FPS games: suggestions etc

[bigred]

Cut n pasted from another thread:

BTW - Doom III sucks, badly. Get Half Life 2After more thought I probably won't buy it, although I heard it was good actually...but it doesn't stay faithful to the original, so screw em. Half-Life I'm frankly sick of people raving about....what's so great about it? People raved about Duke Nuk'm 2 (or was it 3) and the Quake series, but I found both to be quite lame. Really for its time nothing will ever touch the orig DOOM (and DOOM II which was really about the same)...

[rockoon]

Half Life 2 is ok but its getting quite dated now.

Quake 4 presents a pretty good gaming experience, but has low replay value.

Oblivion is arguably the best single playing role playing game so far created.

Battlefield 2 is a solid team-based multiplayer FPS game. If you are tired of counter-strike then this might be for you.

Far Cry .. few downsides to this FPS game but you might want to wait for the authors to release their next game: http://pc.ign.com/objects/694/694190.html

[alfaniner]

Here's one that's completely different...

The Cloud Game (http://www.thatcloudgame.com)

I find it especially effective to play just before going to bed.

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

In no particular order:

Prey
SiN: Episode 1
Project Snowblind
BF2142
Far Cry
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
Pariah

[jimlintott]

Doom III was Doom done right. I really enjoyed it. I've always been a fan of the Quake series and Quake 4 is great fun. F.E.A.R. is amazing and pretty scary but no more than Doom III which has scared the crap out of me at places.

The Call of Duty series is very good. I should play the Half Life Series. The boy says that they are best played in order. I've watched him playing them and they look great. He got through F.E.A.R. without dieing and totally destroys me in Quake 3 matches. How bad he beats me at Starcraft isn't even funny. So I tend to take his game advice seriously. He played through Civ 4 in one evening.

I tried playing Far Cry 2 but didn't like it.

I haven't played FPS much lately due to an RSI situation, opting for the more wrist friendly wheel and pedal set and racing games.

[Almo]

Depends on what you're looking for. I don't really care about the single player mode in FPS games, so I pick mine only for their multiplayer element.

I play Quake 3 using the Threewave mod in Capture Strike mode every day at work with 10-18 people. That's lots of fun. Been playing that every day for about 3 years, and I'm still not tired of it.

I play Unreal Tournament 2004 and the original version. These are great fun for Deathmatch, Assault and Onslaught modes.

Quake 4 is excellent, but computers aren't really up to it yet. I get around 60 frames per second, but only on small maps with 3 players or less. Once Q4 runs at a solid 60, I'll play it more.

[Almo]

I tried playing Far Cry 2 but didn't like it.

For the record, FarCry Instincts is like an expasion. FarCry 2 has yet to be released, and I'm not even sure if it's announced.

[jimlintott]

For the record, FarCry Instincts is like an expasion. FarCry 2 has yet to be released, and I'm not even sure if it's announced.


Okay. It was probably Farcry 1 then.:confused:

What was that FPS that was based on Castle Wolfenstein (another fun FPS) but was free and multiplayer with axis and allied teams? That was probably the most fun FPS I've played.

Personally I've always been a fan of the ID FPS games because they tended to keep the controls simple and the physics always feels right.

[snooziums]

What about Unreal Tournament 2004? That is the only FPS game I have on my computer. While I am not usually into violent games, sometimes when I have a lot of stress, it really helps.

If only I knew of someone online to play it with, that like using either small maps or "official" maps. With dial-up it takes forever to load a map that is not already on my system, and by the time it is loaded, the game is already over.

[I less than three logic]

Okay. It was probably Farcry 1 then.:confused:

What was that FPS that was based on Castle Wolfenstein (another fun FPS) but was free and multiplayer with axis and allied teams? That was probably the most fun FPS I've played.

Personally I've always been a fan of the ID FPS games because they tended to keep the controls simple and the physics always feels right.
Was it Day of Defeat (http://www.dayofdefeatmod.com/) maybe? It was a free download, but was a Half-life mod. It, like Counter-Strike, started out as a HL mod but was then purchased by valve. Then again, it might have been Red Orchestra (http://www.redorchestragame.com/index.php), which was an Unreal Tournament mod. This one won a modding contest and received full licensing rights to the UT2K4 engine I believe.

As far as mods go, I still play The Specialists (http://www.specialistsmod.net/) from time to time. It’s kind of a Matrix-like mod with the jumping, diving, slow motion, and such. Kind a steep learning curve so expect to get completely slaughtered until you get the hang of it, but it fun for just mindless killing. :)

Also, Team Fortress 2 (http://pc.ign.com/objects/011/011640.html) is set to be released soon packaged with Half-Life 2: Episode 2. This is more of an expansion though, so it will require you to own Half-Life 2.

[jimlintott]

I figured it out.

Enemy Territory. (http://enemy-territory.4players.de:1041/news.php)

I'll have to check it out again. I loved playing it. I made a good medic. :)

[lister]

I suffered from definate FPS overkill for a long time.

I tried DOOMIII and although the graphics blew me away at the time, I didn't even get half way through before losing interest.

Half Life 2 fared better, but even that needed a couple of months break before I got around to finishing the last few levels.

Prey however is in a totally different league IMHO. That sucked me right in and I played every day until I finished it. Superb game.

If you enjoyed the original DOOM, you might like PainKiller. This is getting on a bit now but again is FUN.

[rockoon]

Anybody got the scoop on the Spore release date?

[a_unique_person]

I only like playing things like DOD, where you are up against other people. AI is no match for cunning and deception, matching wits against people.

[bigred]

Thx for all the replies and ideas. Downloading Cloud now - I really like the idea of it's peaceful approach to a game vs the well-worn dark evil dimembering stuff (not that that can't be fun too :) ). VERY refreshing.

Good point on depends what grabs you though. For my money I do not like overly complex games, ie it takes days or weeks on end just to learn the basics of how to maneuver, shoot, etc. That was the beauty of DOOM. Point n shoot baby.

[Wudang]

What about some of the free dooms? Id gave out the source for Doom 2 and some people have fun with it. Google on jdoom, the "eternal doom" wads etc. Okay the graphics aren't much by todays standards but free if a nice price. And you don't spend hours getting blown away while you try to remember if for this game "spacebar" is shoot or jump.
I'd give links but at work and game websites are blocked.

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

Wanted to second the recommendation of Call of Duty. Great game.

Add to the list F.E.A.R. (dumb name, scary game).

[bigred]

What about some of the free dooms? Id gave out the source for Doom 2 and some people have fun with it. Google on jdoom, the "eternal doom" wads etc. Okay the graphics aren't much by todays standards but free if a nice price. And you don't spend hours getting blown away while you try to remember if for this game "spacebar" is shoot or jump.
I'd give links but at work and game websites are blocked.All the homemade "WADs" - as well as editors that let you build your own - was another thing which made DOOM the best FPS ever, by far. I can't believe other games didn't follow suit w/that feature...in fact the one thing ID Software really sucked at was not following up on DOOM, eg making add-on packs with an editor, more WADs etc (not to mention taking WAY WAY too long to come out w/DOOM III, which only casually resembles the orig at best). The only thing on WADs was you tended to have to wade through some lame ones to find the good ones...but it really gave DOOM a highly extended shelf life for me. Well that and hooking up over the phone or w/a null modem cable on my laptop to play with friends. :)

I'd still rather play that than most games out there now. Playability and creativity is for me far far more important than high-res, g-whiz graphics or effects.

[Wudang]

Bigred - I think you missed the point. Id made the code for Doom vailable so people jazzed up the base code so your gun sight could track up/down as well as left/right and so on. See for example http://www.doomsdayhq.com/

[bigred]

No, I got ya, I just sort of skewed off. :) Thx for info though.

Too bad there isn't a good (free) web site you could play DOOM w/others.

[a_unique_person]

All the homemade "WADs" - as well as editors that let you build your own - was another thing which made DOOM the best FPS ever, by far. I can't believe other games didn't follow suit w/that feature...in fact the one thing ID Software really sucked at was not following up on DOOM, eg making add-on packs with an editor, more WADs etc (not to mention taking WAY WAY too long to come out w/DOOM III, which only casually resembles the orig at best). The only thing on WADs was you tended to have to wade through some lame ones to find the good ones...but it really gave DOOM a highly extended shelf life for me. Well that and hooking up over the phone or w/a null modem cable on my laptop to play with friends. :)

I'd still rather play that than most games out there now. Playability and creativity is for me far far more important than high-res, g-whiz graphics or effects.

Half Life/Half Life 2 has a very active community making mods, with some very interesting concepts. Eg, Aliens who have to attack by biting, against space trooper with guns. These aliens can evolve. Day of Defeat, squad level fighting in WWII, and numerous more. Maps that are quite imaginative, eg, "Surf Maps", where you slide down massive structures, climbing maps.

[I less than three logic]

Half Life/Half Life 2 has a very active community making mods, with some very interesting concepts. Eg, Aliens who have to attack by biting, against space trooper with guns. These aliens can evolve. Day of Defeat, squad level fighting in WWII, and numerous more. Maps that are quite imaginative, eg, "Surf Maps", where you slide down massive structures, climbing maps.
Plus that half-life mod has a great name, Natural Selection. ;)

Not to mention a rather interesting mix of FPS style game play and RTS building/commanding style play. I found it fun for quite a while, although the player base was never really very big, and I did find it a bit repetitive after a bit.

[bigred]

RTS English please. RTS?

[jimlintott]

RTS == Real Time Strategy.

Starcraft for example. Starcraft gets my vote for one of the all time best games. I describe it as a game of chess where you have to build all your pieces and both players move anywhere on the board simultaneously.

[gnome]

Except it isn't really on a strategic level is it, since it isn't about moving large armies... I think it would be better described as tactical.

RTS=Realtime Tactical Simulation, perhaps?

[alfaniner]

I didn't even know what FPS meant and I still posted here...

So bigred, how's the Cloud game coming?

[bigred]

lol

FPS = first-person shooter. ie instead of seeing some guy walking around and that's "you," you just see the gun sticking out of your hand and the baddies in front of you, as if it's really you looking through the monitor and walking around playing (which Id popularized (created?)).

I like a mix of RTS and FPS sometimes, but it's hard to do that well. Generally it seems wisest to do one or the other.

[four elevener]

Wanted to second the recommendation of Call of Duty. Great game.

Add to the list F.E.A.R. (dumb name, scary game).

F.E.A.R. was intensely creepy. I played it alone in the dark and several times, had to turn the lights on, get up and leave the room. One of the best games I've played in a while.

[bigred]

So bigred, how's the Cloud game coming?Wouldn't work very well on girlfriend's venerable old PC. Will check when I get new PC and 'net hookup.

[Demigorgon]

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Half-life 2 is a great game. I picked it up the other day for $29 and it includes the original also. It looks great on a mediocre video card, I run full settings on a GeForce 6200. The call of duty series is a good one too.
F.E.A.R. requires a good rig.

[Polaris]

The addition of iron sights in games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault was a step in the right direction over little white crosshairs in the center of the screen.

I'd like an enemy that uses cover and adapts to your tactics, but also isn't intelligent enough that you can't ever use the element of surprise to your advantage (Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 suffered from this - in a rainstorm, at night, facing an enemy without the night vision you have, you fire one round and all of a sudden every North Korean soldier knows exactly where you are and is conscious enough to open fire accordingly). Also, realistic wound damage is also good - the best example I've found of this so far is MoH Pacific Assault, which has rifles that are more powerful than SMGs (1 shot kills a Jap with a rifle, SMGs take 2 or 3 unless there's a head show), instead of having to shoot every enemy 3 times with every weapon to take him down, regardless. The flip side is Black Hawk Down where you shoot a Somali militiaman in the toe and he dies.

What I'd personally like to see is that, coupled with a program that randomly generates enemies so you don't get used to where they are, especially in linear stages like most Medal of Honor FPS. You play it a few times and you know where all the enemies are - it's no fun anymore. Even games like Metal Gear 3 (not a FPS except for a few moments) have enemies that walk set patterns that, if you charge straight through, can seem like random patterns. Take a game like Black Hawk Down - want to get past a dangerous alleyway? Just wait for the idiot with the AK-47 to run by a few times and you can time it. It gets old.

Guns that jam or get broken would be a nice, realistic touch once in a while (for you and the enemy), and some more involved actions - beyond just firing, reloading, jumping and opening doors - would be cool too. Rifling through drawers, turning over tables and beds for cover, investigating papers, using computers, etc. etc., for instance. This starts to get into storyline issues, and bases for FPS games are, granted, growing thin.

Also, when is there going to be a Market-Garden WW2 FPS?

[bigred]

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Half-life 2 is a great game. I picked it up the other day for $29 and it includes the original also. It looks great on a mediocre video card, I run full settings on a GeForce 6200. The call of duty series is a good one too.
F.E.A.R. requires a good rig.
What's the one that has a picture of a guy in a white chem gear/special ops kinda suit with a black or grayish background.....I bought that for like $20 a few years back and hated it. WAY too busy to learn how to shoot/move/look/ad nauseum.

Did kinda like Delta Force though.

[a_unique_person]

English please. RTS?

Noob :rolleyes:....

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

Except it isn't really on a strategic level is it, since it isn't about moving large armies... I think it would be better described as tactical.

RTS=Realtime Tactical Simulation, perhaps?

Looks like Supreme Commander may meet your requirements.

[Bikewer]

I have enjoyed all the Half-Life series, and a wide variety of mods for same as well. (and there are many more in the works)

Currently, when I'm in the mood for violence, I play Forgotten Hope, which is a Battlefield 1942 mod. It's a "realism" mod, which removes most of the arcade features from the vanilla version, and substitutes much better models, uniforms, etc. We are patiently waiting for Forgotten Hope 2, based on the BF2 engine.
Another very realistic military shooter is Red Orchestra. Marketed through Steam, it's an uncompromising WWII (Germans vs. Russians) shooter with very good weapons, ballistics, and armor models.

I'm too old and slow for "run-and-gun" shooters; give me a bush to hide behind and an MG42.....

[DangerousBeliefs]

COD1 and 2 are excellent single player games (been playing COD2 for the past couple of weeks... quite a bit more challenging than COD1 due to some design changes. One thing I really like is that you're allowed to flank the enemy if you just look around a bit and find the right place.)

If you're into online, I still have a soft spot for America's Army.

[bigred]

Are there any semi-current "good" FPSs that have a similar simplistic point n shoot type thing a la DOOM? Some RTS is fine too, I just hate when shooting and movement are really busy. I guess I lean to more of an arcade-type thing.

[Almo]

Anybody got the scoop on the Spore release date?

The scoop is that it's way off topic.

Well, Starcraft is actually a mix of strategy and tactics. You have to move around large armies and deal with issues of what forces to build, maintaining supplies for your manufacturing operation, etc. Then when the armies fight, you can give individual units commands, which is where the tactics are. Usually, an RTS involves both strategy and tactics, though to varying degrees. I found the Starcraft leaned toward the strategic while Warcraft III leans toward the tactical.

[Almo]

Are there any semi-current "good" FPSs that have a similar simplistic point n shoot type thing a la DOOM? Some RTS is fine too, I just hate when shooting and movement are really busy. I guess I lean to more of an arcade-type thing.

Quake 4.

[bigred]

Appreciate the suggestion, but having seen Quake 2 and 3, I'm more than a bit skeptical. :cool:

Is it more of the same? ie very few baddies, all the scenery looks the same and everything is exceedlingly dark? I found it boring, to be honest.

Maybe I should've added "that isn't made by Id." R.I.P.

[rockoon]

Quake 4 isnt made by ID. ID just made the game engine. Raven Software designed the actual gameplay elements.

[bigred]

Just answer the question please....your honor permission to treat as a hostile witness :)

[DreadNiK]

Are there any semi-current "good" FPSs that have a similar simplistic point n shoot type thing a la DOOM? Some RTS is fine too, I just hate when shooting and movement are really busy. I guess I lean to more of an arcade-type thing.

Quake IV is pretty arcadey, simplistic 'find the computer console to click on while shooting your way through lots of monsters' kinda thing. I haven't finished it yet, but there is a very arcade style section in a tank, and a less good one in a walker. Raven are a pretty good developer (SOF2, Elite Force anyone?)

But, as has been said, it taxes the PC some. My main beast can handle it at max, but only just.

If you go back a bit, Doom 3 is just a poor man's Q4, but for pure old-school style carnage you can't really beat Serious Sam (although I couldn't be bothered to play through SS2 when it came with my last gfx card).

Personally, Farcry is the best game I've played to date, with HL2 close behind.

[HeyLeroy]

(snip)

Guns that jam or get broken would be a nice, realistic touch once in a while (for you and the enemy), and some more involved actions - beyond just firing, reloading, jumping and opening doors - would be cool too. Rifling through drawers, turning over tables and beds for cover, investigating papers, using computers, etc. etc., for instance. This starts to get into storyline issues, and bases for FPS games are, granted, growing thin.

Also, when is there going to be a Market-Garden WW2 FPS?

You should try and find No One Lives Forever 2 (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/noonelivesforever2asihw/index.html). It was one helluva game. I just re-played it through and it's a hoot.

Sure you play as a female character. So what. The game is very funny as well as being difficult. There are levels where you think, WTF? How do I end this? Then you hafta pull a total James Bond, like jumping your snowmobile over a fence, say. It's very inventive, and the AI of the enemies is pretty good, too.

[voidx]

Topic has been covered pretty well. If it's single player you want then any of the big names work well:

DoomIII
Quake 4
Half-Life 2
COD1 & 2
Farcry

I'm going to step out and say for single player FPS that I found the most intense gameplay in COD1 & 2. Any of the scenario's where you took an object (shelled out apartment building what have you) and then had to defend it against a German counter-attack, very exciting, very difficult, and very intense. I've found few FPS's that have matched that intense level of running around in pure chaos trying to stay alive.

DoomIII for atmosphere, Half-Life 2 for story, Farcry is good all around, although does have some annoying hard bosses. Not in that their difficult, just that you must hit them 12 billion times.

If its multi-player then any of the Doom iD games are best, as well as Unreal 2004.

For pure realism America's Army is very good. I played it a lot when it first came out. However, its not for everyone. Its squad based, so if you get tagged 2 minutes into the engagement, you wait until one team has one before starting over again, there's no re-spawning. Plus it keeps track of friendly fire incidents and gives you a ranking which can prevent you from joining certain servers and games if your ranking is too low (generally meaning your new, or you have a habit of blasting friendlies, intentionally or unintentionally).

I played through Half-Life 2 Episode 1 recently and it was ok. No new monsters or characters, and I found it rather to short as I found Half-Life 2 in general.

I tried the FEAR demo and it seemed neat. I played the Prey demo but found it very gimmicky. The crazy portals were neat at first, but were very quickly overdone, and that was just the demo. Perhaps the full game is better.

Overall though I've had the most fun playing COD1 & 2. The gameplay is so intense and interesting, airstrikes, tanks, snipers. It's the most fun I've had playing an FPS in a while.

[Almo]

Well, Quake 3 is only bot-based arena combat, so it's weird.

Q4's single player is very much like Q2's. I'm not very far through it, but it's brighter than Doom 3, but still fairly dark. It also seems to have no more than 4-5 enemies at a time.

So you might want to avoid it then. :)

[Almo]

Sure you play as a female character. So what.

I always use female models in FPS games, if they let me. There aren't any in Q4. :confused:

There are other FPS players I know that do so as well, and there's another class of FPS players that are always shocked when they find out I use a chick model. Heheheh. I'm playing quake, they walk by, ask if I'm kicking ass, I die, camera pops back to show me dying, and they look at me all surprised and say, "You're a girl!"

:D

[bigred]

Well, Quake 3 is only bot-based arena combat, so it's weird.

Q4's single player is very much like Q2's. I'm not very far through it, but it's brighter than Doom 3, but still fairly dark. It also seems to have no more than 4-5 enemies at a time.

So you might want to avoid it then. :)
Yep 2 big strikes right there for my money. I don't expect bright sunshine and daffodils, but most FPSs I've seen way overdue the whole dark forboding thing.

Thx this is great stuff :) Agreements or not and why's appreciate too.

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

...
I'm going to step out and say for single player FPS that I found the most intense gameplay in COD1 & 2. Any of the scenario's where you took an object (shelled out apartment building what have you) and then had to defend it against a German counter-attack, very exciting, very difficult, and very intense. I've found few FPS's that have matched that intense level of running around in pure chaos trying to stay alive.
...

I concur. I definitely had a feeling of satisfaction after making it through that scenario.

[Oroborus]

Forgive me if I'm repeating any games lol.

Someone mentioned Oblivion. While I wouldn't really classify it as an FPS it is a pretty damn good game. Aside from the main game there are tons of mods for it plus construction kits where you can build your own houses/armor/whatever. Plus if you're lazy plenty of people have made them too. They're easy to install (move a file and a few clicks) and can really add to gameplay. A pretty fun RPG although a little pricey (ran about 50?$ USD when I got it).

Counter-Strike and CS:Source are classics too. They're multiplayer mods of halflife and hl2 (more fun than the originals if you ask me). There are tons of mods for both games that vary from server to server, and even regular play is fun.


I can't really think of any more FPS games for some reason so I"ll just list off a few others.


CPU:Star Craft, Brood War, Diablo 2 expansion - Lots of fun with those games brood war especially.

PS2: Demonstone (I played it for 8 hours straight and beat it..so it's a bit short but I had alot of fun with it. About 15 hours total to get everything in the game)



By the way if you end up getting CS let me know, I manage a Wc3 (warcraft 3) mod server :p

[bigred]

OK along w/the new PC last night I bought DOOM 3. Even keeping in mind it bears almost no resemblence to the orig DOOMs whatsoever, I was unimpressed. I may even return it today. Despite its inferior graphics/etc, DOOM 2 is still about 100 times better. I don't get how Id could first invent such an awesome game as DOOM 2....then be so totally inept w/the follow-through (this goes back to before DOOM 3 also). Morons.

The other FPS I mentioned the other day was some Tom Clancy thing, forget the name already but saw a "legacy bundle" in the the store the other day. Didn't see the majority of those listed here :mad:

[Oroborus]

The other FPS I mentioned the other day was some Tom Clancy thing, forget the name already but saw a "legacy bundle" in the the store the other day. Didn't see the majority of those listed here :mad:

Splinter Cell?

[jimlintott]

To each his own. I really liked Doom III but admit that I preferred Quake 4. Recently I played a Doom III mod that was the first several levels of the original Doom done on the newer engine. They were actually tougher because the AI on the baddies is better now. Took me back to the original in way.

[bigred]

Funny you should say that because one of my numerous beefs with DOOM 3 is that the initial baddies you encounter are too freakin nasty. ie in DOOM 2 it would take way more shots from the low-end baddies to kill you then they could ever get off before you kill them (unless maybe you don't even have a pop gun) and they themselves were pretty easy to kill. Here they can cause tons o damage just swiping at you and it takes too many shots for them to go down.

[bigred]

Splinter Cell?No, found it: "Rogue Spear"

[four elevener]

Just finished the F.E.A.R. expansion pack. I would have to say that it is the best FPS I've ever played, mainly because of the AI and the spook factor. Half-Life 2 comes in a close second. I thought Doom 3 and Quake 4 were ok. Still haven't tried Farcry yet. Is it really that good?

[bigred]

I'm returning DOOM 3. It's boring IMO and WAY too freaking hard to move around and shoot at the same time. I end up having to use a combo of the mouse and keyboard which is ridiculous. This is thanks largely to the brilliant "improvement" made where instead of the weapon being front n center it's off to the side and where you're aiming has to be constantly shifted around. If it had a way of plugging in a fake PC gun (like you do for steering wheels on racing games) and could simply aim at the monitor, it'd be great....but it totally SUCKS at this level.

So (and sorry if I missed this before) what does anyone think would be my best bet for a good FPS for me, ie moving and shooting is easier (closer to DOOM 2 the better) and is mostly or entirely a shoot n kill ie has minimal "puzzles" to solve or in-depth mission objectives to fulfill (beyond killing all the baddies and getting to the end of the level/game that is)?

If there is some storyline or strategy I'm not against it, but the busier it gets the more I get turned off. I'm old and have little patience. :) I loved DOOM 2 which was so simple at heart and yet so interesting due to all the varied sights n sounds (various landscapes, baddies, weapon choices, etc). AOE (the orig) I also liked a lot and that had a lot of strat to it ie more than just shoot n kill.

Thx for the info and insights

[jimlintott]

You seem to not like what is called free look. Using the keyboard for moving and mouse for aiming. You can walk and turn your head at the same time. Bad news, all newer FPS are like this (I can't think of one that isn't). Most FPS players like myself consider this one of the greatest innovations in FPS gameplay. It indroduced the idea of strategic shooting. Body shots do less damage than headshots.

Keyboard and mouse is the preffered control setup for FPS.

Good luck returning the game. Most places won't return games. My daughter has returned a couple but she is a hot seventeen year old.

[DreadNiK]

I'm returning DOOM 3. It's boring IMO and WAY too freaking hard to move around and shoot at the same time. I end up having to use a combo of the mouse and keyboard which is ridiculous. This is thanks largely to the brilliant "improvement" made where instead of the weapon being front n center it's off to the side and where you're aiming has to be constantly shifted around. If it had a way of plugging in a fake PC gun (like you do for steering wheels on racing games) and could simply aim at the monitor, it'd be great....but it totally SUCKS at this level.

So (and sorry if I missed this before) what does anyone think would be my best bet for a good FPS for me, ie moving and shooting is easier (closer to DOOM 2 the better) and is mostly or entirely a shoot n kill ie has minimal "puzzles" to solve or in-depth mission objectives to fulfill (beyond killing all the baddies and getting to the end of the level/game that is)?

If there is some storyline or strategy I'm not against it, but the busier it gets the more I get turned off. I'm old and have little patience. :) I loved DOOM 2 which was so simple at heart and yet so interesting due to all the varied sights n sounds (various landscapes, baddies, weapon choices, etc). AOE (the orig) I also liked a lot and that had a lot of strat to it ie more than just shoot n kill.

Thx for the info and insights

You aren't going to find an FPS from the last five years that doesn't require mouse and keyboard. I didn't realise the original Half Life could be played like that and played through it the first time with a keyboard only (which I don't actually think I could do now).

Tbh I don't understand your problem with it...it might take a bit of getting used to but it is the only way really of controlling a modern or semi-modern fps.

Maybe you should get yourself House Of The Dead or some other console based light gun game. (and a light gun)

Apparently the Wii is going to have physical aiming for FPS

[bigred]

You seem to not like what is called free look. Using the keyboard for moving and mouse for aiming. You can walk and turn your head at the same time. Bad news, all newer FPS are like this (I can't think of one that isn't). Most FPS players like myself consider this one of the greatest innovations in FPS gameplay. It indroduced the idea of strategic shooting. Body shots do less damage than headshots..As you say, to each their own. I think "free look" is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen related to PC gameplay. Trying to control both at the same time is not only harder than flipping hell but just a royal pain in the butt. It might be OK if everything was going in slo-mo, but trying to one the one hand move around, meanwhile move the mouse to aim...and oh btw moving around messes up the aim too......dumb dumb dumb. Give me the straightforward DOOM 2-type shooting any day. Or at least a good rocket blaster so precise aiming isn't needed. :) Oh well so much for FPSs I guess.


Good luck returning the game. Most places won't return games. My daughter has returned a couple but she is a hot seventeen year old.Really? In VA I don't think they have a choice. You have a certain amt of time to return just about anything (7-10 days I think, something like that). I don't even need a refund, just let me exchange for something else. Maybe I'll try Black n White 2 or AOE III or something......or if someone has a good storyline type game suggestion (not myst like I mean where you interact w/characters a lot and your choice of what to say impacts how it plays out) I'm all ears.

Also we need someone besides friggin EA to come out w/sports games.

[bigred]

Maybe you should get yourself House Of The Dead or some other console based light gun game. (and a light gun) Not sure what you mean but for now at least I think I'll stick to reliving DOOM 2 or the like, or maybe just bagging FPSs for the most part.

Man that sucks :(

[jimlintott]

As you say, to each their own. I think "free look" is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen related to PC gameplay. Trying to control both at the same time is not only harder than flipping hell but just a royal pain in the butt. It might be OK if everything was going in slo-mo, but trying to one the one hand move around, meanwhile move the mouse to aim...and oh btw moving around messes up the aim too......dumb dumb dumb. Give me the straightforward DOOM 2-type shooting any day. Or at least a good rocket blaster so precise aiming isn't needed. :) Oh well so much for FPSs I guess.

Practice man. It requires practice. I think I was pretty clumsy the first time I played a free look FPS.


Really? In VA I don't think they have a choice. You have a certain amt of time to return just about anything (7-10 days I think, something like that).

Excellent.

You should download some demos. They give a chance to try out a game without any risk. I used to download lots at avault.com but they are down for renovations.

Hey guys. Tell bigred where he can download some game demos.

[bigred]

Good point. I have browsed tucows.com, shareware.com is probably worth a look too.

[a_unique_person]

Steam seems to have demos coming up regularly for download. You do need broadband to make it feasible, though.

[a_unique_person]

As you say, to each their own. I think "free look" is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen related to PC gameplay. Trying to control both at the same time is not only harder than flipping hell but just a royal pain in the butt. It might be OK if everything was going in slo-mo, but trying to one the one hand move around, meanwhile move the mouse to aim...and oh btw moving around messes up the aim too......dumb dumb dumb. Give me the straightforward DOOM 2-type shooting any day. Or at least a good rocket blaster so precise aiming isn't needed. :) Oh well so much for FPSs I guess.


What's that joke? Can you chew gum and fart at the same time?

It's just practice, when you first mentioned this I was trying to work out what you were getting at. It just becomes intuitive after a short while.

The experts are the ones who can dodge from side to side all the time, and then if you have them caught right in front of you, just hop around like maniacs till you use up all your bullets, then kill you instead of vice versa.

Day of Defeat also has realistic recoil, so firing an automatic weapon is very difficult, as it just jumps around all over the place. (Weapon weights aren't realistic, you just run around with a BAR like it was a hand gun).

[gnome]

I was sold on "Mouse Look" in Quake 1... when it was possible to play either way. I quickly realized that the usual keypad methods were insufficient for an environment where 3d aiming was required. In deathmatches, only people that used mouse-look really dominated. So I switched and never looked back.

[bigred]

I downloaded a demo of Half Life. Seems like a nice game but also has the damn mouse look BS. Technically you don't have to use it, but in reality you pretty much do. Also IMO it's too friggin hard even on easy setting....the first handful of baddies (eg the spider blob things and guys w/machine guns) I should be able to wipe out w/o breaking a sweat, again a la DOOM 2. Yeah right. Glad y'all like it but I'll pass.

[toddjh]

If you don't mind a dated graphics engine, Deus Ex is a terrific game. It's sort of a hybrid of FPS and RPG -- an approach I really wish more games would take. It's from a first-person perspective, and there's definitely a lot of shooting if that's the way you want to play, but there's also skill progression, an extensive inventory system, lots of dialogue, and a decent story.

While it does use mouse look, I think it would be better than most games without it, because there are very few occasions where you have to engage in a free-for-all shoot-em-up. On most of the levels there are various ways to approach a fight: you can sneak past the enemy (or sneak up behind them and take them out silently), find a good place to hide out with a sniper rifle, or even talk your way out of it.

[bigred]

On paper at least that sounds awesome. Star Control was like that. Playability is about 100,000 times more important to me than g-whiz graphics and effects.

I'll start digging around for it, but if you have a link handy, pls fire away...

[toddjh]

Looks like there's a demo at http://www.download.com/Deus-Ex-demo/3000-7539_4-2091435.html .

It's an older game, so you probably won't find it for sale at retail stores, but I'm sure you could get it for cheap from Amazon or something.

[opqdan]

I was sold on "Mouse Look" in Quake 1... when it was possible to play either way. I quickly realized that the usual keypad methods were insufficient for an environment where 3d aiming was required. In deathmatches, only people that used mouse-look really dominated. So I switched and never looked back.

If you are an original DOOM owner, you should download Doom Legacy or JDoom (it's been a while, so one or both may have been abandoned). They use the Doom wad files, so you'll need to own the game, but they beef up the graphics and let you use mouselook. They'll let you jump also, but I never do, it's too much like cheating. Adding mouselook to Doom makes it insanely easy, especially if you are used to it through other games. I used to think I was good, but I could never beat the game (30 levels + 2 secret levels) on the second highest setting (Ultraviolence, the highest has monsters respawning so it is exponentially more difficult). With mouse-look, it becomes trivial.

My favorite FPS at the moment is still Half Life 2, but not for the reasons you would think. I rarely play the real game, but instead use a third-party mod called "garry's mod" or "gmod" which lets you spawn objects and do all sorts of cool building actions (welds, ball joint, axis, wheels, thrusters, balloons, timed explosions). It's pretty insane what you can build by adding tires to a box car and giving it rocket engines.

My inner engineer (although I suppose it is also my outer engineer), really loves to try to build really complex Rube Goldburg machines in a virtual world. The next version of gmod (soon) will have hydraulics ans winches among other things, allowing even more complex structures.

Unfortunatly, not many replayable FPS games work in Linux (Doom3 and Quake4 do, but who wants to play them more than once?). I used to love playing UT2K4, but since I moved out of the dorms, I never have anybody I know to play with. While Steam and HL2 work under wine (surprisingly), the performance is a little wonky, so I am forced to dual boot.

PS: I don't know if it shows up for everybody, but I like the "Happy Birthday" avatar that automatically shows up for me today.

[Oroborus]

On the whole free look topic, you will get used to it. It becomes so second nature you don't even notice. I would advise you to practice it on HL and then get CS (counter strike), but expect to get owned alot online. Oh unless you have dial up, then don't bother to get cs :D (btw if you do ever get it let me know :D I run a wc3 mod server)

[DreadNiK]

On the whole free look topic, you will get used to it. It becomes so second nature you don't even notice. I would advise you to practice it on HL and then get CS (counter strike), but expect to get owned alot online. Oh unless you have dial up, then don't bother to get cs :D (btw if you do ever get it let me know :D I run a wc3 mod server)

Whats the IP? Although I tend to play vanilla (or 'proper' ;) ) CSS...if you ever wanna get seriously pwned, add me on steam friends...same id as on this forum.

[The Kilted Yaksman]

Are there any semi-current "good" FPSs that have a similar simplistic point n shoot type thing a la DOOM? Some RTS is fine too, I just hate when shooting and movement are really busy. I guess I lean to more of an arcade-type thing.
Serious Sam? More of an OG Doom type of shoot-em-up.