Which FPS Style To Play? | GameSided Roundtable

Greetings! This is our weekly GameSided Roundtable feature, where our writers converge to provide their opinions, wishes, statements or critical thought on one general topic centered around video games. Sometimes it can be funny, sometimes it can be serious. Contemporary, classic; we hope to cover a wide variety of things in this segment as a group. If you wish to submit an idea for a GameSided Roundtable discussion topic, you can leave the editor an email at: daniel.george@fansided.com. We’ll totally give you (and your Twitter account, if applicable) a shoutout!

This week’s GameSided Roundtable topic: “What is your most preferred style of FPS (first-person shooter)?”

Keith Myers (Twitter)

I don’t typically enjoy first-person shooter games. (I know, I’m weird.) They all feel very much same to me. So when I do play them I prefer unique story-driven campaigns. Bioshock, Dishonored, and Dues Ex: Human Revolution are my favorites in the genre.

There are exceptions though, and they put me squarely in the Small-Scale category of this debate. Star Wars: Battlefront and the larger maps of Team Fortress 2 kept me entertained for hours even after most of you moved on to newer games.

Rebekah Valentine (Twitter)

I haven’t played too many FPS games, but the ones I do are usually small-scale, such as Borderlands or Halo. I prefer an FPS style that is primarily story and mission-driven, that I can enjoy with a friend or two with a lot of forgiveness for messing up, as I’m not the best at hitting the things I’m trying to aim at. Because I’m rather hopeless at the gameplay, the story in these games tends to have exaggerated importance for me, as it’s what keeps me going through death after death.

I always play campaigns, but rarely step into online play, though the rumors that Borderlands might step into MMO territory with its third installment might change my mind if the system retains what was great from Borderlands 2 and improves on it, rather than suffering as the Pre-Sequel seems to have. Bioshock is another fabulous example of a FPS I need to finish…and last weekend I discovered that I am utterly useless at Payday 2–a heist game that looks amazing if you’re good at it, but seems to have a really steep learning curve.

Fraser Gilbert (Twitter)

Although I don’t consider FPS games to be my forte, I’d have to pick the smaller-scale category as my most preferred style. I have dabbled in the highly competitive multi-player battles in Call Of Duty and Halo, although my favorite is last year’s Microsoft exclusive, Titanfall. As a player of average skill within the genre, Titanfall offered fantastic balance, combined with automated bots which provided target practice for the less experienced gamer. The majority of these games contain memorable and well-sized maps, big enough to incorporate a large number of players, but small enough to allow me to learn the intricacies of each location, and use them to my advantage in future matches.

The reason I prefer these games to large-scale alternatives such as Battlefield, are simply down to my very casual interest in first-person shooters. On the fairly rare occasions in which I want to play these types of games, I would much rather jump straight into a small-scale battle with one task at hand, than a large scale war, requiring more time and dedication to learning other elements such as vehicle warfare.

Jason Prott (Twitter)

Planning out an attack is my siren song. It gets me excited for Due Process, and makes me lament the seven-year void since Brother In Arms: Hell’s Highway. Although I didn’t always feel this way, one game reshaped my FPS preferences.

Many of my fondest gaming memories have been forged with just a small group of friends trekking through the hills of Chernarus. The Arma series introduced me to the allure of slow, tactical gameplay in an FPS title. Some players like to call it a“walking simulator”, and I understand why.

Arma is a particularly hard game to have fun with. It straddles the line between simulation and action, usually failing to satisfy either crowd completely. I’m a huge fan of the series, but yet I’ve only played a handful of the campaign scenarios — simply because they aren’t very fun. You need the right people, the right mods, and the right mission to make the game worthwhile. Luckily, I’ve learned over time what kinds of missions are fun for my group, and we aren’t ashamed to play on easy difficulties. If you’re looking for a good mission I recommend Escape Chernarus, and any of its reincarnations. You can play it without any mods so its a great way to get started.

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