# Best 'first person shooter' (PC) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303 "2006-12-15T16:21:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/1 "2006-12-15T16:21:48Z")
I am a big kid and admit I like many computer games, especially so-called “first person shooters”. Which would you recommend? I’m not interested in multiplayer, connected play. Neither do I find it fun to do a lot of pursuit or strategy. I just like to shoot things up! If it helps you appreciate my tastes better, I enjoy “Battlefield 1942” and “Il-2: Forgotten Battles” (although I don’t have a huge sample on which to judge). Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![mrald](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mrald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrald)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/2 "2006-12-15T16:22:35Z")
Have you tried Battlefield 2142 yet? ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/3 "2006-12-15T16:23:51Z")
Doom 3. Mindless entertainment, and also scary as shit! ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/4 "2006-12-15T16:38:05Z")
[QUOTE=Dante] Doom 3. Mindless entertainment, and also scary as shit! [/QUOTE] I didn’t like Doom 3. It started out great, but I like a first person shooter with a storyline (which Doom 3 didn’t have). I never bothered to finish it. Deus Ex, on the other hand, I’ve played all the way through 2 or 3 times and want to again. Awesome game. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/5 "2006-12-15T16:49:18Z")
I liked Clive Barker’s [Undying](http://undying.3dactionplanet.gamespy.com/undying/gameinfo/). You might get a kick out of [American McGee’s Alice](http://guidesarchive.ign.com/guides/14054/index.html), though it’s a [third person “shooter”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_McGee's_Alice). (I throw that out for the sake of variety.) Mr. Clawbane enjoyed Quake 4, Unreal 2, and said Warhammer 40K: Firewarrior was ok. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/6 "2006-12-15T16:52:07Z")
Serious Sam. Totally gratuitous high-energy multi-bad guy huge powerup shoot 'em up action. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/7 "2006-12-15T16:59:36Z")
I also asked Mr. Clawbane to list some of his “pets” and he said “Quake 2, Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament 2004”. You might like Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, though it’s forced perspective gets tiring. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/8 "2006-12-15T17:24:00Z")
I loved Deus Ex. Unfortunately, a documented bug kept me from finishing it, and by the time it was fixed, I’d lost interest. Right now I’m deeply involved in Half-Life 2. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/9 "2006-12-15T17:35:52Z")
[QUOTE=mrald] Have you tried Battlefield 2142 yet? [/QUOTE] Toss me in as a second vote here…very playable, lots of fun, occasional flying bodies and hand to hand kills, good times. There is also a free demo. I have just been playing the demo for weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/10 "2006-12-15T17:35:57Z")
[QUOTE=Dante] I loved Deus Ex. Unfortunately, a documented bug kept me from finishing it, and by the time it was fixed, I’d lost interest. Right now I’m deeply involved in Half-Life 2. [/QUOTE] How deep, right now I’m in “Entanglement”, which is part of the Prison section. Pretty engrossing ain’t it? I put the headphones on and crank up the volume! ---
**Author:** ![BunnyTVS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BunnyTVS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyTVS)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/11 "2006-12-15T17:44:31Z")
A few of my favourites, some new some old. **Prey**. Aliens sucking people from the face of the Earth (while “Don’t Fear the Reaper” plays on a jukebox). Very cool use of switchable gravity - you can end up jumping from floor to ceiling to wall mid combat. And portals warping you about. Shame about the stock “Native American Beliefs Being the True Path to Save Humanity” schtick. As mentioned above, **Half Life 2**. **Call of Duty 2** if WWII’s your bag. **No-One Lives Forever 2**. Cool 70’s secret agents, ninjas and mime artists. Yes at last all our wishes answered - an excuse to gun down mimes. **Max Payne 1 & 2**. 3rd person view, but intense action and one of the best uses of bullet time slo-mo in games. Finally **Fear**. Guns, psychically controlled clones, genetically enhanced super-soldiers and that freaky girl in a red dress. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/12 "2006-12-15T17:45:12Z")
Half-Life 2 Far Cry No One Lives Forever 2 (the tricycle-mime sequence is the best level _ever_ in FPS history) Deus Ex (but not Deus Ex 2) Call of Duty Call of Duty 2 F.E.A.R. is pretty good, but very repetitive. F.E.A.R. is pretty good, but very repetitive. F.E.A.R. is pretty good, but very repetitive. Sorta like that ^ Battlefield 2142 is a FPS? Is it online only, or single player? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/13 "2006-12-15T17:46:18Z")
Darn you **BunnyTVS**. I wanted to say NOLF first. Darn you to heck and back again. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/14 "2006-12-15T17:56:36Z")
Stay away from\*\* F.E.A.R. \*\* It’s one of the stupidest games I’ve ever played. I can’t believe it got a 93% from the notoriously hard-to-please _PC Gamer_. Some things that made it a mediocre and bland shooter: Repetitive: As was already said, it’s repetitive. Go into a room, kill all the guys, advance to the next room, kill all the guys. Boring environments: This is the most annoying thing for me. I want a variety of environments in my FPSs, not the same tiled floors and white walls and flourescent lights in every single area. Cliched levels: How many fucking underground steam tunnels, water treatment facilities, and office buildings are game developers going to make? Seriously…these are the absolute most cliched FPS settings. Story: none. Mission variety: The mission objective is “Locate Paxton Fettel” for about seven levels straight. Creepy little girl: this is getting really old. Really, really, really old. Stupid title: F.E.A.R. stands for “First Encounter Assault Recon.” A really lame backronym if I’ve ever heard one. What the fuck is “Assault Recon?” Don’t be fooled by the graphics: gameplay-wise, F.E.A.R. is a really mediocre game. Far Cry is a lot more entertaining and a tropical island is a lot nicer to look at. Battlefield 2141 is a good one as well. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/15 "2006-12-15T18:05:06Z")
In my defense, I haven’t played other games against creepy little girls, and did get a few “whoa” moments early on. And I could care less about the title. The other items (environments, levels, mission variety) all fall under repetitive. You left out the fact that the enemies are also repetitive. Above average AI, though. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/16 "2006-12-15T18:18:50Z")
I have to take this opportunity to say: **S.T.A.L.K.E.R.** , after years of delays, actually appears to be done and is set for release in March. (The developer has just started its ad campaign and the various forums for people awaiting the game have had a flurry of excitement about the new trailers and other media over the past 3 weeks.) There are several good videos but [this trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOiU3OdM2-Q&mode=related&search=) on Youtube is my favorite one. (The US version of the game will have English voices but honestly I kind of like the Russian in that video!) Now _there_ is a game that’s going to be unique. Full day/night cycles, weather effects, super-realistic AI, Deus Ex-style inventory and trading interface, and a combination of FPS and RPG elements. I’m going to be upgrading my machine for this one. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/17 "2006-12-15T18:22:56Z")
[QUOTE=Uncommon Sense] How deep, right now I’m in “Entanglement”, which is part of the Prison section. Pretty engrossing ain’t it? I put the headphones on and crank up the volume! [/QUOTE] I have a separate computer room, so I can turn up my surround system fairly loud without disturbing my wife. Which is fortunate, because I just got the RPG launcher and shot down my first Combine Gunship. It asploded good! ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/18 "2006-12-15T18:24:58Z")
**D\_Odds** stole my suggestion. [F.E.A.R Combat](http://www.joinfear.com/main) is free… but it’s multi-player only, which you said doesn’t interest you. It will give you an idea of how the game plays, though. There’s also [Narbacular Drop](http://www.nuclearmonkeysoftware.com/)… ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/19 "2006-12-15T18:49:43Z")
Well I liked FEAR - yes it is repetitive but on a modern system the graphics are outstanding. Far Cry. Incredibly rich environment. Story isn’t really anything new but it’s done really well. A bit dated but Soldier Of Fortune - total arcade-style play, but when you shoot someone chunks come flying off in graphic detail. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303/20 "2006-12-15T18:54:54Z")
Seconded on Soldier of Fortune. That’s one of the most fun FPSs I’ve ever played. I don’t think there is a gorier shooter out there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-first-person-shooter-pc/384303.md?page=2)