BaD Games: Top 10 First Person Shooters Part 4

On 03/01/2014 at 11:41 PM by Blake Turner

Whoo! LAST BAD BLOG OF THE YEAR!!!! P.S I know the month is over, but dagnamit I'm going to finish my list anyway.

2. Half Life 2

Half Life 2 came out nearly 10 years ago, and on pc it still looks fucking great. Seriously, Half Life 2 has stood the test of time in damn near every way.

Firstly, lets look at the gameplay. Half Life 2's actual shooting isn't anything spectacular, but it's the things it does with its mechanics. It constantly changes up the gameplay in new and interesting ways. One second you have no gun and you have to outrun your opponents. Next you have a gun, so you can fight back. Then you're solving a physics puzzle. Then you're driving. The you're throwing things at enemies with the gravity gun. Then you're in a horror game with zombies. Then you're driving. Then you're solving puzzles with turrets. Then you're throwing people at things with the gravity gun. Very few sections f the game play the same, and it's this constant evolution of the simple mechanics that truly make the game a masterpiece.

But the main thing? Pacing. Most modern shooters get this wrong, as they thing there needs to be explosions every two and a half seconds. Half Life 2 starts you with no weapons, and you merely explore the world and take in what has happened. And what has happened is fucked up. After a seven hour war, humanity was conquered and oppressed. They erected a device that makes all humans sterile, but promises them eternal life, which could very easily be construed as an attack on catholicism: Don't have fun or do anything you desire and you'll live forever. Even without that though, it's still dark as shit.

Also, while we're talking about plot: I fucking love the villain. He's so human. The scary thing is that if I were put in his situation I'd do exactly the same thing. Obey our masters and live in security or risk getting our entire civilisation wiped out? Yeah, I'd take the former. He's a coward, sure, but he's far from evil, and he reminds me a lot of Gaius Baltaar from Battlestar Galactica.

Put simply, Half Life 2 is awesome. I love it.

1. (Brutal) Doom 2

The reason Brutal is in brackets is because a mod made turned this game from a slightly archaic game to a game that felt fresh again. The mod adds better sound, remixed music, gore, full mouse aiming with the ability to look up and down, better graphics, and more difficulty options. They not only make Doom playable in the modern era, but make it the best shooter ever in my opinion.

So, Brutal Doom works with all of the Doom game. So why is Doom 2 my favourite? Well, it's the level design. ID were fucking pros at it by the time 2 came out. Sure it's a megaton harder than the original Doom, but I also found it more fun, and more tense as well. Enemies that were once bosses are now regular enemies. The levels are insanely clever and complex without ever feeling convoluted or overly confusing (although there are a few.)

Also, I've never played a game that feels as satisfying as playing Doom 2 with the Brutal Doom mod. It's both more fun and scarier than Doom 3 in my opinion, and I still jump and feel on edge playing it.

Doom 2 is a fucking masterpiece. It's as simple as that.

Super Step Contributing Writer

03/02/2014 at 12:38 AM

First, because I'm a hypocritical English Nazi that loves both typing insanely long run-on sentences and douchey critiques of minor errors in others' writing:

brackets: []

parentheses: ()

No one else cares and I'm a dick. I know.

The offer still stands to rightfully mock my run-on tendencies, among other butcherings of the English language currently seen in my newest blog.

On a more relevant note, I just added Hal Life and Hal Life 2 to my Steam Wishlist and will probably download the demo for 2 in the near future. Where can I get Brutal Doom again? I know you and aboboisdaman both messaged me, but I forget.

Blake Turner Staff Writer

03/02/2014 at 02:05 AM

http://rapidgator.net/file/1664fdbe0a39c7c65c8811124933decf/Brutal.Doom.2013ENGRePack.by.Tolyak26.rar.html

There. That's all of the doom games with Brutal Doom installed. All you have to do is extract the files and then run brutal doom. Enjoy :)

Also, I know. I misuse brackets and parentheses all the time. I honestly don't know the difference, which is sad, because I'm studying writing lol. It just never comes up.

jgusw

03/02/2014 at 05:22 PM

I picked up Half Life 2 years ago. I played it once and barely made it out of the station.

03/03/2014 at 12:24 AM

Well you suck :p

Alex-C25

03/03/2014 at 01:14 PM

I still haven't installed Half-Life 2. Trying to find a time where I'll have the urge to do so.

I was planning to add Doom 3 BFG Edition on my wishlist since it has the three games, but I heard that it doesn't allow for mods. What do you think and what do you know?

03/03/2014 at 02:10 PM

Yeah, it doesn't allow mods, and I honestly wouldn't bother with 3 without the mods. I mean modders have recreated hexen, thief, and the original games in the new engine, and they're all better than Doom 3 IMO.

If you want to try Brutal Doom, click the link I replied to Joe Step with. If you want Doom 3, I'd get the original and mod it, but even with mods I personally don't like Doom 3.

KnightDriver

03/04/2014 at 03:46 PM

Half-Life 2 was great. I remember playing through one of the extra chapters with nothing but the crowbar and the gravity gun. I think it was called the One Bullet achievement on 360. You got one bullet to shoot off a lock at the beginning of the game and you could use the very few rockets you found for the couple of spots where you had to destroy flying enemies. I think you could use grenades too, but there were very few of those as well. In any case using mostly crowbar and gravity gun made you be very resourceful and I loved every second of it. Why oh why is there not a Half-Life 3. It's a crime against interactive art. Shame on you Valve. Shame on you!

PixlBit