N64 first person shooters that aren't Doom 64

So these are just mini reviews of the non-Doom 64 FPS games I've played on the N64. Please share your thoughts on these and/or other FPS titles from the system.

GOLDENEYE
I haven't played much Goldeneye. I watched friends play the campaign and took part in multiplayer. It was definitely addictive, even though it takes forever to respawn (who's idea was that?!). The maps are surprisingly non-linear and it had a lot of innovations for the time.

QUAKE 64
Quake 64 was not bad at all. It was similar to the OpenGL version of PC Quake, meaning that all the pretty dynamic lights are either downgraded or missing, but it did have some interesting use of colored lighting, even though it's sometimes haphazard. Some of the geometry has been simplified and much of episode four is absent (in addition to the difficulty/episode select hub), but it's an alright port overall. Multiplayer was pretty slow, though. Aubrey Hodges did the soundtrack and most of it is almost as good as Doom 64's.

QUAKE 2
Quake 2 was basically a Quake 1 mod. It had no ducking, items can't be carried and the hub/backtracking feature was replaced by standard, linear maps. In some ways it's less frustrating than the PC version. The mapset for the N64 version is unique and the framerate/lighting is much better than Quake 64. However, multiplayer maps were boring, a couple enemies are missing and the enemies lack interpolation, making their movements appear very jerky. Aubrey did the soundtrack for this one, too. It's pretty cool.

PERFECT DARK
Perfect Dark is arguably bigger, better and badder than Goldeneye, utilizing the same engine and a sexy female protagonist. The plot wasn't anything special, but it was presented beautifully. Different difficulty levels altered the gameplay significantly. You can interact heavily with the base of operations, the Carrington Institute. There's a reward driven target practicing minigame within it that can easily take up an hour of your time. Framerate issues aside, it was easily the most ambitious FPS from the N64 era.

TUROK 2: SEEDS OF EVIL
There's a great game buried deep inside of Turok 2, but it's surrounded by so much monotony that it ended up being merely mediocre. It's intense, atmosphere, visually impressive and has an excellent weapon selection. But the maps suck. They're just boring, sometimes confusing, and not particularly engaging. This is really what killed the game, because everything else about it was pretty awesome.

I used to complete Quake 2 almost daily for my friend's little brother. You know how kids love to rewatch movies over and over? It was like that for Quake 2. He and his 2 friends would play against me 3 on 1 death matching and I'd still destroy them, but they were kids. A lot of fun was had.

Duke 64 is my favorite version of Duke 3D. Though a lot has been censored, the weapon upgrades more than make up for that and the new level geometry helps too. Many maps are missing, but many were merged and reworked to create new places and secrets. I also prefer the music-less maps with the added, occasional ambient sound. Did I mention how awesome the weapons are?

I also like Quake 64 because it's essentially a new Quake 2 expansion.

Goldeneye also had the "Different difficulty levels altered the gameplay significantly." in the sense of extra mission objectives available.

I liked the Perfect Dark mode where you took control of enemies. At the time it seemed such a good idea, surely the feature would become as standard as co-op and pvp in the next years to come.

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Technician said:

Duke 64 is my favorite version of Duke 3D. Though a lot has been censored, the weapon upgrades more than make up for that and the new level geometry helps too ... I also prefer the music-less maps with the added, occasional ambient sound.

I'll agree that the new additions are pretty cool. The censored material isn't that much of a loss. But without the music, something about the game feels very incomplete. Sound design is hugely important for me, and I can't help but feel a sense of dullness if I'm running around an action-packed game with no soundtrack! Imagine Doom 64 without music. I wouldn't want to play it.

Technician said:

I also like Quake 64 because it's essentially a new Quake 2 expansion.

What? Do you mean Quake 2 on the N64? Because the original is just a port of OpenGL Quake with some colored lighting and missing levels.

Quake 2 on the N64 had some god awful controls i could never get to fully do what i wanted to. if there were at least an option to enable autoaim in the game, it wouldn't have so much fake-difficulty in actually trying to hit things. the levels and music were nice, i guess, but it's hard to enjoy any of it when moving around is such a chore.

Goldeneye was pretty cool. i can definitely understand why it was received so well. i never completed it though because i got bored of it.

GoldenEye, the Turok games and Quake 64 are some of my favorite N64 shooters. I played GoldenEye the most though, God that game was and still is very addictive in deathmatch mode.

Turok 2 had too many weapons that it actually was quite unfitting to pick a really good weapon sometimes. and you're correct about the levels being long, but I guess the immersion is fun the first time playing through. Dinosaur Hunter was way better as far as gameplay goes, and the aesthetic fog works wonders. the bosses were also much more fun.

Ya Perfect Dark is great, I also liked Rainbow Six on N64 too.

I enjoyed goldeneye and turok 2 and turok had that awesome cerebral bore weapon but most fond memories I have with star wars shadows of the empire: great level design and variation, many familiar characters from sw universe and great soundtrack. I recommend you finding hori minipad for n64 because imho its superior to original n64 pad because the joystick placement is now more like in gamecube controller and all in all more compact package

Along with Technician Duke64 holds a special place in my heart. I have a truly undying love for Duke3D and I originally grew up playing it on the PC. My brother opted to get the N64 version back in middle/high school and we used to deathmatch for hours on the changed/new maps with either friends or bots. Between the PC and N64 version I personally liked both types of level design. PC was like a interaction adventure with secrets put in places I had never considered before (having only had Doom & Doom II for reference). I used to watch the demos over and over just to see where some of secret areas were and what I needed to do to get there.

I never played Turok or Turok 2, but I did play Turok: Rage Wars for quite a while. I'd have to compare the gameplay to the other Turok games to see how it lines up, but the weapons and the gameplay were overall quite fun. The weapons were odd to me at first but once you understood how to use them and what they did it turned into deathmatch central. I used to love using the Emaciator and the Radioactive Isotope Launcher. For reference:

I played Quake 2 only once on the N64, and that was because my brother and I wanted to be able to deathmatch. Did not enjoy how they ported it, along with the controls. That may have been the shortest videogame rental we ever did, actually.

Goldeneye is probably the closest I've ever come to being God-tier at multiplayer in any FPS. That game is something that I was just able to pickup and have fun with, and I doubt there'll be a time that I play an FPS that has a multiplayer mode so addictive to me again.

My current gripe with Turok 2 is that vertical aim is inverted and there is literally no way to change it back.

I'm probably one of the few who just couldn't get into Goldeneye, at all. I don't know what throws me off of it, but I just don't like it much. I remember the controls schemes kind of sucking, and the way you aimed the gun was sorta obnoxious imo. I had similar issues with Medal of Honor on the PSX.

Duke 64 I thought was pretty neat for the 4-Player Duke Match alone, and the weapon upgrades. And being a bit of a gun nut, I liked how must of the guns were actually real weapons, as opposed to the original just having a Glock/1911 thing and the Winchester Defender. Also, is Duke's pistol a Glock in the first game? I've seen a lot of people calling it that, but he has a Colt 1911 styled weapon in almost every other appearance (Minus Duke Advanced, where he has a Desert Eagle type gun).

HeXen 64 was better than the PSX port in every way, with 4 player split screen to boot. On an odd note, PSX Quake II dominated N64 Quake II. In fact, it's probably my favorite PSX FPS. Haven't played many other N64 FPS games though, mostly having stuck to racing games like Episode I Racer or Diddy Kong. Played Turok on the PC though. It was fun.