I Love (and Hate) First-Person Shooters

I love the immersive qualities of first-person shooters. I only wish they had less shooting.

[Turin]

I could not agree any more. I have been a big FPS fan since the original Doom but have felt that the FPS genre as been lacking something for a few years. I blame titles like Deus Ex and System Shock 2, they took the basic FPS mechanism and bolted a role-playing mechanic to them. Deus Ex also brought a decent stealth mechanic to the genre and didn't require you to shoot everything to complete levels. I expected these themes to continue and develop but FPS' on the whole continued with the basic FPS formula. I think the success of Portal was that it took an FPS engine, removed the shooting and added puzzle solving instead. It was like a blast of fresh air. If only FPS designers could start embracing new ideas and incorporate them into the genre I think it would result in a deeper and more rewarding experience. And as you said, it would result in less shooting.

[nix]

i have never been a fan of FPS games but Killzone 2 was the only game i went and bought and even played online. otherwise it just doesn't appeal to me. will i buy Killzone 3? Hell ya! will i buy other FPS games? Hell no!

[hennessey86]

i mean i like killzone 2 but there are other great fps out there, half life 2, cod4, halo ce and 3, doom 3, redfaction 1 and 2 to name but a few. if you like killzone 2 then you will like other fps

[RedDead]

Can anyone tell has Deus ex aged well? I have it here but never bothered to play it

[ian72]

The graphics of Deus Ex aren't great but not bad for an oldish game. The story and gameplay is great though. It's a game thats worth playing.

[bearsfaan]

You pretty much said it all. New ideas in a FPS would be nice.

[acronkyoung]

Well said.

[bbretterson]

I'm still fond of shooting, but I'd definitely like the see the first-person genre expand its boundaries.

[HolyOrangeCows]

Couldn't agree more.

[FragGen]

If you don't like FPSs don't play them or lobby designers to use first person perspective in other game types. FWIW, the original article is the exact opposite of me... I think generally first person perspective is great for adrenaline rush type of games and highly immersive games, so I find long breaks and cinematics in the action tedious.

If the breaks propel and tell a good story that is AWESOME (see COD4:MW single player) but, I don't want long unskippable CGI sequences. It's like you were playing a close basketball game and someone called a timeout and gave a five minute powerpoint presentation.

[tdogchristy90]

It's too run and gun anymore....I wish it was more tacticle and more swat/breach and clear type play. Where each player has a role and you running in a military type format, not this every man for himself style shooting.

[Urrakia34]

That's how I feel. I wish there was a game where tactics and strategy actually matters. Having some soldiers give some suppressive fire while a couple snipe incoming enemies and some man artillary for extra support. A game that simulates REAL warzones would be great.

[oldjadedgamer]

I really love to play FPS because they really are fun and addicting.

I really hate to play FPS because I'm really bad and I get destroyed online.

[Acquiescence]

I just flat-out hate them.

[mzm119]

I mostly play FPS but I really enjoyed Mirror's Edge start to finish. It was a unique first person experience without the use of guns (there are a few scenes where you can have a gun but you generally can't carry one for more than a few minutes at a time and they are few and far between. I chose to play without picking them up as combat was easier without it.).

Not many people seem to talk about the game nor did they when it first came out, but it's definitely a cool game to try out with the emphasis more on figuring out how to get where you're going than on fighting. In fact, it's easier to ran away/by your attackers.

[RealityCheck]

I like the action and gameplay of FPS. However I am disappointed that most of them stick to this convention of having a silent hero or near mute hero. It prevents the hero character to develop due to the lack of real interaction with the story. Most of the times you just stand there being told what is happening and what needs to be done by NPCs. I understand that some developpers want the player to feel like they are the hero but really nobody going through all the events that FPS heroes go through would remain this silent. I would rather they flesh out the character and made him\her speak and have real interactions; let the RPG part be the player pretending to be the game character instead.

[MrAwesome]

In today's overly FPS saturated game marked you either love them or don't have much to play. And it's said cause they qll bring a similar 6-10 sinhle player campaing, decent co-op and good Multiplayer so 60% of my 25 PS3 game libary are shooters that are outshone by MW2.

[Pillville]

I have plenty to play without FPS. Do I really need to list them?

.....
Ok, here's some just from the first half of this year.

Mario Galaxy 2
Alan Wake
Heavy Rain
GOWIII
Mass Effect 2
Red Dead Redemption
3D Dot Game Heroes (don't laugh)

Notice how most of them are GOTY contenders. How many FPS can say that (besides Halo)?

[Spenok]

Good for you. I'm glad to know theres someone out there that loves (and hates) shooters. My life in now complete. I can die happy.

(You know, my comments today seem a little angry... and im not angry or upset or anything, i guess these type of articles just seem a bit useless to me. I mean wtf do we get out of them?)