Simultaneously the best and worst thing about the First Person Shooter genre is that there are so damned many of them. And because there are shooters appearing with such alarming regularity, the truth is that sometimes it’s difficult to keep up. You know what it’s like. Three games come out in the same week that you like the look of, you pick one of them, and by the time you’re ready to go back, something else shiny and new has distracted you.

Over a period of time, it’s inevitable that we’re all going to have missed out on some great games – maybe the ones with a quirky premise that never quite got the recognition they deserved. So that’s where we come in with a round-up of some of the bona-fide Cult Classics of the genre that you may have missed out on the first time around.

A great FPS never dies.

The Operative: No One Lives Forever
Monolith (PC, PS2), 2000

For reasons that are not entirely clear, very few people wanted to play a game starring a sexy female spy in a catsuit, the buffoons. Evidently influenced by late 60s Bond movies and, more recently, the Austin Powers movies, Monolith created a superb premise where ex-cat burglar Cate Archer tip-toed around a plethora of memorable environments armed with a plethora of gadgets.

Exceptionally ambitious for its time, it gave players a great deal more opportunity to experiment than many modern shooters ever bother to offer. Players were afforded the opportunity to sneak past hazards with the aid of gadgets (such as the guard dog distracting electric poodle), dispose of corpses with body-removing powder, or just blast their way out of situations.

The overall look and feel of the game was memorable, too, with excellent swinging sixties-inspired music, and all manner of unusual locations and scenarios, such as a space station in zero gravity, a shipwreck, or a freefall from an aircraft. And yet despite scooping awards galore, it sold precisely bugger all – even a subsequent PS2 port and sequel didn’t do the job. Go and see what you missed.

A sight for sore eyes.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
Starbreeze (Xbox, PC, Xbox 360, PS3), 2004

Precisely one month before Riddick came out, the press got to see the game for the very first time. Gobsmacked as we were by the visuals on display, it seemed incredible that publisher Vivendi wasn’t shouting from the rafters, but a combination of film-based restrictions and general PR apathy ensured that the Xbox-exclusive game limped into stores with a complete absence of hype.

A few sites championed it around release, but by then it was too late. The Vin Diesel movie bombed, retail didn’t put it in front of punters and few gamers put their money down, despite the game being arguably one of the best shooters of its era. Blending stealth, adventure, melee, shooting and even mech combat to quite glorious effect, it almost defied categorisation, and proved beyond doubt that this was how to treat a film license.

To compound the tragedy of it all, Starbreeze also managed to create one of the finest technical achievements of that console generation. No other Xbox title even came close to matching its ludicrously detailed, bump-mapped environments. The game’s subsequent ports to PC and, eventually, 360 and PS3 via the recent Assault On Dark Athena release have put it back in the public eye again, thankfully. Check it out.

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Much has been said about the price tag of Modern Warfare 2 in the build up to its release, and not much of it publishable. But if a videogame’s worth can be measured by how much of it stays with you after you’ve put the pad down, then even the most indignant will have few complaints if this hugely anticipated sequel ends up delivering as much as the original did two years ago.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the original Modern Warfare was the fact that most people didn’t put the pad down, devoting untold hours to mastering its thrilling online component long after they’d come down from its monumentally brilliant, if brief, single player campaign. Having mastered such a winning formula, the last thing you expect are radical changes, and so it proves.

Picking up from where the 2007 classic left off, you’re once again on the trail of a Russian Ultranationalist leader as he plots the destruction of the West. driven by a desire to cause maximum mayhem to the West. Having spun the death of his predecessor as an act of martyrdom, and successfully convinced his followers of the tyranny of the West, Vladamir Makarov proves to be an adversary with an impressively evil CV.

Four by two of reinforced plastic is a soldier's best friend.

Shock tactics quickly become a feature of Modern Warfare 2, so much so that the game specifically checks – twice – if you’d rather not be subjected to scenes of gratuitous violence. Evidently revelling in its new Adult Only status, Infinity Ward waste no time in repeatedly pushing the violenceometer needle into the red, depicting the kind of shocking scenes we’ve long been used to in gritty dramas, but rarely get exposed to in games in such uncompromising fashion. Expect an ugly media frenzy to develop as the wider world wrestles with the ramifications of What This All Means. [We started without you, actually - Ed]

What it means in the context of the series is simple: that terrorism is an ugly business, and Infinity Ward hasn’t tried to mask the reality, or trivialise what it looks like. Whether it crosses The Line is perhaps a topic to wrestle over at length another time, but it’s hard to divorce yourself from how brutal some of the scenes really are, even when, in truth, it’s still some way from reality. The fact that it’s often unclear who the bad guys actually are, and that it’s you that’s pulling the trigger is, of course, the difference.

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The fifth and final part of Kristan’s epic retrospective.

2006 was, to say the least, a strange year for the FPS, with Microsoft’s determination to get the jump on its rivals in the next generation leaving the market in a state of flux. The highly successful release of the Xbox 360 the previous December had brought development of Xbox 1 titles to a grinding halt, with most publishers flocking to the upscaled Promised Land of next generation gaming.

The PS2 era wrapped up with a healthy dose of gun porn.

Nevertheless, the first few months brought the FPS crowd a few interesting ‘last gen’ console shooters. Criterion’s Black was a particularly timely reminder that, actually, the last gen still had legs. It proved that PS2 and Xbox could produce fantastic-looking shooters in the hands of a supremely talented console developer.

Elsewhere, Commandos Strike Force demonstrated that RTS brands don’t translate particularly well to first person, while the ex-Argonaut crew at Rocksteady put a promising arcadey spin on the genre with their super-violent swear fest, Urban Chaos: Riot Response – but few would have bet that the same team would return with a game as amazing as Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Tazer to the nipple. Even Batman would have winced.

Normal service was resumed in June with the PC release of Half-Life: Episode One, a download-only experiment which Valve initially hoped would usher in a new episodic age where four-hour slices of content emerged every six months. Although it reviewed well on release, time has been less kind to it, with most preferring the pace of the previous epics to this more frantic chain of action flashpoints.

At this point, episodic gaming was undoubtedly the Big Thing – a point underlined by the arrival of Ritual’s SiN: Episodes over Steam. Sadly, rather than heralding a bold new digital era, it failed to excite critics and flopped badly. No further episodes were released, despite nine being planned.

Dimensional portals were among Prey's USPs, but the reality was a little bland.

Of the remaining FPS releases that year, none stand out as classics, even if most promised that they would be. After an on-off development period of almost a decade, 3D Realms (with the help of Human Head) finally released Prey to mild acclaim, while Techland debuted the intriguing if system-sapping Wild West romp Call of Juarez on PC.

Undoubtedly the most hyped release of the year was Insomniac’s PS3 launch title, Resistance: Fall of Man. Hugely popular in the States, many European critics were less bowled over by its ‘Call of Duty with aliens’ gameplay and slightly underwhelming visuals.

No Gears-killer, but a perfectly respectable shooter in its own right.

Even less interesting was the actual Call of Duty 3, which Treyarch dragged into formulaic mediocrity; the developer also riled PC owners by withholding a version for the platform the franchise originated on. PC gamers could, at least, be content with a steady supply of exclusives in the shape of the futuristic multiplayer-oriented Battlefield 2142 and the flawed action-RPG/FPS gem that was Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, but in general, these were fairly lean times for mouse and keyboard marksmen.

1. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 4 2001-2005. The war between console and PC reaches its height, Valve excels itself, World War 2 becomes the setting of choice and Bungie gives birth to a big, helmeted baby....
2. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 3 1998-2000. Epic and Valve hit the scene, online multiplayer explodes and important sub-genres begin to establish themselves....
3. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 1 The origins of the genre. Maze War, Castle Wolfenstein and (of course) Doom....

The fourth part of Kristan’s epic retrospective.

2001 was a real turning point in the evolution of the FPS, with major developers starting to devote serious attention to consoles for the first time.

While most publishers and developers were content to commission console ports of successful PC titles, others bucked the trend by debuting titles on the new wave of living room hardware. Volition’s Red Faction hit PS2 to sizeable critical and commercial success in May of 2001, fully four months ahead of the PC version – a release pattern PC gamers would have to get used to.

Microsoft went even further than THQ when it bought Bungie Studios and made Halo: Combat Evolved exclusive to Xbox, prompting massive outcry among desktop shooter enthusiasts.

Here's Chiefy!

The system’s killer app at launch in November 2001, Halo introduced an entire generation of gamers to the genre, as well as tempting over a significant proportion of the console’s detractors – chiefly PC gamers still cherishing the belief that the joypad was an unworkable substitute for keyboard and mouse.

Halo’s influence on the genre cannot be overstated, largely thanks to its groundbreaking AI and dynamic combat system. It genuinely felt less scripted and predictable than competing titles, with breathtaking visuals, compelling narrative hooks and hugely addictive split screen multiplayer in the bargain, and scooped top marks across the board. Combat Evolved, indeed.

The early days of Halo multiplayer.

Despite all the attention elsewhere, the PC was still very much the proving ground for most titles in the genre, with high profile titles such as Clive Barker’s Undying, Tribes 2, Alien Vs Predator 2, Command & Conquer: Renegade, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and Unreal Tournament 2003 remaining exclusive to the PC.

The latter, in particular, demonstrated that the PC was also still very much the proving ground for new tech, with Epic Games’ delightful Unreal Engine 2 the first major next gen engine of the decade by late 2002, boasting superior texturing alongside new ragdoll techniques.

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2. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 3 1998-2000. Epic and Valve hit the scene, online multiplayer explodes and important sub-genres begin to establish themselves....
3. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 1 The origins of the genre. Maze War, Castle Wolfenstein and (of course) Doom....

The third part of Kristan’s epic retrospective.

1998 proved to be a watershed year for the First Person Shooter, with several present-day heavyweights making their hugely impressive debuts and bringing about a genre-wide shift in power.

The release of Epic Games’ long-awaited Unreal on PC in May of that year dovetailed perfectly with the emergence of 3Dfx’s awesome Voodoo 2 3D accelerator. Suddenly PC gamers (with deep pockets) were being treated to the kind of super-smooth, high resolution visuals that rivalled anything the arcade could offer at the time.

"Unreal city, under the brown fog of a winter dawn..."

Epic’s ground-breaking Unreal tech provided gamers with more of everything. More sophisticated enemies, bigger and more architecturally intricate environments, as well as vastly improved texturing, lighting and particle effects. Also significant was that Unreal delivered sprawling outdoor areas: exploring those opulent environments set the game aside from the claustrophobic corridor shooters we’d long grown accustomed to.

Another landmark title followed later that in 1998 in the shape of Valve Software’s Half-Life. Released in November after two years in development, it single-handedly changed the single player FPS landscape forever. One of the first games to license id’s Quake engine tech, this sci-fi masterpiece was a stupendous opening salvo for Valve, blending great action with subtle, scripted narrative. It sired a long line of cinematic, story-driven videogames.

When your first game's Half-Life, you needn't bother making a second, really.

As with Unreal, Half-Life’s focus was very much on the single player experience. It embroiled players in a narrative tour de force like nothing before. The game’s approach was more subtle, more enigmatic and far more convincing thanks to superb characterisation, excellent voiceovers and a compelling premise which made the game, at times, feel every bit as absorbing as a classic sci-fi blockbuster.

It had no cutscenes, and no traditional levels as such: the game’s ‘chapters’ unfolded end to end in front of you. The action itself was enhanced by naturalistic AI techniques and a variety of settings. Its Quake-powered visuals were a touch behind the times, but in every sense that mattered it was years ahead.

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2. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 2 1996-1997. The 3D acceleration era gets underway, online gaming is born, the mod scene grows and console shooting hits gold....
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The second part of Kristan’s epic retrospective.

By the middle of the 1990s, the first person shooter genre had given rise to a full-scale gaming revolution. With fluid 3D engines inspiring developers to stunning feats of innovation, the genre helped spark off a software and hardware race that continues to this day.

Suddenly, not only were companies like 3D Realms, Epic, LucasArts, and Bungie joining id in the race to produce the next blockbuster First Person Shooter, but were doing so using their own proprietary in-house engines, built from the ground up. Although this was a time-consuming process, the payback was that it gave their games a unique look and feel, and helped pushed the genre forward in significant ways.

Displease the Duke at your peril, beastie.

Building on the progress made by the likes of Dark Forces and Marathon, one of the most significant post-Doom releases was undoubtedly 3D Realms’ Duke Nukem 3D. Released to blanket acclaim at the start of 1996, this tongue-in-cheek action romp starred the cigar-chomping muscle-bound action hero to end them all.

Featuring a thrilling procession of set pieces and memorable moments, DN3D was another leap forward for FPS level design. As tended to be the case back in the early days, it was a game chock-full of secrets, encouraging gamers to explore every last inch, whether underwater or soaring high via jet pack.

The Duke on Xbox Live. Shake 'em, baby.

Perhaps equally significant was its emphasis on multiplayer fun, with the ability to hook up over a LAN, or, more commonly via dial-up modem if you had both the kit and the patience. The relative non-linearity of the level design ensured it was a lot of fun in a ‘Dukematch’ – especially for players who knew the game’s secrets inside out. Sadly, with online gaming still in its infancy, few got to enjoy Duke 3D online until it eventually arrived on Xbox Live Arcade more than a decade later.

1. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 3 1998-2000. Epic and Valve hit the scene, online multiplayer explodes and important sub-genres begin to establish themselves....
2. Feature: The History of First-Person Shooters As FPS Gamer clears leather, Kristan Reed turns in the ultimate retrospective: the evolution of first-person shooting from Maze War to Modern Warfare 2....
3. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 4 2001-2005. The war between console and PC reaches its height, Valve excels itself, World War 2 becomes the setting of choice and Bungie gives birth to a big, helmeted baby....

Kristan’s epic retrospective leaves the starting blocks.

Casting back to the origins of the First Person Shooter, it’d be easy to recount id Software’s seminal achievements in the early 1990s, shout about Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, and completely disregard all the effort and experimentation that preceded them.

For the very first examples of first-person shooting, you have to go right back to 1974 – an era when most people were only just getting their first taste of videogaming via Spacewar and Pong, and the idea of owning your own computer or gaming console was a distant dream.

Maze War. Anyone else expecting David Bowie in a leprechaun suit?

Early that year, two ambitious programmers – Steve Colley and Jim Bowery – independently came up with what are widely regarded as the original First Person Shooters: Maze War and Spasim, respectively. Although their wireframe graphics and slow frame rates make them look extremely primitive even by early videogame standards, they nevertheless provided a few lucky students with a glimpse into an entertainment future that would engross millions.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that the masses were to get their first taste of first person shooters – and even then, they often came in unfamiliar forms that made the most of the technological limitations of the hardware. Atari’s 3D tank-shooter Battlezone (1980) was arguably the first commercially successful first person shooter, and was one of many titles to take advantage of the vector graphics techniques popular at the start of the decade.

The mighty Battlezone in action.

Another interesting evolution of the first person shooter was also taking place in the light gun arena, which became progressively more popular in arcades as the 80s wore on. Once 3D techniques became more sophisticated and the hardware caught up with developer ambition, it was only a matter of time before more games built on the idea.

But as ambitious as some of these early efforts were, the time wasn’t right for first person shooting to blossom just yet. For most of the 1980s, free-roaming 3D engines were beyond the capabilities of the dominant 8-bit systems. The best of the bunch was Incentive’s incredible Freescape engine, used memorably in Driller (1987). That said, back then you’d have been lucky to move around in more than two frames per second on the average ZX Spectrum. The truth was that the required tech was still a long way off.

1. Feature: The History of First-Person Shooters As FPS Gamer clears leather, Kristan Reed turns in the ultimate retrospective: the evolution of first-person shooting from Maze War to Modern Warfare 2....
2. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 4 2001-2005. The war between console and PC reaches its height, Valve excels itself, World War 2 becomes the setting of choice and Bungie gives birth to a big, helmeted baby....
3. The History of First-Person Shooters: Part 5 2006 to present. The "real" next-gen arrives, Crysis blows retinas, Bioshock goes deep, Left 4 Dead reinvents the co-op mode and Infinity Ward washes its hands of the 1940s....