many children up at night and simultaneously excited to battle again tomorrow.
2.) Halo: Combat Evolved released in 2001 and available and only on the Xbox (which may have saved an entire system). This game holds a special place in the heart of any diehard fps gamer with its incredible campaign and amazing multiplayer (up to 16 players on system link) options. The graphics of far off worlds and the multiple vehicles made the experience great. In the Halo conclusion, many people say the third times the charm but the developers at Bungie hit perfection in the first attempt.
1.) Saving the best for last, this article earlier stated that Doom may have invented the FPS genre, but Goldeneye 007 released for N64 in 1997 perfected it. The game pioneered and popularized the now-standard scoped sniper rifle, as well as hit locations on an enemy that offered a bit of realism that was previously unseen in gaming. Another great feature is the objective based missions using stealth and strategy rather than firepower introduced a new dynamic to gaming. What we all really remember though is the multiplayer, which featured tons of levels, guns, and game modes that broke away from the typical multiplayer mold.
Author: Travis Klotz
About the Author
Love the list and support all top 5 choices however, I would question the placement of Unreal at number 3, yes Doom was great and all that but Unreal brought the world those fantastic catch phrase:
Headshot
Killing Spree
Rampage
Domination
Unstoppable
GOD Like
Catch phrases that would dominate the FPS world
Now after thinking about it I must play some Unreal
…others that could of made this list; Battlefield, Quake, old school medal of honor games, but i think Half-Life has to be on the list.
You know Troy, I agree with it and I really weighed out getting half-life on the list. I just couldn’t make a strong enough case for it though to replace one that I had already concluded to be a top fiver.
Decent list, but the original true first person shooter is being overlooked. Duck Hunt!