10 Awesome First Person Shooter Games (FPS) on The PC

Please be mindful that most of these games were released fairly recently, with a few exceptions. Always check the system requirements, and update your PC hardware if you have some money to spare. It will be worth it, especially for the following mind-blowing games. Again, some of the games I posted are very system intensive.

Half Life 2

Half Life 2, released in 2004, was highly anticipated, especially because the original half life was universally acclaimed by many critics. Half Life 2 certainly lived up to its hype, with its stunning graphics and gameplay. The story continues from Half Life, featuring solid campaign with great visuals and audio. I was never a fan of puzzle, but Half Life 2 weaves some puzzle and brain teaser that were enjoyable at times. Of Course, how can I talk about Half Life 2 without mentioning the gravity gun? The game is worth getting just to play around with it. The game does have some flaws, one of them being its weak story (in my opinion). Also the random loading screen can ruin the moment sometimes. Play the game nonetheless, because it is one of the best shooters ever made.

If you play Half Life 2, and can't get enough of it, check out Episode 1 and Episode 2, (Pretty much same as HL2, but moves the story along)

Halo Combat Evolved

Halo was released in 2003, 1 year after it was originally released for the Xbox. I'm sure most gamers have heard of it, but it is definitely worth mentioning. Halo is your standard first person shooter, with a story driven 12 hour campaign. It does have good replay value, and the multiplayer servers are still fairly active. By today's standards, the graphic will be a little outdated, but it will still be worth playing, especially for Sci Fi fans.

Chronicles of Riddick Escape From Butcher Bay

Chronicles of Riddick combines beautiful graphics with beautiful gameplay. It blends first person shooter with stealth, interwoven with a good story. The voice acting of Riddick is done by none other than Vin Diesel himself. It is a high quality production, but there is no multiplayer.

Bioshock

Pure awe went through my mind when I experienced this masterpiece. Bioshock was released in 2007 by 2K games, on the Pc and the Xbox360. The amazing graphics and the atmosphere of the game added to the realism, which made you believe that you are stepping into the shoe of the protagonist, Jack. The story is that you are a survivor of a Plane crash during the late 1940s, and took refuge in The Rapture, a failed utopia created by Andrew Ryan. There, you get to genetically modify and enhance yourself, as you battle Splicers, Big Daddies, as well as Bots as you survive. The game play of Bioshock is fairly simple, yet sophisticated at the same time. It combines some RPG and elements into the first person shooter genre, along with a few puzzles. The great voice acting adds to the story, which is another great element of the game. It does not however, feature a multiplayer mode, which is a shame.

Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl

Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl is loosely based on the 1979 Movie, Stalker. The game was highly anticipated and released to the Pc. It developed by the Ukrainian based team, who took time to observe the real geography and atmosphere of the region. The plot is that a second nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl power plants, creating an area known as The Zone. You are a nameless Stalker, an illegal explorer/artifact scavenger, suffering from amnesia and on a lone mission to kill a Stalker named Strelok. Mutants roam the fields and the Bandits, Military, as well as the Mercenaries all want you dead. Like Bioshock, it features amazing graphics, especially in indoors, that really sells the tense, gloomy setting. Flaws? The games has performance problem and crashes, but patch 1.004 and above will solve most of it. Also, the story starts out strong, but the presentations of it sometimes deprive you of the plot and the characters needed for you to fully understand the story.

F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon

F.E.A.R. was released to the Pc on October 17, 2005 by Sierra Games. It is an "outstanding shooter that combines horror with kinetic and visceral action, and it elevates the genre to a whole new level of intensity”. What I loved about this game is the slow motion action, much like Max Payne s bullet time. You play as the newest member of the First Encounter Assault Recon, the military's top-secret task force, gifted with inhuman reflexes. The outstanding graphics add on to the slow motion effect, and the atmosphere keeps you on the edge at all times. However, this game does have its flaws, one of them being its CPU usage, and reoccurring in-game objects.

Rainbow Six Vegas

Released in 2006, Rainbow Six Vegas is a superb first person shooter with great graphics and gameplay. The game requires you to use cover realistically and the approach every situation with care. It won't let you run and gun like Rambo, but I did like the realism of it. The campaign features a storyline much like the TV show 24, and you play as Logan Keller, leader of one of Rainbow's elite three-man counterterrorist assault teams. Multiplayer is still very active, and drives the game forward after the fairly short campaign is over. Flaws? There are few quirks to the game, but patches will solve that. Also, the story leaves you hanging.

Call of Duty 2

Released by Activision in 2005, Call of Duty 2 is another outstanding first person shooter taking place in various World War II battles, in which you play as the Americans or the British. Like the predecessor, Call of Duty 2 features excellent presentation of and varied missions. Multiplayer portion of it is very enjoyable, but it does have a performance problem at times. If you liked the first Call of Duty or any of the Medal of Honor games, Call of Duty 2 will definitely appeal to you.

Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare

Call of Duty changed its formula a bit, moved out of World War II into the modern battlefield with updated weapons. The result is Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, a great sequel to the Call of Duty series. It features great voice acting and visual, augmented by beautiful graphics and voice acting. Online Mode is a blast, and is very active at time moment. Like its predecessors, the Campaign is intense and has many thrills and moments. However, it is very short, but online play will solve that problem.

Crysis

Crysis, developed by Crytek and released in 2008, is a first person shooter that features visually stunning open ended jungle, packed with intelligent, thrilling gameplay, and is easily one of the greatest shooters ever made. It includes a dynamic first person shooter gameplay, much like Far Cry, with unparalleled visuals. Flaws? Well, it will burn up your graphic card and CPU, unless they are high end hardware. This game is very system intensive, so download the Demo before you buy it.