Best First Person Shooter (FPS) Games of All Time
Call of Duty 4 was good and all, but Half Life 2 put it in the corner. An old, dusty, cobwebbed filled corner. To put it simply, the game has amazing immersion, and after about 30 seconds you'll feel like, well, The Freeman. This game's environment itself outmatches that of just about every other game. Lots of games send you into the first level going "Oh look this is why the game is cool" and then offers nothing afterwards. Half Life 2 ignored that idea, and continued to make the environment a living, breathing entity. Besides, the plot line is amazing, the gameplay is absolutely fantastic, and you don't have to deal with a terrible online community.
One of the things that make this game great is how epic certain parts feel. The sound effects are amazing and you always feel small and insignificant. Like the beginning of Our Benefactors, you are slowly making your way through the Citadel, and it actually feels huge compared to you. It feels real, terrifying and exhilarating. Most games seem to believe that more action and insanity creates awe-inspiring moments, but this game shows that sometimes you just need to take it slow and let all of it sink in.
Half-life revolutionised fps genre forever.. Both in games & technology. Half-life 2's source engine even after so many years is unmatched by other game engines.. Half-life is just not a mere game, it's a experience that will stay with you forever.. In my all the years of gaming.. Half-life is the greatest & unforgottable game I have ever played. So this game desires to be in number position for now & forever.
I could think of 100 games better than Call of Duty, and about 25 more games that simply can't be compared. This is one of those games. Valve is the most impressive gaming company of the modern world, and this game gives you a good reason to return to first person shooters after what an overrated mess activision made of it.
Kids these days don't know what a real shooter is. I'm only 14 years old and this game beats Call of Duty by miles. Here's my reasons why:
1. No dumb multiplayer that takes up 80% of the game. Sure, Skulltag brought in multiplayer, but at least it didn't take away the story mode.
2. WADs being made every day featuring new levels, weapons, and more.
3. No Copypasta weapons. Only the standard pistol and no such thing as a pistol type.
4. Minimal. Low design graphics, simple controls. Yet makes up for the setting and challenge.
5. Diverse enemies to keep a challenge instead of basing challenge on how many dumb soldiers are on screen.
6. Puzzling enviroment to make a good way to put in exploration after doing some arena combat.
I could think more, but I'll stop here.
I feel like every FPS has its own charm and I wouldn't say many are better than others, but Doom stands out among the rest. It's reputable for not being cookie-cutter fat in the industry, not trying to hard to be realistic, and not pulling players out of its immersive experience to play less fun side games.
Your average shooter game will consist of a variety of weapons, each only slightly different from the last. It'll have a campaign that's hard to track focusing on governmental figures. It'll have gloomy colors and ultra realistic graphics, and the campaign will have its highlights but fall short in some areas for stealth or a puzzle.
Doom cuts all of this out. It takes being eccentric and over the top seriously, hands you the bare essentials and then throws you at the enemy with a "go get em, tiger." You don't have to conform to a realistic dark corner that you hide in to snipe enemies from, and you're not fleshy in the slightest. You can run out to demons in flashy ...more
How is this not number 1? It was the game that made fps's popular, and focused only on the gameplay, which is the most important part of ANY game. All the weapons were unique, you had no bull regenerating health, and all the enemies were unique... Really the only thing I dislike are the bosses, which are too easy. But this is without a doubt the best fps game.
Without DOOM there would be no Half-Life. I'd take the original 1993 DOOM over any Half-Life games anyday. I prefer when games focus much more on the gameplay than on the story. It's not a bad thing when it does, but it's not exactly what I seek in video games. DOOM beats HL easily in the regard of gameplay, music and the overall impact it had on video game industry.
I'm so glad that this masterpiece is in number 2. In my mind is in number one thou (I haven't played half life 2). Is just that it's so so hard for me to imagine a better game than this one. Its like somebody entered my deepest dreams, perfected them and made them into a video game. A game where I can not only shoot at enemies like crazy (which we all,mostly boy gamers, LOVE to do and don't deny it) I also get an immersive, genius and surreal atmosphere and if that was not enough I also get a mindblowing story. Its hell indeed like entering to my own dreams. This is some crazy that I now think there are two classes of videogames: Bioshock and "rest of them" Truth is that Bioshock its not just a good game. It's a CRAZY ass good game. Period.
I've played Half-Life 2, all the CoDs up to BO2, all the Halos, all the Battlefields, Counter Strike, just about every shooter worth playing. No other game has ever drawn me in, immersed me in its world, and then completely turned that world upside down on its head (looking at you, crazy plot twists) and shattered my expectations of a shooter as BioShock has done. Not only was the game absolutely beautiful when it came out (the art style is still fantastic all these years later), but it introduced mechanics that no other major shooter on the market had anything close to. Yes, BioShock Infinite improved upon those mechanics, and we have other shooters like Destiny in which shooters and RPGs are seeing some mixing, but BioShock was the one that took the original formula and made it so unbelievably fun and satisfying. Aside from maybe fighting Sephiroth in KH2 or Liquid Ocelot (or any other boss) in MGS4, few other things in gaming, in any other game at all, can compare to fighting a Big ...more
I've played a limited amount of this game and have watched a singular video and can already appreciate its beauty. There are just enough enemies to keep you on your toes but not enough to devalue the fear. I haven't even gotten to the twist.
Bioshock takes the cake. No other FPS has put as much thought into the mechanics, the story, or the atmosphere, as my dear friend Bioshock has. If I were to ever design a FPS game, my first thought would be, "How can we surpass Bioshock? "
Halo has one of the best stories in gaming history. Most shooters had just small stories to keep the person interested through the whole game. But halo had a rich story that didn't drop you at the begining of the whole covy-human war but after a massive assault of one of our colonies and you are the only survivor and must flee. That's what makes it a great game it has a deeper story than most other shooters and not saying that any of the others on this list are crap but this has a back story. Many fans had always wondered what happened in the story just hours before the opening cutscene. That's what makes not just a great shooter but a great game when they throw an already begun story and drop you right in the middle of one of the many high points of the story. I have played all of the shooters in this list and though they are all great in their own way this game has masterpiece spelled from corner to corner.
Halo is one of the best FPS games out there. True, it IS sad that it is limited to the Xbox franchise and thus the audience is limited, but look at how much it revolutionised first person shooters. Halo has everything a true FPS follower would want... A great and deep storyline to follow, a classic and amazing weapons system, amazing characters... It even has two T.V. series and has another one coming up soon and is has an RTS game too, with a sequel coming up soon. I love you, halo
Halo revolutionized console gaming. Console gaming used to be a joke (with some exceptions from the developer Rare), but Halo totally changed all that. It introduced the two weapon system that really worked well for consoles and the perfect regeneration system. Imagine games like Call of Duty. They are some huge shooters. Without Halo, they would not have had the features that make them so fun.
Honestly, this list is entirely hammered by fanboys. Call of Duty and Half Life are great games but they wouldn't be anywhere if Halo hadn't jumped the gun in 2001. I know Half Life and Call of Duty came first, but HL2 and COD4 took a lot of influence from Halo. Pretty much ever FPS since Halo has taken influence from it. It just doesn't get better than this. Hands down the great FPS experience ever to hit the consoles. The PC version is very good as well.
2007 was a great year for gaming, specifically First person shooters. BioShock and the Orange Box were better than this game. But this was the 3rd best FPS of the 7th generation in my opinion. The rest of the Call of Duty games were exactly the same as this, unfortunately.
The multiplayer for this Call of Duty game is amazing. All of the guns are fun to use and you don't get bored quickly like some of the newer Call of Duty games. The campaign is perfectly put together, and when you play it you can sense that the game was worked hard on.
It might not be the first FPS, nor it has the best graphics but it revolutionized FPS forever. After it's release, we look at FPS games differently. Somehow, this became a benchmark of what a good FPS game would be, both in Single Campaign and Multiplayer.
Say this is generic all you want. Say that Call of Duty is overrated. But this is the best shooter I have played in the next few years after this has been out.
I've done multiple rants of why Halo 3 is the greatest shooter of all time on this very site, let alone all the rest. This game is the peak of Bungie and all games should try to one up this one.
I am very surprised that this isn't the highest halo game on this list. It revolutionized halo and the first forge game to come out. It gave you the opportunity to make your own maps, your own gametypes, you made the game. It was the first, and in my heart, the best game with forge, let alone game in general. Ghostbusters and Cops n' Crooks leave memories of a great time in gaming. If you haven't played it, give it a try, you will not be disappointed.
It alarms me that people put Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 over this. As well as Call of Duty 2. Don't get me wrong, those are great games, but this is a true masterpiece. The best selling Xbox 360 game of all time, and #15? Well ahead of any Call of Duty game with the possible exception that it competes with Call of Duty 4.
Common for people to choose Call of Duty over the one game that put the Xbox where it is today, but truly without Halo the Xbox would not have been able to compete with the Playstation and cement in spot in the Platform competition today.
When someone asks me what's the "best FPS", still to this day I think of Goldeneye. Maybe there's an element of nostalgia coming into play, but I just cannot explain the impact this game had on me!
I spent endless hours playing the campaign, even to the point of restarting a level if I didn't get 100% head shots and 100% accuracy!
I spent hours at a time with my best pals playing four player split screen around a rubbish 14inch T.V. ! The three of them would gang up on me and I wiuld still win every time.
Playing Goldeneye was pretty much an obession for me between 12-15. I played at least an houria day for three years! One of my biggest regrets is selling my N64 to Kev Mitchell so I could go paintballing... What an idiot!
Golden eye is the grand daddy of the fps genre. Though call of duty maintains it, halo revived it, and half life reinvented it, Goldeneye raised it. If golden eye was never made, none of the fps' we know and love would have ever existed. Don't believe me? Well the Game is on sale now @ amazon.com for a whopping $145.95. And if you have the cahones to buy and get 4 controllers for you and your buddies it will still be fun today. Besides, how cool is it to kill somebody with a karate chop to the back of the neck?
Doom may have started the FPS genre, but Goldeneye 007 perfected it. There's not a better shooter in the world than GoldenEye, and it's one of the best games of all time.
This game was and STILL is my favorite FPS ever made on any system. I just recently bought it and I have played it a lot in just 2 days.
The original Modern Warfare is always gonna be better. Honestly, I find this game to be a little overrated. But overall, I still found it to be a really good entry in the franchise.
After this game, every other Call of Duty sucked. But I think this is the best one with amazing graphics. Glad all the four year olds ditched this one for the latest one and fifa. They also ruined bf3 tf2 and fc3.
Sure there was a lot of glitches and problems but come on everyone played it and I had so much fun even if people n00btubed.
Best online play of any game. Graphics are good but what really makes this game cool is the detail.
Revolutionized playing FPS games on a console and put Xbox on the Map! From the launch of Xbox Live on the original Xbox till the end, Halo 2 was always the most played game. For sure, my favorite game of all time (of any genre)!
Surely, Halo 2 revolutionized online gaming, particularly Xbox live.
Not that good
This game is a timeless classic. After 14 YEARS it still has a big community and a thriving trading system. With multiple different classes, gamemodes, objectives, and weapons, team fortress 2 is undoubtedly the best FPS game of all time.
I have been playing for about half a year now and invest an hour at least each day. This is possibly the most addictive game I've ever played and one of the only fps games I can actually like. It's not like the others because it focuses on fun, team, it's out there, the load outs are great because the weapons are different not just "Oh it shoots faster... Oh it has a scope... Oh there is slightly more ammo." like in Call of Duty. In tf2 it's "Oh these do more critical hits in a certain scenario, looks completely different and can completely change this classes style of gameplay." It isn't just go here and shoot that and win. Instead it has fun objectives that you have to work with a team to achieve. It isn't bland and the art style is amazing with a 50's painting look that still holds up today even though it was made in 2008 or 2007. The game was in development for a long time and turned out to be amazing! It is also free to play now so there is no reason not to get it if you have a ...more
Best fps ever! They haven't made a third or forth, because, unlike call of duty, They aren't releasing the same crap over and over, and just giving their fine turd varnish every 2 months to release the same crap they took several years ago. Call of Duty = decent game to improved game to same game demoted to re-released turd to shinier turd to overused turd to the same game with slightly better graphics and same gameplay. TF2 should be number 1. Unique, original, and doesn't make parents wonder where they went wrong.
My tf2 story: I got the Orange box mainly to play portal on my Xbox 360 back in 2010 (it didn't buy it or find it p, I just said I wanted portal and I got it as a gift in late 2010). I noticed there were other games on it so I tried them out. When I went to tf2 I was confused and went to commentary mode for some reason, my friend was talking to me about it and eventually I went online and got addicted to it. My friend later got the game and we played for a while. Then it became free for PC so I got it. While my PC sucked and ran it at 10fps. 5 while recording it was a fun time, but I still prefer the console version to this day because of how the PC version has changed
It's more about adventure than killing. That's something almost all FPS franchises fail to understand. Metroid Prime should be number 1, it's very creative how to makes you go down to a planet infused in Phazon, so then you have to track the source down that killed the chozos and most of the inhabitants. It also has beautiful scenery and every enemy is different.
Shooter's aren't my favorite, but some of them I do really like, like Metroid Prime here. But seriously, Half-Life 2 at number 1? I know people will hate me for saying this, but I tried Half-Life 2, and saw nothing special about it. Sorry, just my opinion, I'd take Metroid, or even Call of Duty anyday. Also, Titanfall is a good recent shooter, from what I've played.
No other FPS besides Half Life and Bioshock are able to completely immerse the player in its world. Metroid Primes environments across all 3 games are absolutely stellar and the adventure like gameplay takes full use of these beautiful locales. The boss fights are also spot on.
Metroid Prime is not the typical FPS game you'd expect. It's an immersive game that so addicting and so perfect, you'd never want let go of the game once you start! It has propelled the FPS genre a lot and influenced it in so many ways! Definitely deserves to be in top 5.
Well-balanced and sophisticated levels, humour and one-of-a-kind style of action make this one's replayability the main reason to deem it a king of all FPS games ever.
It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of gum.
This game has the best cheesy lines out of any FPS games.
Fantastic game.. One of the first shooters to bring an inventory into the mix!
It should be first tied with Doom. Half Life ruined gaming.
My fourth favorite Call of Duty game. There's not much to say except this game is amazing. I personally think that it was the last good Call of Duty game ever made.
Campaign is super good! Best Call of Duty ever!
Zombies is very fun especially Origins!
Most fun multiplayer! # Call of Duty BLACK OPS 2
This is the game when Call of Duty went downhill...
Its only #19? This game is the BEST though...
An awe inspiring game. From the personal and intense campaign to the stunning graphics and leveltion. In no other game can you fly a jet, then parachute out, counter a knife attack, get in a jeep, set C4, and sprint away from a 80 story skyscraper falling on top of you. Also, none of the guns are completely better than one another; they eAch have there own strengths. This game is a stepping stone to the next era of first person shooters.
What the heck is Battlefield 4 doing in 38th? Its campaign is epic and has a great story line, its mulitplayer is better by far than any other fps game due to: levoloution, counter knife, vehicles ranging from jeeps to attack jets, dynamic maps, wider variety of weapons than any other game, not to mention it has 64 similtanious players etc. Battlefield 4 in my opinion is far too underrated for such an amazing game, and that it is better than Call of Duty and halo alike
This game is awesome! Great graphics, realistic, awesome campaign, and you actually get to drive all the vehicles. Unlike Call Of Duty
No little kids, awesome knife system, everything about it is good except the space it takes up.
Has a great variety of different kinds of gameplay throughout the game; each mission introduces new kinds of mechanics, ensuring that nothing feels repetitive, making Half Life engaging and fun throughout the whole game. Congratulations to Valve on accomplishing something great like this!
No other title (with the exception of Doom) has revolutionized the world of gaming as much as Half-Life. This game singlehandedly changed storytelling in games forever. I personally prefer this game to Half-Life 2 but this franchise as a whole is a must play for anyone who calls themselves a gamer
One of the pioneer games of the FPS genre, Half-Life paved the way for many of the games people know and love today. Great storyline and design, it should never be forgotten.
It broke the world in 1998. Its amazing world and a long story (Up to 40 game hours) are the best ever made. It's the game, which will always be, as Counter-Strike 1.6 made by Valve too.
This one had the most immersive story in my opinion. When the characters died, I felt sad and knew I would miss them. The main character is just as enjoyable as the Master Chief and they kill him off to heighten drama, which worked might I add. The multiplayer and firefight modes really add to the experience and show just what Halo can do with the right tools and its excellency.
This game should be around the top tens, along with the great first 3 Halo games. All four of these are originally made by Bungie. I have always considered Bungie's original creations to be the best in the Halo series.
It's a superb game a person can play this whole day and still he will be willing to play more. When I started playing this whole day my home was filled with my friends and the most interesting thing is... His sword
This game is probably the best halo game. The campaign is good. It has the most customization of any halo game even after halo 5. The graphics are good and still hold up to today and the pc version finally gave us spawnable ai in the game
This should be #1 permanently. Young kids only started with Call of Duty or boyfriend that's why they're popular but no other game can ever defeat the original team based FPS that is Counter Strike. Even Battle Field version 1,000,000+ or Call of Duty version 1,000,000+ can never ever top this game.
Why isn't this #1?
Counter Strike is a perfectly balanced game for everyone. This is like the basketball or football(soccer for idiots) of esports but much more balanced because your body doesn't matter. If esports are accepted by everyone in the future this game will obviously be the most popular.
This is the best fps of all time, hands down, nothing else comes even remotely close.
The fact pro's still make a living playing this game 13 years after release is mind blowing.
Even it's old and has bad graphics it will always be a hit and will forever be played! Many mods, many challenges, good weapons and equipment..
By the way: SOURCE SUCKS!
Wolfenstein 3D broke the entire ground that FPS stands on... And it wasn't just a ground-breaker in that mind-set. It featured bosses that were extremely evil and sadistic, from the maniacal and diabolical Doctor Schabbs, who experimented on humans and created deadly mutated fighting machines out of them... To the menacingly demonic Hitler, who wore a battle suit and fought with brutal precision with dual chainguns and rapid fire. The game was not just a breakthrough for FPS games, a definitive game for bosses, a controversial title for the Nazi enemies, and adding a tremendous amount of levels and secrets, it was also the most powerful title that fed into the mainstream for decades to follow. Wolfenstein 3D is the legend of all FPS games, hands down.
Though it look cheap by todays standers, think about when this came out? A great innovation to gaming history.
Best bosses ever in a video game. Dr. Schabbs, Otto Giftmacher, Adolf Hitler, Hans Grosse, Gretel Grosse, and General Fettgesicht. All the most awesome level constructs and maps as well. This is my favorite FPS game to this day.
My favorite game in the call of duty series. The single player storyline is a little weak but online multi-player and zombies is the best.
Call of duty 4 just makes you worse at the game. Black ops has zombies, An awesome multiplayer and campaign
Only for zombies
It has a story and atmosphere that almost rivals the original, but more than makes up for it in gameplay. In terms of gameplay alone this is the best shooter I have ever played. Add to that an amazingly well told story and bada bing bada boom, best FPS of all time.
Crazy good. Executing enemies that are already being attacked by a murder of crows on fire. Good lord violent games have evolved in my opinion with this game. Stunning perfection that every fps gamer loves. Yeah, even if they have not played it. Its just mindblowing.
This is literally my favorite game of all time. The story is so well thought out, and the characters bring you into the narrative. Irrational Games did a fantastic job with the storyline. Great game!
For me, it's the best game ever made. I play various types of games (FIFA, NHL, Call of Duty, Battlefield, NFS, rFactor) but nothing beats Bioshock Infinite. Beatiful city with rotten people who just want to be brutally murdered by your Skyhook :) Story like nothing else in this genre. Makes you think about it for long time, after you finish it. PS. Sorry for my poor English
Battlefield 3 is the new age amazing First Person Shooter. I Don't understand how this game can be so low? The Music, the graphics, the story and the multiplayer? DICE have really add effort to this game, and not a game like Call of Duty there they use the same engine to all their games, its like Buying Countre-Strike: Source and download some skins and new maps and sell it and say it's a whole new game. GG.
Totally agree, this should be number one, let alone in the top ten. Can you fly jets and helicopters in Call of Duty? Can you drive buggys and tanks? NO. That alone makes BF3 better than any Call of Duty game in the past, present and future.
Just Got it recently, and right off the bat it was better than Call Of Duty. The only Call of Duty that Could beat it is Modern Warfare 1, Because its is a classic modern online shooter.
Screw it usin vote but what would shooters be without Call of Duty 4 imagine just imagine this game wouldn't even exist so if Call of Duty didn't exist what shooters would fight halo vs boyfriend vs medal of honor? I know your opinion but imagine a world without Call of Duty
If you play a lot Call of Duty, you should play this game because has great campaign, good spec ops missions, and its multiplayer is so intense.
A good game.
Call of Duty is not a very good game, and in my opinion being milked out for money and money only...
Mw3 has cool weapons, coll maps bigger than the ones in black ops 2, coll story, the multiplayer is exciting, yust the best game ever.
Most addictive for me. Riot Shield all the way! :P
This game didn't top the charts, and I REALLY like TF2 better (along with Half life 2, CSGO, Brink, Titanfall, and many others), but it's getting old now and is sort of dying, but still, this game had it made in 2016. But there just are a lot of FPS out there that just top this game. So, on a scale of one to ten, I will say a 7.1, just to be fair to those who like the game.
This game has amazing characters and graphics. All the characters except mei are likeable and fun the play as. The workshop made the game more interesting and better and the events are great
Overwatch is pretty awesome, it's maybe not the most original game ever (since the concept is kinda like TF2) but with all the new original heroes added I think it deserves a spot in the top 20.
Overwatch is a really fun Game. One of the best games of all time. And not only that. Overwatch is the best shooter game ever made.
Borderlands 2 is very fun. The story is fun and its great to find legendary weapons. The gameplay is so fun and this game dumps on the idea that all fps games are the same as it has rpg elements and the characters are amazing
It definitely has the most to do out of all fps games.
It's the best Fps I've ever played in my life and I'm still playing it to this day I have not stopped and the reason behind that is because Borderlands 2 has a very fun lore if your into that or the awesome loot system it has. It is clearly one of if not the best game ever.-UNCLEsammy1776
My favorite game ever
Huge game with beautiful graphic, great dogfights, etc. Just overall a Master piece!
Greatest game ever!