FPS that really defined the genre, what do you think?

[VVoltz]

I'm a big FPS fan but I really don't play games that much so about three years ago I made one commitment to finish three of the games that really defined the whole genre:
Doom
Half-Life
Halo
I know I'm several years late but here are some (short) comments about each of those:

Doom
I was lucky to finish Doom short after I made my commitment, I used Legacy Doom and my PC, awesome game.
Man, the jump from the few levels of Wolfenstein I played is awesome, so many monsters on the screen, the levels are completely sick (specially the latest ones) and so many weapons! The final boss is a little boring thou.

Half-Life
One thing Doom lacked completely was a story, there was no narrative, it was all action. Half-Life you can almost say it feels like a movie, from the initial credits rolling while you get familiar with the controls to the very end.
While the game is full of action there is a lot of emphasis on puzzle solving and adventure, a lot of jumps, you can really see why Portal was so famous, I mean the people at Valve can create some situations that while not impossible can make you think and say "ah!" before advancing, perfect balance of fun and commitment to the game.
One thing thou the last levels are too difficult and are somewhat un balanced from the rest of the experience.
I finished the PS2 copy, the best one based on the original engine.

Halo
The first time i tried Halo with a friend I almost puked, those ship levels with so many small halls and labyrinth-esque distribution were very de satisfying to play.
I give it a small chance again just after I read the fist Halo novel, created specially for the game, well, now I see why this game was a console seller, from the balance of the weapons to the AI and even the graphics this game sweats quality in all fronts. A superb story telling is joined by an excellent and strategically challenged experience, Bungie IS one of the best developers out there.
The magnitude of the levels really made me see why this type of game was never to appear on the PS2, it was just to gorgeous.
Also, the last level is definitely heads and shoulders above anything that was on it's time, that was in fact the jump from old gen to next gen for FPSs.
I finished Halo in my 360 last night.

Well, again, I know I'm a few years late (in Doom, a few dozen of years).
But for you what games do you think defined the genre or which ones defined the genre?

 

[CockroachMan]

I started playing FPSs around 1995.. with Wolfenstein 3D..

IMO..
Wolfenstein 3D cause it was the first

DOOM brought the genre one step up, with different types of enemies and more complex level design.

Quake was the first really 3D first person shooter, making players really having to aim in 2 axes for the first time.. which ended up in the WASD+mouse control becoming the standard. The biggest revolution here, though, was the multiplayer.. I remember seeing friends buying better computers to play a game for the first time with Quake. Quake was the first game I can remember with focus on Internet multiplayer and a good implementation of it.

Half-Life, like VVoltz said, before it, people didn't knew how to tell a story in a FPS game. Half Life showed that it was possible to tell a good story in a FPS game, not to mention, using puzzle elements and a great AI never seen before.

IMO, the genre hasn't evolved much since that.. don't take me wrong, I personally think Half Life 2 is better than the first one in a lot of ways, but today's FPSs have evolved more in graphics and physics than in gameplay.. As for Halo, I think Bungie did a great job bringing a quality FPS to consoles, it certainly has it's importance, but I don't see it doing nothing really new.

 

[EDX]

Half-Life, like VVoltz said, before it, people didn't knew how to tell a story in a FPS game. Half Life showed that it was possible to tell a good story in a FPS game, not to mention, using puzzle elements and a great AI never seen before.

Guess you guys have never heard of system shock or marathon. Those games had a great story long before Half-Life came out.

Marathon is the predecessor to halo. You can grab it for free at source.bungie.org/get It's a great trilogy of game that has one of the best stories of any game, period. And nobody has ever heard of it...

 

[Filter]

Counter Strike comes to mind.

 

[Ferrariman]

Half-Life, duh

 

[Doomsday Forte]

No love for Faceball 2000? *shot*

Oooh, Halo precursor for free? I'll try it. As for Halo itself...well, I dunno, I think if anything, the fact that it was on consoles was a big point since most of the other games were PC or ports from PC. I suppose it was more accessible to people hence it moving systems, but apart from that...

The only FPS I regularly play/ed was UT2004, and...well, that's pretty self-explanatory. I never did the campaign mode, all of my gametime being taken up by Instant Action. The sheer amount of add-on junk is astounding too. Shame that most of the people making stuff for it have lost interest or moved on in general.

 

[CockroachMan]

Half-Life, like VVoltz said, before it, people didn't knew how to tell a story in a FPS game. Half Life showed that it was possible to tell a good story in a FPS game, not to mention, using puzzle elements and a great AI never seen before.

Guess you guys have never heard of system shock or marathon. Those games had a great story long before Half-Life came out.

Marathon is the predecessor to halo. You can grab it for free at source.bungie.org/get It's a great trilogy of game that has one of the best stories of any game, period. And nobody has ever heard of it...

I played the second Marathon.. more than 10 years ago.. Halo has a lot of similar elements from it.. ironically, the first Marathon was a Mac exclusive, one of the reasons why the game is so unknown.

I'm not saying that there was no FPS with good story until then, there were games with good stories like Dark Forces and Hexen. What Half Life created was a new way to tell a story without breaking the flow of the game, the story is all told in-game without cut-scenes, texts, or whatever.. this was something revolutionary in 1998, and it's the standard till today.

 

[CyberFish]

Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Duke Nukem 3D really got the FPS genre started in the mid 90s. Goldeneye really showed how fun multiplayer could be at the time as well.

Those games IMO really defined the FPS genre. Halo is an over rated version of UT.

 

[Hadrian]

As well as the usual I'd like to mention Medal of Honor on the PSX, the first FPS to truly give a proper WWII feel. Shame the series burnt out soon after.

Also spare a thought for Maze War which pre-dated Wolfenstein by three decades. Even Wolfenstein wasn't the first of iD softwares FPS, that goes to Catacomb 3D.

I'm also pretty sure that many of the home computer adventure/RPG games from the 80's are also pretty vital to what we have today, they were pretty limited but the limits also inspire.

Of course when it comes down to it Doom is the best one, its the one I've played the most and unlike Half-Life (which I love) I can dip in and out whenever I want to. I still have a lot of love for the other games but there is something about Doom that always pulls me in.

 

[Canonbeat234]

I believe the FPS game I have played was Doom, I love it for the cheat, secrets. It was awesome.

 

[Calafas]

Doom, Quake, and Goldeneye. Goldeneye was probably the first fps i played when i was a kid quite a time ago, and it had fantastic 1-player story, along with an amazing multiplayer mode, with plenty of levels and weapons to keep me playing for ages.

Doom and Quake, although old games, i've only really started playing recently (thanks to the doom port on the DS, and Quake on the Wii), and i'm finding them both fantastic games, well worth a play, with a multitude of weapons and enemies, definately worth a shot. *ahem*

 

[EDX]

I agree that half-life raised the bar in suspension of disbelief when playing a video game. It really raised the bar in how plot can develop in a video game.

Anybody ever played Strife? It's a game based off the doom engine with RPG elements. You could interact with characters that had voice and your conversation choices affected the direction of the plot. The only people who played this game were apparently developers, I've seen many interviews where developers cited strife as a major influence on their work.

 

[Anakir]

Goldeneye on N64 for me. I hardly ever play FPS actually.

 

[Maikel Steneker]

I think Wolfenstein and Doom defined the genre. Quake 2 and 3 made the multiplayer really great, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark brought the experience to the consoles (in this case the N64) and Unreal Tournament 2004 made the multiplayer more massive.

 

[Shakraka]

FPS that defined the genre
QUOTEHalo

Too bad you're not trolling, otherwise I would've added a reaction image.

Anyways, the original games that defined the FPS genre were undoubtedly Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Half-Life. Those were the greatest of their time.

More recent FPS games that I think defined the genre were Bioshock, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1/2, and Oblivion with guns.

And the FPS game that strayed from the standard setting but managed to be an excellent game is STALKER: Shadows of Chernobyl. I would have also added Clear Sky if it wasn't for the fact that I haven't played it yet.

 

[DeadLocked]

Call of duty World at war... miles better than CoD4 IMO... better in every way especially the nazi zombie mode minigame.. really is the only part of CoD5 I like personally because I don't like shooters as much as some but it really adds a new side to the game... Could've been more vehicles though -.-

Forge on Halo 3 defines it also, only reason I played for months was because of custom DLC

 

[Diosoth]

Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Half-Life, and Halo would be my 5 picks.

 

[Filter]

I love playing the N64 Golden Eye maps on Counter Strike.

 

[GameDragon]

I'd have to go with Doom, Half-Life, and Goldeneye.

 

[Hillsy_]

Nobody played System Shock 2 or Deus Ex 1???