I have just bought the apogee shooters on sale and playing through them.

WOW! I completely and utterly forgot how awesome these old shooters were. Maps which encouraged free roaming and exploration, hardcore action, creative weapons, secrets galore and a huge dose of character.

So my question is, are there any modern FPS which follow in this same philosophy? They don't have to be AAA (or AAAA) games but surely someone still makes shooters like blake stone, Duke nukem 3D (haven't tried DNF), ROTT, Blood etc.

Preferably games without "RPG" elements but just straight up shooters which aren't super linear, which punish you for mistakes and reward you for skill and exploration.

I really enjoyed Serious Sam 3 - I think that's the kind of thing you're looking for. Some large areas to explore, heaps of secrets, crazy weapons and the gameplay can get incredibly intense.

You're asking people to recommend you modern FPS games?

Oh dear.

Basically, no. The closest you'll get are "mob control" shooters like Painkiller or Serious Sam, which are fantastic in their own right, but don't have the same "miniature open world" level design of the games you mention. Painkiller does have really awesome weapons, though, and Serious Sam has the most secrets per level I've ever seen in a game (if I remember right, one level from The First Encounter had around 60). I really wish that someone would do a game in the old style, though. I tried my best with Pit (http://www.indievania.com/games/pit-bite-sized-shooter), but it's hardly enough.

I do like the Build era shooters, as well as Rise of the Triad (haven't given Blake Stone a fair try yet). Especially the open levels. However, the one thing that's always bugged me about them is how they handle hitscan enemies. In Doom, it was almost always possible to avoid getting hit. If you were moving, then enemies had a harder time hitting you. When you entered a room, they didn't fire immediately, giving you time to react. Build games...did not do this. It's especially frustrating in Blood, where you die COUNTLESS times from enemies that can fire with pinpoint accuracy the second they see you.

Sam 3 looks like it's at least trying, but the fact that the whole thing was in the desert rather irritated me. Some scenery other than brown and mild blue (in the sky) would have been nice. :/

Aww, but the desert setting is part of what makes Serious Sam so awesome! The inexplicably pristine Egyptian temples and huge expanses of sand of the first game are just beautiful, especially in the HD remake. I know a lot of people preferred the visual variety of The Second Encounter, but I still prefer TFE's Egyptian theme. It's very evocative in a stark, sunny, perfectly kept way.

Haven't played 3, though, so for all I know they screwed it up completely :P

I suspected as much but I thought you guys might have known about some obscure game that hit the spot.

Maybe I'll try Sam and Painkiller. I remember trying demos back when they first came out and, like you said, they weren't quite the same but probably the closest.

I have some you could try if you don't mind them being pretty obscure.

What have you got? I've never been put off by an obscure game before.

I'd like to know as well.

I played Hard Reset recently and found its gun play and action to be quite satisfying ... much like an older-style shooter.

Hard Reset, judging from gameplay footage, is alot like Painkiller or Serious Sam, while not an open world, you can expect lots of enemies onscreen.

Alright, I'll just list them out. I found most to be decent or pretty good, but it's hard to find a game I'll really really dislike (It would have to be on the level of TekWar or Extreme Paintbrawl)

Take 'em or leave 'em. Their availability may vary, if you really want to try some of these you'll have to be a terrible human being who has no morals.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/vivisector-beast-within
http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/mortyr-series
http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/terrorist-takedown-series
http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/vietcong-series
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/you-are-empty
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/gore-ultimate-soldier
http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/secret-service-series
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/chasm-the-rift
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/alpha-storm
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/world-war-ii-gi
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/nam
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/skynet
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/terminator-rampage
http://www.mobygames.com/game/terminator-future-shock
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/last-rites
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/powerslave
http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/chrome-series
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/cybermage-darklight-awakening
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/cyclones
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/radix-beyond-the-void
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/shadowcaster
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/strife
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/amulets-and-armor
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/corridor-7-alien-invasion
http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/witchaven-series
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/redline
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/alpha-prime
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dark-salvation
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/project-snowblind

I'd list out the more well known ones too but I'm sure you can find those on your own. I know in the back of my mind I forgot like, 10 I wanted to list out but oh well.

Also fuck the haters, play DOOM 3, Quake 4, Prey, Wolfenstein 2009 and Singularity. They're good shooters. Also people have already suggested Painkiller and Serious Sam. Just stay away from any Painkiller that isn't Painkiller Black.

Hard Reset was pretty Awesome and an "Improved" version came out recently of it

I hope we get it on GOG one day soon