Top 10 FPS's this generation

The first person shooter has come a long way since the early days of Wolfenstein 3-D and Doom. Today's FPS's are more comparable to a big budget action film. The new generation of console's and high end PC's has been kind to the FPS genre for sure.

However, with an overabundance of FPS's on the market today it can be hard to stand out. These days it seems that gamers have seen it and played it all before. However, there will always be those special gems that rise above the crowd and become instant must play classics. So without further adieu here are the top ten first person shooters this generation.

[TheWarmth]

Halo 3 at 5!!! Fail!!!

[StoneySweatLeafs]

ROFL!!!

[maawdawg]

God forbid Halo isn't considered the BEST FPS EVAR!!!1!.

5 seems about right for me, a couple slot higher or lower could have been fine too.

[B1GBOSS]

it should be lower!

[RedDead]

COD4 was better than all these except Half life, Exclusives are getting overrated due to fanboys. KZ2 isn't unbelievable and definatly not the best this gen as alot of people are saying, take of your goggles and go back and play it again. Bioshock 1 was better than most aswell. Halo 3 is in the right spot but only because of the features(forge, capture etc). Crysis I suppose deserves a place on the list, it is fun and the missions are very replayable. Resistance 2? fuc* no! Resitance 1 Should replace it. L4d definately and BC2 Rocks balls. Haven't played Metroid, maybe I should?

[horrorcaust]

Yes, is should never be on any "top" list.

[frankymv]

Killzone 2

[Colonel-Killzone]

Killzone will be on that list... And also the Original Call of duty 4. I don't like Call of duty but won't Deny that Call of duty 4 did help the FPS genre out a lot. And most likely Halo 3 also.

[moparful99]

Halo only deserves a spot on that list because of how it helped to make online multiplayer mainstream.. Killzone 2 is one of my all time favorite games let alone shooters so I'm happy with its spot at 2...

[Dude420]

"Halo only deserves a spot on that list because of how it helped to make online multiplayer mainstream."

lol, ok there buddy, people like you can't appreciate what Halo 3 has done because you simply just hate it. The reason why Halo 3 is still played to this day is because how feature packed it and you have so many custom options, oh yeah and you have forge. Please name me a game where it has so much stuff, no glitches and balanced at the same time.

Killzone 2 is a good shooter as well, pretty immersive, but that's only because it has amazing graphics. At the end of the day, it's just a typical shooter.

[Dnied]

Dude420,

I agree with you about Halo but you're a either blind or a hypocrite by stating that KZ2 is a typical shooter. You obiously don't like it if you can't see wat guerilla games brought to multiplayer.

I shouldn't even have to explain it. Their way of "online modes" is something I want to see in every shooter starting now. Also want to see the full clan support that it has, in every shooter. scrims / matches / tournaments / clan lobbies etc...

I'm still waiting for the day that all these features are implemented in to 1 shooter. THAT would be feature packed

[despair]

hmm i preferred resistance 1 over 2, but i agree with no. 1, nothing beats HL2/orange box. The rest are subjective, but i don't see bioshock as a fps its definitely more RPG.

[guitarded77]

I agree R1 is a better game than R2 IMO... but the online in R2 was better than R1. I think I liked R1 more because it was darker and you could carry more weapons. Both excellent shooters though.

[Aloren]

Having played them both in a row, I thought R2 was better than R1, and actually, I thought both resistance games (or at least the campaign) were better than KZ2 (which wasn't anywhere near as fun as the Resistance games).

[maawdawg]

Getting arguably the best story driven FPS of all time in HL2, an innovative first person puzzle "shooter" in Portal (it is first person and you shoot portals so I guess it kind of is a FPS?), and a really solid competitive FPS in TF2 for $20 new is really one of the best deals in gaming.

Everyone will obviously have their favorites among the others and rank them differently but I would have a hard time believing anything else beats the value and total experience you can get from the collection of games in the Orange Box.

[ChronoJoe]

Pretty fair list.

Killzone and Halo are very different games, aside both being scifi-shooters. So it's hard to judge from anything aside a technical standpoint, where Killzone 2 is blatantly technically superior.

I think Halo might have slightly better gameplay though? I don't know, they're both great fun to play. I do like the vehicles in Halo, but I don't like the matchmaking/ranking or overall pretentious community.

I think Halo should at least be above Bad Company 2. That game is okay but the singleplayer is terrible, the multiplayer is fun but it has issues.

[RadientFlux]

Not a bad list, while I didn't like the order. All the games featured in the list are great FPS.

[Urmomlol]

I liked Top 10 lists alot more when authors actually wrote something about it instead of merely posting pictures. Seriously --how lazy can you get?

[omodis420]

"how lazy can you get?"

Yeah very true. There is a paragraph on each one. Someone can't read?

[Urmomlol]

A paragraph? More like a half-assed description he pulled off the back of a box.

Sorry --let me rephrase it. I liked Top 10 lists when people actually put effort into it and tried to produce something creative instead of some unoriginal, bland piece of garbage like this.

[TheLeprachaun]

Tbh Halo 3 should be ahead of Killzone 2, Orange Box should be 5th or 6thish and CoD 4 should at least be in the top 3.

[jakethesnake]

If you want to argue, you have to actually put forth an argument - not just state what the author should have done without any reasoning.

[JonnyBigBoss]

Team Fortress 2 and Killzone 2 are my 2 personal favorites.

[Unicron]

CoD4 > MW2

I miss UT2004 still. =(

[Fishy Fingers]

Yeah, I think it's a pretty good list, but I would of swapped out MW2, for good ol Modern Warfare.

[0oAngeluso0]

In my opinion COD4 was the game that got it all right. Though Halo 3 is great as well. I think they should take into account longevity with FPS games. COD4 and Halo 3 certainly have huge numbers still playing them. Where as some of those other games were dead online a couple months after launch (killzone 2 specifically)

[alphakennybody]

It's undeniable that COD4 and Halo 3's MP longevity is something worth of praise , but now you're just trolling by saying that Killzone 2 has no one online? I play KZ2 online everyday, on slowest days there are at the very least about 7 room full (32 players full).

[RoX_TimE_BomB]

You do realize that is a pathetically low number of people online right?

0oAngeluso0 has a point most of these games have online multiplayer and usually that is what truly judges a large percentage of the quality of the game because it display how addictive they really are.

If you think having only 200 people online is a good thing than we must live in different worlds especially since its been like that for a long time now... hell broken Socom Confrontation has been more popular since it came out

[takohma]

So people still do play Cod4 huh? that must be why its still pretty expensive used. Its like $40 USD at my local gamestop used. I traded mine in when they had the extra 50% trade in.

[Pandamobile]

I own 8/10 of these games :)

Good list in my opinion. According to Xfire, I've sunk about 1,500 hours of play time into The Orange Box (98% of that being TF2)

[Ace_Man_6]

yeah same here (about the hours of played on The Orange Box)

[wollie]

List is spot on, although i might move bioshock up a bit (I like single player games best)

[SQWERCH]

OFF TOPIC: I would like to see head tracking for the new FPS so you can look around without moving your gun.

[Nasseh]

Look up TrackIR.

[abhisheksagi]

COD MW series has good gameplay which is fast and intense and good for multiplayer. Killzone is a technical master piece which Guerilla made on a console like PS3.And the same applies for Bioshock too.

[RagTagBnd445]

Actually a top 10 i agree with.

[Ace_Man_6]

My top 10 EVER would have to be:

1) The Orange Box
2) TimeSplitters Future Perfect
3) Half-Life
4) TimeSplitters 2
5) TimeSplitters
6) BIOSHOCK 2
7) BIOSHOCK
8) Wolfenstein 3d
9) Wolfenstein
10) Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Operation Resurrection

[jakethesnake]

I'm not sure how you define 'this generation', but no matter which way I can think of defining it, Wolfenstein would never be considered 'this generation'.

[Ace_Man_6]

yeah I forgot that the article was about this generation, instead I put any generation lol :)

[ghostgaming]

Overall - solid list. Glad to see Metroid Prime for the Wii on it - a great game. We can all argue that Halo should be this number or Killzone should be this number, or this should be on the list, but we have seen much worse lists then this one. This appears to have had some time and thought put into.

[Figboy]

i'm in the camp that thinks it's a fantastic FPS.

8 player, class based co-op.
60 player competitive matches (with modes that flow into one another on the fly, without having to constantly go out to the lobby).

the single player campaign was really good as well. epic scale. variety, and one of the most unexpected endings i've played in a long time (even the lead up to the ending cutscene, where you are doing some pretty incredible things).

the list isn't bad, although i probably wouldn't have put Left4Dead on there. the game is fun, but it always felt so shallow, and not really up to Valve's standards of quality. but hey, people can't get enough of killing zombies.

[jakethesnake]

I would have loved to see Dead Space on the list (just a personal preference) but to be honest, I don't know that I could pick one of those games to knock off to replace it with. A top 10 list actually worth something - who would have thought?

[Aphe]

Dead Space isn't an FPS.

[inception123]

i would like to have a moment of silence for all the halo cult memebers we have lost today after seeing kz2 get placed higher then halo. having the truth shoved in their face was to much for them to handle.

[Blaine]

a list from the examiner doesn't equal "the truth".

[Blaine]

Here's what they were thinking when they made it:

"Ok... we need a few PS3 exclusives in there, so the fanboys don't start flaming. We'll put one low on the list, and the other really high. Done. Now we need Halo, so those fanboys don't cry, and obviously CoD and BFBC. Done. How many spots left? 5? Ok, Portal's been critically acclaimed, and Orange box has that with Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2, it's a safe bet for #1. Throw well known games in the remaining spots."

Sure, people will disagree with lists, but this one was just wrong, and boringly safe. If it were up to me, I would have sneaked MAG in there. 1, because without a doubt it deserves to be (who the fuck said that Halo 3 "pretty much set the standard for all online multi-player FPS games"?? I've never had as satisfying an online FPS experience as MAG) and, 2, because it would have made the list a bit more controversial. You know, give people something to talk about.

[DrDreadlox]

MAG is definitely my best shooter and should have been in there for being massive, challenging and having an epic war feel. But I guess it's not popular enough to get a mention.

[elpresador]

.....though not bad as some make it out, all it was was like a tech demo to show that 256 online on a console is possible. I mean really, another bad thing was the price. People bitched about ODST being a full priced game even though it had a campaign and online yet were happy to pay full price for an online only game.

[takohma]

You make a good point I was really upset at MAG being full price but the devs did spend alot of time to make the network perofrm fine with little to no lag online. $50 USD would have been a fair price. I gotta start playing that game again you guys just reminded me about it lol.

[Blaine]

MAG had 3 maps that were the size of your average very large multiplayer FPS map (suppression). Then 3 maps that were twice the size (sabotage). Then 3 more that were 3 times the size (acquisition), and 3 that were 4 times the size of your average very large multiplayer FPS map (domination). That's the equivalent of 30 maps. Plus: 3 different factions, each with their own guns and armor; a deep skill tree; and great shooting mechanics.

All this huge amount of content requires balancing and polishing, and I haven't even mentioned the work they put into network structures to accommodate 256 players on a console, which I'm sure wasn't an easy feat. And people have the nerve to say the game shouldn't be full priced? Unbelievable how people take things for granted nowadays.

[TONYPS3]

IS THE BEST FPS OF ALL TIME. I UNDERSTAND THAT ORANGE BOX IS A STEAL AT THE LOW PRICE AND HAS 3 OR 4 GAMES IN 1, BUT CMON! ALSO RESISTANCE 2 AND CRYSIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN HIGHER ON THE LIST. NOT TO MENTION RESISTANCE 1(LAUNCH) SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOMEWHERE ON THE LIST.YET OVERALL IT WAS A WELL ROUNDED LIST

[il-mouzer]

portal alone is better than killzone 2

and portal isn't even a shooter

[Blaine]

You hold a "portal GUN", viewed from the first person, and shoot portals at the environment. How is it not a shooter? Because you solve puzzles instead of shooting monsters? Buddy, it's an FPS.

[Pandamobile]

Portal is classified as a First person puzzle game.

[Aphe]

2. Killzone 2?

LOL!

EDIT:

10. Crysis

LOL!

They got these two mixed up. Other way around at least, KZ2 doesn't deserve to be in an FPS top 10, let alone the top 3.

[prettyboy1]

fanboi

[Aphe]

No, says someone who's played pretty much every fps ever made.

[DeathMetal]

Crysis is way better than Killzone, KZ2 no innovation at all, all enemies look the same, too few weapons, no destruction, no freedom of choice in missions,tons of motion blur to hide low framerate and graphics with low res explosions and textures, laggy controls and horrible dialog. Crysis dosent' have any of those problems.

[solar]

KZ2 was mediocre. waaaaaaaaaaaaaay mediocre. the first ATAC battle put me to sleep, the constant, OH WAIT HERE BEHIND THIS CONCRETE BLOCK!! game play as you wait for the enemies to come forth, FPS yet i can see 3rd person view is a crutch for consoles, the game was an innovative mess.

and yes, TOB deserves tops on any list of this nature.

[kingme71]

I liked Bioshock 2 better then Bioshock 1. Both good games and really very little separates the gameplay, but being able to wield plasmids and weapons simultaneously was a big boost.

[RoX_TimE_BomB]

Yeah ah well don't really care about the order of the list too much.. but Bioshock is by far better than Killzone when it comes to story and Atmosphere... it might not match it in graphics which is personal opinions but the whole world and story created for Bioshock might be one of the biggest achievements this gen. If Killzone was really as good and praised as people think it is it would have a much larger fanbase online... since it is an FPS and most do live on with a good number of players for a while.

Overall they are all good games tho and all brought something to the table.

[Killzone3Helghast]

Because that's all this generation has to offer.

[Raider69]

So he states RFOM is better than R2 but neglects the better one of the list!BS!Where the hell is FEAR on this list!Best A.I ever seen on FPS no to mention the ambiance FEAR haves!

[RoX_TimE_BomB]

ha wasnt even thinking of it but yeah.... where is Fear? lmao ah well what can you do I guess.

[Prcko]

killzone the best!

[Xfanboy]

Any of the PC shoters I still play online!!

[mbanatech25]

mgs 4 the best fps/tps

[jashmister]

I'm happy this list has cod 4 if it had mw2 i and alot of other people would rage like mad.
orange box on pc is one the best purchases you can make on steam it being 5 games in one makes me question if its fair being on this list

[TABSF]

10. Crysis "It really is a shame that most people never got a chance to play the game."

You can get it on Steam (unlimited copies) http://store.steampowered.c...
You can get a GTX 460 for £150 http://www.ebuyer.com/produ...

Game Over

[coolbeans]

Oh boy....KZ2 at #2 ='s fairly disappointing list.

[EditorAtGNG]

I love how all these fanboys jump right into "X game was better than Y; Z game outsell game X, etc," carefully trying to avoid the number one game listed - Orange Box. Now, you can't really call it a game since its 5 GAMES in ONE but hell, I would just put Half Life 2 here... and, yes. There you go.

[The_Zeitgeist]

Anyone of the games on Orange Box could be in the number one spot.

[vandal GAB]

I'm sorry but how is killzone 2 at number 2 are you having a laugh. Killzone has some of the worst characters and environments in an fps this gen so so bland and boring. This game has been rated on graphics more than game play in my book it's a average game. 7/10 very most

[jmallymav]

Kz2 can't be higher than halo3 for one reason for me, online multiplayer lobby chat to get up with friends, without that kz2 fely dull, clan setup is a joke, they missed big time with that! While halo you they have online mp party chat, and you can 4 splitscreen offline, and online, that's how I have fun! When killzone has that then ill be open to the idea of kz2 being in the top 3 of fps, n4g ps3 fanboys are dumb, how is kz3 consider next gen and not have online MP lobbies to get up with friends, that's tragedy, I own all 3 systems by the way!

[NnT3291]

No Borderlands ? :( It's better than Crysis imo

[maawdawg]

Wow, I forgot about Borderlands and I was just playing it again a couple weeks ago. It was probably the game I spent the most hours playing in the 6 months after it released. Great game and awesome DLC support from Gearbox.

[Optical_Matrix]

I love how Xbots are saying that Killzone didn't sell as much as MW or Halo 3 so it can't be as good...I forgot greatness was determined by sales figures and consumer hype :/ Going by their logic, Wii Sports is the greatest game ever made. People (Including myself) think Killzone 2 is the best FPS they've played. If so so be it. We're all entitled to our own opinions as long as we keep it civil and out of the realms of fanboyism.

[jmallymav]

Sorry I meant kz2 being consider next gen, kz3 I believe will rock this gen, no doubt about it!

[vandal GAB]

And crysis 2 will piss on kZ3's fire.

[x800]

crysis number 10? wtffffff? clearly they havent played it, and no im not only a pc owner!

[Optical_Matrix]

Stop crying over an opinion piece you pathetic people. It's not like him and bunch of others have chosen GOTY's. One man, has written a non fanboy/flamebait article about what HE FEELS are the best FPS this gen. If you don't like it, fine. But cease with the fanboyism. Pretty sure half of you aren't gamers

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

as far as ceativity and originality to the genre... I wonder if people are hating on Bioshock because of the heap of crap Bioshock 2?...

But I honestly wish TPS's would take off... Id much rather play tons more of them over FPS's...

[SephireX]

Even though KZ2 is a better game overall than MW1. MW1 was more innovative in terms of gameplay. It was the first shooter of its kind where the long-sight scope was implemented realistically and as a result, the shooting felt great. GG took this from MW1 and improved it. KZ2 is also the first FPS to have a first-person cover system that works well. The multiplayer in KZ2 is nothing short of awesome. Even though the story and characters could have been better, very enjoyable long-lasting multiplayer plus near perfect gameplay plus jaw-dropping graphics = win of epic proportion. Now imagine what KZ3 will be like!

[xg-ei8ht]

Crysis is an overyhyped graphical game, Don't feel nothing about the story, and unless running on high, looks crap as well. Don't even get me started on mp, better then farcry1, but still poor.

So Cbhmalin fps cover not new huh> Strange then how Crytek are using it in crysis2. Straight out of kz2 imo.

Controls could have been sharper, hit detection shits all over crysis, as does animations, lighting is close, weapon looks, killzone2 wins. strange you knock the motion blur, but crysis uses it, it also uses other post processing tech. dof among many.

And no it's not all about graphics.

I buy or try this way.

I had killzone2, enjoyed the sp, enjoyed the mp, mp was to easy ranking up, spam matches all day long and maps to tight for me. sold it later.

BFBC2 enjoyed the Sp, Enjoyed the Mp, Same maps over and over with the fking cheek to say vip and add something that's on the fking disc. Even though maps are big, got bored, sold yesterday.

Played a friends version of MW2, enjoyed the Mp, never played sp. Maps are quick to load,fast and frantic action, but autoaim and camp spoilt it, if anything, there is to many perks. Would not buy it, but will check out black ops etc.

Bioshock i don't rate as a FPS, it's an underwater adventure in tight surroundings, with other game type elements. Did enjoy it though, and that's what matters.

But i must say this.

At the end of the day, when buying a shooter. Most will go for best bang for buck.

And that is either CODMW2 OR HALO.

Off topic:

BLUR.

Weapons don't feel powerfull, graphics are poor and very bland. Racing itself is enjoyable. Mp was smooth. With better graphics and better weapons, could have stood out.

[ATi_Elite]

10 Crysis PC
9 Metroid prime 3 Wii
8 Resistance 2 PS3
7 Left 4 Dead PC
6 Bioshock PC / STALKER PC
5 Halo 3 360
4 Battlefield Bad Company 2 PC
3 Call of Duty 4:Modern Warfare PC
2 Killzone 2 PS3
1 The Orange Box PC

PC 6 PS3 2 360 1 Wii 1

Don't hate on Killzone 2 because it has PC quality on a console the game is great for those who like shooters that require skill versus arcade crap like Modern Warfare 2.

Crysis got on the list for sheer graphics as the gameplay was mediocre and I'm a PC Enthusiast. Where's Arma II oh I forgot it's way too realistic for this list.

[ZILLA]

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAD COMPANY 2!!

[kraze07]

Left 4 Dead should've been last on the list imo. Not saying it's a bad game, but the others just seem to bring more to the table.

[led1090]

Left 4 Dead and Crysis should switch places.

[zu4G]

i'm not really into fps games because this chick magnet here and RPG gamer like me is suck into those fps games.. well i played Resistance 2 though back in 2008 played it single player till end.. i must say RESISTANCE 2 is awesome thats all ^^

[ForROME]

RFOM2??!!! are we kidding, I lovvvvvvvvved part 1, RFOM2 sucked major @ss and wasnt worth the rental nor the time spent to beat it

I still play part 1 to this day, part 2 was a joke

[spektical]

R2 was awesome, the graphics lacked polish though. fun coop, and comp. The story was also engaging and followed coherently unlike CoD.

[theonlylolking]

Resistance 2 is better than the first one. The onyl thing that was really worse was its dark grittyness. It was better in every other way.

[Platinum_k]

that was by far the most boring game i have ever played ever!.... mybe because it sucked or just plain suck the energy out of u

[spektical]

for the ps3 it was horrible.. glitch fest and no dev support.

[Spenok]

Well done list. THOUGH its hard to pass off a game from last generation (technically) as the best shooter this gen. I know it was released on the PS3 and 360, but it was originally released before they were out in 2004. Especially when it was released on the origional Xbox.

[HumanStark]

Orange Box at #1 was a copout, IMO. Choose one.

[xg-ei8ht]

L4D is a fun game, first was better then the second, maybe because seen it and done it etc.

But lazy graphics, poor collision detection, non-existant hit detection.

Would love to see a jazzed up version, and yes i played it maxed on pc.

[RedSavage]

Why do people even mention MW2 as one of the top FPS games? In terms of popularity, yes, it takes the cake. I am assuming they mean best when they say top, and MW2 should be no where near the top 100. I haven't played an extensive amount of Killzone 2, so I can't say. Halo 3 should be higher than MW imo, since it was a better game and took more skill (subjective). Bioshock was good, but a little overrated imo. I can't argue with orange box, great games into one package. Now I know the following game wasn't very popular, but in terms of over all balance and pure skill, I think Shadowrun should be #1 (thus adding to the overall quality of the game, relating to the list).

[Venoxn4g]

but ALL metroid primes have to be on this list, and not below #3, becouse ...you HAVE to play and finish them all.. so good expierence... :) really..and Bioshock has to be #4 maybe, Halo & MW overrated..

[jujulolo]

KZ2 and resistance 2 do not deserved to be in a top 10 FPS

[BYE]

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the best hands down.

[Alos88]

Killzone 2 is awfully high up imo.

[Time_Is_On_My_Side]

Why is the Orange Box on the list when the bulk of the games are ports? I personally think Left 4 Dead and Halo 3 shouldn't be on the list, they didn't raise the bar for the genre. Left 4 Dead feels like Counter Strike with A.I. and Halo 3 is an HD Halo 2.

[theonlylolking]

WOW that is one crap of a list.

[Cocodor]

Resistance shouldn't be on this list :/
Stalker Call of Prypiat should be in.
The order is not what i would've done but the list is good (which years this "generation" covers anyway?)