Duke Nukem 3D

3D Realms’ Duke Nukem 3D hasn’t aged well when examining its more risque elements. At the time, it stood out for imbuing some character into the first-person shooter genre, courtesy of Duke’s one-liners. The environmental interactions and destruction also felt fresh, to say nothing of bizarre weapons like the Shrink Ray for cutting enemies down to size.

SUPERHOT

What should be a gimmicky concept – time only moving when you do – results in an engaging, clever experience in the first-person shooter space. Superhot isn’t just about scoring headshots, throwing weapons, or swinging katanas to take out scores of enemies – it’s the assessment, the moments between each kill, that make it sing.

Valorant

Mix Counter-Strike: GO’s tactical shooting with characters befitting a hero shooter and you get Valorant, in a nutshell. As slow-paced and odd as it may seem, this is also one of the best tactical shooters, if not competitive multiplayer titles, out there. Despite only being out for a little over four years, Valorant offers tense gameplay that’s hard to put down.

Borderlands 3

Ignore the base game’s story, characters and writing for the sake of your sanity, and the gameplay in Borderlands 3 is a significant step up. From the smoother response and feedback and improved mobility to more varied gun types and deeper build crafting, it’s a strong looter shooter, though nowhere near as timeless as its predecessor.

DOOM 1 + DOOM 2

While fairly recent, DOOM 1 + DOOM 2 collects the best of both titles into one excellent package. Boasting all their additional content, Sigil, and a great new campaign by MachineGames, the release is made even better with in-game mod support, a stellar remixed soundtrack and cross-platform multiplayer deathmatch, with 26 new maps to cause chaos on.

Killzone 2

After the infamous E3 2005 incident, Guerrilla Games’ first-person shooter had nowhere to go but up, and subsequently knocked it out of the park. The gorgeous visuals were a factor, of course, but the well-designed missions, gunplay, intelligent AI, and tight level design made for an incredible experience (even if the ending was underwhelming).

Halo 3 ODST

Though not quite the follow-up that fans expected, especially after Halo 3’s thunderous conclusion, ODST was still a worthy side story. It focused on one of the most compelling units, the Helljumpers, as they infiltrated New Mombasa and engaged in urban warfare with the Covenant. Perhaps its biggest contribution is the introduction of Firefight, a Horde-style variant with difficulty modifiers, a shared lives pool, and multiple sets to overcome.

Bulletstorm

People Can Fly and Epic Games had a pretty simple goal with Bulletstorm – gamifying stylish ways to kill the opposition. The story and characters are ultimately secondary; kicking enemies into environmental hazards, sending them sky high for some skeet shooting, and more for extra points is ultimately what sold the experience. Even if it remains underrated (no thanks to its terrible VR port), Bulletstorm is still a hell-raising good time.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

The Zone remains as haunting as ever in GSC Game World’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, the third title in the series and most compelling yet. Though it has its share of bugs, the sandbox gameplay combined with the atmospheric horror and survival elements make for a harrowing time, whether you’re dealing with Anomalies or the various factions.

Destiny 2

Bungie’s live service shooter has had a long history, one with many ups and downs. Even throughout all of the changes, it remains perhaps the best of its kind. Between excellent campaigns like The Witch Queen and The Final Shape, an unmistakable feel for its weapons, gorgeous art direction, and stellar raids, Destiny 2 is still worth playing.

Unreal Tournament

When Quake 3 Arena was believed to reign supreme, Unreal Tournament appeared out of nowhere and claimed the throne. While the former still held a strong esports presence, the latter was the overall better product, from its map design and visuals to the sheer variety of mode types. Assault alone is an incredible addition to the competitive FPS formula and playing with AI bots actually felt enjoyable, even on the higher difficulties.

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

Turok may have initially come across as “What if FPS but killing dinosaurs instead of humans?” but surprised many with its exploration and gorgeous visuals on the Nintendo 64. Of course, the combat was no slouch either, as each of the 13 weapons resulted in ample gore. Together, these elements made for an unorthodox but memorable shooter.

Prey (2017)

What could have been with the Prey franchise if Human Head Studios’ sequel wasn’t cancelled? We’ll never know, but in the meantime, Arkane Austin’s 2017 reboot, which embraces a more immersive sim structure and deep space paranoia, is excellent. As Morgan Yu, players must survive in a massive space station overrun with Typhon, but not everything is as it seems. The result is one of the finest first-person titles ever made.

Far Cry 3

Moving away from Far Cry 2’s realistic sandbox, Far Cry 3 went much bigger, returning to the tropical island setting while introducing a compelling new villain. Though the story is far more structured, the open world is rife with quests, enemy camps, wild animals, and much more. To this day, Far Cry 3 remains in a class of its own.

Metro: Last Light

Much as Metro Exodus embraced an open-world-style approach to its large areas, there’s something about Metro: Last Light and its linear narrative. Maybe it’s how well-designed each section felt, whether you were escaping from captivity or slinking through the surface, avoiding contact with its mutants. Perhaps it was the moral dilemmas that Artyom faced. Either way, the series’ brand of survival and fast-paced gunplay is at its peak here.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (Classic)

Ignoring the utter cluster that Aspyr’s re-released turned out to be in the online department, the classic Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is still a timeless game. The campaign is enjoyable enough but Galactic Conquest was a game changer of a single-player mode, offering a Risk-like map to fight through and conquer. Multiplayer was still arguably the highlight of it all, especially with 24 maps and modes like Hero Assault.

Medal of Honor (1999)

Developed by Dreamworks Interactive, it was the premiere World War 2 title, immersing players in the conflicts of the time while offering a top-tier presentation. Allied Assault would be more remembered thanks to its recreation of the Battle of Normandy, but Medal of Honor still deserves its flowers.

Left 4 Dead 2

Decried as little more than an expansion pack before launch, Left 4 Dead 2 expanded so much on its predecessor’s already compelling co-op gameplay. New Special Infected, deeper campaigns with more varied objectives, a wider variety of melee weapons and guns, and incredible replay value courtesy of its AI Director were just some of the reasons it stood out. Of course, its modability over the years has also ensured some great laughs.

Resistance 3

As the conclusion to the Resistance trilogy, Insomniac’s Resistance 3 is also its least successful. It’s a shame because, on top of new and old weapons, the atmosphere and dark subject matter added to the stakes, making it feel like humanity’s last desperate attempt to stay alive. While it still needed some polish, the gunplay and overall presentation made for a fitting end to the series.

System Shock (2023)

One of the best first-person titles ever made, System Shock is also far from easy to remake. Nevertheless, Nightdive Studios took a swing, rebuilding the visuals from the ground up while staying true to the far-future cyberpunk aesthetic of the original. Even with the improved UI, overhauled Cyberspace and other changes, it still maintains that sense of dread and terror that defined the original.

GoldenEye 007

Rare was already pretty well-established before GoldenEye 007 and yet, its launch raised the developer’s stock considerably. It isn’t just one of the best video game adaptations of a movie (usually a formula for failure back then), but proof that console shooters could be great. The local multiplayer alone defined many gamers’ lives growing up.

Cyberpunk 2077

After all the updates, revamped perks, and improvements, Cyberpunk 2077 has gone from a good first-person shooter to a great one. It’s backed by actual build variety, whether you’re a manic Mantis Blades user, a Netrunner overloading every single enemy, or skilled in a variety of guns. Of course, everything else that makes the game great, from its side quests to its open-world activities, doesn’t hurt either.

Wolfenstein 3D

While not quite the first-ever FPS made, Wolfenstein 3D is what ultimately led to the genre’s rise. It was frantic and fast-paced, with revolutionary visuals and excellent weapons. Though it offered secrets to discover throughout its ten episodes, the simplicity is ultimately what made it such a universal hit.

Quake 2 Remastered

Crafted with Nightdive’s assistance, the recent enhanced edition of Quake 2 packs all the mission packs, Quake 2 64, and a new episode from MachineGames into one package. Then it adds the id Vault, AI opponents in multiplayer, 4K/120 Hz support, and various quality-of-life features, turning one of id’s best shooters ever into a contemporary must-play.

The FINALS

Embark Studios’ THE FINALS is often forgotten when discussing competitive shooters, especially free-to-play options. Nevertheless, it’s a strong package with some unique modes, dynamic combat thanks to full environmental destruction, and extensive strategy, thanks to the unique gadgets. The arena-style combat may not appeal to everyone, but it still makes for some intense PvP sessions.

Black Mesa

If developing a sequel to Half-Life is challenging, remaking the experience, especially as a small team of fans, is an almost Herculean effort. Yet throughout many years of waiting, Black Mesa was finally a reality, delivering everything we loved about the original with gorgeous revamped visuals and entirely new sections like Xen.

DOOM (2016)

Considering how diminished interest had been in the franchise, it’s a miracle that DOOM even released. The fact that it’s this good is just an anomaly. Everything about it, from the visuals and action, particularly the new Glory Kills, is simply fantastic.

Perfect Dark

GoldenEye 007 showcased Rare’s surprising expertise for incredible first-person shooters and Perfect Dark only solidified it. With a tighter narrative focus and strong characterization (as seen with the iconic Joanna Dark), it weaved stealth, tense gunplay, memorable set pieces, and stellar levels into one cohesive package. The fact that it delivered so much despite the Nintendo 64 nearing the end of its lifespan is an achievement unto itself.

Titanfall 2

While it’s a shame that the original didn’t become all that popular, Titanfall 2’s fate is even more tragic given the sheer quality involved. The multiplayer is much more involved with its variety of Titans, weapon types and abilities (even if some maps could be hit or miss). Furthermore, the campaign is simply an all-timer with its level design, boss fights, and stories, making it worth the price of admission alone.

Half-Life 2

When you’re in Valve’s shoes and Half-Life is the pinnacle of narrative first-person shooters, there are high expectations. Yet, Half-Life 2 surpasses with relative ease, from the presentation and world-building to the story-telling and characters. Each area is memorable and unique; the Combine makes for enjoyable foes to fight; and the Gravity Gun is iconic all on its own.

We’ve already spoken about a number of franchises that would be better off with other developers, and now, we’re going to take a look at ten more.  We’re going to talk about who we think that developer should be, and also about why we think they would do a better job than the people who’re currently working on the franchise in question.

Just like last time, we would like to remind you that this list is purely hypothetical- entries you see in this feature are not predictions, theories or speculation. They’re simply hypotheses of why these franchises could possibly be better off in the hands of these other developers.

With that out of the way, let’s get right into it. If you disagree with any of our picks, or have suggestions of your own, sound off in the comments section below.

MEGA MAN 

Why It Isn’t Working So Well

Mega Man was once one of the most popular franchises in the industry, and to be fair, it retains much of that popularity to this day. But that is in spite of Capcom, rather than because of them. The series has been on a hiatus for a number of years, despite fervent demands by the fans for a new game. Capcom have announced and cancelled several new Mega Man projects since, and the series remains inexplicably absent from the market. It’s not as if Capcom are no longer capable of making Mega Man anymore – after all, remember Mega Man 9 and 10, the last games in the franchise we got? Those were pretty good – it’s just that they are unwilling. And frankly, after seeing how they’ve handled some of their other classic franchises over the last few years, such as Street Fighter, we’re having serious doubts about their capability to make a good new one too..

How It Could Be Better

WITH NINTENDO

Mega Man and Nintendo almost seems like a match made in heaven. Nintendo have shown throughout the years that they know how to respect and evolve classic franchises while retaining what made them beloved in the first place, and that is exactly what Mega Man needs right now. Looking at action-platformers such as the 2D Metroid games, it becomes exceedingly clear that Nintendo would be more than comfortable with handling the kind of game design and moment-to-moment gameplay that a typical Mega Man experience aspires to. Seeing how Nintendo handled Mega Man in Super Smash Bros. on the Wii U and the 3DS is also very encouraging, and shows that they do respect the franchise the way it needs to be respected.

Final Fantasy 7

For many people, this was the reason they bought a PlayStation One. Sure, the CG cutscenes didn’t indicate the amount of turn-based combat that it had but Final Fantasy 7 was still a trail-blazer for its time. It took Japan-developed RPGs into the mainstream, catering to more mature audiences; the graphics were leaps and bounds above any of the SNES Final Fantasy games; and the story of Cloud and Sephiroth remains etched in gaming history. Oh and Final Fantasy 7 is also a pretty robust, insanely involving, highly entertaining RPG in its own right as well.

However, what are some of the most famous films that inspired and even dictated the direction of the industry? Which celluloid epics gave the industry some of its most memorable tropes and ideas? There are too many to count but here are our top 5 picks.

Saving Private Ryan

It’s almost insane to consider how many video games have been inspired by Steven Spielberg’s WWII epic, especially the opening invasion of Normandy. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault garnered much critical acclaim and the ability to capture the essence of the beach landing was one of many reasons. From there, games like Call of Duty – which competed with Medal of Honor – all the way to Gears of War have looked at Saving Private Ryan as an inspiration (designer Cliff Bleszinski especially talked about how he wanted scenes of “intimate violence” in his third person shooter).

In the history of cinema, there are very few scenes that continue to live on in our hearts and minds. The opening scene of Saving Private Ryan is one of them but how many can also lay claim to inspiring an entire genre’s worth of video games over several decades?

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

This one’s a doozy. Episode IV: A New Hope gave us the classic trench run on the Death Star that has become a part and parcel of every Star Wars space sim ever. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi featured bounty hunter Boba Fett being a bad-ass before his mystique was ruined by a journey into a Sarlacc pit.

But Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is the movie whose sequences encapsulated both elements and inspired a wave of video games. The Battle of Hoth is perhaps more used in Star Wars space-sims than the Death Star to the point where the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront has it as the central focus.

Episode V first introduced Boba Fett and still made him out as a credible threat whereas Episode VI could be seen as “ruining” the character. And if nothing else, The Empire Strikes Back served as the prologue to the classic Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire on the N64. There have been many Star Wars games made in the past few decades but almost all of them feature some element of Episode V.

The Matrix

Back when the Wachowski siblings were still known as the Wachowski Brothers, The Matrix debuted into our lives and seemingly flipped our perception of science-fiction, cyberpunk and action upside down. It wasn’t just the existentialist plot or even the awesome special effects that amazed us. The Matrix just exuded a sense of style and sophistication that very few movies have been able to replicate.

Bullet Time is perhaps the biggest influence The Matrix had to offer the video game industry. After Max Payne, any video game that incorporated slow motion took cues from The Matrix in terms of sound design and bullet travel with Bullet Time. Looking back, it’s almost insane to consider just how many games (F.E.A.R., Grand Theft Auto 5, etc.) have featured it. Don’t even get us started on the kung-fu choreography which made Yuen Woo-ping famous. Just don’t.

And then there’s the little matter of The Matrix opening the world up to the brilliance of Ghost in the Shell, which it was inspired by, but that’s another story altogether.

Night of the Living Dead

Zombies, in the various incarnations they arrive in, are a part and parcel of today’s culture. You have fast moving zombies, demonic zombies, hordes of zombies, bio-organic evolved zombies, zombies that fall in love, zombies that sing and zombies that dance. However, the original zombie that started it all – the slow moving, “risen from the grave”, flesh-eating zombie – is the base for all of these corpses. No matter which game you play, be it Resident Evil or Call of Duty: Black Ops, a zombie will always be recognizable through these aspects.

So who exactly introduced these creatures that we love to kill so much?

Though it was White Zombie which first introduced the concept, it was George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead which brought forth the blueprint. In fact, Romero’s entire history of zombie films has been adopted in various ways through video games like the shopping mall in Dead Rising being based on Dawn of the Dead. Regardless of how much more popular The Walking Dead is, in both video games and television, they wouldn’t exist anywhere without George Romero.

The Colour of Money

In Martin Scorsese’s The Colour of Money, pool hustler Tom Cruise walks in with a custom case. He is asked what the case contains. Cruise replies, both arrogantly and non-chalantly, “Doom.”

And somewhere, id Software had suddenly found the name for what would become the most recognizable first person shooter in history.

We’re not saying that The Colour of Money inspired the genre or even influenced the direction of id Software’s shooter (more credit is to be given to Wolfenstein 3D). We’re not saying games like Call of Duty, Quake, Unreal Tournament, Metro, Destiny, Halo and so on and so forth had their directions dictated by one simple line.

However, The Colour of Money provided the name for a franchise that would reshape gaming as we know it. Its contribution is far from inconsequential in the history of video games.

What are your picks for movies that helped inspire video games? Let us know in the comments.

In conversation with Eurogamer, Söderlund stated that “Danger Close as it was doesn’t exist anymore. There are people who left L.A., people who work with DICE L.A., and there are some who work in other parts of EA, as always when something gets dismantled.”

DICE L.A. will be helping the main DICE developer, based in Stockholm, in support-related roles. For example, if they work on Battlefield 4, Mirror’s Edge and Star Wars: Battlefront, then DICE L.A. will work on expansion packs and other premium services.

“It’s a way for us to expand the DICE universe, to be able to do more. They are helping. Who knows where this will take them long term? Right now they’re focused on helping.

“Frankly, it’s about talent. Where can we find the right talent and people we think have critical skills we need? When you’re in Sweden, Stockholm is a gigantic gaming city with DICE and Mojang and all the other companies, but we realised we needed to extend our reach if we wanted to get to the breadth of talent we wanted.

“Since the DICE LA announcement we had a lot of pressure on that studio from people who want to come work there. And after E3, as you can probably imagine, there will be more.”

Yesterday, EA announced that it was closing down social games developer Playfish. When contacted by Videogamer, EA refused to comment on the status of Danger Close. The studio has seen a large number of staff leave in the past few months including studio head Greg Goodrich. The official Medal of Honor Twitter hasn’t been updated since February end either.

Responding to Videogamer’s requests, EA Corporate Communications’ Tiffany Steckler stated that, “EA is sharpening its focus to provide games for new platforms and mobile. In some cases, this involves reducing team sizes as we evolve into a more efficient organization. Unfortunately we don’t disclose impact on individual teams or locations.”

This is pretty much a general statement that was also used to comment on Playfish’s closure. Has Danger Close really been shut down? Stay tuned for more details.

But with the pending release of Call of Duty 2: Black Ops, one also can’t deny that an interesting little wall has been reached. The wall between realistic yet action-packed, “Hollywood” military shooter and balls to the wall fictional shooter. Let’s call this wall, “jumping the shark” because there are so many things that cease to be awkward when that happens. As we see winged jetpacks, tanks with legs, tactical strikes and no doubt other unrevealed additions (and remember, this was after Modern Warfare 2’s heartbeat sensors), when does it come time to admit that the franchise is no longer rooted in a pseudo-realistic shooter environment? Said environment seems to be a wholly COD one however, with it’s own rules and tenets.

Despite shifting the action across different theaters of war, both fictional and historical, and introducing both intrinsic plots and pure fluff; despite giving you crossbows, and QTEs, and Spec Ops Survival mode, the franchise simply cannot exit that COD environment it’s so comfortable with. The same environment that makes you feel like you’re playing the same game over and over again, where the guns behave the same, whether they shoot fire or bullets, and running and leaping and chaotic shooting against epic set pieces is encouraged. With the slow move to more highly futuristic settings for Call of Duty, does the point where it stops being a military shooter – like Medal of Honor is trying so hard to be these days, as it bases itself in contemporary times – mean it becomes a better game? Or even a new game altogether?

Activision and it’s teams can crow about the multiplayer being more improved than ever, and the deep storylines you’ll come across. Heck, they’re even introducing certain sandbox missions with Black Ops 2, that allow you to make your own choices and proceed down separate paths. But again, by keeping the same mechanics intact, it begins to feel more and more like FIFA: The same thing, with a few noticeable changes and a partially new shiny cover. And even then, FIFA has better AI. When 343 Industries can take what makes the Halo franchise great and repackage it into something that expands, rather than augments, it further as with Halo 4, then how hard is it for Activision to do the same? Sure, it may not have other franchises to fall back on for raking in the money, but nowadays, fewer and fewer developers do. Can anyone name a Microsoft Games Studio franchise that might outsell Halo 4 when the year is up?

So indeed, what is next for Call of Duty? What is next for the franchise that revolutionized multiplayer with Call of Duty 4, popularized the blockbuster set piece format with Modern Warfare 2…even re-popularizing Nazi Zombies with World at War. Nazi Zombies! Do those guys even need lobbying? And yet, the Zombies mini-games and modes continue to be the most popular thing across mobiles and consoles alike. Most importantly, what’s next for the franchise that motivated Electronic Arts to up their game or risk being left behind? Will it be warfare in space? Medieval warfare? Intergalactic warfare? Planetside-style massively multiplayer online battles? Or will it simply be the same thing, year in and year out, only made to appear different by flitting back and forth between realism and conceptual technology, hopping across the proverbial shark each time?

Whatever it turns out to be, there’s no denying, like everything else, that Call of Duty will hit the proverbial bump in the road – like a Resident Evil Zero, or even its own Call of Duty 3 – before it has to reinvent itself. And for those who doubt that time will come, just look at the series of Resident Evil games since, with RE 6 racking up millions at the sales counter. Change is thus like franchising: it’s due for repetition, sooner or later.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter and Battlefield 3 (and Battlefield 4) are running on the Frostbite 2 engine, and with that, both the games look quite similar visually, but EA insists they both cater to different gamers.

“We are very careful that Battlefield and Medal of Honor stay differentiated,” EA’s Frank Gibeau told GameInformer (Via GamesIndustry). “With Medal of Honor we tried to embrace that the game is real. The multiplayer is different than Battlefield.”

“There is an inefficiency to having two different brands coming out alternating like that, there is some upside. You don’t have the annualized, sequel fatigue. We’re trying to use a sequencing strategy to keep it as fresh and different as possible. The trick is figuring out how to grow both of them together.”

Medal of Honor: Warfighter will be released in October for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter, after its recent announcement and a few details after that, hasn’t really been in the limelight much. We don’t have much info, images or footage to go on. But it looks like developer Danger Close and EA might finally be looking to change that.

The first gameplay footage of Warfighter will be unveiled soon, during the next episode of GTTV, which airs on Thursday night, April 12.

“Big @medalofhonor episode of GTTV coming up this Thursday night – first gameplay footage from Warfighter and other cool stuff too,” Geoff Keighly tweeted.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter releases later this year. Stay tuned for more info.

UK retailer GAME has apparently outed a new Medal of Honor and Need for Speed game, both due for release later this year, and both mentioned in a meeting with EA that was supposed to remain under wraps.

“EA presentation was great. Had mentions of a new Medal of Honor and Need for Speed 13! EA have an exciting year ahead,” said a tweet from the retailer that has now been taken down (obviously).

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Not only was a sequel to Medal of Honor warranted because of the incredible sales that the 2010 reboot garnered, selling as much as over 5 million units, but MoH (2010)’s producer confirmed earlier last year that Danger Close was indeed working on the game.

Even a new Need for Speed game doesn’t come as much of a surprise, since it is an annual franchise, with as much as two NFS games being released in 2011 (Shift 2 and The Run).

Stay tuned for more updates.