First Person Shooters

Long held as the genre of choice for serious PC gamers, first-person shooters  dominate the computer gaming market and have provided many of the industry's most serious advancements. The Internet further revolutionized the genre by allowing dozens of marksmen to come together and battle side-by-side or against each other via broadband. First-person shooters, also called FPS games,  give the gamer the perspective of the character holding the weapon. FPS games are not without their critics, often called too realistic and violent. Most FPS games are not recommended for younger children and you may even want to be wary of what games your high schooler is getting his or her kicks off of. However, there is plenty of diversity in the genre, and not all of the games explicitly involve slaughtering your opposition.

Genre Classics

Though first-person shooters date to the mid-70s, the genre's major parameters were largely established by two classic early 90s titles.

Wolfenstein 3D

Wolfenstein 3D  was created by Apogee software in 1992 to run on DOS systems. The game has since been ported to many different formats and consoles and its sequels have been great successes. Wolfenstein 3D chronicled the escape of a U.S. soldier from a Nazi stronghold, appropriately named "Castle Wolfenstein." The game's code was made available by id Software in 1995, which has led to a long tradition of software companies releasing code to the public for experimentation and game refinement. Players encountered everything from soldiers to mutated killing beasts. The notable final battle with a robot-suit wearing Adolf Hitler helped stir up even more publicity for the already controversial release.

Doom

Even more than its peer Wolfenstein 3D, Doom  was the prototype for computer games for years to come. The Doom series continues to be on the cutting edge of gaming. Any time a new Doom game is released the industry holds its breath. The multi-playing components of FPS games were first laid down in Doom. The game also created a completely immersive 3D environment, complete with a gripping story, a cool hero and plenty of firepower. Perhaps more importantly, the programmers encouraged players to create their own custom expansions by editing WAD files. Level editors began to appear in 1994, a few months after Doom's release, and gave the game an incredibly long shelf life.

Subgenres

Several different spins on the first-person shooter model have developed over the past decade. Though certainly many games blend different aspects of each of these genres, most titles generally fall into one of these subgenres. Below is a list of genres and top picks in each.

Run-and-Gun Games

Run-and-gun style games are the most common first-person shooters on the market and have been since the early 90s. Both Doom and Wolfenstein 3D are both examples of run-and-gun games, as is Quake,  another pivotal game in the FPS lexicon.

Serious Sam II The Serious Sam series' latest title is packed with weird enemies, tons of guns and plenty of multiplayer options to keep things interesting. The true inheritor of the Doom series' sense of fun and intensity, Series Sam II  hits all of the right buttons.	Unreal Tournament3 Unreal Tournament's impressive graphics engine has laid the foundation for many of the great games on the market today. It's no wonder that Unreal Tournament 3  ups the ante with new multiplayer options, a much faster pace and more customization capabilities.	Half Life 2 Upon its release, Half Life 2  was hailed by critics as the most in-depth and enjoyable first-person shooter to date. Follow Dr. Freeman through City 17 and fight with and against giant bugs and other biological aberrations. Users must download a free patch for online play.

Tactical Shooters

Tactical Shooters are largely similar to run-and-gun games in terms of controls, but emphasize more realistic and less frenetic gameplay. These games also force players to make tactical and strategic attack decisions before running into battle with guns feverishly blazing. Many war combat games  follow this model, including the popular and free America's Army, created as a military recruitment tool.

Battlefield 2 Battlefield 2  takes players to a not-so-distant hypothetical future in which China, the United States and a nationalized Middle East are at war. The game features seven classes and various weapons and vehicles.	Counter Strike: Source The Counter Strike series has long been hailed for its synthesis of strategy and FPS gaming conventions. Counter Strike: Source  has spawned an online "clan" culture, in which gamers of warring clans battle it out online. Make sure your specs are up to it.	Brother in Arms II: Road to Hill 30 Brother in Arms II: Road to Hill 30  is based on the true World War II operation Chicago. Players control a team of men (as well as themselves). Complex and in-depth commands can be issued to control your team. Simultaneously more realistic and less violent than other FPS, BIA II is a great game.

Real-time Strategy Shooters

Some designers have created games that fuse the meticulous world of real-time strategy games to the fast-paced world of first-person shooters. Battlezone  is perhaps the formative example of the genre. Though the player technically controls only one first-person character, that player is able to direct other units' actions, devise overall strategies for unseen units and also create new units. Some games even allow you to switch between characters at the touch of a key. Most games of this format are fairly experimental and few have seen official release.