the first person shooter game thread (eew fps)

[gameoverDude]

Doom 3: Cleared it on Veteran, and will probably try Nightmare sometime (more monsters!). D3 is not a bad game, but it definitely doesn't have the awesome blitzkriegs of the first two. You won't have 8-12 enemies suddenly rushing into the room after you grab the key. I've played through it before on Xbox, but decided to dust off the PC version which I've had sitting on my shelf. The Xbox port looks worse than I remembered (nasty textures).

Heretic: This does look good on Doomsday Engine (I'm using v1.8.6, since the new 1.9.0 beta 6 hangs when I try to start a game). IIRC, this is one of the first FPS to have items you can grab now and use later.

Rainbow Six Vegas: I saw this for $17 at a GameStop and decided to give it a try. This is something different from the usual FPS, requiring a bit more strategy- you don't just rush in, because then you're toast. Being able to choose different options before entering a room (e.g. Frag & Clear, Breach & Clear, etc) and customize weapons are nice touches.

F.E.A.R. 2: A little more F.E.A.R. is always a good thing. You're without the Reflex power at the start, but you'll get it soon in the 2nd mission. There's no more dual-wielding, but I didn't truly miss that. The pistol sucks, but there are plenty of other good weapons you can replace it with.

I downloaded the demo of XBLA Marathon, but wasn't really moved into unlocking the full game. It just didn't really impress me.

[Ed Oscuro]

Notably Counter strike which introduced "chance to hit" with the illusion of twitch game play.

Somehow I don't think you've ever played Counter-Strike before. Yes, it's right that the bullets just go crazy after a while (or depending on the weapon) and the weapon model doesn't accurately reflect it, but as a result you have to shoot faster and straighter than the other guy. It's the complete reverse of "computer assist."

Doom 3: [...] You won't have 8-12 enemies suddenly rushing into the room after you grab the key.

Picking up Berserker was one of the most hilarious moments in a PC FPS ever. AAAAAAAAAaaaaahhHHHH CAN'T HANDLE THIS BLUR EFFECT (or whatever it was) aaaaaaaiiieeee! Are you a bad enough dude to save the President?

The only better moment in DOOM III was when a female voice sadly informed me they took the babies. :( Maternity Hotspot: Phobos Power Station!

Rainbow Six Vegas: [...] requiring a bit more strategy- you don't just rush in, because then you're toast.

This is excellent joke! Of course, I am unskilled so I appreciate the effort of non-talking-head cutscenes and especially checkpoints within levels. Doesn't really hold a candle to Lone Wolfing previous R6 titles, although the interaction and weapons are feeling better than many previous games.

[Mortificator]

Doom 3 felt like being in a haunted house.

"Wait till he looks in the mirror, wait till he looks in the mirror... OOGIE BOOGIE OOGIE BOOGIE imp."

[John845]

Killzone 2 right now, multiplayer is excellent.

For over 5 years I played a mod for Half-Life called The Specialists. Brilliant game for its time.

[Ed Oscuro]

For over 5 years I played a mod for Half-Life called The Specialists. Brilliant game for its time.

Never liked it much but my brother played it for a while. It sure had potential though! That and Action Half-Life, which I guess is the "original" specialists, or something.

I liked The Opera, a mod which died a loong while ago. It was basically the same game except with some glitchy offline stuff. I loved Mook Arcade maps

[Wonderbanana]

HL2DM is my favourite online FPS simply because if played correctly its so fast and so balanced. We still run several servers for it but i don't play anymore since all the best players have moved onto to other things now.

Currently playing the PC versions of L4D (versus mode) which is good fun but badly needs the extra content and sdk. Think we have 3 servers for this atm.

Played a bit of QuakeLive during the beta, mostly instagib but havnt gone back to it for a while.

And as much as I love my 360, you can't beat a m&k for FPS, no autoaim. H3 is great fun but I just can't compare it to the speed you can aim on a PC since I prefer the twitch deathmatch style of play.

[Ed Oscuro]

There are a couple amazing looking HL2DM maps out there, the one I like best is some kind of island with cranes and tunnels underneath...what a description huh?

Of course, everybody just plays 7hourwar :p

[worstplayer]

Speaking of L4D, it seems to have no autoaim on the 360, yet I have no problem aiming (except with sniper rifle), but I can't hit shit in Call of Duty 4 and WaW. Maybe it's not as useful as it should be.

F.E.A.R. 2. I played the demo and bought the game. I beat the single player first and like it for the most part. I didn't like that they changed all the weapons and the enemies aren't as cool. Multiplayer...sucks...a lot.

Am I only one who thinks it's total crap? It's hard to describe, but it just lacks certain "something" that makes FPS interesting. Maybe it's the weapons, there's very little visual or audio feedback from shooting. Maybe it's Lithtech engine, about whose typical issues I bitched few posts above (although it's not as bad in FEAR2). And maybe it's those idiotic scripted sequences, which are supposed to be scary, but aren't. Oh, and there's letterboxing on non-widescreen monitors, which is simply retarded. I don't know, I just don't like it at all.

[Zeether]

fuck yeah skulltag

now I can play doom in style

[The n00b]

Notably Counter strike which introduced "chance to hit" with the illusion of twitch game play.

Somehow I don't think you've ever played Counter-Strike before. Yes, it's right that the bullets just go crazy after a while (or depending on the weapon) and the weapon model doesn't accurately reflect it.

There took out the crap and made a sensible post. Now just because this computer "assist" exists doesn't take out the element of skill in counter strike right? It's like criticals in Team Fortress 2 and the auto aim in halo 3. All this stuff arguably assists a newbie but a newbie still will hardly ever beat a good player.

This is much better comparison than halo 3 vs Quake 3.

[Ed Oscuro]

All this stuff arguably assists a newbie but a newbie still will hardly ever beat a good player.

i.e. the good player shoots straighter and is quicker on the draw. I think any real disagreement between us got cleared up a few posts ago

[The n00b]

All this stuff arguably assists a newbie but a newbie still will hardly ever beat a good player.

i.e. the good player shoots straighter and is quicker on the draw. I think any real disagreement between us got cleared up a few posts ago

No I think it just got cleared up now that we left the fanboyism and preferred control method crap out of the posts.

[Ed Oscuro]

Bullshit. Fanboyism? Not at all. Sticks have their uses where constant (and variable) acceleration is desirable, such as moving a 3D character through space at variable speeds. Obviously WASD or arrow keys fail at this, and obviously the Xbox pad is better for doing stuff which fits in FPS games, like driving a vehicle. But an analog stick will never beat a good mouse for precise target acquisition, which is what you're doing whenever you're moving that aimpoint across the screen like a person would sight in a rifle. For Halo 3 it's about making the control scheme more tolerable, not about making it less skilled, which is not what I said, although you seem to think that.

I was laughing about the idea that somebody would rather play an FPS with a control scheme inherently slower and less precise than the mouse's, but not at Halo 3's in particular. So that's not fanboyism; that's called not being a dumbass.

Your bizarre idea that somehow Counter-Strike's shot spreads = auto aim is the most laughable shit ever. It's the anti-auto-aim. "All this stuff" makes Counter-Strike harder to play for newbies. For Halo 3, it's more about making the control scheme more tolerable due to the inherent issues of the control system.

Go get your shinebox.

[The n00b]

But an analog stick will never beat a good mouse for precise target acquisition, which is what you're doing whenever you're moving that aimpoint across the screen like a person would sight in a rifle.

There you go. Now if everyone had that m+kb in halo 3 it would be a level playing field. If nobody had that chance to hit bullshit in counterstrike it would be a level playing field. If there were no criticals in team fortress 2 and everybody played as the exact same freaking character there would be a level playing field. You can't see this point that's kicking your ass off your 1 inch tall soapbox though because of this preferential idiocy.

Halo 3's auto aim isn't the only thing added to make the game good on controllers either. The slow movement speed, the tactical necessity of grenades, and the moon like jumps all help this game to be great on controllers. Even if you had a mouse, this shit would still be there. Then you'd be bitching about why halo 3 isn't half life 2 or quake 3 or whatever other bullshit.

Now pick up your shoeshine box because god knows I'm neither interested in a shoeshine or being fluffed.

[Ed Oscuro]

If nobody had that chance to hit bullshit in counterstrike it would be a level playing field.

You've got it completely backwards here. Everybody has the same possibility, so lurn2play or go do something else. I won't blame you if you don't like CS for this reason, but it has nothing to do with the mouse. Accuracy in CS degrades over repeated shots and starts out somewhat crap to simulate how weapons "really" work - because the mouse is actually too accurate to be used without any kind of compensation. It's also to overcome some players having better PC controller hardware than others. Counter-Strike's peculiar in that the aim system is targeted to reward snipers and corner ambushes, with not so much inbetween.

If there were no criticals in team fortress 2

Quit yer bitching: There are servers set up this way, and there's all-crits servers too.

You can't see this point that's kicking your ass off your 1 inch tall soapbox though because of this preferential idiocy.

Stop being a moron. You've pulled examples from a couple games (ones I'm more than happy to point out design flaws in) and mistaken that for something inherently wrong with the mouse+keyboard system.

I've already explained why absolute distance control schemes beat constant acceleration based systems for pointing, and I've also explained why the constant acceleration beats mouse+keys for some things. It has nothing to do with "preference," and everything to do with facts.

At this point you're just wasting my time, and yours. Highly advisable to stop embarrassing yourself and being a dick on top of it.

Then you'd be bitching about why halo 3 isn't half life 2 or quake 3 or whatever other bullshit.

This is just hilarious. I've already pointed out, and you apparently didn't read - or at least understand - that Halo 3 has some controls that a mouse can't handle as well as the joystick. My point was that aiming with a handheld weapon is not one of these situations.

"Fanboyism" aside, I wouldn't mind playing console FPSes if it weren't for this critical flaw.

I'm pretty sure I've already mentioned L4D PC versus 360, which is the sort of direct comparison you should be thinking about, instead of bringing up irrelevant points about shitty old PC FPSes like CS that have been long eclipsed.

[Wonderbanana]

Bullshit. Fanboyism? Not at all. Sticks have their uses where constant (and variable) acceleration is desirable, such as moving a 3D character through space at variable speeds. Obviously WASD or arrow keys fail at this, and obviously the Xbox pad is better for doing stuff which fits in FPS games, like driving a vehicle. But an analog stick will never beat a good mouse for precise target acquisition, which is what you're doing whenever you're moving that aimpoint across the screen like a person would sight in a rifle. For Halo 3 it's about making the control scheme more tolerable, not about making it less skilled, which is not what I said, although you seem to think that.

I was laughing about the idea that somebody would rather play an FPS with a control scheme inherently slower and less precise than the mouse's, but not at Halo 3's in particular. So that's not fanboyism; that's called not being a dumbass.

Your bizarre idea that somehow Counter-Strike's shot spreads = auto aim is the most laughable shit ever. It's the anti-auto-aim. "All this stuff" makes Counter-Strike harder to play for newbies. For Halo 3, it's more about making the control scheme more tolerable due to the inherent issues of the control system.

Go get your shinebox.

X2. Great summary that.

I like Halo 3 as much as the next person (ftr I dont like CSS) but each game has its own strengths and weaknesses regarding control - personally Id take m&k most opf the time given the choice but there are times when Id rather just grab a pad and sit on the sofa in front of the telly.

[Gungriffon Geona]

Duke Nukem 3D is getting a new rendering engine! and it's not a April Fools like initially thought!

and even actual video proof!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4Jtp_YJ8R0
As a note the video had the lighting turned really low in order to properly show the dynamic lights n stuff.

[Davey]

You guys should check out Nexuiz and Warsow. Totally free open source games. Beware though, competition is fierce.

I played Nexuiz for a while today and had a lot of fun with it. But I'm getting utterly destroyed since the only FPS I ever played before was Wolfenstein 3D back in 1994 or whatever (not counting the handful of times I grudgingly played Goldeneye and Rogue Spear in college).

[TJB]

fuck yeah skulltag

now I can play doom in style

Invasion is pretty damn fun Have you tried out Aeons of Death?

Played an FPS called Necrovision recently, it's kind of a mix between Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Painkiller (since it uses the Painkiller engine, I am not surprised!), it's got way too many tricks to stop you from dying though, there's the regenerating health (only to 60%, I think it depends on the difficulty you're playing on) and when you're almost dead, everything goes in slow-motion for a good 10 seconds or so, giving you enough time to hide and regenerate! Don't get me wrong it's pretty fun, but there's so many moments where I knew I should've died but didn't, more so than playing Mushihimesama.

[dcharlie]

Rainbow Six Vegas:

the Terrorist Hunt mode in R6V/R6V2 is fantastic, espcially in online coop mode and on the hardest difficulty.

[Ed Oscuro]

Rainbow Six Vegas:

the Terrorist Hunt mode in R6V/R6V2 is fantastic, espcially in online coop mode and on the hardest difficulty.

Outside of the campaign this is what I spent most of my time doing

[Zweihander]

While I generally don't like the FPS genre, TF2 has consumed hundreds of my hours over the past year.

[jonny5]

ive just recently started playing FPS on my PS3...and man do i suck

i had to shelf mirrors edge cuz i couldnt get past the 3rd or 4th stage on easy....stupid helicopter

played through bioshock on easy and it was a blast

currently playing fear, so i can jump into fear 2 once its done....its hard tho...even on low difficulty...

but i am enjoying the story and the atmosphere of it.....

im really only interested in FPS's with decent offline campaigns and good story lines.....

i suck too much for online matches.....

[Davey]

i suck too much for online matches.....

I don't know, I had a lot of fun with Nexuiz even though I get annihilated. There's enough non-stop action going on to stay fun even though at the end of the match I have like 12 kills but died 32 times.

[croikle]

I spent some time with Tremulous, an open-source team-based strategy fps similar to Natural Selection. It takes time to learn, but is quite well done and a lot of fun. Recommended.

[grovsnus]

ive just recently started playing FPS on my PS3...and man do i suck

i had to shelf mirrors edge cuz i couldnt get past the 3rd or 4th stage on easy....stupid helicopter

played through bioshock on easy and it was a blast

currently playing fear, so i can jump into fear 2 once its done....its hard tho...even on low difficulty...

but i am enjoying the story and the atmosphere of it.....

im really only interested in FPS's with decent offline campaigns and good story lines.....

i suck too much for online matches.....

Best single player FPS I've ever played is Far Cry 2. Do yourself a favor and look it up.

[jonny5]

now see....my friends all said that was terrible ....hmmmmmmm

and as for online ...die.......respawn.....die....respawn.......die.....respawn.....gets old fast

[Diabollokus]

Far Cry 2, at the start the first few hours are good because its all new, but plot development is a major downfall + respawning enemies + linear point A to point B nature. 15 hours of this gets to you.

Great graphics and environments, weapons are nice but I would not want to beat it ever again. That aside the top snipe rifle AS50? is a beast of gun, very satisfying, kills everything with 1 shot. I beat most of the game with that weapon, reminds me of the barett 50 cal.

@ Grovsnus, I'll play halo 3 with you again sometime. We won 16 out of 18 straight tslayer games and you went up only 1 rank!, so I think a change of playlist is in order. I think that because you play on sensitivity 7 (too high, try 4-5!) we should do swat or alternatively team doubles, as you've no exp in those playlists they will rank up normally.

[Alec]

whats the deal on that duke nukem thing? Is it a patch for the original game? How can I play it and when?

[Ed Oscuro]

the duke nukem thing is run by a freeware port of the original game.

I'm still waiting for a good non-glitching, non-crashing port of the original, myself. Jonof's Duke 3D is neither yet, and last time I checked it had been years since it was updated :(

Best single player FPS I've ever played is Far Cry 2. Do yourself a favor and look it up.

THRAD OVAH