If someone was to ask most gamers to name a first-person shooter they most likely answer would either beCall of Duty,Battlefield,or evenHalo.Which is unsurprising considering how popular these games are with fans of multiplayer shooters.
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One only has to look at theCall of Dutyfranchise topping the number one selling game every Christmas for the last few years to see its dominance on the market. Unfortunately, this has meant that many great first-person shooters that perhaps focused more on its single-player than the multiplayer have gone under the radar. Let’s take a look at ten great but forgotten single-player shooters that gamers should check out if they want something different from theCoDseries.
10F.E.A.R.
Released in 2005 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the PC,F.E.A.R.is an atmospheric survival horror first-person shooter developed by Monolith Productions. The game offers players a well rounded single-player campaign with an interesting story taking inspiration from Japanese horror films likeJu-On: The GrudgeandRing.
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F.E.A.R.also uses its own version of the bullet-time mechanic called “Reflex Time” which comes in handy against the game’s advanced artificial intelligence. The long-haired little girl Alma may be pretty scary but the true star of the show is the unpredictable A.I. The enemy soldiers coordinate with teammates, use suppressive fire, blind fire, and really seem to make an effort in taking down the player by not repeating the same mistakes.
9Red Steel 2
Released on the Nintendo Wii in 2010,Red Steel2is a first-person action shooter that combined themes from samurai and Wild West movies. It also implemented cell-shaded visuals which still look great giving it an anime-style appearance.
Red Steel 2also made excellent use of the Nintendo Wii’s motion controls delivering some of the best swordfight mechanics in any game and it transitions fluidly into gunplay very nicely. Unfortunately, a planned sequel was canceled by its developers by Ubisoft due to its low sales, butRed Steel 2definitely deserves another chance and could be the perfect candidate for the PSVR.
8Prey (2006)
Released in 2006 for the Xbox 360 and PC formats in 2006,Preyis a science fiction horror first-person shooter developed by the now-defunct Human Head Studios. It was created using theDoom 3engine – also known as id Tech 4 – and unsurprisingly the graphics still hold up well. Level design is top-notch, and monster design is gruesome in all the right ways.
It’s a completely different game to the very good 2017 reboot of the same name developed by Arkane Studios. The gameplay implements the use of portals that are there to interconnect the levels and create new methods of attack. In addition, the “Spirit Force” mechanics allows the protagonist Danny to enter the spirit realm to solve puzzles and surprise enemies.
7Bulletstorm
First released in 2011,Bulletstormwas released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the PC. Despite being well received by critics, the game was a commercial failure.Bulletstormwas released again on the Xbox One and the PS4 in 2017,and the Nintendo Switch in 2019.
In spite of the remasters,Bulletstormis still not a game that is considered to be a mainstream hit. For lack of a better term,Bulletstormis an absolute blast to play and has a great sense of humor. The “Skillshot” mechanic is what will keep players hooked from beginning to the end, however, letting players pull off some amazing feats with the game’s unique weapons.
6The Darkness
Developed byChronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Baycreators Starbreeze,The Darknessis another fantastic first-person shooter based onthe comic book seriesif the same name. The gunplay is solid but the game’s most unique mechanic is the Darkness powers such as “Creeping Dark” allowing stealth attacks and “Dark” for more violent tentacle attacks that can impale enemies in lots of creative ways.
In addition to the excellent gameplay,The Darkness’world is a joy to explore with lots of characters and items to interact to help bring the game to life, and the story has lots of twists rig.
5Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter
Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunterwas released on the Xbox, PC and PlayStation 2 in 2003. It is a futuristic science fiction game with inspirations from classic Wild West movies.Mace Griffinallows players to switch between space ship fights and first-person viewpoints and was way ahead of its time in terms of loading speeds and transitional gameplay.
The game features solid voice work from Henry Rollins as the titular character, and the interesting and involved sci-fi story builds and develops at a great pace in relation to the mission design.
4Syndicate
Released in 2012,Syndicatewas a first-person shooter reboot of the cyberpunk real-time strategy series. It was developed by Starbreeze Studios. Just likeThe Darkness, there’s a lot more to this game than simply running and gunning. However, it must be said that running down a corridor John Woo-style taking out enemies with ease is very satisfying.
Syndicategives its players an incredible amount of tools to use in battle from the DART chip that can tag enemies through walls, hacking techniques and lots of weapons that feel great to use. Despite being on the PS3 and Xbox 360,Syndicatestill holds up well visually with great art design and excellent animations.
3The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bayis another great action title from Starbreeze Studios and arguably their best effort to date. First released in 2004 on the original Xbox it was best looking and performing game on the machine. However, the remastered edition included withChronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athenais the best version giving gamers two great games in one.
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The lighting and shadows look realistic and really add to the game’s stealth mechanics which are among some of the best in the genre. Furthermore, in terms of hand-to-hand combat in the first person, there are very few games that can match the fluidity of theRiddickgames.
2Singularity
Released in 2010 on the PS3 and Xbox 360, Singularity is a first-person science fiction horror shooter developed by Raven Software. Even though Raven is perhaps now better known for developingCall of DutygamesSingularityis a narratively driven FPS that has more in common with theBioshockseries.
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In addition to its very good storyline,Singularityimplements an innovative time manipulation mechanic that can be used as a weapon and solve several puzzles as the game progresses. There’s an alternate timeline storyline that’s inspired by classic science fiction TV shows and was far more imaginative than it was given credit for at the time of its release.
1Condemned Criminal Origins
Released as a launch title for the Xbox 360 in 2005,Condemned: Criminal Originsis a survival horror FPS developed by Monolith Productions the same team behind theF.E.A.R.series. UnlikeF.E.A.R.however, there’s a stronger emphasis on horror and successfully making the player jump out of their skins - gamers will never look at a store mannequin in the same way again.
The shooting mechanics are weighty and satisfying but it’s brutal melee combat that stands out among the best in the genre. Despite its age,Condemnedis still one of the more visually striking games on the system and quite possibly one of the most underrated horror games of the last two generations.
NEXT:10 Great RPGs That Flew Under The Radar (And Their Metacritic Scores)
