The first-person shooter, similar to the 2D platformer is capable of transcending genres and creating entirely new experiences. The genre has always been experimental but as time went on, the first-person shooter has been altered and evolved more and more, seeing new interpretations and creating new genres.

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By the 2000s, first-person shooters, which were at one point relegated to the PC, were starting to be developed specifically for consoles. While the 1990s popularized the genre, the 2000s refined and perfected them. No longer was the genre just about killing everyone in the room before moving on, the genre began telling stories and creating deep experiences that you wouldn’t soon forget.

To commemorate one of the best decades for the first-person shooter, here are the 15 best from the 2000s.

Updated On January 11, 2021 By Mark Sammut: Building upon the foundations established during the previous decade, the 2000s set most of the conventions that would come to define the FPS genre, particularly on consoles. As shooters became commonplace outside of the PC scene, more and more developers sought to explore the genre’s potential, leading to the creation of a few franchises that are still active during the 2020s. Be it multiplayer or single-player titles, the 2000s produced almost too many great shooters to count.

15 Black

black 2006 game

In many ways, Black is a throwback to ‘90s shooters, as its focus is squarely on the action and explosions. Rather than a precision shooter with a gripping narrative, Black is a chaotic blockbuster that revels in destruction and mayhem.

As the bullets and grenades bombard warehouses and war-torn streets, the environments reflect the onslaught they are suffering. This type of visual feedback might be normal in 2021, but that was not the case in 2006. While not deep, Black is unquestionably fun.

14 Team Fortress 2

A photo depicting gameplay in Team Fortress 2

Proving that the FPS genre does not always have to take itself too seriously, Valve’s Team Fortress 2 is a cartoonish multiplayer shooter that pits two teams against each other across various addictive modes. Split into nine classes, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, Team Fortress 2 has a surprising amount of depth, even if the gunplay itself is not especially complex.

Team Fortress 2 is still very much active more than a decade following its release, which serves as a testament to its timelessness.

13 Unreal Tournament 2004

Unreal Tournament 2004

As the hope of a new, fully developed Unreal Tournament diminishes with each passing year, fans of this once iconic franchise are left with little to do but reminiscence about the glory days (and play the still fun games). While an argument could be made that the earlier entries are better, Unreal Tournament 2004 marks a decidedly confident point in the series and stands out as one of the strongest multiplayer experiences of its era.

Unreal Tournament 2004 is still enjoyable to play in 2021, mostly thanks to its tight maps and impeccable weapon selection.

12 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare 2007

Modern Warfare was not the first great Call of Duty game but it was the one that elevated Activision’s license to legendary status. At the time of its release, Modern Warfare was the most complete military FPS on the market, at least when it came to twitch shooters.

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The game’s multiplayer scene set a standard that few titles have come close to matching, including other Call of Duty releases. For anyone who prefers single-player, Modern Warfare’s story is frantic, intense, and expertly paced.

11 Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2 2009

Valve knows a thing or two about first-person shooters; in fact, most of the studio’s games fit into this genre, although that does not mean they are all the same. Building upon the success of its predecessor, Left 4 Dead 2 is a horror-themed cooperative shooter known for its accessible gameplay and endless replayability.

2009’s game improves over the original in nearly every area, which is saying something as Left 4 Dead is also one of the best shooters of the 2000s.

10 TimeSplitters: Future Perfect

Timesplitters Future Perfect First-Person Action

TimeSplitters: Future Perfect has you traveling through different time periods and even encountering your past self in some instances. This is the third game in the TimeSplitters series in which you play as Sergeant Cortez who is a time-traveling marine that came from the 25th century that is attempting to save the future by going to the past.

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TimeSplitters: Future Perfect also has an in-depth multiplayer mode with a cooperative mode that allows you to play the story with a friend as well as online play for both the original Xbox and Playstation 2 versions.

9 Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Inside a castle full of armored statues and nazi flags.

After letting Doom take center stage in the '90s, Wolfenstein, the grandfather of the first-person shooter decided to hop back in the spotlight with a game that perfectly blends old school with then-new school sensibilities, something Doom would also do in 2016.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein was initially released on PC but then subsequently ported over to the Playstation 2 and original Xbox with less than stellar results. Though there was an expansion back released, there wasn’t another entry in the series until 2009 when they decided to once again reboot the series.

8 Portal

Portal

Portal was originally released for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 alongside Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life 2 with all of its expansions within the Orange Box bundle before being ported over to PC, Linux, mobile, and more.

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Portal follows silent protagonist Chell who is mysteriously awoken up for the singular purpose of completing tests that involve a gun capable of creating portals. Each stage is a puzzle that you must complete using a combination of physics and the portal gun. By the end of the game, you realize you will be disposed of after finishing all of the tests so you must escape.

7 Deus Ex

Deus Ex first person sniper view

Deus Ex is a deep role-playing game mixed with a first-person shooter. You can play the game in a variety of different ways such as going in stealth, gun blazing, or a combination of both. The game is set in 2052 in a dystopian cyberpunk city inhabited by humans augmented with nanotechnology which gives them superhuman abilities.

The plot sees the unraveling of a massive conspiracy involving the Illuminati, the Triads, and Majestic 12. Deus Ex was followed up by Deus Ex: Invisible War in 2003 with three prequels that started with Deus Ex: Human Revolution in 2011.

6 The Darkness

One of the larger and harder levels in The Darkness

The Darkness started off as a comic that began in the 90s before being turned into a video game in 2007. The game stars Jackie Estacado who has been taken over by the Darkness on his 21st birthday. Upon his possession, he is given abilities that flourish in the dark. Two black serpent-like creatures come out from his shoulders and help him dispatch his foes.

Once you have killed an enemy, the serpents on your back will devour their hearts which will increase Jackie’s Darkness powers.

5 F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon

F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon shooting at enemies

First Encounter Assault Recon or F.E.A.R. takes a horror game and the slowdown mechanic found in games like Max Payne and throws them into an excellently crafted first-person shooter. At the time of its release, F.E.A.R. had some of the most impressive enemy A.I. and lighting effects ever as well as being a benchmark for PCs.

In F.E.A.R., you play as point man, a soldier who just joined the First Encounter Assault Recon team which investigates paranormal events. You have the ability to slow down time and take out an entire room of enemies before they have the chance to fire a shot.

4 Halo 3

Halo 3 multiplayer screenshot of Elites versus Spartans

Halo 3 sees Master Chief teaming up with an Elite called Arbitor as they attempt to take down the Covenant. Like other games in the series, Halo 3’s main hook is its online multiplayer. This was the final numbered Halo to be released by Bungie, the original creator.

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Halo 3 also included a create-a-map feature called Forge which would allow you to create different environments you could fight in and share online. The Halo series persists to this day with the most recent entry just revealing gameplay called Halo: Infinite.

3 Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime gameplay screenshot in a corridor

Up to this point, the Metroid series consisted exclusively of 2D games. When Metroid Prime was announced for the Nintendo Gamecube, fans were unsure how to take the dramatic shift to a first-person perspective - luckily when the game was released, it proved the series worked flawlessly in the third dimension.

Like in previous entries in the series, you play as Samus Aran who must explore an alien world and find power-ups that help you progress to previously inaccessible areas of the game. The game was followed up with 2 sequels with the fourth in the series being announced recently.

2 BioShock

BioShock

BioShock takes place in Rapture, an underwater city inhabited by people who wanted to live by their own laws, away from religion and government. Those who reside in the city have been driven insane due to the ideology and the gene splicing which has become commonplace.

You play as a man who ends up in Rapture after a plane crash. As you traverse through Rapture, you slowly uncover its mysteries and delve into gene splicing, which allows you to shoot elements and other things out of your hands as part of the game’s combat system.

1 Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2 looking over the water

In Half-Life 2, Gordon Freeman is awoken by the G-Man as Gordon is needed to help fight the alien Combine. The game introduced physics-based puzzles which both added to the overall experience and worked as a way to show off the tech behind the game.

Half-Life 2 also introduced the gravity gun which would allow you to pick up different objects in the environment and use them as projectiles to take out enemies. The game was followed up with two episodic sequels as well as a VR prequel called Half-Life: Alyx which was released this year.

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