With a decade coming to an end it would be nice to find out which games will be fondly remembered going forward. The rules are simple, name up to ten FPS/TPS games (separate lists for both are welcome too) which you enjoyed the most in the last 10 years and explain for a bit why are these games special to you.
My own list:
10) Bulletstorm
A product of a different time. Who would think that making an unapologetically arcadey FPS at the beginning of new tens was a good idea? While the market was obsessed with ultra-serious, military-themed games thanks to the unprecedented success of Modern Warfare people behind Painkiller decided to deliver what genre has been known for in the past, fun. While dick killing jokes aged as well as Grayson Hunt's hairstyle, the core gameplay is still fantastic, there's nothing on the market with an equally satisfying whip and debris. Hunt and his psychocyborg best mate Sato deserved better than what they got the first time around.
9) CoD: Black Ops
Now, now. I know how it looks. I just threw shades at Modern Warfare and now I'm mentioning a different game from the same franchise? Preposterous! But think about it, how many shooters out there toyed with the narrative found in paranoid and conspiracy thrillers? Not that many. While the campaign wasn't as polished as in CoD's from Infinity Ward (before MW3 happened) the game had a personality that is distinctly different from the rest of the franchise (even to its own sequels, unfortunately), to me, it still stands as a Call of Duty experience unlike any other.
8) Metro: Last Light
A perfect mix of FPS and survival horror full of colourful characters and interesting set pieces. The best depiction of post-apocalyptic Russia (also the only depiction of post-apocalyptic Russia I'm aware of, no, I don't know what You Are Empty is). Metro: Last Light is one of the most atmospheric first-person shooters your money can buy.
7) Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
While Rockstar were busy telling an epic story of John Marston crazy people from Poland decided to make a bit of fun out of Western tropes, and thank Cthulhu they did. Gunslinger is a very obvious departure from previous games in the series that was much needed after dumb as a brick and boring as all hell 3rd game. It's a story of an old badass told through his own mouth with all reliability of an alcoholic in a quest to find a bottle of whiskey. It's short, it's cheap and it's fun.
6) Destiny 2
At risk of being called a filthy casual I'm going to admit that I like D2 in all its aim assist glory, there's nothing better than shooting someone's crotch and still getting a headshot in the end (that doesn't happen but we need a spicy hyperbole). It's a game that designed with one goal, to make you feel good and it's satisfying in that regard.
5) Wolfenstein: The New Order
You shoot nazis, nazi dogs, nazi robots, and do so in style. The New Order is a series at its best and most provocative, a bold move on Bethesda's part given our current real world socio-political climate. It also awesome and meaty, in every sense of a word
4) Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3 is an odd duck, on one hand, depending on who you ask it might be mechanically the best TPS ever made, on the other Sam Houser isn't Sam Lake. MP3 improved a gameplay formula of its predecessors while completely losing to the narrative heights of Remedy's games. Still, it's one of the most immensely satisfying shooting galleries in a video game format.
3) Titanfall 2
The most polished FPS campaign of the decade. There's no fat, it's just a lean experience with some of the most memorable levels in any genre. You also pilot of the mech, what can be better?
2) DOOM
Rip & Tear. You're a Doomguy, you kill shit in a gruesome way, that's it. I'm just happy id came to senses and didn't deliver another brick factory like DOOM 3. Oh, and it's also perfect.
1) Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
A lot of it has to do with a social aspect of a game, but nothing quite comes close to playing CS with your friends, it can be a comedy, it can be a thriller and sometimes even tragedy. CS has always been a special game in this part of the world, in that sense, nothing has changed since the days of 1.6 domination.
I decided to not include games in bordering genres like immersive sims into my list because shooting part is often not a key component of such games, but if you feel otherwise, feel free to add them. So, what are your favorite shooters of this decade folks?
My own list:
10) Bulletstorm
A product of a different time. Who would think that making an unapologetically arcadey FPS at the beginning of new tens was a good idea? While the market was obsessed with ultra-serious, military-themed games thanks to the unprecedented success of Modern Warfare people behind Painkiller decided to deliver what genre has been known for in the past, fun. While dick killing jokes aged as well as Grayson Hunt's hairstyle, the core gameplay is still fantastic, there's nothing on the market with an equally satisfying whip and debris. Hunt and his psychocyborg best mate Sato deserved better than what they got the first time around.
9) CoD: Black Ops
Now, now. I know how it looks. I just threw shades at Modern Warfare and now I'm mentioning a different game from the same franchise? Preposterous! But think about it, how many shooters out there toyed with the narrative found in paranoid and conspiracy thrillers? Not that many. While the campaign wasn't as polished as in CoD's from Infinity Ward (before MW3 happened) the game had a personality that is distinctly different from the rest of the franchise (even to its own sequels, unfortunately), to me, it still stands as a Call of Duty experience unlike any other.
8) Metro: Last Light
A perfect mix of FPS and survival horror full of colourful characters and interesting set pieces. The best depiction of post-apocalyptic Russia (also the only depiction of post-apocalyptic Russia I'm aware of, no, I don't know what You Are Empty is). Metro: Last Light is one of the most atmospheric first-person shooters your money can buy.
7) Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
While Rockstar were busy telling an epic story of John Marston crazy people from Poland decided to make a bit of fun out of Western tropes, and thank Cthulhu they did. Gunslinger is a very obvious departure from previous games in the series that was much needed after dumb as a brick and boring as all hell 3rd game. It's a story of an old badass told through his own mouth with all reliability of an alcoholic in a quest to find a bottle of whiskey. It's short, it's cheap and it's fun.
6) Destiny 2
At risk of being called a filthy casual I'm going to admit that I like D2 in all its aim assist glory, there's nothing better than shooting someone's crotch and still getting a headshot in the end (that doesn't happen but we need a spicy hyperbole). It's a game that designed with one goal, to make you feel good and it's satisfying in that regard.
5) Wolfenstein: The New Order
You shoot nazis, nazi dogs, nazi robots, and do so in style. The New Order is a series at its best and most provocative, a bold move on Bethesda's part given our current real world socio-political climate. It also awesome and meaty, in every sense of a word
4) Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3 is an odd duck, on one hand, depending on who you ask it might be mechanically the best TPS ever made, on the other Sam Houser isn't Sam Lake. MP3 improved a gameplay formula of its predecessors while completely losing to the narrative heights of Remedy's games. Still, it's one of the most immensely satisfying shooting galleries in a video game format.
3) Titanfall 2
The most polished FPS campaign of the decade. There's no fat, it's just a lean experience with some of the most memorable levels in any genre. You also pilot of the mech, what can be better?
2) DOOM
Rip & Tear. You're a Doomguy, you kill shit in a gruesome way, that's it. I'm just happy id came to senses and didn't deliver another brick factory like DOOM 3. Oh, and it's also perfect.
1) Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
A lot of it has to do with a social aspect of a game, but nothing quite comes close to playing CS with your friends, it can be a comedy, it can be a thriller and sometimes even tragedy. CS has always been a special game in this part of the world, in that sense, nothing has changed since the days of 1.6 domination.
I decided to not include games in bordering genres like immersive sims into my list because shooting part is often not a key component of such games, but if you feel otherwise, feel free to add them. So, what are your favorite shooters of this decade folks?
