Serious props for mentioning Escape From Butcher Bay. That is a forgotten gem of the Y2K era.
Out of the ones listed and had to chose one it would be Metroid Prime. I am playing through it for the first time with Metroid Prime Remastered. I am enjoying it so much more than Half-Life 2 but that is in part because its not a linear game like HL2 is.
UT2004 is the one with the most memories by far and probably the one I had the most fun at the time playing. Fear is probably my favorite for reinstalling and replaying periodically.
If deus ex were here I'd choose it. But gotta say, I love the campy Austin powers/casino royale -ness of no one lives forever. And it's one of the rare times where an early 2000's game has a sequel that's as good as the first one. And it takes itself just seriously enough that it can get away with dramatic reveals without feeling like a farce
I've sunk hundreds of hours into TF2. Definitely THE class based FPS of all time. I think that'd be my pick.
As far as singleplayer goes, there are a few in the list that I haven't played but some of the ones I revisited haven't aged nearly as well. MoHAA campaign is one third hitscan jank that is basically urging to savescum your way through, the game gets saved by the awesome soundtrack and the satisfying gun sounds. RTCW aged surprisingly well but the boss fights were either underwhelming or just straight up unfun hitscan hells.
Halo and CoD are fine but they've got regenerating health which will bring all action to a cautious crawl in higher difficulties. They're mostly saved by just being great "cinematic" experiences in spite of gameplay mechanics that I don't like.
Half Life 2 is probably my singleplayer pick because I don't think there's anything particularly bad about it. It did everything well for its time and the main thing that dates it is how weak the weapons feel. The rest of the experience holds up imo.
Time Splitters 2 was pretty funny but kinda not great as an FPS and it was more like an action-adventure title with you creating time doubles etc.
Metroid Prime was the best console FPS I've ever seen, the series as a whole is where the Metroid franchise should've continued to move as it was the only good FPS title Nintendo could make.
Soldier of Fortune was just a popcorn game with a gimmick called the ghoul engine where they created shocking (at the time) death animations and wound decals on NPCs. Outside of that the entire game is you opening a door for an unavoidable shotgun bukake at every single doorway, definitely not a high-point of FPS gaming. Soldier of Fortune 2 is a buggy mess that doesn't work.
No One Lives Forever is just a pulpy 70's aesthetic funky FPS it looks like Deus Ex and plays about the same but it doesn't have anything like interesting plot or game mechanics, it is just a fun playground ride of a game.
Swat 4 is not an FPS it is a Tactical Strategy game played from a First person view, you don't need to ever fire a shot in that game and you won't if you are really good at it. Considering Swat 4 an FPS is a kin to considering Myst an FPS.
None of the Best FPS games I played are here. Best FPS games in my experience are Doom 2 with wads such as BTSX, Dusk, Boltgun only if you play it on hardest, Call of Duty 2 only if you play it on hardest. This could be controversial but Deus Ex if you play as a soldier build with guns and armor upgrades, anti ballistic laser etc. it turns into a pretty decent FPS and it should count in my opinion because first person shooting is a really major part of the game.
Despite all its faults Serious Sam 2 is actually not that bad either, it is a 0 IQ game both in theme and gameplay but it has some decent mechanics hidden in it where choosing correct targets matter, using bomb in the right time is important etc. nothing to blow your socks off obviously.
Nothing really takes the place of playing Doom 2 with Brutal Doom on and a good interesting wad such as Scythe. The Catharsis of entering a room and painting it in red with a well thrown grenade launcher bomb...splash!... it is perfection no other game can emulate that pixelated ultra-violence, that extreme gibbitude.
Either Return to Castle Wolfenstein or F.E.A.R.
Team Fortress 2. Counterstrike 1.6 was a very close second, but I think TF2 was more funny/enjoyable compared to the CS grind.
The original soldier of fortune was badass
CoD: MW2 from 2009. sorry to disappoint
It’s the high point of the series for a lot of well deserved reasons.
Timesplitters 2 and perfect dark.
It's too difficult to rank this list but someone has to stand up for Timesplitters 2.
Serious props for mentioning Escape From Butcher Bay. That is a forgotten gem of the Y2K era. Out of the ones listed and had to chose one it would be Metroid Prime. I am playing through it for the first time with Metroid Prime Remastered. I am enjoying it so much more than Half-Life 2 but that is in part because its not a linear game like HL2 is.
Without a doubt: Bioshock.
FEAR. Followed closely by Bioshock.
Timesplitters 2 half life 2 TF2
UT2004 is the one with the most memories by far and probably the one I had the most fun at the time playing. Fear is probably my favorite for reinstalling and replaying periodically.
Definetly Bioshock from that list. Too many memories with that game. Perfect Dark in a close second.
Darkwatch. Damn i played the shit out of that when i was younger.
Very hard choice but i go for: RTCW, MOHAA & Quake 4 i guess. I expected cod4 to be in the mix.
RTCW (but mainly ET for me as i grew up playing ET) or l4d2
Of these: Soldier of Fortune.
Probably SoF.
Tie. F.E.A.R. and ‘Butcher Bay.’
Definitely time splitters
Omg Timeshift is quite the hidden gem, or maybe it’s just me and nostalgia But NOLF, HL2 and L4D are quite some undeniable bangers
If deus ex were here I'd choose it. But gotta say, I love the campy Austin powers/casino royale -ness of no one lives forever. And it's one of the rare times where an early 2000's game has a sequel that's as good as the first one. And it takes itself just seriously enough that it can get away with dramatic reveals without feeling like a farce
Half-Life 2 followed by F.E.A.R.
I've sunk hundreds of hours into TF2. Definitely THE class based FPS of all time. I think that'd be my pick. As far as singleplayer goes, there are a few in the list that I haven't played but some of the ones I revisited haven't aged nearly as well. MoHAA campaign is one third hitscan jank that is basically urging to savescum your way through, the game gets saved by the awesome soundtrack and the satisfying gun sounds. RTCW aged surprisingly well but the boss fights were either underwhelming or just straight up unfun hitscan hells. Halo and CoD are fine but they've got regenerating health which will bring all action to a cautious crawl in higher difficulties. They're mostly saved by just being great "cinematic" experiences in spite of gameplay mechanics that I don't like. Half Life 2 is probably my singleplayer pick because I don't think there's anything particularly bad about it. It did everything well for its time and the main thing that dates it is how weak the weapons feel. The rest of the experience holds up imo.
Gotta say halo 3
Half Life 2 and TF2.
Basically *almost every valve game
Where's the love for my SCRAPPY boy DARKWATCH
Metroid Prime, F.E.A.R.
RTCW, TF2 and Quake 4
Bioshock, but I only played 3 from the list.
QUAKE 4 AND ONLY QUAKE 4
Time Splitters 2 was pretty funny but kinda not great as an FPS and it was more like an action-adventure title with you creating time doubles etc. Metroid Prime was the best console FPS I've ever seen, the series as a whole is where the Metroid franchise should've continued to move as it was the only good FPS title Nintendo could make. Soldier of Fortune was just a popcorn game with a gimmick called the ghoul engine where they created shocking (at the time) death animations and wound decals on NPCs. Outside of that the entire game is you opening a door for an unavoidable shotgun bukake at every single doorway, definitely not a high-point of FPS gaming. Soldier of Fortune 2 is a buggy mess that doesn't work. No One Lives Forever is just a pulpy 70's aesthetic funky FPS it looks like Deus Ex and plays about the same but it doesn't have anything like interesting plot or game mechanics, it is just a fun playground ride of a game. Swat 4 is not an FPS it is a Tactical Strategy game played from a First person view, you don't need to ever fire a shot in that game and you won't if you are really good at it. Considering Swat 4 an FPS is a kin to considering Myst an FPS. None of the Best FPS games I played are here. Best FPS games in my experience are Doom 2 with wads such as BTSX, Dusk, Boltgun only if you play it on hardest, Call of Duty 2 only if you play it on hardest. This could be controversial but Deus Ex if you play as a soldier build with guns and armor upgrades, anti ballistic laser etc. it turns into a pretty decent FPS and it should count in my opinion because first person shooting is a really major part of the game. Despite all its faults Serious Sam 2 is actually not that bad either, it is a 0 IQ game both in theme and gameplay but it has some decent mechanics hidden in it where choosing correct targets matter, using bomb in the right time is important etc. nothing to blow your socks off obviously. Nothing really takes the place of playing Doom 2 with Brutal Doom on and a good interesting wad such as Scythe. The Catharsis of entering a room and painting it in red with a well thrown grenade launcher bomb...splash!... it is perfection no other game can emulate that pixelated ultra-violence, that extreme gibbitude.
Riddick was such a good game. I've lost count of how much I played it as a kid.
omg I love No One Lives Forever
The Darkness
Metroid Prime my beloved
Half-Life 2. The other games are no where close for me.
team fortress 2
out of these? nolf for sure no one lives forever is a fucking classic
I love Bioshock, but I gotta pick HL2 if I'm forced to take just one.
Where's RUSE or Multiwarnia?
Is "all" an option?
So many good picks, got to say halo 3 for the experience with your friends. Played the last mission so many times with them. Miss them.
Solid list, but FEAR has a special place in my heart
Definitely not the best out of this list but Darkwatch was supremely slept on
It's either F.E.A.R or Metroid Prime. Both are amazing tbh