What Makes A Good First Person Shooter: A Series

LoathsomePete · 07-01-2009, 01:19 PM

Since 1994 when I first played Doom II on my dad's PC I have always been a fan of first person shooter games. However at the same time I dedicated a lot of my time to the LucasArts adventure games like Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, and ToonStruck (not made by LucasArts). These games helped utilize my inquisitive nature and love of puzzles, while games like Duke Nukem, Doom, and Quake helped vent my anger and essentially allow my brain some rest while I just let follow a simplistic instruction of "shoot everything on screen". All this changed in 1999 when I got valves masterpiece Half-Life for Christmas, along with a computer capable of running it. Half-Life channeled my First-Person-Shooter action craving, but also brought to the table platform gaming, as well as the odd puzzle. Not only that, but it forced me to rethink my strategy of killing everything on the screen, now there were friendly A.I's who were detrimental to my survival, by either offering offensive assistance or giving me access to the next area. For the past decade now I have been a die-hard Half-Life fan, playing almost every expansion that has come out for it (I missed out on the PS2 one). Not only that, for the past 10 years I've been trying to figure out what makes a good FPS and the trends I've observed. Here are a few games that I felt have really had a profound effect on the genre of gaming, along with a quick explanation of why.

Half Life Series

I'm not sure if there's any series out there that even comes close to hitting as many points as this series does. It's got a compelling story that is shrouded in mystery, likable characters who actually feel like they all contribute, and a protagonist who's well received by almost everyone despite the fact he never says a word. Yes, the silent protagonist approach seems to have really worked out well for Valve as Gordon Freeman has reached almost mythical status and become a loved character, despite the fact he has never uttered a word. The fact that Gordon isn't a macho soldier that leaks testosterone out of every pore really helps this series differentiate itself from the rest. While like everything else it's not infallible, the long waits between games coupled with the fact it does tend to follow a bit of a pattern, I mean how many times are Valve going to make us do a see-saw puzzle? Regardless of a few minor complaints, the fact that Valve have managed to work a well written story with amazing voice acting and action sequences but with slow down periods that involve platforming and puzzles really help push Half-Life to it's own.

Call of Duty 4

I'm sure a few people are scratching their heads and wondering why I chose this title of say... Call of Duty 1 or Call of Duty 2. While I can say that I really enjoyed both titles, by the time I played them I was already bored to tears with World War II first person shooters. I did like the teamwork aspect in the first Call of Duty, for the time, the A.I. was fantastic. The thing I loved most about Call of Duty was that it completely disregarded the "Lone Wolf" approach that games like Wolfenstein 3D and the Metal of Honor series went for. Call of Duty also let you experience the War through the eyes of a British and Russian soldier, escaping the tiresome "America Won The War" feeling that every other game seemed to encompass. Call of Duty 4 took all that and put it on a grand scale. It changed up the timeline to the not too distant future, and gave a far more unique vision of what War is really like. After the incredibly starting tanker mission, I was then jumped into the body of the President of an unnamed Middle Eastern country that had just staged a coup. The only control I have is the ability to move my head as I'm driven across this city as tanks and soldiers start rolling out. Innocent civilians are being shot in the street. I know my fate is sealed, then I'm tied up to a post and a Desert Eagle is pointed in my face, then everything goes dark. The thing Call of Duty 4 does best though is giving off the feeling that WAR IS BAD. In most War FPS' you're this unstoppable bad ass who can take legions of bullets without even breaking a sweat as you triumph over an unmistakable evil. In Call of Duty 4 both sides that you play (American Marine and British SAS) are portrayed in less of a positive light and in what I can only imagine is far more realistic. Not only that, but there is a certain element of danger in it as SPOILER the American Marine you play, Sgt. Jackson, gets killed off halfway through the game in a nuclear explosion. You had just committed a heroic act of saving a downed helicopter pilot and you're flying away in your own when a nuclear blast goes off, downing your helicopter and killing the entire crew. The screen turns a crimson red and you're left dragging your body around, looking at your strewn comrades, the vacant and lifeless looks on their faces, until you yourself finally succumb to your wounds and radiation poisoning and die. Never before had I played a game where the main character actually died right in front of me despite me doing everything the game told me to do. I was completely helpless, I couldn't save him, no matter how well I played the game, I was doomed to an untimely death. There is no patriotism being shoved down our throats, there's nothing but a pile of digitally rendered dead bodies, including our own. Even the end of the game ends on a sour note as SPOILER your British SAS members, people you get attached to, are executed right in front of you, and even your own fate is left in the unknown. No game had ever really put these main characters in any real danger, especially when they're right in front of you in the game and not a cut scene. Call of Duty 4 really leaves a sour taste in your mouth as far as war is concerned.

I'm going to continue this series, but as there's quite a bit already there, I'll let you sit and digest it, comment on it, your own observations, and your arguments against me.

Enjoy!

Piss Me Off · 07-01-2009, 03:19 PM

I'm playing through Half Life 2 now (slow off the mark) and i'm still at the sewers but it's shaping up to be brilliant. What you said about shooters being all macho-marines is very correct and puts me off the genre on the whole, maybe i've been playing too much Nintendo but i ask for a bit more charm and uniqueness than that.

Ever played Postal 2? Technically not the best but it's a laugh.

LoathsomePete · 07-01-2009, 03:21 PM

No I missed out on the postal series, not by choice though I just was never able to find them and figured that they were only really good for a laugh. I have Redneck Rampage for when I need a good laugh.

mr dave · 07-01-2009, 04:27 PM

what makes a good first person shooter?

the same thing that makes any game good. an achievable goal that can only be reached by completing increasingly difficult challenges that rely on logic and reason far more than luck and reflexes to overcome.

your comments (especially in regards to CoD4) are on par with commenting on the details of the frosting on a cake as an attempt to describe the taste of the batter.

Alfred · 07-01-2009, 06:23 PM

Call Of Duty games are magnificent. I've been a fan of the series since I played the exciting and groundbreaking original game.

NSW · 07-01-2009, 06:32 PM

Call of Duty 4 was the first version I'd ever played, and up until that point the only FPS I'd played was Halo 2 and 3. Your description is right on though, and I also like how when you're playing team death match online you're team isn't always American or Russian or what have you. It's switched up. (I've only played on Xbox live, not the campaign). COD: WaW took some getting used to for me, but once I got into it I absolutely loved it too. 'Dome' is my favorite map...I always score major points on that one.

Anyways, I look forward to reading the rest of the series!

sweet_nothing · 07-01-2009, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfred

Call Of Duty games are magnificent. I've been a fan of the series since I played the exciting and groundbreaking original game.

How was the first original or groundbreaking? Haven't you ever played Medal of Honor?

Anyway, Half Life 2 and Portal are great first person shooters with amazing story lines and fun puzzles, even though both are lacking in what I think helps make a great FPS, multiplayer they more than make up for in story and gameplay. Where as the Halo series has a pretty average story line it makes up for in amazing multiplayer I used to stay up till 3 am playing it, until COD4 came out which has just as good multiplayer if not better but add an interesting story and you have a very memorable FPS. I'm very glad they are making a sequel/ spin off series which is good for the COD series because WW2 games are about as old as the war itself.

LoathsomePete · 07-01-2009, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweet_nothing

How was the first original or groundbreaking? Haven't you ever played Medal of Honor?

Anyway, Half Life 2 and Portal are great first person shooters with amazing story lines and fun puzzles, even though both are lacking in what I think helps make a great FPS, multiplayer they more than make up for in story and gameplay. Where as the Halo series has a pretty average story line it makes up for in amazing multiplayer I used to stay up till 3 am playing it, until COD4 came out which has just as good multiplayer if not better but add an interesting story and you have a very memorable FPS. I'm very glad they are making a sequel/ spin off series which is good for the COD series because WW2 games are about as old as the war itself.

The first Call of Duty was one that actually give off the feeling that you were a part of a group with friendly A.I. In Medal of Honor: Frontline, you play throughout a good portion of the game by yourself, save for the amazing Normandy Beach landing and further assault on Saint-Mathieu you're pretty much alone for the game. It also doesn't help that the Medal of Honor series has been going on for longer than the war itself, then again Call of Duty hit that mark this year as well.

As far as multiplayer is concerned, while I think that it's pretty ignorant to say that multiplayer isn't an important part of gameplay, I feel that developers are using that as an excuse to work less on an actual story and character development in favor of tapping the multiplayer market. Besides Real Time Strategy games like Starcraft and Warcraft 2, I didn't play any FPS's online til 2001 when I got Counter-Strike. By 2001, I had already been playing FPS for 7 years and grew so use to the computer A.I. that when faced against players, I couldn't seem to get any better. I think developers need to acknowledge the fact that not everyone plays online and actually put some more effort into formulating a story that's actually worth the play time.

crash_override · 07-01-2009, 10:16 PM

+A million for props on Half-Life series. You summed it up very nicely. One of my all time favorites.

Guybrush · 07-01-2009, 10:59 PM

Half-Life is without a doubt my favourite FPS series so far. I was blown away by the first game when it came back in the late 90s and the Half-Life 2 series was equally amazing. Episode 2 blew me away .. I also like HL2 multiplayer and Counter Strike (although not part of the HL story) being so popular, I can't say I agree with sweet_nothing about the HL series lacking multiplayer.

I play a lot of FPSes and aside from CoD4, a couple of other games that made impressions on me were Crysis and Bioshock, both of which I liked a lot. I'm especially looking forward to Bioshock 2!

07-01-2009, 01:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	What Makes A Good First Person Shooter: A Series Since 1994 when I first played Doom II on my dad's PC I have always been a fan of first person shooter games. However at the same time I dedicated a lot of my time to the LucasArts adventure games like Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle, and ToonStruck (not made by LucasArts). These games helped utilize my inquisitive nature and love of puzzles, while games like Duke Nukem, Doom, and Quake helped vent my anger and essentially allow my brain some rest while I just let follow a simplistic instruction of "shoot everything on screen". All this changed in 1999 when I got valves masterpiece Half-Life for Christmas, along with a computer capable of running it. Half-Life channeled my First-Person-Shooter action craving, but also brought to the table platform gaming, as well as the odd puzzle. Not only that, but it forced me to rethink my strategy of killing everything on the screen, now there were friendly A.I's who were detrimental to my survival, by either offering offensive assistance or giving me access to the next area. For the past decade now I have been a die-hard Half-Life fan, playing almost every expansion that has come out for it (I missed out on the PS2 one). Not only that, for the past 10 years I've been trying to figure out what makes a good FPS and the trends I've observed. Here are a few games that I felt have really had a profound effect on the genre of gaming, along with a quick explanation of why. Half Life Series I'm not sure if there's any series out there that even comes close to hitting as many points as this series does. It's got a compelling story that is shrouded in mystery, likable characters who actually feel like they all contribute, and a protagonist who's well received by almost everyone despite the fact he never says a word. Yes, the silent protagonist approach seems to have really worked out well for Valve as Gordon Freeman has reached almost mythical status and become a loved character, despite the fact he has never uttered a word. The fact that Gordon isn't a macho soldier that leaks testosterone out of every pore really helps this series differentiate itself from the rest. While like everything else it's not infallible, the long waits between games coupled with the fact it does tend to follow a bit of a pattern, I mean how many times are Valve going to make us do a see-saw puzzle? Regardless of a few minor complaints, the fact that Valve have managed to work a well written story with amazing voice acting and action sequences but with slow down periods that involve platforming and puzzles really help push Half-Life to it's own. Call of Duty 4 I'm sure a few people are scratching their heads and wondering why I chose this title of say... Call of Duty 1 or Call of Duty 2. While I can say that I really enjoyed both titles, by the time I played them I was already bored to tears with World War II first person shooters. I did like the teamwork aspect in the first Call of Duty, for the time, the A.I. was fantastic. The thing I loved most about Call of Duty was that it completely disregarded the "Lone Wolf" approach that games like Wolfenstein 3D and the Metal of Honor series went for. Call of Duty also let you experience the War through the eyes of a British and Russian soldier, escaping the tiresome "America Won The War" feeling that every other game seemed to encompass. Call of Duty 4 took all that and put it on a grand scale. It changed up the timeline to the not too distant future, and gave a far more unique vision of what War is really like. After the incredibly starting tanker mission, I was then jumped into the body of the President of an unnamed Middle Eastern country that had just staged a coup. The only control I have is the ability to move my head as I'm driven across this city as tanks and soldiers start rolling out. Innocent civilians are being shot in the street. I know my fate is sealed, then I'm tied up to a post and a Desert Eagle is pointed in my face, then everything goes dark. The thing Call of Duty 4 does best though is giving off the feeling that WAR IS BAD. In most War FPS' you're this unstoppable bad ass who can take legions of bullets without even breaking a sweat as you triumph over an unmistakable evil. In Call of Duty 4 both sides that you play (American Marine and British SAS) are portrayed in less of a positive light and in what I can only imagine is far more realistic. Not only that, but there is a certain element of danger in it as SPOILER the American Marine you play, Sgt. Jackson, gets killed off halfway through the game in a nuclear explosion. You had just committed a heroic act of saving a downed helicopter pilot and you're flying away in your own when a nuclear blast goes off, downing your helicopter and killing the entire crew. The screen turns a crimson red and you're left dragging your body around, looking at your strewn comrades, the vacant and lifeless looks on their faces, until you yourself finally succumb to your wounds and radiation poisoning and die. Never before had I played a game where the main character actually died right in front of me despite me doing everything the game told me to do. I was completely helpless, I couldn't save him, no matter how well I played the game, I was doomed to an untimely death. There is no patriotism being shoved down our throats, there's nothing but a pile of digitally rendered dead bodies, including our own. Even the end of the game ends on a sour note as SPOILER your British SAS members, people you get attached to, are executed right in front of you, and even your own fate is left in the unknown. No game had ever really put these main characters in any real danger, especially when they're right in front of you in the game and not a cut scene. Call of Duty 4 really leaves a sour taste in your mouth as far as war is concerned. I'm going to continue this series, but as there's quite a bit already there, I'll let you sit and digest it, comment on it, your own observations, and your arguments against me. Enjoy! __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

07-01-2009, 03:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Piss Me Off Moodswings n' Roundabouts Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: At the corner of Dude and Catastrophe Posts: 4,512	I'm playing through Half Life 2 now (slow off the mark) and i'm still at the sewers but it's shaping up to be brilliant. What you said about shooters being all macho-marines is very correct and puts me off the genre on the whole, maybe i've been playing too much Nintendo but i ask for a bit more charm and uniqueness than that. Ever played Postal 2? Technically not the best but it's a laugh. __________________ Last FM Rate Yr Music Muxtape

07-01-2009, 03:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	No I missed out on the postal series, not by choice though I just was never able to find them and figured that they were only really good for a laugh. I have Redneck Rampage for when I need a good laugh. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

07-01-2009, 06:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
Alfred one big soul Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 5,096	Call Of Duty games are magnificent. I've been a fan of the series since I played the exciting and groundbreaking original game. __________________ LAST.FM / VINYL COLLECTION / RYM

07-01-2009, 06:32 PM	#6 (permalink)
NSW Bigger and Better Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas girl living in the UK Posts: 2,596	Call of Duty 4 was the first version I'd ever played, and up until that point the only FPS I'd played was Halo 2 and 3. Your description is right on though, and I also like how when you're playing team death match online you're team isn't always American or Russian or what have you. It's switched up. (I've only played on Xbox live, not the campaign). COD: WaW took some getting used to for me, but once I got into it I absolutely loved it too. 'Dome' is my favorite map...I always score major points on that one. Anyways, I look forward to reading the rest of the series! __________________ Hi.

07-01-2009, 10:59 PM	#10 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	Half-Life is without a doubt my favourite FPS series so far. I was blown away by the first game when it came back in the late 90s and the Half-Life 2 series was equally amazing. Episode 2 blew me away .. I also like HL2 multiplayer and Counter Strike (although not part of the HL story) being so popular, I can't say I agree with sweet_nothing about the HL series lacking multiplayer. I play a lot of FPSes and aside from CoD4, a couple of other games that made impressions on me were Crysis and Bioshock, both of which I liked a lot. I'm especially looking forward to Bioshock 2! __________________ Something Completely Different