jefequeso: DAMN IT
spent a long time writing up a long rundown of all the FPSs on GOG and my thoughts on them, then I noticed the OP date.
CURSE YOU NECROMANCERS!!!!!!
dirtyharry50: Post it! This is a good thread and worth resurrecting. Who needs a new one for the same topic, just keep it going! Unless you are worried about what the self crowned king of the forums thinks I guess. I just added Redneck Rampage and Postal 2 to my wishlist after reading through this thread and looking into them.
Well, who am I to pass up the opportunity to voice my opinion!
Duke Nukem 3d - Deserving of its classic status, but really was never able to earn my love. Its combat seems like an unremarkable middleground between the full force punishment of Blood and the smooth arcadey experience of Doom. And while others laud its sense of humor, I found it to be chuckle-worthy at best, and absolutely grating at worst. Still, the levels are well designed and open, the guns are creative, and the enemies are numerous and varied.
Blood - Bearer of a killer mood, fantastic weapons, awesome levels, and some of the most frustrating FPS combat of the era. The only thing that keeps this game from being one of my favorites is that it's more often than not an absolute chore to play, as even the most basic enemies open fire before you've even rounded corners, taking out huge chunks of your health.
Redneck Rampage - Essentially Duke Nukem with a redneck theme. So if you like Build engine FPSs, you'll like this. I personally found it funnier than either Duke3d or Blood, but only marginally. It also has one of the best guilty pleasure soundtracks ever.
Painkiller - About the closest thing to run-and-gun perfection that's yet been released. The combat is endlessly satisfying, the enemies are all remarkably varied and creative, the weapons are over-the-top and loads of fun to fire, the levels are visually some of the most stunning ever seen, and the soundtrack is great (at least the ambient soundtrack is. I turned off the battle music about five minutes in).
Postal 2 - I found it to be...well...boring. About 5 minutes in, the novelty of lighting people on fire and pissing on their corpses is almost completely gone, and what's left is a bland shooter with forced humor and a checklist of things designed to offend anyone and everyone. So naturally, it gets protected under the shield of "it's supposed to be stupid."
Rise of the Triad - Very weird but very fun, melding platforming sensibilities and FPS action, and topping it off with a gleefully irreverent sense of humor and more levels than you could shake an entire tree branch at. It does suffer a little from the things that make FPSs from the Wolfenstein 3d era hard to play today, but it's generally a lot of fun and extremely endearing. For awhile, at least.
Blood 2 - At best, some people shower it with lukewarm praise for its number of weapons and "dumb fun" potential. But I personally think this one is an ugly black mark on Monolith's otherwise stellar track record. Balancing is horrific, and very early on you'll find that it's almost impossible to get through levels without using cheats. It also doesn't have a brightness slider, meaning that some levels are almost impossible to navigate. Then there are the myriad of little annoyances, such as unclear objectives, glitches, and unskippable cutscenes. It's not completely devoid of value, but I would suggest you purchase at your own risk.
Shogo - In many ways it's just as flawed as Blood 2... but it manages to be somehow very charming and lovable--and usually quite fun--despite its numerous glitches and some questionable design choices (omnipotent, unfailingly accurate enemies plus a player character that can die in less than 3 hits). If you have some patience, this one is certainly worth a look.
XIII - not played
Far Cry - When you're playing cat-and-mouse with the uncanny AI in wide open jungles, the game is brilliant. And even when you're perambulating through linear underground bunkers, it's still pretty awesome. However, there are significant portions of the game that aren't like this, and they range from pretty good to absolutely abysmal--even unplayable. If you have the patience to deal with its lows, you'll be rewarded with some fantastic gameplay. If not...well, you very well might smash your keyboard in frustration.
Unreal Tournament 2004 - HUUUUUGE. I'm pretty sure that every single multiplayer mode ever invented found its way into this game. Add in tons of maps, tons of weapons, tons of mods, and tons of variety, and... well, you have UT 2004. The visuals are really pretty too, and scale well for older machines. If you like fast-paced multiplayer, this is the game for you.
Kingpin - not played
Blake Stone - not played enough
Unreal Gold - An undervalued gem of classic FPSs, Unreal combines a unique and fresh take one combat (you fight a few intelligent foes at once, rather than hordes of dumb foes at once), highly creative weapons, beautiful visual design, wonderful music,a simple story told with subtlety and maturity, and evocative and well-designed levels. If any of those things sounds good to you, then buy this game immediately and have fun. If none of those things sounds good, then congratulations... you are officially not a human being.
Unreal Tournament GOTY - A fast-paced deathmatch game with Unreal's visuals, music, weapons, and characters. It's fun. There's a lot of options to play around with, the balancing is good, and the community is still pretty active. In fact, I prefer this game to UT 2004. Don't know why, since UT 2004 has basically everything that UT '99 has... but there you go.
ARMA: Cold War Assault - Do you like tactical FPSs? Then you should be playing Cold War Assault. It's one of the most detailed and realistic military sims around, and its scope is absolutely staggering. In fact, the game is so big and so detailed that I don't think a summary will do it justice. So, just go buy it.
ARMA Gold - not played
Chaser - not played
Serious Sam: TFE - A game about shooting hordes upon hordes of enemies in gigantic environments. It's unapologetically repetitive, simple, and "stupid." "Stupid" in quotes, because the game actually involves a fair amount of skill and strategy, especially in later levels. Its sense of humor is somewhat reminiscent of Duke Nukem 3d, but much more lighthearted and much less eye-roll-inducing. It's not for everyone, but if you like shooting lots of things and don't demand much more, chances are you'll enjoy it.
Serious Sam: TSE - More Serious Sam goodness, but with a lot more variety. I personally miss the simplicity of the first game, but I think that most people would feel that the new locales and game scenarios are quite welcome. Don't even think about owning this without playing TFE, however. The game assumes that you've played the first, and ramps up its difficulty pretty quickly as a result. Taken together, I think that TFE and TSE are collectively one of the better FPS experiences on this site.
Judge Dredd - not played
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six - not played enough
SWAT 3 - Think a simulation of realistic SWAT tactics would be boring? Think again. SWAT 3 proves that it's sometimes just as satisfying to play lawful good as it is to play chaotic good. Going in and defusing a messy situation with the mighty hand of proper procedure and good judgement is really unexpectedly rewarding. And the game proves that while bursting into a room and mowing down everything in sight may be the common picture of the ballsy action hero, it takes a real man to burst into a room and shout "hands up!" first.
Unreal 2 - not played
Iron Storm - not played
Sniper Elite - Not exactly an FPS, but worth mentioning. The sniping mechanics are very realistic, which combined with the gritty atmosphere and brutal gore makes for a believable and immersive military sniping experience. However, stealth can be very hit-or-miss, which wouldn't be to much of a problem except that the game relies on it a lot. And it has limited saves. So it's a little bit of a polarized experience, and can be frustrating as often as it's intense and engaging.
Conflict Desert Storm - not played
So here's my ranked list of the 10 best FPSs on GOG:
1. Painkiller/Unreal (tie)
2. ARMA Cold War Assault
3. Serious Sam TFE + TSE
4. UT '99/UT 2004 (tie)
5. SWAT 3
6. Far Cry
7. Rise of the Triad
8. Shogo
9. Duke Nukem 3d
10. Blood
All personal opinion, of course.
(wow... this took me about an hour to write)
