First Person Shooter (Hidden Gems)

[CARRiON]

Blood, because its atmosphere is unmatched to this day. And much like the anti-hero Caleb who you plays as, its been unfairly entombed under publisher bullshit.

[Agentbromsnor]

8 hours ago, thaquoth said:

Despite not caring for KISS one way or the other, despising Todd McFarlane with a passion and it being received as mostly a middling game back in the day, I've always liked the KISS Psycho Circus game. There's just something about that game that made it really appealing to me, and I still have a soft spot in my memory for it. I guess I just like shooters with super cheesy scenarios or something?

 

In any case, that's my one "not sure if anyone else likes it" fps. Haven't played it in more than a decade though.

I definitely agree. I don't like KISS, but I thought KISS Psycho Circus was a pretty good (and fairly hard) game. You don't need to have an understanding of KISS, or the comic it's based on to enjoy it, which I think is nice. Some of the visuals were great: I still remember that underground lava-level with the trains that ride on tracks doing loops.

Fun fact: I actually bought KISS Psycho Circus in store for just one Euro... And it wasn't even that old yet either. I guess people really didn't like this game.

[june gloom]

23 hours ago, cyan0s1s said:

Is Doom regarded as id Tech 1? That wouldn't make sense as the engine that powers Quake II would be considered id Tech 3, Quake III would be considered id Tech 4 and Doom 3's engine id Tech 5, which is just blatantly wrong. I just see the Doom game engine as the Doom engine, and the id Tech line-up starting with Quake all the way up to Doom '16.

E: Well I learn something new, id Tech 2 is Q1 AND Q2, no wonder Q2 doesn't really seem that much more groundbreaking than its predecessor.

Yeah, Quake 2 is basically id Tech 2.5. Half-Life basically builds off Quake 1 code with a few fixes from Q2.

 

For a while now I've been referring to the Wolf3D engine as id Tech 0, though I include the more primitive predecessors Hovertank 3D and Catacomb 3D as they're essentially the same engine with incremental improvements over time.

[Avoozl]

Hidden and Dangerous 2, honestly I felt it was a much better WWII shooter than CoD by a mile, there was more strategy and tactics involved where you couldn't just run and gun like in CoD.

 

It had an optional squad system, an inventory system, the ability to tie up enemy up and take his uniform to disguise yourself, pick locks, cut a path through wire fences, drive vehicles, etc. All the characters had specializations to which ability they were good at, after every mission particular abilities get slightly better depending on what you did previously.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Avoozl

[Guest]

 

[Halfblind]

On 4/23/2017 at 9:48 PM, R1ck said:

There's this game I forgot the tittle. It's a new retro shooter with Wolf3d like level design. It was great and cute. 

Do you mean RetroBlazer? It's good and fun but it is still in development. And since that game is still in dev I would not consider it for this list though.

 

http://www.indiedb.com/games/retroblazer

[Lila Feuer]

He might be thinking of Intrude.

[qdash]

 

:D

[KVELLER]

One game came to my mind:

 

Radix: Beyond the Void

 

It's a game where you have to pilot a fighter and it runs on a Doom-like engine. Complete objectives and find the exit, blasting robots and alien ships along the way, with a fast-paced gameplay and a kickass metal soundtrack.

 

Since the flight is very basic (it's like the one in Heretic) and the fact that it was released around the same time Descent came out, it got absolutely fucked, and it's the main reason why this game is so little known.

 

I would't go as far as calling it a masterpiece, but it's indeed a fun game.

Edited April 26, 2017 by KVELLER

[Halfblind]

21 hours ago, cyan0s1s said:

He might be thinking of Intrude.

Gotcha, he might be talking about this one instead, thanks.

 

On 4/22/2017 at 9:49 PM, geo said:

Enclave. Its a medieval shooter.

I played the demo for Enclave. I never considered it an FPS game. If that game is considered an FPS then you can consider Sudeki one too, There was a character that you can switch between first and third person views. I thought Enclave was a great game, though, the PC version is like 20 times better than the Xbox version. I just wish I owned the full version.

 

On 4/22/2017 at 5:08 PM, ETTiNGRiNDER said:

Heretic and Hexen are forgotten?

They seem forgotten by the game community in general but not by you though and not by me.

 

@cyan0s1s

The original Unreal Tournament was mentioned in a few Watchmojo videos. So they get enough credit.

Edited April 26, 2017 by Halfblind : More Quoting...

[Halfblind]

A few more FPS games that I remember include:

 

1. Area 51 - I remember this game being relatively fun to play. It had some great single player moments. This was one of the first games to use 'high def' graphics and also had realistic breaking glass. Due to the games focus on graphics fidelity the graphics were impressive back then but today it is less than desirable.
2. Pariah - This game looked really good in the YouTube videos. Upon playing it on the Xbox the graphics aren't that impressive. The single player is full of glitches some of which cannot be avoided. One mission, where you are on a drop-ship, is very difficult and has an extreme lack of checkpoints making the mission even more difficult. I still haven't been able to finish that mission. The MPlayer DM is actually reasonably fun. The game also had an in-game map editor to where you can alter a few pre-made maps.
3. Darkwatch - This game had a great story and was actually really fun at times. It had a rather nice decision system to where you can choose to do the good thing or choose to do the bad thing. If you choose more bad than good, and vice-versa, there was a different boss at the end of the game. The MPlayer DM was not all that impressive.
4. Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force - This game was actually rather nice. It was set on Voyager while it was stuck in the Delta Quadrant somewhere in season 6. The single player story was well thought up and executed. While the single player was good the real fun was playing against bots in the Holomatch. There you can shoot up your favorite voyager cast members. Cast members that include Janeway, Paris, Checotay, Seven of Nine and even the main protagonist Monroe.
5. Star Trek: Elite Force 2 - Apparently Monroe and Jerot were stationed on the Enterprise before they went to the Delta Quadrant with Janeway. When they got back they were stationed again on the enterprise to continue their Hazard team adventure. This game had some good single player missions but they were overshadowed by the pathetic mission 6. In that mission the Enterprise was attacked and boarded and it was your responsibly to stop it. This mission was hard and had some really bad moments which include sitting in a turret mounted to the bottom side of the Enterprise's hull and shooting down enemies before they blow up the ship. It tried too hard, it even tried to be a Doom clone because it had a BFG style weapon at the end of the single player campaign. The MPlayer was not as fun as the original game. The one thing that disappointing me the most is the complete lack of standard cast members from Star Trek: TNG. I really was hoping to get the opportunity to shoot up Picard, Riker, and Worf. It was just one more disappointment in a game that already disappointed me.

[Six]

Killing Time is another obscurity. Originally released for the 3DO, it later had a PC port which was almost a complete rework of the entire game. The map was redone, the weapon models replaced, newer enemies and items. There was a lot of extra work involved.

 

The unique feature this game had at the time was in-game FMV. They were presented by animated ghosts sprites, ones of which if near enough would activate short chroma keyed videos with live action actors who told their own story to reveal more plot. It was pretty neat.

 

The game itself is actually ok. It's hub based and non-linear, taking place on a  small island with one centre mansion and various other guest houses, gardens, tombs and caves. The enemies are varied... Almost a little too varied (killer clowns, giant red skulls, and gargoyle house maids to name a few) and the weapons are pretty standard, if not a little uninspired, but really it's the atmosphere that makes this game. It's a story driven adventure.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Time_(video_game)

[Lila Feuer]

3 hours ago, Halfblind said:

The original Unreal Tournament was mentioned in a few Watchmojo videos. So they get enough credit.

 

I know UT continues to crop up on most top FPS lists, but I was inferring that the original Unreal has kinda faded into obscurity. But then again nothing else survived the year of 1998 when it came to FPS games thanks to Half-Life.

[MrGlide]

4 hours ago, Halfblind said:

Area 51 -

I learned a couple years ago John Romero had worked on that, I remember enjoying it quite a bit for the original xbox.

[CARRiON]

8 hours ago, MrGlide said:

I learned a couple years ago John Romero had worked on that, I remember enjoying it quite a bit for the original xbox.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/area-51_/credits

 

WTF, Tom Hall too?

[Ezepov]

Nitro Family

 

Monolith's all games: Blood 2, Tron 2.0, Aliens versus Predator 2.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Ezepov

[Wild Dog]

On 26/4/2017 at 9:09 PM, cyan0s1s said:

 

I know UT continues to crop up on most top FPS lists, but I was inferring that the original Unreal has kinda faded into obscurity. But then again nothing else survived the year of 1998 when it came to FPS games thanks to Half-Life.

The first Unreal did not faded into obscurity because of Half Life. Back then Unreal was quite popular at the same level of Half Life...   What sent "Unreal 1" into obscurity was Unreal Tournament. UT was much popular and when you talk about Unreal, most people will thing about UT, not about Unreal

[Agentbromsnor]

On 26-4-2017 at 7:07 AM, qdash said:

 

:D

 

What's this? Antifa Simulator 2017? Jesus Christ, what a bunch of street-violence promoting garbage...

[DoctorGenesis]

1 hour ago, Agentbromsnor said:

 

What's this? Antifa Simulator 2017? Jesus Christ, what a bunch of street-violence promoting garbage...

Is that Sid Vicious in the thumbnail?

[Agentbromsnor]

10 minutes ago, DoctorGenesis said:

Is that Sid Vicious in the thumbnail?

Maybe it's his Russian brother.

The head of the other guy in the thumbnail looks two sizes too large for his body. Perhaps that's part of the anarchist art-style, or whoever designed this just doesn't know what the fuck he's doing.

[thaquoth]

I've recently played around 2 episodes of Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold. I think I like this game better than Wolf 3D actually. Might be my favourite of that generation of shooters that I played. (that is: single plane of movement, tile-based environment)

 

The added interactivity (informants, food units) really does wonders for it, and makes it feel way less repetitive and mind-numbing. Also the levels are themed more interestingly, which makes them feel less like endless mazes of grey/blue/brown corridors. Pretty impressed with it.

 

 

3 hours ago, Agentbromsnor said:

 

What's this? Antifa Simulator 2017? Jesus Christ, what a bunch of street-violence promoting garbage...

Smash a fash, comrade!

[Lila Feuer]

3 hours ago, thaquoth said:

I've recently played around 2 episodes of Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold. I think I like this game better than Wolf 3D actually. Might be my favourite of that generation of shooters that I played. (that is: single plane of movement, tile-based environment)

 

The added interactivity (informants, food units) really does wonders for it, and makes it feel way less repetitive and mind-numbing. Also the levels are themed more interestingly, which makes them feel less like endless mazes of grey/blue/brown corridors. Pretty impressed with it.

First three episodes are decent, as they are all themed like you said and have their own tile sets.

Episodes 4-6 immediately go down the drain as it's clear they only made more to make you feel like you got your money's worth and because Wolf3D did the same thing.

I got sick of Blake Stone before long as it way outstayed its welcome and any charm it had earlier on had disappeared entirely halfway through the game. It also has a lot of balance issues that become more evident on any difficulty higher than the default and all the hard-coded key bindings make playing the damn thing a chore for my modern sensibilities.
 

I would recommend the BStone SDL2 source port though, as it fixes a lot of my complaints in regards to the balance (enemies no longer have ludicrously high hit points on highest difficulty) and you can WASD it as well as get Planet Strike's improved and faster animations for things like explosions and certain death animations in the Aliens of Gold game. You'd just need the willpower to slog through all those levels now.

[Master O]

 

[Job]

CoC:DCotE 

 

Call of Cthulhu: Darkest Corners of the Earth

[roadworx]

these are what i could think up off the top of my head:

 

star wars: dark forces

 

disruptor

 

alien trilogy

 

alien: resurrection

 

painkiller

 

timesplitters

 

you really don't hear about these all that often, which is sad, cuz they're actually pretty decent.

 

 

[[McD] James]

I've never actually played CyberMage, but I always thought it looked pretty good. 

[BloodRage]

Blood

 

that's it

[roadworx]

45 minutes ago, BloodRage said:

Blood

 

that's it

blood is fairly well-known, though

[MrGlide]

Around here and other classic fps circles it is, but as for mainstream not so much.

[BloodRage]

1 hour ago, roadworx said:

blood is fairly well-known, though

Still counts as my most favorite hidden gem