Welcome everyone to The Top 5 once again, this week we will be looking at the 5 best first-person shooters ever to grace our consoles or computers. So, without any delay, let’s dive straight in.
5. Metro: Redux 
This game very nearly made it onto my Top 5 horror games last week but just narrowly missed out. Now it’s kicking off on The Top 5 FPS games. Now, if you’re not familiar with the title, Metro: Redux is Metro 2033 & Metro: Last Light re-released onto the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Now, the reason that I have included the redux release on The Top 5 is because the team over at 4A Games did an amazing job bringing both games up to current gen level and ironed out some of the horrible controls from Metro 2033. Now, onto the games. They are based on the series of books by Russian author Dmitri Glukhovsky and are set in a ravaged Moscow after a nuclear war. Most of the games take place in the, believe it or not, metro system of tunnels underneath the city. There are times, however, where you will need to venture up to the surface. Now, what makes this game(s) worthy of a place in this countdown then? Well, at its core Metro: Redux is a survival horror game, but there are guns and quite a few of them to use against the human and mutant enemies you will have to fight. Now, where there might be quite a few guns at your disposal, ammunition on the other hand is scarce, vastly scarce, which is the survival horror aspect of the game as you really need to conserve your ammo for the big fights. Luckily, the stealth mechanics work extremely efficiently in Redux, so there is nearly always the option to sneak up on enemies and kill them all nice and close. The world 4A have created is dark, depressing, terrifying, and in some twisted way, beautiful all at the same time. The ‘shooting’ mechanics when you have no choice but to shoot to survive work very well. Talking to the various NPCs that call the Russian metro tunnels their home is great fun, and a great break from the tense fighting and exploring you will go through. The enemies you will face as well are vastly different, and not just in their appearances. The human enemies will try to flank you and will act like actual humans would. The mutants, however, are not so tactful, they will just charge at great numbers right for you. This is why you will need to conserve your ammo for these firefights.
4. Goldeneye 007 
What FPS list could be complete without the classic Goldeneye 007? Like many gamers in the late 90s, Goldeneye 007 was the first FPS game I played on a console, and it was also my first foray into a multiplayer style game. There is not much more to say on this legendary game that hasn’t already been said before. Goldeneye 007 I think would be on everyone’s list along with Doom and Quake; they are the forefathers of arguably the most popular genre of video games. Goldeneye 007 itself is directly responsible for another great FPS also released on the Nintendo 64, Perfect Dark. Goldeneye 007 can still be enjoyed today, either by playing the original or the 2010 remake which is, in a word, amazing. Goldeneye 007 set the bar extremely high for first-person shooters, and I would like to think that the titles below Goldeneye 007 would be proud of.
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 
The game that kick-started it all. Before MW1, the Call of Duty franchise was a solid WWII themed shooter. Then came the first Modern Warfare. With it came Hollywood styled action set pieces, over the top firefights, and a plot straight out of a 90s Cold War style action film, but man what a ride it was. It introduced us to a beloved set of characters and possibly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, levels in any shooter game, “All Ghillied Up”. MW1 was also, to me, the standout title and first game to really make online shooters popular amongst console players. I spent an ungodly amount of hours playing the multiplayer, but do I regret it? Absolutely not, in fact it’s the reason I first got an Xbox Live gold account. Its legacy and influence on the FPS series is also unquestionable. The franchise itself is still releasing yearly titles, and the games are always met with positive reviews.
2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution 
One of my absolute favourite games of all time, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a work of art, a masterpiece. The world Eidos created is straight out of an 80s sci-fi film, and I love it. You are free to undertake the various main and side missions as you see fit. Now, at its heart Human Revolution is, of course, a shooter, but it is also one of the best stealth games I have ever played, and it’s tied in along with a very good RPG style skill tree. Human Revolution is a game where there is a lot to do, but it never feels like a chore doing any of it. The actual shooting works superbly well, and the skills you can unlock give you some of the most enjoyable attributes usable in any video game. Throughout the campaign you’ll be met with corruption, heartache, anger, and all those lovely feelings that make us play video games.
1. Halo: Combat Evolved 
Now here we are at number 1 with Halo: Combat Evolved. Perhaps the single reason why Microsoft are still making consoles? The reason why we have regenerative health in not just shooters now, but in pretty much all of modern-day gaming. Halo has given us a Mario level recognisable hero in Master Chief. It gave us brilliant bullet fodder in the Covenant and a lovable sidekick in Master Chief’s AI, Cortana. Halo‘s greatest attribute though is really its simplicity. You are a genetically engineered super soldier who crash lands on a large ring-like structure along with some of your own soldiers and a lot of enemies. Your mission: kill everyone that isn’t human and get off said structure. Simple yet some of the best fun you’ll ever have shooting aliens. I have on my shelf this very moment three different copies of Halo: the original Xbox release, the re-release on the Xbox 360, and the Master Chief Collection on Xbox One. Many titles have tried to claim the title ‘Halo Killer’ but none have succeeded. Halo: Combat Evolved, its sequels, and its spin-offs are all part of the greatest FPS franchise of all time.
