wraggster
May 21st, 2011, 22:42
Continuing our run of features finding the highest rated games of all time, sticking the top titles in an easy to digest list and giving you a few words from our own thought sponges, this week we're looking at the most popular genre in the world.
That's right; it's the first-person-shooter, the FPS, the arena where noob vs. ninja battles are at their bloodiest.
Obviously there are some killer titles in the list that follows (that's the whole point) and we have to say, score-wise, it's a very tightly run thing indeed.
But remember, this isn't our personal list (we gave you our top FPS games (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/275295/features/the-7-best-fps-games-ever/)last year) and the scores you see aren't our own.
Instead, we've scanned Metacritic's 'All Time' rankings table (which, oddly, doesn't encompass the whole of time) to get the collective opinion of games journalists across the globe in order to make this list of the highest rated FPS games ever. Here's what they said:
HALO 3
Metacritic score: 94
We'd claim some sort of international conspiracy if Halo didn't feature in the top band of first-person shooters, but thankfully here it is.
Games journos of the world have decided that Halo 3 is the best of the Bungie series and, for us and many of you, it's not hard to see why.
<TABLE style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TR style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TD style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px">http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/screenshot_210096_thumb300.jpg (javascript:screens_popup(210096);)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Halo 3 was one of those games that hit the space nail on the head; it had fun at its core with every aspect being quality if not necessarily revolutionary. Vehicles, music, atmosphere and just the all round feel of the game was spot on.
This was 12 years after GoldenEye in 1995, which many still hold as the greatest FPS experience to date, and six years after the start of the franchise with Halo: Combat Evolved in 2001. For FPS fans, especially those with a sci-fi bent, 2007 was just as an important year.
The first two games in the Halo series were certainly top quality, but the weight, balance and fullness of Halo 3 made it a stand out favourite.
With a fantastic single player campaign complete with co-op online, a robust and jam-packed multiplayer offering and ground breaking Theatre and Forge modes, Halo 3 gets a global thumbs up.
QUAKE
Metacritic score: 94
While Quake looks understandably dated today, at the point of its release in 1996 it was something of a graphical marvel, bringing us textures like we'd never seen and fully 3D worlds.
If Doom spawned and moulded the core of the FPS genre, Quake took the concept of blood, gore and hellishly fun shootery and upped the level ten-fold.
It was fast, relentless, intuitive and addictive in terms of its gameplay and is still a favourite for retro-heads even today.
If you were to watch a PC FPS king strafing and dodging with his keyboard and snapping his cursor to the heads of his enemies with a lightening quick clicking finger, then he probably cut his teeth on Quake.
When it arrived it was simply the epitome of multiplayer in FPS gaming, an aspect of the genre that has become even more important than the classic single-player campaign today.
MODERN WARFARE
Metacritic score: 94
Modern Warfare was the light bulb moment for the Call of Duty franchise, the point at which the formula finally came together to boost the IP into the head-shot stratosphere.
Ever since, Activision and Call of Duty have been at the top of the genre every year, at least as far as the masses are concerned. From World at War to Black Ops, there's been varied success depending on who you ask, but the feeling that no COD iteration has ever managed to match the original Modern Warfare is almost universal.
It was the first FPS game to truly blur the line between the 'hardcore' and the 'casual' gamer, creating that subset of gamers dedicated to playing Call of Duty (and queuing up for it at midnight) exclusively.
It was a mix of fast paced, intense action and a cleverly implemented progression system that relied on simple RPG mechanics at the centre of its multiplayer mode that got players hooked.
In fact, many are still hooked today and, despite the millions that lap up new COD iterations every year, there's a significant amount of soldiers still rising through the ranks of COD 4
MODERN WARFARE 2
Metacritic score: 94
Modern Warfare 2 marked the long-awaited return of one of the most critically acclaimed and successful franchises to grace the globe, not just in terms of gaming but in terms of entertainment of every kind.
<TABLE style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TR style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TD style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px">http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/screenshot_223407_thumb300.jpg (javascript:screens_popup(223407);)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The fact that there's something of a distinction for fans when it comes to Call of Duty and Call of Duty with a Modern Warfare stamp, just goes to show how important Infinity Ward's angle on the FPS genre was and still is. Billboards everywhere carried the title 'Modern Warfare' in massive letters engulfing the comparatively tiny 'Call of Duty' text, which just goes to show how much expectation has been put on those two little words.
Obviously the hype was created by the original, world-beating Modern Warfare and while the sequel didn't quite surpass its predecessor, it's still an impressive force all on its own.
With a blockbuster budget, Infinity Ward created a fast, explosive and cinematic experience that really showcased what the current gen can do. There was also a few points of controversy, just in case someone wasn't paying attention.
HALF-LIFE
Metacritic score: 96
While Half-Life 2 is the one everyone's talking about today (while they're not pining after Half-Life 3 that is), let's not forget it all started with Half-Life, the mesmerising original that would set the stall and the standard for what would become the most highly regarded games franchise amongst the hardcore.
What we say here generally applies to the Half-Life series as a whole; Stunning animation, graphical design and narrative are at the heart of Valve's success.
It all made for a deeply immersive and sophisticated world that quite simply revolutionised the genre, setting the bar even for contributions today. Whether you're thinking about making an action game, a puzzler or a story-driven experience rich in both relationships and conflicts, then there's at least something in Half-Life that you'd do well to bring along with you.
At a time when online FPS games were the norm, Half-Life made successful story based shooters the target to aim for.
BIOSHOCK
Metacritic score: 96
Bioshock excelled on levels beyond gun mechanics and addictive online progression systems. It was successful thanks to its design, atmospheric and narrative credentials.
The devastated underwater utopia of Rapture was a character in itself and unquestionably the star of the game. It was as if every inch was slowly filling the player in on what had happened here before their arrival, a complete, deranged decline into destruction.
Savage splicers ruled the world but, rather than coming in waves, they would spring from out of sight to keep the player constantly in a nervous state of readiness.
Then there were the Big Daddies, one of the few video game enemies to actually make a player back off rather than confidently stride in. A formidable force, tackling the giant destroyers required a moment of preparation before engagement, a tactical brain and, sometimes, just absolute avoidance.
Then of course there was the creeping, unfolding story that dragged players through whether they liked it or not and pushed them down right at the last. We won't spoil it, but Bioshock threw up some of the best twists gaming has to offer.
It was beautiful, in a terrifying kind of way.
HALF-LIFE 2
Metacritic score: 96
It's number one (albeit joint) and it's number one for more than one reason. Not just the best FPS game in existence but, for most, the game in existence thanks to a killer story, sophisticated dialogue and characters that gamers really managed to relate to and get behind.
<TABLE style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TR style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TD style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px">http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/screenshot_162135_thumb300.jpg (javascript:screens_popup(162135);)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
There was also the gravity gun, one of the best weapons in fictitious world, which we'll admit influences our decision heavily. But it was Half-Life 2's intelligent story and atmospheric dystopian world that made it one of the greatest FPS games of all time.
Technically it was ahead of its time with absolutely stunning graphics and mesmerising physics but it was the sophisticated nature of its characters that pushed it well beyond anything else at the time.
The relationship between the player as protagonist Gordon Freeman and companion Alyx Vance was endearingly genuine and that only helped the protagonist form a relationship with the player, despite being a man of very few words.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/302511/highest-rated-fps-games-ever/?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS
That's right; it's the first-person-shooter, the FPS, the arena where noob vs. ninja battles are at their bloodiest.
Obviously there are some killer titles in the list that follows (that's the whole point) and we have to say, score-wise, it's a very tightly run thing indeed.
But remember, this isn't our personal list (we gave you our top FPS games (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/275295/features/the-7-best-fps-games-ever/)last year) and the scores you see aren't our own.
Instead, we've scanned Metacritic's 'All Time' rankings table (which, oddly, doesn't encompass the whole of time) to get the collective opinion of games journalists across the globe in order to make this list of the highest rated FPS games ever. Here's what they said:
HALO 3
Metacritic score: 94
We'd claim some sort of international conspiracy if Halo didn't feature in the top band of first-person shooters, but thankfully here it is.
Games journos of the world have decided that Halo 3 is the best of the Bungie series and, for us and many of you, it's not hard to see why.
<TABLE style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TR style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TD style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px">http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/screenshot_210096_thumb300.jpg (javascript:screens_popup(210096);)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Halo 3 was one of those games that hit the space nail on the head; it had fun at its core with every aspect being quality if not necessarily revolutionary. Vehicles, music, atmosphere and just the all round feel of the game was spot on.
This was 12 years after GoldenEye in 1995, which many still hold as the greatest FPS experience to date, and six years after the start of the franchise with Halo: Combat Evolved in 2001. For FPS fans, especially those with a sci-fi bent, 2007 was just as an important year.
The first two games in the Halo series were certainly top quality, but the weight, balance and fullness of Halo 3 made it a stand out favourite.
With a fantastic single player campaign complete with co-op online, a robust and jam-packed multiplayer offering and ground breaking Theatre and Forge modes, Halo 3 gets a global thumbs up.
QUAKE
Metacritic score: 94
While Quake looks understandably dated today, at the point of its release in 1996 it was something of a graphical marvel, bringing us textures like we'd never seen and fully 3D worlds.
If Doom spawned and moulded the core of the FPS genre, Quake took the concept of blood, gore and hellishly fun shootery and upped the level ten-fold.
It was fast, relentless, intuitive and addictive in terms of its gameplay and is still a favourite for retro-heads even today.
If you were to watch a PC FPS king strafing and dodging with his keyboard and snapping his cursor to the heads of his enemies with a lightening quick clicking finger, then he probably cut his teeth on Quake.
When it arrived it was simply the epitome of multiplayer in FPS gaming, an aspect of the genre that has become even more important than the classic single-player campaign today.
MODERN WARFARE
Metacritic score: 94
Modern Warfare was the light bulb moment for the Call of Duty franchise, the point at which the formula finally came together to boost the IP into the head-shot stratosphere.
Ever since, Activision and Call of Duty have been at the top of the genre every year, at least as far as the masses are concerned. From World at War to Black Ops, there's been varied success depending on who you ask, but the feeling that no COD iteration has ever managed to match the original Modern Warfare is almost universal.
It was the first FPS game to truly blur the line between the 'hardcore' and the 'casual' gamer, creating that subset of gamers dedicated to playing Call of Duty (and queuing up for it at midnight) exclusively.
It was a mix of fast paced, intense action and a cleverly implemented progression system that relied on simple RPG mechanics at the centre of its multiplayer mode that got players hooked.
In fact, many are still hooked today and, despite the millions that lap up new COD iterations every year, there's a significant amount of soldiers still rising through the ranks of COD 4
MODERN WARFARE 2
Metacritic score: 94
Modern Warfare 2 marked the long-awaited return of one of the most critically acclaimed and successful franchises to grace the globe, not just in terms of gaming but in terms of entertainment of every kind.
<TABLE style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TR style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TD style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px">http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/screenshot_223407_thumb300.jpg (javascript:screens_popup(223407);)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The fact that there's something of a distinction for fans when it comes to Call of Duty and Call of Duty with a Modern Warfare stamp, just goes to show how important Infinity Ward's angle on the FPS genre was and still is. Billboards everywhere carried the title 'Modern Warfare' in massive letters engulfing the comparatively tiny 'Call of Duty' text, which just goes to show how much expectation has been put on those two little words.
Obviously the hype was created by the original, world-beating Modern Warfare and while the sequel didn't quite surpass its predecessor, it's still an impressive force all on its own.
With a blockbuster budget, Infinity Ward created a fast, explosive and cinematic experience that really showcased what the current gen can do. There was also a few points of controversy, just in case someone wasn't paying attention.
HALF-LIFE
Metacritic score: 96
While Half-Life 2 is the one everyone's talking about today (while they're not pining after Half-Life 3 that is), let's not forget it all started with Half-Life, the mesmerising original that would set the stall and the standard for what would become the most highly regarded games franchise amongst the hardcore.
What we say here generally applies to the Half-Life series as a whole; Stunning animation, graphical design and narrative are at the heart of Valve's success.
It all made for a deeply immersive and sophisticated world that quite simply revolutionised the genre, setting the bar even for contributions today. Whether you're thinking about making an action game, a puzzler or a story-driven experience rich in both relationships and conflicts, then there's at least something in Half-Life that you'd do well to bring along with you.
At a time when online FPS games were the norm, Half-Life made successful story based shooters the target to aim for.
BIOSHOCK
Metacritic score: 96
Bioshock excelled on levels beyond gun mechanics and addictive online progression systems. It was successful thanks to its design, atmospheric and narrative credentials.
The devastated underwater utopia of Rapture was a character in itself and unquestionably the star of the game. It was as if every inch was slowly filling the player in on what had happened here before their arrival, a complete, deranged decline into destruction.
Savage splicers ruled the world but, rather than coming in waves, they would spring from out of sight to keep the player constantly in a nervous state of readiness.
Then there were the Big Daddies, one of the few video game enemies to actually make a player back off rather than confidently stride in. A formidable force, tackling the giant destroyers required a moment of preparation before engagement, a tactical brain and, sometimes, just absolute avoidance.
Then of course there was the creeping, unfolding story that dragged players through whether they liked it or not and pushed them down right at the last. We won't spoil it, but Bioshock threw up some of the best twists gaming has to offer.
It was beautiful, in a terrifying kind of way.
HALF-LIFE 2
Metacritic score: 96
It's number one (albeit joint) and it's number one for more than one reason. Not just the best FPS game in existence but, for most, the game in existence thanks to a killer story, sophisticated dialogue and characters that gamers really managed to relate to and get behind.
<TABLE style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px" border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=300><TBODY style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TR style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px"><TD style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px">http://cdn.medialib.computerandvideogames.com/screens/screenshot_162135_thumb300.jpg (javascript:screens_popup(162135);)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
There was also the gravity gun, one of the best weapons in fictitious world, which we'll admit influences our decision heavily. But it was Half-Life 2's intelligent story and atmospheric dystopian world that made it one of the greatest FPS games of all time.
Technically it was ahead of its time with absolutely stunning graphics and mesmerising physics but it was the sophisticated nature of its characters that pushed it well beyond anything else at the time.
The relationship between the player as protagonist Gordon Freeman and companion Alyx Vance was endearingly genuine and that only helped the protagonist form a relationship with the player, despite being a man of very few words.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/302511/highest-rated-fps-games-ever/?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS