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The 28 Best FPS Games

• By The Gamepros
• October 10, 2008 10:59 AM PST
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#18: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas

Why It's Great: From the first moment you signal your team to rappel into a casino, blasting the windows open as you toss a smoke grenade into a blackjack parlor, you know you've hit something special. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas took the dynamic of acting as a team and made it a central asset to the FPS experience. With an emphasis on teamwork, Vegas was also a blast to play co-op or competitively against (and with) other players, constantly forcing gamers to think on their feet as they moved through expertly detailed Las Vegas layouts. What happens in Vegas is a blast.

#17: Battlefield 1942

Why It's Great: The Battlefield series truly lives up to its name; instead of casting you as the lone American soldier up against a castle of Nazi goons, you took on the role of one selected unit in the midst of a massive battle. Battlefield's online play was extraordinary for its time, truly giving the players the experience that they were part of a history in motion, reenacting famous battles from the Battle of the Bulge to Omaha Beach. With historically accurate maps ripped straight from history textbooks, a wide array of era-specific vehicles at your fingertips, and team-based gameplay that made you a true team player, Battlefield 1942 proved itself as one of the most authentic -- and enjoyable -- World War II shooters to date.

#16: Far Cry

Why It's Great: Far Cry marked the debut of what the CryEngine, which later powered Crysis. Even today, Far Cry's technical abilities are impressive. You can explore a huge open-world island, destroy environments brick by brick, and hang-glide from one mountaintop to another. Best of all, it was fun! From the deep single-player campaign to the intense multiplayer, Far Cry was an incredibly rewarding experience that proved that when the man with a gun is wearing a Hawaiian shirt, he's just as threatening as the other guy. if you haven't play Far Cry yet, you're missing out on a classic.

#15: Unreal Tournament

Why It's Great: Unreal Tournament was a bold move from the team at Epic Games, who later went on to create the fabulously popular Gears of War. Though Unreal Tournament is now regarded as a modern classic, at the time it represented a huge gamble for Epic: at the time, the studio was more famous for its single-player campaign than its multiplayer modes. But upon its release, Unreal Tournament became an instant classic due to its lighting-quick action, massive arsenal, and open support for fan-made mods and mutators. The controls, graphics, sound, and online modes were all hugely influential -- this is another series that played a key role in the creation of Halo.

#14: Metroid Prime

Why It's Great: Metroid Prime for the GameCube isn't your traditional first-person shooter. Like its 2D predecessors, Metroid Prime focused more on exploration and adventure than white-knuckle combat. Nintendo and developer Retro Studios took the Metroid franchise and turned it on its head with an incredibly deep shooter that still maintained everything from the original titles that made Metroid a household name.

#13: Perfect Dark

Why It's Great: Rare took the FPS world by storm with the announcement of Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64, which served as an important refinement over the classic Goldeneye 007. Players could choose to take part in an epic single player mode, engaging in stealthy espionage and Rambo-esque gunfight sequences as they fought their way towards the truth behind dataDyne's dark past, or jump head-on into a multiplayer experience that many would compare to that of GoldenEye. With incredibly inventive weapons (laptop gun, anyone?) mixed with beautiful graphics and a fantastic soundtrack, Perfect Dark was -- and still is -- a true must-own shooter. Unfortunately, the Xbox 360 prequel Perfect Dark Zero radically altered the winning formula and lost many of its fans in the process.

#12: Crysis

Why It's Great: Crysis is literally one surprise after another. You're dropped on North Korean territory in a government issued nano-suit, and charged with taking down the radical KCP faction. So far, so good. But halfway through your pursuit, a race of advanced extraterrestrials enters the fray. Throw in some surprisingly open-world gameplay, astonishingly detailed visuals, and the option to switch between your nano-suits abilities on the fly, and you have one of the most complete PC shooters ever created. While the steep, steep system requirements definitely took their toll on the game's sales, Crysis is one of the few games that was actually worth the investment in new PC hardware.

#11: Deus Ex

Why It's Great: Dues Ex took the FPS world by surprise with a cyberpunk plot ripped straight out of a Philip K. Dick novel. But the real treat was the complex, strategic gameplay that could only be described as the thinking man's shooter. Starring as nano-augmented special agent JC Denton, players would quickly find that their actions in the field would directly impact the storyline and events in a crumbling vision of a future North America. Speaking of the storyline, the plot makes frequent hairpin turns as friends turn into enemies (and vice-versa), and the events are reflected by your playing style. Even combat could radically shift the game experience, as you carefully selected and upgraded your combat skills and nano-tech Augmentation abilities.

#10: F.E.A.R.

Why It's Great: If horror films have taught us anything, it's that children are frightening. From The Omen's Damien all the way to the infamous girl from The Ring, the idea of innocence corrupted has garnered plenty of screams from audiences worldwide. Enter Alma, a sociopathic psychic that makes the Children of the Corn look like the Cabbage Patch Kids. With astonishing graphics and blistering shootouts, F.E.A.R. fired on all cylinders, featuring some of the smartest AI seen in an FPS as well as an incredibly cool bullet-time ability that is guaranteed to make you feel like a one-man-army. Set all of this in one of the creepiest atmospheres this side of The Shining, and you have yourself one hell of a game. Literally.

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