#1: Halo: Combat Evolved
Platform(s): Xbox, PC
Year: November, 2001
Why Did it Change Gaming? (First Person Shooter Genre):
Probably one of the more recent games on the list, Halo‘s influence throughout the FPS genre is outstanding. While some can argue (again) that GoldenEye was a staple in the genre, it actually ended up being more of an introduction of what could potentially be done. Halo clearly innovated features that rippled as a must-have for other First Person Shooter games. Fun fact: Halo was also the first game to introduce health/shield regeneration which is something that occurs regularly in today’s modern shooters, both First Person and Third. Halo has wide-open spaces of interior and exterior environments with Co-op play and innovative controls, additionally the story was unique and well done. Other FPS titles that dominated the FPS genre at the time on PC are Unreal Tournament, Quake, and Doom. The titles heavily focused more on gameplay, which isn’t at all a bad thing, it’s just that the stories seemed to be linked as irrelevant and in addition to the game but not as a main feature. Here are some of the reasons in why Halo changed the gaming FPS genre:
- One of the first games to limit the player to two weapons
- It gave an actual button for melee instead of cycling through weapons to get a fist
- Revolutionized vehicle use in FPS games
- Later gave birth to most of the features in Xbox Live (Halo 2)
- Created the shield recharge system
- Inspired the most popular gaming league of all time “Major League Gaming”
- Popularized game stats (Halo 2)
Essentially, Halo was the first console shooter that managed to have smooth, intuitive controls, which at the time was thought impossible without having a mouse. Halo did some new things, but what truly made it a success was that it was a playable, smooth user-friendly FPS game for a gaming console; in addition it didn’t have any huge noticeable flaws. It had some of the best multiplayer, physics and AI for any console FPS at the time. Halo was highly appraised by critics receiving a 97/100 from Metacritic and by fans for its innovation in gameplay.
Halo later became one of the most successful best selling franchises of all time winning multiple Game of the Year awards, including winning the “Best Original Soundtrack” award from Rolling Stones. Halo’s multiple innovations of amazing gameplay, and a unique story respectively ranks this game as the top on our list.
Honorable Mention(s)
Doom
The Elder Scrolls: Arena / D&D: Baldur’s Gate
Agree with this list, think some games should’ve been included? Post your top choices down below.