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While some indulge themselves in MMORPGs, at the other side of the spectrum of multiplayer games, first person shooters have had players battling in fast paced action for a far longer time — no quest reading or storytelling here, it’s guns blazing and the laws of headshots. Here’s our top 10 pick of the greatest multiplayer first person shooters of all time.
10: Team Fortress 2 (2007)
Valve’s successor to Team Fortress not only received a complete visual overhaul, it also became one of the most stylized multiplayer shooters of today, complete with its own sense of humor. The continuous (free) updates from Valve have kept players involved for a long time, with new weapons and maps added frequently.
9: Battlefield 1942 (2002)
Swedish developer DICE broke on to the gaming scene with Battlefield 1942, which would go on to become one of the most popular online shooters for the next few years. For the first time, gamers could participate in large scale, 64 player matches with big assortment of classes, tanks, planes, jeeps, battling over huge maps — it was warfare like never seen before, and it took the FPS scene by storm.
8: Halo 3 (2007)
Microsoft’s first Halo game on the Xbox 360 was received with one of the biggest launches in gaming history, and the polished multiplayer, which offered a ton of modes, detailed rankings, achievements and maps, have secured the game a top spot in the most played Xbox 360 games ever since. On top of that, the new The Forge mode made it possible to edit the maps as well, adding a new layer of gameplay.
7: Quake 2 (1997)
Quake 2 is widely considered the game that popularized the multiplayer shooter on the PC, and was one of the first to offer custom created content, such as maps, to be shared among fans and modders. It was also one of the first games to be officially selected in the Cyberathlete Professional League, a testament to its legacy.
6: GoldenEye 007 (1997)
While Quake opened the eyes of the general gaming crowd to the PC multiplayer first person shooters, GoldenEye 007 did it for the console crowd. It wasn’t the first console FPS game to offer multiplayer, but it was by far the first hit and a major breakthrough. Released in 1997 on the N64, the multiplayer part wasn’t originally a part of the game, and developer Rare assigned the job to a single programmer, Steve Ellis, who created the multiplayer version virtually by himself from the single player mode.
5: Unreal Tournament 2004 (2004)
Following the release of UT 2003, which received a mixed reception from the fans, Epic Games almost started from scratch and created what would become the most popular UT game ever, especially among modders, who were given the tools not only to create new maps, but completely different games, like Red Orchestra and Frag-Ops.
4: Tribes (1998)
In terms of multiplayer shooters, Tribes was a huge success, and was a game that pioneered some multiplayer FPS aspects that exist to this day. The game had a ton of exciting modes, revolutionary gameplay, not to mention 40 maps, some of which were huge, even by today’s standards.
3: Quake 3 Arena (1999)
Quake 3 Arena is perhaps one of the most fast paced multiplayer shooters ever made, and is generally considered the “founding father” of all the frag fests. It was the first Quake game that was exclusively multiplayer-oriented, and was minimalist in eye candy and aesthetics, only focusing on what really matters: gameplay.
2: Battlefield 2 (2005)
DICE brought the chaos and large scale warfare of WW2 into a modern day scenario, and Battlefield 2 became and instant classic, perfectly balancing the line between realism and accessibility — far better than any other military multiplayer shooter had done before. Or since. And despite being considerably buggier than competing games, the sheer quality of the gameplay — not to mention the detailed statistics and awards system — has meant that the game is still one of the most popular online shooters, despite being 4 1/2 years old.
1: Counter-Strike (1999)
Originally released as a mod to Half-Life, Counter-Strike immediately took the world by storm and has since consistently been the most played multiplayer shooter in the world. And with the update coming with Half-Life 2, CS: Source, the new visuals have kept it at the top spot. A proper sequel, Counter-Strike 2, is expected to be released with HL2: Episode 3 next year, and will most definitely continue the reign on the online multiplayer FPS scene.
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