Top 10 FPS Single Player Games
#10: F.E.A.R. (2005)Starting off the top 10 is a real gem of a FPS game. Developed by Monolith Productions, who already had a good track record of releases in this genre before this title, F.E.A.R. was a critical and commercial success; the latter prompted an expansion pack a year later with another scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2007. The name, though, has moved on to the publisher and Monolith will no longer make further FEAR titles.
So what of the game then? We've covered the plot before in our Top 10 Scariest PC games article but we didn't specifically mention some of the excellent FPS elements that stand out. Although they're not exactly original, kung fu moves performed in slow motion in the midst of a ranging gun battle add a certain beauty to the action. The reactions of the enemy soldiers are better than most too and although the environments are somewhat... umm, "consistent", fights can often be full of strategy and require forward planning. It's top fun though and there's also a spooky little brat who'll scare the Shreddies out of you with every appearance too!
#9: Call of Duty 2 (2005)
Smoke effects are especially well done in Call of Duty 2.
This is the first of the sequels in the Top 10 list but one of only two WWII games, despite the immense popularity of this part of history as a backdrop to a game. Call of Duty 2 puts you into the role of not one but three Allied troopers - starting off as part of the Red Army, before continuing through British and finally, American missions. Not quite the "lone hero" of most action games, the player must fight alongside comrades-in-arms but since you're nothing more than a squad member, no team orders can be issued. Not that you'd get much chance - to say that some of the action is "intense" would be a bigger understatement than Mr Gates stating that 640kB would be "enough". The closing levels are nothing short of an overload on the senses and if this is just the merest hint of what real combat must have been like during the campaigns, then it serves as an excellent lesson to the folly of war.
The unremitting action becomes draining after prolonged gaming though; there's little respite from the onslaught of bullets and grenades. When victory finally comes, the glory to be found isn't through your corpse count - it's simply that you survived. It's not a total success though: the unusual health system is at odds to the realism of the rest of the game and the system requirements are pretty hefty, if you want all the sparklies on. But CoD2 is still a great game.
#8: System Shock 2 (1999)
Dark corridors, along a computer as mad as a box of frogs, make for an unsettling game.
This is one the older entries in the list, but System Shock 2 is a definite all-time classic. In some ways, this should have been right near the top, if not at the very top, but commercially, the title was pretty poor. Not surprising really, when one looks at some of the releases in that year: Aliens vs Predator, Alpha Centauri, Homeworld, Half-Life: Opposing Force, Quake III Arena, Unreal Tournament; to name but a few. It almost didn't stand a chance. That SS2 still has a wide and active fan base 8 years down the line speaks volumes of its quality though; people still make mods and texture packs for the game. They're not put off by the crude graphics and animations; the restrictive play area means nothing to them.  "Oook oook" this, you unholy little monkeys!!! Like Deus Ex, System Shock 2 has so many facets that categorising it becomes a nightmare. It's perhaps too much for the average player and although the aforementioned comparison has just as much depth, it's just a little more accessible. However, it doesn't have spooky, killer monkeys! As we've mentioned in a previous article, SS2 is oh-so good at playing tricks on your mind. Psychotic computers, dodgy science experiments, weapons, upgrades, skill trees and a whole lot more to get stuck into; do yourself a favour and buy a copy from a bargain bin now.
Related Stuff Games: Call of Duty 2
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