Quake3World

I finally dumped my old p2 450 for some modern tech. What decent FPS have been published since Q3? Specifically....ones with immersive, non-retarded singleplayer? Just name one or two that have really stood out for you and why.

I just bought UT2k4, and Doom 3....what about Thief 2/3, any of the post Dark Forces: Jedi Knight series...etc?

(I'm really looking at you Mat :icon25: )

Both Thief 2 & 3 are more than worth it. They'll last you for days and days, especially if you get bitten by the "Ghost" bug (where you try to complete a level by getting 100% loot without being spotted or knocking out / killing a single enemy).

Of course, you can't really play Looking Glass Studio games without playing System Shock 2. It can get annoying with the constantly respawning enemies and aggravating weapon wear-and-tear system, but it's got a great story and is just downright creepy.

If you've not already played it, don't forget the first Deus Ex (which owes a lot to System Shock 2; they're both the progeny of Warren Spector IIRC). Very immersive with a cool (if cliched) story, strong RPG elements and a good sense of the epic.

A recent title that's very remeniscent of Deus Ex is Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. It can be a bit ropey, and the end section is far too combat heavy, but it's still a great game.

Serious Sam (both the first & second encounter; they can be bought together as a "Gold Edition") is utterly fantastic and a complete homage to Doom. It's not complicated, it doesn't pretend to be clever, but it is utterly raucous adrenaline fueled fun.

Painkiller has the same kinda feel as Sam, but has a lot of "Bonus" features to unlock as well, giving it a good amount of replay value.

The AvP games are great games too, although the second doesn't quite have the fear factor that the first game did. It's still good, just not as good as the first.
The first has my physically back-pedalling away from the computer at times, and as I get older, is more and more likely to be the cause of my first heart attack.

Of course, AvP2 is a Monolith title, and they've done some corking FPS titles; Tron, No One Lives Forever 1 & 2 and Shogo MAD come to mind, all fantastic and a bit different to the norm.

I have both the Jedi Knight titles based on the Q3 engine, and both are good fun. A lot of people bitch about Academy, but to be honest it's just the same as the first one, but with a few more features. Nothing wrong with that.

Far Cry is defeinitely worth a play. It's very pretty, with a decent engine, and whilst it loses it's focus a bit towards the end, alows for multiple approaches to any given situation. The weapons are a bit pants, but that doesn't stop it being a good game.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay is superb, and shouldn't be ignored on the basis of the Riddick movie. It's one of the best titles from last year, with a great mix of shooting, first person beat-em-up action, stealth and even a slight role-playing element. It's a little on the short side, but shouldn't be missed.

Half Life 2? You've not bought Half Life 2 yet?
It's worth it. Utterly immersive, action packed, bewildering and demonically fun. Don't be put off by the hype. It's soooo good.
It is also ridiculously linear, but I think some titles benefit from being linear, and HL2 is definitely one of them.

Speaking of linear titles, don't forget RtCW. Great single-player (don't let others tell you otherwise), but the real fun to be had here is with MP. For me, this, along with Enemy Territory, is the best team-based multiplayer EVER.

There's probably more, but those are the ones are most prominent in my mind at the moment.

forget about Doom 3. It's shit. Get Half-Life 2, it's a great game. Best FPS game in a long time

Doom3 isn't shit, you just have to appreciate it's basic back-to-the-early-90's gameplay setup.

Mat Linnett wrote:...Speaking of linear titles, don't forget RtCW..

Thanks Mat (and others), I really appreciate it---exactly what I was after. Based on our discussions in the past, I trust your judgment far more than web reviews I've been reading lately.

Do any of the newer Jedi Knight games recreate the lengthy, bitchin' action drama of Dark Forces II?

Good list by Mat, couldn't have choosen it any better.

Man he does play a ton of games dosen't he?

Eh- Don't forget your WWII games. :icon14:

Medal Of Honor Allied Assult, Spear Head.
Call of Duty (though I never got i, I hear it was awesome)
Battlefield 1942 :icon14: ++

i'd suggest vice city if you havent played it on console already.
Also perhaps look at mohaa (going back a bit) and even better call of duty, both q3 engine ww2 games.
Only other suggestion is prince of persia: sands of time. Havent played it myself but hear good things.

edit: oh, just beaten

Speaking of Medal of Honor... have a look at Pacific Assault I found the action pretty intense which had the downside of making the game seem short..!!

Speaking of WW2 - next week make sure to try out Brothers in Arms, people are saying it's the best WW2 game ever.

Thanks again. I've played Frontline on my xbox...and was just wondering...in general...how good is the enemy AI in many of these WWII games (on the PC)? Which WII FPS would you say has the best?

Besides the aforementioned games, I'd definately recommend Clive Barker's Undying- its horror atmosphere is, in my opinion, unmatched by any current titles.

I'd also recommend American McGee's Alice. Not a FPS, but quirky and excellent nonetheless, and can be picked up on the cheap these days.

Hannibal wrote:Thanks Mat (and others), I really appreciate it---exactly what I was after. Based on our discussions in the past, I trust your judgment far more than web reviews I've been reading lately.

Do any of the newer Jedi Knight games recreate the lengthy, bitchin' action drama of Dark Forces II?

Embarrassingly, I haven't played the previous Jedi Knight titles; a symptom of having migrated from Mac to PC.

Regarding Doom 3, Eraser's right. Nothing wrong with a bit of old-school shooter fun. The monster closets only bother you as a concept if you let them; otherwise, as a pure gameplay mechanism, they're perfectly acceptable.

megami's recommendation of Undying is a good 'un too. Nice creepy atmosphere with some really interesting ideas. Bit of a weak ending mind.

If you want to branch in to 3rd person games, both Splinter Cell titles are worth checking out. Incredibly linear with stealth that lacks something when compared to Thief titles, but compelling all the same.

blakjack's suggestion of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is bang on. Fantastic game; I've played it through 3-4 times. Don't discount Warrior Within though. Characters that are flat as pancakes, but the story is quite good if you can see past the "OMG G0THZ0R!1!" facade, and the difficulty and combat is leaps and bounds ahead of PoPSoT.

Two hidden gems however:
Beyond Good & Evil and Oni.
BG&E was criminally ignored on release, but is just astonishingly good. It's a little shorter than I'd like it to be, but while it lasts, it's one hell of a ride. And the characters are just brilliant; you can really relate to them.

Oni is Bungie's game before Halo (which you should avoid like the plague by the way), and is the last of the truly great Bungie titles. It could REALLY have done with some multiplayer, but given the prematurely shortened development cycle, is still fantastic.
Combat is well and truly ahead of it's time, with a unique combination of hand-to-hand and gun combat.
But where it shines, as with all previous Bungie titles, is in the story.
A bit whacked out at times, but it constantly drives you forward trying to discover Konoko's origins.

And don't forget the Max Payne titles.
Short, true.
Cliched, definitely.
But it's got slooooo mooooo combat. It don't need other gimmicks.

d3, call of duty, and painkiller are my favorite modern FPS's.

i would if i was you to get call of duty with the expansion pack, it really good. appart from the heay scripted seqences it is really good. and after when you have compleated the single played then go face to face with some people online!!! i will take you on.


GET HALF LIFE 2. nuff sed

megami wrote:Besides the aforementioned games, I'd definately recommend Clive Barker's Undying- its horror atmosphere is, in my opinion, unmatched by any current titles.

I'd also recommend American McGee's Alice. Not a FPS, but quirky and excellent nonetheless, and can be picked up on the cheap these days.

My god two jewels of games right there. How could I forget.

It's the problem with these huge leaps games are taking. Alice is nowadays considered as an "old game"

Hannibal wrote:Thanks again. I've played Frontline on my xbox...and was just wondering...in general...how good is the enemy AI in many of these WWII games (on the PC)? Which WII FPS would you say has the best?

Call of Duty is the best.
Unfortunately, it was the so-manieth WW2 shooter that it just didn't do much for me anymore. In fact, after having played MoH:AA and it's two expansion packs, it feels like little more than a direct replica of MoH:AA with prettier graphics.

My advice would be, skip MoH:AA and it's expansions and head on straight through to CoD. It is a fantastic game that oozes quality. It's just that aftert he large number of WW2 games it lacks originality. It does feel a bit scripted as well, but rather than being annoyed by the linearity of it all, it feels more like playing an active role in a grand-scale war movie. You don't decide the outcome, you just pray you don't get shot and run along.

AI is quite decent as well.

edit:
oh and MoH: Frontline (I have it on the GameCube) isn't quite as good as MoH on the PC. The simple fact that there's people talking Dutch in there makes it ok though

Mat Linnett wrote:Two hidden gems however:
Beyond Good & Evil and Oni.
BG&E was criminally ignored on release, but is just astonishingly good. It's a little shorter than I'd like it to be, but while it lasts, it's one hell of a ride. And the characters are just brilliant; you can really relate to them.

Oni is Bungie's game before Halo (which you should avoid like the plague by the way), and is the last of the truly great Bungie titles.

Oni is pure genius, although the graphics haven't stood up all that well over the years.

Personally I love Halo for the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with some truly sneaky AI, but it's a really love-it-or-hate-it sort of game.

Eraser wrote:

Hannibal wrote:Thanks again. I've played Frontline on my xbox...and was just wondering...in general...how good is the enemy AI in many of these WWII games (on the PC)? Which WII FPS would you say has the best?

Call of Duty is the best.
Unfortunately, it was the so-manieth WW2 shooter that it just didn't do much for me anymore. In fact, after having played MoH:AA and it's two expansion packs, it feels like little more than a direct replica of MoH:AA with prettier graphics.

My advice would be, skip MoH:AA and it's expansions and head on straight through to CoD. It is a fantastic game that oozes quality. It's just that aftert he large number of WW2 games it lacks originality. It does feel a bit scripted as well, but rather than being annoyed by the linearity of it all, it feels more like playing an active role in a grand-scale war movie. You don't decide the outcome, you just pray you don't get shot and run along.

AI is quite decent as well.

edit:
oh and MoH: Frontline (I have it on the GameCube) isn't quite as good as MoH on the PC. The simple fact that there's people talking Dutch in there makes it ok though

BiA is gonna pwn MOH and CoD.

ive been playing BiA for afew days, and its pretty damn good, but i still enjoyed CoD far more.

This thread reminded me of a bunch of games I still need to get/play. I also totally agree with D3, HL2, RTCW, MOH:AA. Those have been extremely fun single player for me. I don't really play much multi on anything anymore. Played some Q1 earlier and got my ass handed to me on a platter. was fun though.

Although not quite FPS a couple of games worth getting which I found quite good were

Project Eden (bargin bin game these days)
MorroWind (get the game of the Year edition)
BloodRayne was also a decent (if 'camp') vampire themed WW2 game

I'd agree with Mat on Oni... it's a very good game (although the spawning of the enemies can be annoying)

Project Eden was brilliant :icon14: :icon14:

Kat wrote: MorroWind (get the game of the Year edition)

Loved that game, spent untold hours exploring Vvardenfell

I can't wait for Oblivion, either

And I agree with the above posters, Oni was a blast! Couldn't wait to get it back in '01 for my Mac