What first-person shooters do you consider classic?

[Lila Feuer]

DeathevokatioN said:

No ones mentioned Unreal, yet. :'(

Presuming you mean the original, single player oriented title than I am the only one in here that did lol.

[Tetzlaff]

I consider the important FPS from the mid to late 1990's classic:

- Doom
- Heretic
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Quake
- Sin
- Unreal
- Half-Life

Half-Life also marks a turning point, because it influenced how the FPS arround 2000 became more linear and story-oriented in a cinematic way. Next wave of shooters was heavily influenced by Halo (2003), with large outdoor environments, vehicle use and gameplay elements like regenrating shields/health. At the same time Call of Duty spawns the subgenre of semi-realistic military shooters.

[Lila Feuer]

SiN was great, underrated.

[vinnie245]

Tetzlaff said:

I consider the important FPS from the mid to late 1990's classic:

- Doom
- Heretic
- Duke Nukem 3D
- Quake
- Sin
- Unreal
- Half-Life

Half-Life also marks a turning point, because it influenced how the FPS arround 2000 became more linear and story-oriented in a cinematic way. Next wave of shooters was heavily influenced by Halo (2003), with large outdoor environments, vehicle use and gameplay elements like regenerating shields/health. At the same time Call of Duty spawns the subgenre of semi-realistic military shooters.

Hell both SiN and No One Lives Forever did driving in large open environments before Halo (Halo was also released in 2001 btw not 2003).
If SiN wasn't so riddled with bugs it probably would of been received a lot better (Even with the bugs i still think it's better than Half-Life personally)
Medal of Honour:Allied Assault came before CoD so if anything Medal of Honour spawned that subgenre not CoD (I certainly played Allied Assault a lot more than CoD)

[Deleted_Account]

I consider Doom, Quake, Half-Life to be classic.

[T-Rex]

I would say Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Rise of the Triad, Blood, Wolfenstein 3D, and Quake.

[Xerge]

Turok.

[Clonehunter]

"Classic" is what you want it to be. "Essential" are the historic landmark games that defined generations or changed the industry. "Quintessential" are the critical triumphs regardless of what they did or didn't do to the industry.

[CARRiON]

NERF Arena Blast, Blood 2 and DNF obviously. Oh and Paintbrawl. All of them.

[Doominator2]

No one mentioned deus ex yet?

[vinnie245]

When someone just says FPS i tend to list strictly FPS games, not hybrid Shooters/RPG's like System Shock 2 and Deus Ex.

[Master O]

Avoozl said:

Probably: the 2.5D Doom's, Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, RTCW, HL1 (although I never cared a great deal for the series), STALKER SoC, Hidden and Dangerous 2, the first three Quake's, Blood, Dark Forces, first two Soldier of Fortune games, Outlaws, Shadow Warrior '97.

I guess this will do for me.

Shadow Warrior '97. That game is just ... wow.

How did 3D Realms get away with making that game? It's funny, but really politically incorrect.

[TheMightyHeracross]

The FPS industry just wasn't as big, even with Doom and Quake out. Devs were more free to make a game how they liked, since AAA FPS games didn't really exist. How do you think they got away with Duke 3D and Blood, too?

[MrGlide]

Master O said:

Shadow Warrior '97. That game is just ... wow.

How did 3D Realms get away with making that game? It's funny, but really politically incorrect.

I'v noticed that prejudice remarks towards asians are alot more common and less frowned upon in the us then almost any other race sadly. When I go to my local chinese restaurants, if people sad the shit they do to black or latinos akin like to what they say to chinese immigrants, hell would break lose. I like most chinese people I'v met and it makes me angry when other customers say stupid shit so rudely. stereotyping use to be alot more common in media. I'v not played the original shadow warrior So I wouldn't know much about it. Most old mgm cartoons are funny but very politically incorrect as well.

[Master O]

MrGlide said:

I'v noticed that prejudice remarks towards asians are alot more common and less frowned upon in the us then almost any other race sadly. When I go to my local chinese restaurants, if people sad the shit they do to black or latinos akin like to what they say to chinese immigrants, hell would break lose. I like most chinese people I'v met and it makes me angry when other customers say stupid shit so rudely. stereotyping use to be alot more common in media. I'v not played the original shadow warrior So I wouldn't know much about it. Most old mgm cartoons are funny but very politically incorrect as well.

You can find the shareware version, load it up in DosBox, and see it for yourself.

[Graf Zahl]

The classics for me are from the time before story-driven gameplay destroyed the genre:

Doom
Duke Nukem 3D
Heretic
Hexen
Quake
Quake 2
Unreal
Dark Forces
Jedi Knight

I can't really put Wolfenstein 3D on that list, that game was just too rudimentary and unsatisfying for my taste.

Ooops, I just forgot. The ultimate classic:

Redneck Rampage!
For me still the best of the bunch, the level design was far and away the best of the early shooters.

[Wovenloaf]

Marathon is great. Not just because of its story, which is an often-used (and, in my view, rather cop-out) answer for why it matters. The story is great, but the gameplay mechanics themselves stand on their own in a different way. To see this, I recommend playing an excellent set of custom maps made for Marathon Infinity called Kill Them All, which is purely action-focused. Also, as much as it can obviously lead to frustration, having save terminals instead of the option to save anywhere can present a healthy kind of challenge. We should also give Marathon some credit for being one of the first FPS games to have weapons with not just clips/cartridges, but also primary and secondary firing options.

[Doominator2]

vinnie245 said:

When someone just says FPS i tend to list strictly FPS games, not hybrid Shooters/RPG's like System Shock 2 and Deus Ex.

Ya i was thinking these rules applied at first until i heard someone mention system shock.

[[McD] James]

MrGlide said:

I'v noticed that prejudice remarks towards asians are alot more common and less frowned upon in the us then almost any other race sadly. When I go to my local chinese restaurants, if people sad the shit they do to black or latinos akin like to what they say to chinese immigrants, hell would break lose. I like most chinese people I'v met and it makes me angry when other customers say stupid shit so rudely. stereotyping use to be alot more common in media. I'v not played the original shadow warrior So I wouldn't know much about it. Most old mgm cartoons are funny but very politically incorrect as well.

The thing about Shadow Warrior is that I never once got the impression that we were ever supposed to laugh at Lo Wang but rather laugh with him. He's a goofy and admittedly sexist character, but nothing about Shadow Warrior's humour made me believe that the developers in any way looked down upon him. The entirety of the game is heavily steeped in Asian stereotypes, but I found nothing particularly mean spirited about any of it. It's obviously not something intended to be taken seriously.

And I really do consider it to be a classic first person shooter. It's not quite as memorable as Duke Nukem 3D, but it's got everything that made that game legendary, as well as what is quite possibly the sweetest rail gun to ever appear in a video game.

[hex11]

Well for me, Hired Guns (on Amiga) is THE classic, because it was my first FPS game, and the only one that interested me at all until Doom.

[Tetzlaff]

vinnie245 said:

Hell both SiN and No One Lives Forever did driving in large open environments before Halo (Halo was also released in 2001 btw not 2003).

Oops, you're right, Halo was already released in 2001. But what I meant is not which game did what first, I was talking about which game was more influential. Halo did practically invent nothing - there were earlier FPS that used vehicles (for example Redline, 1999) and earlier examples of large smooth mesh terrains (Tribes 2, released earlier in 2001). But after the relase of Halo dozens of sci-fi FPS copied that gameplay style, so we can come to the conclusion that Halo had a big influence. Same with MoH/CoD (can't decide which one is more important since I don't like that subgenre at all).

[MistAche]

QUAKE and mission packs
QUAKE II and mission packs

I'm only back to Doom because Quake MP is finally dead.

Graf Zahl said:

The classics for me are from the time before story-driven gameplay destroyed the genre:

Doom
Duke Nukem 3D
Heretic
Hexen
Quake
Quake 2
Unreal
Dark Forces
Jedi Knight

I can't really put Wolfenstein 3D on that list, that game was just too rudimentary and unsatisfying for my taste.

Ooops, I just forgot. The ultimate classic:

Redneck Rampage!
For me still the best of the bunch, the level design was far and away the best of the early shooters.

Great list. Only classic I'd add to this is Blood.

[wheresthebeef]

Also, Outlaws is great

[june gloom]

nxGangrel said:

For me, it's just a shooter that stands out and never lose it's enjoyment. Like Doom, Quake 1, and Unreal Tournament for examples.

This is probably the closest to how I feel. I believe that "classic" isn't tied to a period of time. It's perfectly possible for a game released this year to be considered "classic." The trick is in realizing that all "classic" games were new once upon a time. What we recognize as new and amazing now will be considered classic in 10 years time.

[Uncle 80]

Does a game have to be "publicly well-received" in order to be a classic?

My FPS classics are

Doom (1 & 2)
Duke Nukem 3D
Shadow Warrior ('97)
Blood
Quake
Quake II
Hexen II
Edit: Forgot about Dark Forces II (Jedi Knight)


I basically stopped playing new FPS'es after that. I've bought maybe 10 to 15 new games in total since '98.

[june gloom]

Uncle 80 said:

Does a game have to be "publicly well-received" in order to be a classic?

Considering Marathon seems to have been almost completely unheard-of outside of Mac gaming circles (back when you were weird for having a Mac) and Pathways Into Darkness doubly so, I'd have to say no.

[DoomzRules]

dethtoll said:

Considering Marathon seems to have been almost completely unheard-of outside of Mac gaming circles (back when you were weird for having a Mac) and Pathways Into Darkness doubly so, I'd have to say no.

Marathon is awesome though.... really wish Bungie would revive Marathon...

Is it weird if I consider Halo 3 and Bioshock to be classic FPS games in their own right? =P

[june gloom]

No?

[DoomzRules]

dethtoll said:

No?

Oh OK. I consider games from 2009 and backwards to be classic. :3

[june gloom]

I consider anything that's good and leaves a lasting impression to be classic, no matter how new it is. See my previous posts.