The best years for first-person shooters in gaming history

Best moments

• The early 1990s saw the rise of first-person shooters, with games like Doom and Pathways Into Darkness making a significant impact with their level design and intense gameplay.

• The mid-1990s brought even more iconic shooters like Quake and Duke Nukem 3D, introducing full 3D capabilities and creative weaponry that shaped the genre.

• The late 1990s saw the emergence of consoles as a viable platform for shooters, with games such as Goldeneye 007 and Doom 64 offering unique gameplay experiences and pushing the technology further.

Since bursting onto the scene in the early 1990s, first person shooters έχουν φτάσει στην κορυφή της στρατόσφαιρας του Gaming. Για ένα διάστημα, ένιωθα σαν να ήταν προ των πυλών ένας νέος σκοπευτής που καθορίζει το είδος του, έτοιμος να καταιγίσει τον κόσμο του gaming, είτε πρόκειται για ένα γρήγορο σκοπευτή αρένα όπως Σεισμός or methodical and tense like Rainbow Six.

As with any type of video game, there are always certain years that players consider to be huge for one reason or another. Maybe there was a major hit that was successfully released, changing the FPS landscape forever, or there was a series of strong rapid-fire releases, each distinct in its own way.

8 1993 – Knee Deep In The Dead

Doom – Pathways Into Darkness

1993 was a big year for first-person shooters, mainly for one reason – id Software's Fate. While not their first foray into the genre, it was easily their best and most successful to date. Fate συνδύασε εξαιρετικό επίπεδο σχεδίασης, εμβληματική καλλιτεχνική σχεδίαση, όπλα rippin και ένα δολοφονικό soundtrack σε ένα εξαιρετικά βίαιο πακέτο του οποίου η επιρροή αντηχεί μέχρι σήμερα.

Less well known, however, and yet still successful was Bungie's Pathways Into Darkness. While he could never have hoped it would be as big a success as Fateit was nevertheless a success for the Macintosh at the time and gave the young developer capital to build a bright future.

7 1994 – A shock to the system

Marathon – Doom 2 – System Shock

• 	Destruction 2	System shock
  Platform(s)	Sega Saturn, PS3, Switch, PS4, Xbox 360, PC, iOS, Android, Game Boy Advance, PS1, Xbox One	PC
  Developer(s)	Software id	Looking Glass Technologies
  He was released	1994-10-10	23-09-1994

The very next year after the first Fate that came out saw some pretty heavy hitters starting to play. Bungie was back with a new IP titled Marathonwhich boasts many improvements not only over its predecessor, Paths of Darkness but the Fate games too. Destruction 2 is the obvious big hit for this year, taking the formula of the original game and not only adding more content but also greatly improving the multiplayer functionality, which was groundbreaking at the time.

System shock (which just got an excellent remake by Nightdive Studios) was a huge technological leap forward as it incorporated things like physics, dynamic lights, jumping, y-axis display and even some light RPG elements. 1994 was also a big year for shooters in terms of story planning, as both Marathon and System shock was way ahead of the curve when it came to presenting in-game storytelling. Both titles used computer terminals, which allowed the player to learn about their respective worlds and also interact with the main characters of each story.

6 1996 – Kicking Butt In Three Dimensions

Quake – Duke Nukem 3D

• 	Σεισμός	Duke Nukem 3D
  Platform(s)	Sega Saturn, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Switch, PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo 64	Sega Saturn, PS Vita, PS3, Switch, PS4, PC, iOS, Android, PS1, Xbox One, Nintendo 64, Genesis
  He was released	22-05-1996	29-01-1996
  How long to beat	6 hours	9 hours

Between monsters hits like Σεισμός and Duke Nukem 3D, 1996 was already an impressive year for shooters. There were also games like Marathon 2 and Conflicthowever, which while not as novel as the previous two titles, were also well received. Σεισμός is an important game for the FPS genre because it introduced full 3D capabilities. Elves were officially a thing of the past as players faced fully realized XNUMXD monsters as they passed of the earthquake eldritch corridors.

Duke Nukem 3D It's still considered one of the best boomer shooters out there because of its creative weapons, interactivity, excellent level design, and of course, the lovable crazy Duke, among other things.

5 1997 – Dawn of the Console Era

Quake 2 – Goldeneye 007 – Doom 64

• 	Earthquake 2	GoldenEye 007	Doom 64
  Platform(s)	Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox 360, PC, PS1, Xbox One, Nintendo 64	N64, Xbox One	Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC, Xbox One, Nintendo 64
  He was released	1997-12-09	25-08-1997	1997-04-04
  Developer(s)	Software id	Rare	Midway Games

The late 90's was when things really started to turn sour for the shooter market. It is at this point that consoles begin to emerge as a viable platform for the genre with titles such as Goldeneye 007 on the N64. Golden eye set a precedent for shooter combat that still stands today, with slower movement and frame-sensitive damage areas on players and enemies.

Fate we'll also see a console release in the form of Doom 64, which was somewhat of a bold twist on the IP at the time, featuring NPC allies, a story, and an atmospheric soundscape in place of sampled metal music. On the computer side, Earthquake 2 exploded onto the scene, revolutionizing the look and feel of the franchise and pushing the technology even further. It also further published competitive multiplayer Arena Shooters as a subgenre.

4 1998 – A moment of Xen

Half-Life – Unreal – Rainbow Six

Despite being somewhat of a quieter year for the FPS market in terms of release volume, 1998 is often considered a landmark year for the genre for one simple but good reason: Half life was released this year. In addition to revolutionizing narrative design for shooters and pioneering things like physics and level design, Half life is notable for being a popular modding platform. Many current developers started making mods for the original Half life.

However, Valve's sci-fi classic wasn't the only major release that year. Epic made a name for themselves with the first one Fantastic title, which was powered by the upcoming industry standard Unreal Engine. 1998 was also the beginning of the Tom Clancy era, with its release Rainbow Six, an early tactical shooter that emphasized accuracy over speed. All three games would spawn successful franchises that continue to this day.

3 1999 – New trends and old friends

Unreal Tournament – ​​Medal of Honor – System Shock 2

• 	Unreal Tournament	System shock 2
  Platform(s)	Dreamcast, PS2, PC, macOS, Linux	PC
  Type(s)	Shooter, Action	Action RPG, FPS
  He was released	1999-11-30	1999-08-11

The year is 1999 and some of the best multiplayer shooters have just been released. Unreal Tournament and Earthquake 3: Arena they are two pillars of the Arena Shooter sub-genre, even contributing to the rise of competitive gaming as a whole. This was also the year that Team Fortress Classica class-based shooter with well-defined roles for each player, would see an official release from Valve. Team Fortresshowever, it is occasionally compared to an increasingly popular mod for the original Half life which was released in the same year, Counterattack.

While this was a very strong year for competitive multiplayer (both Arena and Tactical), 1999 would also see the release of System shock 2, a hugely ambitious sequel that would improve on every element of its predecessor. Not only were the simulation elements much more advanced, but the game effortlessly combines many different genres at once. The first one was also released this year Medal of Honor game, which depicted World War II in a way that had never been done before and is credited with starting the WWII-themed shooter trend in the early 2000s.

2 2000 – A new era of gaming

Deus Ex – Timesplitters – Perfect Dark

• 	Deus Ex	Perfect Dark
  Platform(s)	PS2, PC	Xbox 360, Nintendo 64
  He was released	23-06-2000	22-05-2000
  Developer(s)	Ion Storm	Rarely, the initiative, Nintendo, Crystal Dynamics

At the dawn of the new millennium some serious games were released with great success. Deus Ex released to universal acclaim, with most citing its simulation elements, complex combat, and open-world design, which featured side-quests alongside the main story. It is widely regarded as a cross between an RPG and an FPS due to the incorporation of elements such as skill leveling along with traditional gunplay, among other things.

Time splitters and Perfect Dark are both known console games from this year (the former is a PS2 exclusive, the latter an N64 exclusive). Perfect Dark considered his spiritual successor Golden eye in many ways, but also improves upon it in terms of graphics and content. Time splitters they are actually somewhat similar to the two games visually. However, its level design is what sets it apart, as each one follows a pattern of different genre pastiches that include Sci-Fi, Crime and Horror. It also has a creator level, which was novel for the time.

1 2001 – Combat Evolved

Halo: Combat Evolved – Return To Castle Wolfenstein – Red Faction

• 	Halo: Combat Evolved	Return to Castle Wolfenstein	Red Faction
  Platform(s)	Xbox (Original), Xbox 360, PC, Xbox One	Microsoft Windows, PS2, Xbox (Original), macOS, Linux	PS2, PC
  He was released	2001-11-15	2001-11-19	22-05-2001
  ESRB	M For Mature 17+ due to blood and gore, violence	Μ	M For Mature 17+ due to blood, violence

2001 was a very good year for console shooters because not only did the original Xbox come out, but it came out with Halo: Combat Evolved. What really set it apart from other console shooters boiled down to the fact that the game was cleverly designed - on a mechanical level - around the use of a controller, making it a masterclass in gameplay synergy. Halo: Combat Evolved proved to be such a hit that it was credited with launching the Xbox as a brand, proving that console shooters could be just as good if not better than the big PCs of the time.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein was another strong release from this year as it reimagined the original game as an action/stealth shooter with art direction and atmosphere. Both RETURN and Halo it had well-designed and popular multiplayer elements, although the latter was limited to split-screen and LAN. Volition would come out with the former Red Faction game, which was notable for its compelling story, smooth graphics, and never-before-seen terrain-shifting technology (which carried over to the game's multiplayer).

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