Best FPS from before 2000?

[Enigmus]

Yeah, it's another "Best X" thread, I know.

Either way, while looking at the Rare thread and thinking about Goldeneye, I started to wonder which shooter is better, with the decision going between 007 and Half Life. Of course, Doom was added to the mix, followed by Wolf3D, Duke3D, Doom, and Quake. I eventually decided on Half Life, but now I wonder what you think- which one is best.

For me, I chose Half Life because it was one of the first FPSes to have a fairly deep plot, while having some awesome gameplay up to today for a game that is now 12. Doom came in second for being an awesome afternoon game.

So, what do you think?

[buzz_n64]

I have had the most fun with Duke Nukem 3D. While I have played all the others on the list, this one provided me with the most single player entertainment. For multi-player gaming, Goldeneye!

[Hwj_Chim]

Duke Nukem 3d. The humor in the game puts it over the top for me.

[graciano1337]

Unreal Tournament.

HEADSHOT!

[frogofdeath]

Goldeneye. Only thing going against this gem is the graphics haven't aged very well.

[Leo_A]

Half-Life easily wins.

[pseudonym]

Duke Nukem 3D and Perfect Dark. I never got around to playing Half-Life until much later and by then it didn't look so good.

[todesengel]

For me it's Doom. I still play the game tons to this day.

[fahlim003]

Quake or bust people. Quake. Or. Bust.
"You pump a round into your shotgun, and get moving."

[retroman]

For me it would be Goldeneye...loved the single player game, and multiplayer was awsome for the time.

[Trebuken]

Wow. Thought Quake was the winner. Plenty of good choices, but kind of disappointed with the Goldeneye take over.

[cityside75]

My vote goes to Half-Life because it was such a revolutionary experience in my mind that I have to vote for it. I LOVE the Half Life games.

Having said that, I have logged more hours into Doom (and II, level packs, etc) than any other games by far, and I still come back to it a lot. It has an arcadey nature that just makes it so easy to pick up and play.

[SF78]

How can James Bond beat a minigun wielding Hitler? There's just no way!

[Xtincthed]

i think i've spent more time in Unreal Tournament (and Medal of Honor Allied Assault) during my high school years then i did on school stuff

[Cornelius]

Goldeneye will win something like this because people remember how much fun it was to sit around with their friends in the same room and play the game. I agree, it was a blast! However, if you take any of the other games and play them in the same room with your friend, I think the results would be very different. Or alternatively, if you take Goldeneye and only play it with people over a network, it would suffer a lot. The point I've already probably overblown is that a good chunk of the fun of Goldeneye was smacking your friend upside the head when he/she got you with a proximity mine. Beer may or may not have played a role depending on how old/what access you had.

And I agree with an above comment; if System Shock 2 was on the list I'd have voted for it. For those only familiar with Bioshock, to make that game they took everything that was great about SS2 and removed it. Except for atmosphere, they did keep a cool atmosphere, though that's debatable since not everyone liked that part of Bioshock.

[Nescollector]

I'm going with Half life, it's one of my top ten games of all time. Pc gamers who played Duke, Doom, SS2 might scoff at Goldeneye. We were playing games online years before (still might be a good game though

[fahlim003]

And I agree with an above comment; if System Shock 2 was on the list I'd have voted for it. For those only familiar with Bioshock, to make that game they took everything that was great about SS2 and removed it. Except for atmosphere, they did keep a cool atmosphere, though that's debatable since not everyone liked that part of Bioshock.

Yes, it's questionable as to the direction taken regarding BioShock coming from the group who developed System Shock 2. BioShock feels watered down in comparison, a SS2 for dummies if you will. The atmosphere and the level of customization found in SS2 I think given the time it was released set it apart from almost everything else, as far as single player FPS games from that time are concerned. Unlike SS2, once you beat BioShock, there's really little reason to go through again, not to mention no MP as is found in SS2 too. It's a refined game and one I enjoyed the majority of my playthrough of, but it's not my favourite or the FPS that sticks with me all these years.

Not to say all homage should be paid to the firestarter, but Quake in it's refinement of multi-player from Doom and Doom 2 in addition to providing a (then) truly awe inspiring actual 3D world for me sets it apart from the all the rest. It could be argued that without Hovertank 3-D there is no Wolf3D and without Wolf3D there is no Doom and without Doom there is no Quake. For me, there is no modern genre of FPS games without Quake.

As for GoldenEye 64, it could be said to be the turning point and genesis of all modern console FPS games. I've never owned a Nintendo 64 and with regards to the people I hung out with back in GoldenEyes heyday I was essentially the only person without the means to play it. As such my memories of GoldenEye consist of frustration and lack of involvement thanks to unfamiliarity with the N64 and in general non-keyboard based FPS controls. I remain sour to this day but I have lightened my attitude to the undeniable impact it had on the industry, and for that it does have my respect. This despite I have a huge inclination against playing console FPS games to this day (see: exclusion Metroid Prime 1 & 2). Keyboard+mouse or bust.

[Zing]

Something is seriously wrong here. I can only assume this poll is majorly skewed in favor of console gamers. GOLDENEYE???

I guess there aren't many PC gamers here. Anyone with a PC in the late 90's knows that Quake is the correct answer here (probably Quake 3 specifically).

[TurboGenesis]

for me, my favorite is, to this day, Alien vs. Predetor on the Atari Jaguar…

I also enjoy to play Wolfenstein 3D on the Jaguar as well…

otherwise I am not a well player of FPS games as I have struggles to play them… it is a personal problem and I get alot of trouble from folks when I am physically unable to play a FPS because it is difficult…

[Rob2600]

Anyone with a PC in the late 90's knows that Quake is the correct answer here (probably Quake 3 specifically).

On PC, Unreal Tournament was extremely popular as well, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six.