Top 10: First-person-shooters

Welcome to a special series of VideoGamer.com’s Top 10, where we bring you the essential genre by genre video game buyers’ guide for Christmas and New Year. It’ll run every Thursday from now until the end of the 2007/2008 holiday break, so, whether you’re looking for some family video game ideas to get you through those boring Christmas get-togethers or some top sports games to spend that holiday cash on, look no further than VideoGamer.com. In the fourth of the series, we look at the Top 10 First Person Shooter Games. And don’t forget, if you need more info on any of these titles, just click on it for a full review.

10.Medal of Honor: Airborne, Xbox 360, PC, PS3, PS2, Xbox.

If WW2 first-person-shooters are your thing, you could do a lot worse than MoH: Airborne. Will called it a “brilliant war game” when he reviewed it back in September, citing memorable missions, riveting gameplay and huge scale action. While it’s not the highest placed WW2 shooter on our list, Airborne is still a solid effort from EA and should definitely be somewhere on Medal of Honor fans’ Christmas lists.

9. Metroid Prime: Corruption, Wii.

The final game in the Metroid Prime series, Corruption is so much more than a simple first-person-shooter. It’s a kind of platforming, puzzle, action, FPS hybrid, which, if you’re a fan of the series, cannot possibly disappoint. When Greg reviewed it in October, he described it as “another fantastic effort by Retro Studios” with “streamlined, pin-point accurate controls” that “set a new precedent for first-person games on the Wii”. Corruption is an essential purchase for all Wii owners.

8.F.E.A.R., PC, Xbox 360, PS3.

According to Tom, the action in F.E.A.R. is “relentless from start to finish, and the AI of the enemy soldiers is about the best you’ll find in video games at the moment”. It’s basically a corridor shooter, so you’ll always be fighting bad guys in enclosed areas, but the game is a constant challenge and, despite being over a year old, does a great job of making you feel like you’re in the thick of the action. If we had to recommend a version we would say go with it on PC and avoid it on PS3 because of the frame rate problems. Sorry PS3 owners!

7.Call of Duty 2, Xbox 360, PC.

Call of Duty 2 might seem a strange choice for this list, given that it’s over two years old and Call of Duty 4 is out and storming the charts, but it’s still the best WW2 FPS available for the currently supported platforms. In his review Tom called it “a thoroughly entertaining, immersive experience from start to finish that hardly ever skips a beat”. If you’ve got an Xbox 360 and you love WW2 shooters, CoD2 is still your best bet. And if you fancy some of the action on PC, you won’t need a rig transported from the future to play it. Who said anything about WW2 fatigue?

6.Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas, Xbox 360, PS3, PC.

If you’re looking for a game to really show off that brand spanking new surround sound system you’ve just hooked up to your living room, look no further than the complete assault on your eardrums that is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas. As Tom said in his review: “Ubisoft has created some of the best audio I’ve ever heard in a video game, with everything from the gun sounds to background music being spot-on. It creates a superb atmosphere, and is backed up by some aptly tense music that accompanies more action-packed sections of gameplay.”

5.Crysis, PC.

Crysis is an FPS from the future, with graphics that will make your jaw drop to the floor with such ferocity that it might smash into tiny pieces. But unfortunately you’ll need a PC from the future to play it as well – Crysis will make a mockery of all but the most uber of gaming rigs. Absolutely stunning FPS gaming if you can play it, but don’t even bother trying if your PC isn’t a beast. It’s sad too, because Crysis isn’t all about graphics – it’s got some super cool set pieces and stunning physics too. Go on, blow that credit card on a new PC. You know you want to.

4.Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Xbox 360, PS3, PC.

The clue is in the title. This is modern warfare at its very best. As Tom said in his glowing review: “Call of Duty 4 is everything we’ve come to love about the series and continues its tradition of stunning visuals and thrilling gameplay.” Some have moaned at the short-ish single-player story, but don’t let that put you off. When you’re done with it the excellent online multiplayer will have you hooked for hours. CoD4, as it is affectionately known to its fans, isn’t just one of the best first-person-shooters available for the Christmas and New Year holiday, it’s one of the best games across all genres. Do yourself a favour and buy it.

3.BioShock, Xbox 360, PC.

What to say? Years from now gamers will look back at BioShock and say “This was a landmark moment”. Not only does it look absolutely gorgeous, have an amazing story and feature some of the best voice acting ever, but it does a wonderful job of immersing you in an intense, claustrophobic underwater world. It’s not an out and out blast-em-up, so if you’re after no-holds barred carnage perhaps look elsewhere. But for everyone else, BioShock is not only an essential game purchase, it’s an essential life purchase.

2.The Orange Box, Xbox 360, PS3, PC.

People talk a lot about video games being expensive. Well The Orange Box is quite possibly the best value for money gaming package that’s ever been released. Not only do you get the stunning Half Life 2 and its two expansions, but you also get wonderful FPS puzzler Portal and quirky online frag-fest Team Fortress 2. All could have been released separately and no one would have moaned. But here you get them all, in one glorious, orange box. If the Gravity Gun weapon or the song “Still Alive” mean nothing to you, get this game. Go on. Do it now.

1.Halo 3, Xbox 360.

If you don’t already have Halo 3 for your Xbox 360, then you’re in the minority. The final instalment in the current Halo “story arc” comes to a close with a bang that can be heard half way across the galaxy. The best bit? The return of the Assault Rifle? No. The four-player cooperative campaign? Nope. The unprecedented statistic tracking on Bungie.net? Nah. The best thing about Halo 3 is landing a sticky grenade on that sniper on the blue team from halfway across the map, saving the replay then watching it in slow motion. That’s the best thing about Halo 3.

For a complete run-down of all our Top 10s in this series head over to our handy index page.