2007 Gaming: Shooters best year ever.

[Drazula]

Hi all. Without a doubt 2007 has been the best year for PC Shooters, surpassing even the great 2004.

Since I've been away for some time, it would take me a while to cover everything in detail, so I'll just summarize 2007 gaming to me.

Best Game/Best Shooter: I hate being on a bandwagon, but Bioshock deserves every accolade it has received. Best... game... ever.

Most surprisingly great game: Portal. The best leisure game ever made. Witty, devious and outright funny. The song at the end was the "icing on the cake". :)

Most underrated gameplay: Crysis. Everyone talks about its graphics but the gameplay is very well thought out. Any time a player can do something beyond what a developer imagines, shows great innovation in gameplay.

Most overrated game: (tie) Halo 3 and HL2:EP2. Isn't Halo 3 just Halo 2 for Xbox 360? And reviews HL2:EP2 has taught me that when a reviewer says a shooter's gameplay drives the story, it is the same as hearing your blind date has a great personality (See top news story). Same game for the third time. Thank goodness for Portal.

Happy it's on the PC: Gears of War. It was the only reason I was going to purchase an XBox 360. Now I don't have to. :)

Top news story: The Gamespot debacle is the steroid scandal of gaming. I could talk about this one all day. Game review site credibility has reached a new low (and I didn't think that was possible). Game sites need to really rethink some of their behavior. Here is my solution:
- The salesman should never have access to the game reviewers.
- Game review writers should never have access to the developers (it is non-sense to review test a game in front of developers or in their offices).
- A writer that previews a game should be different from the game review writer.
This was a long time coming. And I think more game reviewers are going to speak out.

Well that's about it. Except to say hello and happy holidays. :)

[JobivanHiob]

2007 was really the best shooter year since 2004 and maybe even better.
And I forsee 2008 surpassing 2007 only with one Shooter. You will see! :)

[Hudson]

This was indeed an epic year for shooters, I can't wait to see what next year brings :)

[avatar_58]

Portal isn't a shooter Draz, it's a first person puzzle game. Very little action even involved.

[Plagman]

I think UT3 deserves a mention as well.

The ridiculous sales of any recently released PC action game make me fear the worst about the future of PC gaming. At this rate Crytek next game is probably going to be an expansion pack for The Sims.

[avatar_58]

What do you expect? Crysis runs on like 20% of PC gamer's rigs. UT3 wasn't well liked, people ragged on the UI and lack of modes. By comparison COD4, Bioshock and the Orange Box all did very well. Don't pretend the PC is doing poorly just because two games didn't cut it.

It's a damn shame for Crysis though. It deserved more attention, but hey thats what happens when you build a high end game these days. Basically it needed a 2006-7 PC to run and many people simply no longer upgrade that regularly.

Can you blame them? Both Bioshock and COD4 are on the consoles.

[JobivanHiob]

^This is why 3DR and many other devs go multiplatform.

[Plagman]

By comparison COD4, Bioshock and the Orange Box all did very well. Don't pretend the PC is doing poorly just because two games didn't cut it.

PC sales for those three products are ridiculous compared to console sales. I'm not pretending the PC is doing poorly, it's a fact.

[seregrail7]

But it isn't really doing poorly, it hasn't lost many buyers. Consoles have just gained a lot of buyers, I know loads of people with consoles that never played games at all 10 years ago.

[avatar_58]

But it isn't really doing poorly, it hasn't lost many buyers. Consoles have just gained a lot of buyers, I know loads of people with consoles that never played games at all 10 years ago.

Exactly. The Wii for example is unstoppable. To expect the PC to compare is just silly. The 360 appeals to more than just shooter fans too, which is unfortunately what the PC seems to focus on a little too much. As Crysis illustrates people are no longer willing to take it up the anus with regards to hardware purchases.

Personally, even though I enjoyed Crysis, I see this as a good thing. Shows devs that sometimes graphics aren't everything. Had crysis used the same gameplay only with less emphasis on tech they might have succeeded.

[Drazula]

Portal isn't a shooter Draz, it's a first person puzzle game. Very little action even involved.
Although I could argue that it has a portal GUN (and thus a shooter), I agree. That's why I said, "Most surprisingly great game".

I think UT3 deserves a mention as well.
I haven't played it so I don't know.

Also, Call of Duty 4 and MoH:A were interesting, but I grow weary of miltary shooters. And Quake Wars was very nicely done, but I don't like "Battlefield" style games.

Exactly. The Wii for example is unstoppable.
I woke up at 5:30am this morning to go wait on line at 'Toys R Us' to buy a Wii. If innovation defines the next-gen, it is the only next gen console.

[Karthik]

It's still too early to say Crysis and UT3 bombed on the PC. We still haven't seen the non-US sales.

[Hudson]

Exactly. The Wii for example is unstoppable.

I just hope the novelty doesn't wear off before I get my hands on one :(

[avatar_58]

It's still too early to say Crysis and UT3 bombed on the PC. We still haven't seen the non-US sales.

You can't expect much though. In UT3's case it seems people are adamant about hating it. Personally I'm not sure I understand why. Sure it's just an iteration, but so were 2k3 and 2k4.

[someguy2435]

Crysis looks so amazing

I haven't followed UT3 since it was announced, but it doesn't look too impressive.

[ZuljinRaynor]

Draz, you know it's hard to take your opinions of anything related to Half-Life 2 seriously? ;)

[8IronBob]

BioShock probably followed by Stalker, probably the best two for this year alone. Might as well see what 2008 brings.

[Scream]

I woke up at 5:30am this morning to go wait on line at 'Toys R Us' to buy a Wii. If innovation defines the next-gen, it is the only next gen console.

Perhaps by a very strict definition if all you are looking at is traditional console functionality (i.e. games and the method of controlling games), but that would be a pretty narrow path to force innovation down.

I happen to think that both Hi Definition DVD players and online services that allow the downloading of a huge variety of content are quite innovative. Xbox Live is the biggest and arguably the best service of it's kind, and while you may not have it right out of the box, I would still consider it a core functionality of the console (in other words, if you weren't interested in it I don't know why you would own one). Plus the 360 has brought online gaming to the living room, and made it better than it ever was on the PC.

Not to say that I don't think what the Wii has done is great, because I do (I bought one myself a little over a week ago), but just because your console doesn't require the player to shake the controller to stab the enemy doesn't mean you haven't innovated in some way. :)

[Mr.Fibbles]

I can run Crysis on my 2005~2006 computer (I say that because I am running on a rig built from "old" gen parts in January). I ran the demo and liked it, the same for TimeShift.

As far as newer games, I can't say I have played many, but I have a life, you know, reality to deal with.
I will say that FPS is not the full focus of PC games, look at the RTS market. How can you expect to seriously play an RTS on a console? Someone explain that to me. There have been many good RTSs in the last few years, however they are blotted out by the FPS games because those are released on console as well.
With the exception of the cliche expansion pack simulation whores (Sims comes to mind), non FPS PC games are actually pretty good and to some extent keep the system alive. C&C3 was pretty neat, at least I thought so. I am waiting on StarCraft 2 to come in and rejuvenate the PC RTS genre.

[ZuljinRaynor]

Scream, I would beg to differ that Xbox made online gaming better than PC online gaming. It's the same thing as PC online, albiet more clunky and giving you no choice. It's like everyone forcing you to use STEAM of Xfire to play your games online. There is no difference, you just don't get a choice on 360. I don't think forcing things on people is inovation.

[Delicieuxz]

Crysis sold poorly? What're the sales figures?

Bioshock was a dull, predictable, and lame game for me, btw. I give it the "most overhyped game ever" award.

Crysis was more basic than I'd expected and hoped too, in terms of map design - nothing topped or matched the fun and aesthetic designs of levels like Fort and Pier from Far Cry.

[Kristian Joensen]

Crysis sold poorly? What're the sales figures?

They are probably basing that on NPD figures. However I strongly doubt that the recently released NPD figured for UT3 or Crysis are accurate, especially known there figures have been wrong in the past.

[Karthik]

And finally, Divnich turned his attention to Crytek's hardware-pushing PC first person shooter, Crysis. "Originally," he said, "the market expected Unreal Tournament 3 to surpass Crysis; however, this was proven to be false as Crysis triumphed over Unreal with 86,633 to 33,995 units, respectively."
Gamasutra (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16653)

But this is only the US sales.

[Reaper]

But this is only the US sales.
You make it sound as though they will sell more in other regions.

[Karthik]

You make it sound as though they will sell more in other regions.
Um.....yeah. They would.

[Nihilanth]

Without a doubt 2007 has been the best year for PC Shooters

I wish there was something more to come though. It's sad that games are standing in one place altogether. With the exception of stalker, there's nothing innovative about shooters of 2007. Just better graphics and physics. Even BioShock, even though I love it, it's still just a taste of what I'd hope to see from a hybrid game. Figures: it's been 7 years since DX and 8 years since Shock2 and we (or at least I) are still expecting something that would EQUAL them... and well, after 8 or 7 years we should expect so much MORE already. :(

[Malgon]

^How true. Bring on more hybrids, and I mean hyrbids that are as good as Deus Ex and System Shock 2 were.

[Scream]

Scream, I would beg to differ that Xbox made online gaming better than PC online gaming. It's the same thing as PC online, albiet more clunky and giving you no choice. It's like everyone forcing you to use STEAM of Xfire to play your games online. There is no difference, you just don't get a choice on 360. I don't think forcing things on people is inovation.

What kind of choices would you like? Live makes it way easier to hook up with friends online, provides a consistent chat interface to use regardless of the game, and you never have to wonder if any of your friends have it. It ensures everyone has voice communication, which is the biggest sore point for me in online PC gaming as there are way too many mutes. When we come across the odd mute on Live, we kick them out of the game. No mutes allowed. They ruin the experience.

What you call "choice" I call "complications" and what you call "lack of choice" I call "streamlining" and "simplifying". It's not perfect, but for what I want out of an online game of team deathmatch, it's superior to what the PC has to offer. This really comes down to the same argument people always have over a closed system versus a more open one, and I think there are lots of advantages to a well-implemented closed system.

[avatar_58]

It ensures everyone has voice communication, which is the biggest sore point for me in online PC gaming as there are way too many mutes. When we come across the odd mute on Live, we kick them out of the game. No mutes allowed. They ruin the experience.


Boy thats an elitist viewpoint. Personally I hate voice communication and I really don't enjoy listening to people bitch at me on other end. At least with text I can ignore it. If a game doesn't let me disable voice chat then its not worth playing to me. I hated when they added voice to HL at first because it was bugged and kept turning itself on....so you'd keep hearing 12 year old snots complaining and wanting their chocolate milk.

[0marTheZealot]

Other than dismissing HL2-Ep2 and lauding Bioshock (good game, not great), I pretty much agree with everything Draz said. Great year for shooters.

[Scream]

Boy thats an elitist viewpoint. Personally I hate voice communication and I really don't enjoy listening to people bitch at me on other end. At least with text I can ignore it. If a game doesn't let me disable voice chat then its not worth playing to me. I hated when they added voice to HL at first because it was bugged and kept turning itself on....so you'd keep hearing 12 year old snots complaining and wanting their chocolate milk.

It's not en elitist viewpoint at all. It's simply a viewpoint from someone who wants to be able to communicate with their teammates because it increases the enjoyment of the game. It's a matter of personal preference, and everyone I play with online feels the same about it. Voice communication on Live is the norm. It's expected. For anyone who doesn't want to talk, which is fine if that's their personal preference, they should find a different platform to play on, that's all (or at least don't join games I'm hosting ;)).

As a general rule, we don't play with 12 year olds in player matches. We play with groups of friends.

[avatar_58]

I'm talking about public games. I don't always know people who want to play the games I do, so usually public matches are all I have. I don't want to hear anonymous chatter. Just get in front of my gun so I can shoot you and move on.

[crunchy superman]

Good to see you again, Draz! :)

I agree, this has been a good year for shooters, and I haven't even picked all the big ones up yet. Looks like next year might be pretty good as well.

[Scream]

I'm talking about public games. I don't always know people who want to play the games I do, so usually public matches are all I have. I don't want to hear anonymous chatter. Just get in front of my gun so I can shoot you and move on.

Well, that's fine. Those would be the equivalent of ranked matches. If I'm playing in one of those (which I don't often) I have zero control over whether or not people use their mics or not, and you can't be booted from a ranked match. I agree, the chatter in those can often be inane and annoying.

That's the other thing I like about Live. It maintains a consistent "Friend's List" that is independant of the game I'm playing, so it's rarely difficult to find some like-minded people to play with, allowing me to avoid playing with the general public. I assume a service like "Steam" allows something similar.

[Kit]

Bioshock was a dull, predictable, and lame game for me, btw. I give it the "most overhyped game ever" award.


Totally agree. I can see why many liked it but for me there was too much action and not enough exploring.

Other than Crysis -which I’ll pick up next year - the GOTY has to be Team Fortress 2. It’s pretty much the perfect multiplayer experience. Its got that pick up and play thing down to a tee while still having enough depth to keep you interested for hours.

Call of Duty 4 was alright but come on, it’s 2007, where's the physics and why am I still fighting an army of respawning enemies?

[Danule]

Boy thats an elitist viewpoint. Personally I hate voice communication and I really don't enjoy listening to people bitch at me on other end. At least with text I can ignore it. If a game doesn't let me disable voice chat then its not worth playing to me. I hated when they added voice to HL at first because it was bugged and kept turning itself on....so you'd keep hearing 12 year old snots complaining and wanting their chocolate milk.

hahaha, that happens to me on team fortress 2 it turns on randomly, soooo annoying.

[Sang]

so you'd keep hearing 12 year old snots complaining and wanting their chocolate milk.

What's worse is people with a lot of static who talk all the time.. so annoying :mryuck:

[psyborg]

Bioshock, Crackdown, Orange Box, The Darkness, Stalker, Prime 3, Quake Wars, I could go on and on, definatly a great year for shooters. Also its worth noting that 2007 marks the first time in gaming history a console FPS had proper controls/aiming :D

Too bad DNF didn't grace us this year, heres to hoping for next year!

[Parkar]

Bioshock, Crackdown, Orange Box, The Darkness, Stalker, Prime 3, Quake Wars, I could go on and on, definatly a great year for shooters. Also its worth noting that 2007 marks the first time in gaming history a console FPS had proper controls/aiming :D

Too bad DNF didn't grace us this year, heres to hoping for next year!

Ehh? Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Timesplitters etc.

[Scream]

Also its worth noting that 2007 marks the first time in gaming history a console FPS had proper controls/aiming :D



And which game would that be?

[avatar_58]

Ehh? Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Timesplitters etc.

Argueably the *only* ones to get it right....

[Mountain Man]

Most underrated gameplay: Crysis. Everyone talks about its graphics but the gameplay is very well thought out.
That's not the impression I've gotten at all. Everything I've read has praised Crysis on both fronts.

Most overrated game: (tie) Halo 3 and HL2:EP2.
Heh... it wouldn't be a Drazula post without a Half-Life 2 snub in there somewhere, but since even you couldn't ignore the brilliance of Portal, I think I'll let this one pass. Merry Christmas. :D

[mistar intarnet]

And which game would that be?

I would assume he's talking about Metroid Prime 3.

[Fraeon Waser Duhni]

If a game doesn't let me disable voice chat then its not worth playing to me.

The fun thing with the 360 is that you can disable voice chat from the console itself, so you'll have it off regardless of the game played.

That's what I do anyway with Chromehounds and R6: Vegas. I only enable the headset if I'm playing against people I know aren't shouting "FAG!" every time they're shot.

[Damien_Azreal]

That's not the impression I've gotten at all. Everything I've read has praised Crysis on both fronts.


Honestly, Crysis is visually an astounding game. Truly amazing, the closest we have gotten to photo-realism. But at a cost, and while I do prefer the more sci-fi look of a game like Gears of War... Gears delivers great graphics at realistic performance.
Crysis is a system hog, even on top end systems the game can crawl.

And from a gameplay point of view... it's no that fresh. The nano-suit is awesome to play with, trying different things. And the physics are great, allowing for brilliant traps and a wide variety of random melee attacks. The game does at times feel like a much refined FarCry. Without Trijens. :p

[psyborg]

Ehh? Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Timesplitters etc.

Those are acceptable for analog stick/dual anolog controllers but to me anolog sticks are not a proper way to aim in an FPS. Either way, back to the topic at hand, its been great year for shooters.

[ZuljinRaynor]

What kind of choices would you like? Live makes it way easier to hook up with friends online, provides a consistent chat interface to use regardless of the game, and you never have to wonder if any of your friends have it. It ensures everyone has voice communication, which is the biggest sore point for me in online PC gaming as there are way too many mutes. When we come across the odd mute on Live, we kick them out of the game. No mutes allowed. They ruin the experience.


Steam and Xfire do all this to. As for voice chat, well, this is the biggest problem I have with Live!. There should be a text chat option because not everyone may want to voice chat. Text chat works. Not everyone wants to voice. It's the lack of text chat (I have the chatpad, let me use it) that is a turn off. The mute haters ruin the experience.


What you call "choice" I call "complications" and what you call "lack of choice" I call "streamlining" and "simplifying". It's not perfect, but for what I want out of an online game of team deathmatch, it's superior to what the PC has to offer. This really comes down to the same argument people always have over a closed system versus a more open one, and I think there are lots of advantages to a well-implemented closed system.

The "streamlining" here is forcing on option on someone. Steam and Xfire do everything the same in terms of communication.

It's not en elitist viewpoint at all. It's simply a viewpoint from someone who wants to be able to communicate with their teammates because it increases the enjoyment of the game. It's a matter of personal preference, and everyone I play with online feels the same about it. Voice communication on Live is the norm. It's expected. For anyone who doesn't want to talk, which is fine if that's their personal preference, they should find a different platform to play on, that's all (or at least don't join games I'm hosting ;)).


I find text just as engrossing. With all the support for Chatpad and a USB keyboard there is no excuse to not have Text Chat. The lack of it is the problem.

I assume a service like "Steam" allows something similar.

Yep. Steam has friends lists as well as achievements.

[Blue Lightning]

Look, the 1990's were supposed to be the golden age of FPS gaming. We had Duke 3D, DooM, Quake, NOLF, Half Life...well I can go on. It seemed like the "goldne age" was long behind us. Here comes 2007...we get Ep2 and Portal, we get Halo 3 and Gears, we get Bioshock (07 GOTY) and CoD 4, we get Crysis, we get...well the list goes on.

Yeah no doubt, 07 is now the new golden age of the FPS! I don't see much coming in '08 though, except "the crossing".

[Echo Black]

I don't see much coming in '08 though, except "the crossing".

O rly? (http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=708)

[Jiminator]

eh, i have to go against the grain and say crysis was one of the most overhyped games. The shipping product did not deliver based on the pre-release screenshots and videos. *insert excuses here* yeah, the technology is not up to it. lots of other games are pretty comparable to crysis in the graphics department. all of which brings up the other vaporware called DX10 (which was more overhyped than anything else, ever).

[Echo Black]

eh, i have to go against the grain and say crysis was one of the most overhyped games. The shipping product did not deliver based on the pre-release screenshots and videos. *insert excuses here* yeah, the technology is not up to it. lots of other games are pretty comparable to crysis in the graphics department. all of which brings up the other vaporware called DX10 (which was more overhyped than anything else, ever).

Why are graphics so important? Isn't Crysis' gameplay great? And for the record, it's very easy to argue that Crysis is still the best-looking game around.

[Reaper]

Um.....yeah. They would.
Possibly in Europe, what with all the territories and such, but definitely not anywhere else. Least of all, japan.

[X-Vector]

High profile PC shooters in 1998:

- Blood II
- Delta Force
- Descent Freespace
- Forsaken
- Half-Life
- Heretic II
- Hexen II: Portal of Praevus
- Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
- MDK
- Rainbow Six
- Shogo
- Sin
- Unreal

And of course the big one: Extreme Paintbrawl

Now, I know there's a factor of personal taste involved, but I still have a hard time seeing why 2007 would be the best year for shooters.

[Daedolon]

- MDK

Came in 1997, which btw is still the #1 FPS year for me:

Blood & Cryptic Passage
Descent II
GoldenEye 007
Hexen II
Outlaws
Powerslave
Killing Time
Chasm the Rift
Quake II
Redneck Rampage
Shadow Warrior
TekWar (:D)
Duke Caribbean & It out in DC

[X-Vector]

I like '97 too, but mostly because it was the year that Jedi Knight was released (curiously omitted from your list).

Don't know why you list Chasm: The Rift twice when it isn't worthy enough to be mentioned once.

[Daedolon]

Lol, that was a plain typo. I just listed it since it was supposed to be the Unreal killer, and honestly it wasn't all that bad for an old school shooter.

[8IronBob]

We all know that the three biggest shooters from 1996 were obviously Duke 3D, Final Doom, and Quake. Then you had the Atomic Edition/Plutonium Pak towards the holiday area of that year. I know that 1996 was a fairly active year with FPS games, and it did indeed prove worthy from the PC gamer's standpoint.

That was the year when the 3D technology push was in its changes and trends, that's why I mention that year, since that was when the transition from faux 3D to true 3D took effect.

[Mr.Fibbles]

O rly? (http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=708)

Its funny that on the last page they list DNF. . .
I think everyone is hoping for this game.:insomnia:
I remember Turok back in the (I think) N64 days. I thought it was interesting, but I never played it.
I might try it out some. . .

[Drazula]

The nano-suit is awesome to play with, trying different things. And the physics are great, allowing for brilliant traps and a wide variety of random melee attacks. The game does at times feel like a much refined FarCry. Without Trijens. :p
Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for me too.

High profile PC shooters in 1998:

- Blood II
- Delta Force
- Descent Freespace
- Forsaken
- Half-Life
- Heretic II
- Hexen II: Portal of Praevus
- Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
- MDK
- Rainbow Six
- Shogo
- Sin
- Unreal

And of course the big one: Extreme Paintbrawl

Now, I know there's a factor of personal taste involved, but I still have a hard time seeing why 2007 would be the best year for shooters.
Because you're old, and those games are older. Didn't we use hamsters to power our PCs back then? :p

Ok, let's respect the relics. 1998 was good too.

[X-Vector]

That year also suffered a lot less from sequelitis (not unlogical, as it was an earlier stage in the development of PC gaming) and spawned three major franchises.

This year brought us Bioshock, Crysis and Hellgate: London, but these are all "spiritual successors" to acclaimed titles from the same development houses (more or less).
It also remains to be seen if these games will have as succesful an offspring as Half-Life, Unreal and to a lesser extent Rainbow Six.

[Damien_Azreal]

This year also brought STALKER, TimeShift, Call of Juarez (US release) and a few other new IPs.

[Blue Lightning]

O rly? (http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=708)

Some of those games don't look like FPS games.

Damn I hope we get a Bioshock expansion pac...

Ok for '08 I see "the crossing" being released. Any other FPS games for '08?

[Mr.Fibbles]

Any other FPS games for '08?

*cough*
Duke Nukem Forever
Don't ban me :D
*cough*

[Steve]

*cough*
Duke Nukem Forever
Don't ban me :D
*cough*

The possibility of that is very high :)

[Blue Lightning]

The possibility of that is very high :)

You know it's funny, as long as I have been posting here (6 month or so), I never mention Dn3D forever. I know there are some rules about it, I read somewhere. I think we are not allowed to say it won't be developed or make jokes about how long it takes...mabey that's why I never talk about it I guess.

If 3D Realms announces a possible launch date, then I'll include it for possible '08 games, and not until. So as far as I can see, the Crossing from Arkane is for '08. Also it looks like a game called "Turning Point: Fall of liberty" is an upcoming FPS game, a WWII shooter about a Nazi invasion of New York...

Also, Operation Flashpoint 2 is on the way.

So there you have it...two "military shooters", and one mid-evil/fantasy "crossplayer" shooter for '08. I don't see any horror or Sci Fi shooters coming for '08...unless Ep3 is released, and that I highly doubt.

[djc23]

Bioshock was a collosal disappointment as far as I'm concerned. The RPG elements were weak, the story collapsed during the 3rd act, the action was very underwhelming and cartoony. I prefered HL2:Ep2 and STALKER by a mile over Bioshock but my favourite shooter of the year would be Gears of War PC. I know it isn't a FPS and it came out on 360 last year but it was fantastic action game.

Note: I have yet to get Crysis and it goes without saying that Halo 3 wasn't up to snuff.

[Mountain Man]

The possibility of that is very high :)
Maybe. Maybe not. According to what they've said, the recent teaser wasn't part of some concerted marketing effort, it was just a cool in-house video that they decided on a spur of the moment to share with their fans.

[FireFly]

Well it is and it isn't.

"After seeing the teaser we thought it was something we should share with all of you and while it's just a teaser, rest assured more is coming."

http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php?t=29639

"This is a teaser. It's not a full blown trailer like the 2001 trailer (but something like that is coming)."

http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=15819781

[Nihilanth]

According to what they've said, the recent teaser wasn't part of some concerted marketing effort, it was just a cool in-house that they decided on a spur of the moment to share with their fans.

Yeah right. :) Such a "whatever, we can show it to fans" makes absolutely no sense given their development history. Besides there's this quote from Shacknews:

Q: any regrets breaking the long media silence with this teaser? (...)
GB: Gotta start somewhere. (...)

So it actually is the start.

[avatar_58]

What history? As George stated this is 2004 DNF, not the 10 year game everyone makes it out to be.

[Nihilanth]

Well, that's correct. But I don't see how it's relevant.

[FireFly]

What history? As George stated this is 2004 DNF, not the 10 year game everyone makes it out to be.
George and Scott have repeatedly said that they're only going to show media within 6 - 12 months of release, and that they recognize that the game's premature showing was a big mistake. At this point there's only so much fans will tolerate, and George must know this is probably his last chance to turn the tide around (although perhaps the recent release of several long-in-development titles has helped in this regard).

As far as the restarts go, George has said that they've maintained the gameplay code throughout the changes, and according to Wieder there wasn't any one singular point at which the project restarted - it was a gradual transition as their new tech came online during the 2002/2003 period. We don't therefore know how much the design of the game has changed over its development cycle.

[avatar_58]

Except this trailer was created behind George's back for the party. Then he thought "Hey you know what would be cool?" and showed it to us after a day of teasing. Don't believe me, go read about it.

I think you are reading into this far too much.

[FireFly]

Yes, and he could have quite easily decided not to show it. But George has directly stated that more media is coming, so I don't see what there is to debate.

[X-Vector]

There is nothing to debate beause it's got nothing to do with "2007 Gaming: Shooters best year ever".

[Mountain Man]

Yeah right. :) Such a "whatever, we can show it to fans" makes absolutely no sense given their development history. Besides there's this quote from Shacknews:

Q: any regrets breaking the long media silence with this teaser? (...)
GB: Gotta start somewhere. (...)

So it actually is the start.
Except those options are not mutually exclusive. They had a cool video that was put together for an in-house Christmas party (I'm pretty sure that's what they said), and then figured, "Why the hell not break the media silence? We gotta do it sometime."

----------

George and Scott have repeatedly said that they're only going to show media within 6 - 12 months of release...
Yes, but Joe recently said that things change and that we shouldn't read too much into this teaser.

That said, X-Vector is correct that we're straying off-topic.

Edit: Here's Joe's actual statement:

You guys who are quoting "media blitz", and the remark about "6 months after we start showing off video"...

You should know better than to try and lock things down. We have always reserved the right to change our minds. You really shouldn't assume you can figure it out. All this time should have told you that by now. :)
http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showpost.php?p=631137&postcount=720

[Nihilanth]

Joe has also laughed at us when there was thumbnail debate. And the shots turned out to be real. He also said that 'break the record' is just a stupid thread. It turned out to be tease before video.

[avatar_58]

What are you talking about? Joe never denied the thumbnails, he just said they were meant for the game ad - which they were. Duke's new appearance proves that, because clearly they weren't meant for us to have.

Also you can tell when Joe is hiding something - like the teaser thread. He did it for Prey as well, claiming we don't know shit. ;) Theres a subtle defensive quality he gets. However for this teaser they've denied nothing, and they've admitted what it was about. Don't look into it further, theres nothing else there.

[Mr.Fibbles]

To get back on topic (I know it is my fault that the topic fell):
I have seen some great looking shooters released this year, I just don't have the money to buy any of them. People are all talking about the Orange Box and I will admit, despite that I never cared for Half-Life's story or characters, Team Fortress 2 is something I would like to get a chance to play. I remember playing TF from the old CS game back in the day and it was more fun than CS was.
Crysis and TimeShift are unique titles because they have those unique abilities. Despite how much I don't see the point of the abilities (I can play through TimeShift demo without using any time abilities except when the game has sequenced events requiring it), they are neat to play with and I hope that the full games offer more and better chances for usage of the technology.

EDIT: Forgot the one title I do have, STALKER.
I really like playing this game, even though the story was too predictable You are Strelok, the guy you are looking for to killThe game is fun and I know there are more things to do than I was able to do my first time playing through it. My only real complaint with the game is that traveling takes so long, but that is a side effect of having large environments.

[avatar_58]

Well if you don't use your suit in Crysis you won't get much out of it. Most of my fun came from using cloak to screw with enemies and then using strength to launch them 20 feet, usually into trees or other koreans.

[Mr.Fibbles]

The suit in Crysis was more useful than the time powers in TimeShift. I did find myself using the cloak to get around some parts. I never quite figured out how to use the strength thing as a weapon like in the videos.

[avatar_58]

You mean you've never seen the joys of using strength, picking a guy up and throwing him right through a building?

[Mr.Fibbles]

I never figured out how to do it. Part of it was I didn't look very hard, but there was no clear instruction on how to do it that I found in the game.
Perhaps I will take a stab at it again some time. If I end up getting the game (as in when my economic situation gets better) I may figure out how to do it.

[Damien_Azreal]

Just press your "use" key when close to an enemy. Simple. :)

[Mr.Fibbles]

are you serious? I never really thought of that. I may go and download the demo again and play it some more.

[Steve]

are you serious? I never really thought of that. I may go and download the demo again and play it some more.

Yeah, they're serious :D Bloody fun to do!

[Mr.Fibbles]

I am more of a traditional shooter. I like to just blow them away. I do like to be selective in what gun I use, but I tend to go in guns blazing and not get hit while I take them out. I think it is the playing Duke3D that did that to me.
That may be why I never figured out the "use" the enemy when near them.

[Drazula]

Hmm, now that I've patted 2007 on the back, tell me: what could have made the shooters of 2007 even better?

For me it is something very fundamental: the complete lack of impact damage has on gameplay. Why should a player on the brink of death have the same speed and strength as someone completely healthy? I would have thought, by 2007, shooters would have solved this, but I have yet to see it done. Agree?

[avatar_58]

Ah but doesn't it? In Crysis when you are dying your suit is damaged, thus you can't cloak or use speed to get away. It forces you to either quickly take the enemies out or get moving behind something quick.

I don't want my movement restricted, because then we're playing Counterstrike. I really don't like the way your player will nearly freeze when being pelted with bullets....making dodging impossible.

[Damien_Azreal]

2007 could've been a better year for shooters if some of the underdogs would've gotten more polish from their developers/more time from their publishers.

Blacksite: Area 51 comes to mind.

Honestly a fun shooter, Bon got it for me for Christmas. Gunplay is fun, enemies are cool looking... but it's unpolished, horribly. Graphical glitches... inconsistent frame rates... it needs a lot of love.
And with the right amount of time and polish Blacksite could've been an awesome shooter.

[Malgon]

^It didn't get a very good review in a local games mag over here. They said the same things about it looking good, but lot's of polish missing. Shame really.

[Damien_Azreal]

Yeah, the gameplay itself is fun... feels solid, but the lack of polish, unstable framerate and graphical glitches... really drags down the whole product.

Midway really f**ked this title up. The publisher rushed this game out way to quick.

[Nessus]

Why should a player on the brink of death have the same speed and strength as someone completely healthy? I would have thought, by 2007, shooters would have solved this, but I have yet to see it done. Agree?

I don't know about that one, I kind of hate being crippled or diminished in a game. Didn't Max Payne experiment with a system like that and abandon it because it was no fun? Think about it, you are low on health during the most intense fights of a game, if at those times you were slower or aimed badly it would really suck. You would wind up dropping a grenade at your feet and quickloading just to get your power back.


And my of the year is a two way tie between Crysis and Portal.

[Destroyer]

are you serious? I never really thought of that. I may go and download the demo again and play it some more.

haha this is funny.
in MP the power mode is the best weapon.

[Destructor]

Shooters have always been an interesting genre. And games yet to come out, including Alan Wake and Duke Nukem Forever, ensure that this particular avenue of gaming won't die out anytime soon. :)

[Blue Lightning]

3 or 4 years ago all I ever heard was "the shooter is dead", or "the best days of the first person shooter is long behind us". I kept telling the doubters that we have not even begun yet, and I was laughed at. Right about then CoD 1 was busy getting GOTY awards, Halo 2 was about to make Xbox famous, and for the PC, VALVe was about to release a little game called Half-Life 2.

Now the shooter is KING. On the 360, it is thanks to Halo. On the PC, probebly Half-Life 2 boosted it the most. on the PC multiplayer, it was Counter Strike that did it. And now in '07 for the first time ever, both the PC and the console have the same game as GOTY (Bioshock)! Now there is a plethera of FPS games for both consoles and PC, and they are the big sellers. I used to argue to the doubters that if FPS is dead, why is it that it is always an FPS that wins GOTY? Why is it that the FPS is always the blockbuster?

And when I say FPS, I include Oblivion and others that are also classified as RPG's. That is because your still playing and attacking from the first-person perspective.

There are so many things left to do for the FPS...really this is just the beggining. As Drazula mentioned, shooters still need to solve the issue of damge impact on a player with low health. Also, most shooters STILL are behind with FBA (full body awarness), but it is nice to see that they are all catching up with a good physics system. But there are other things that still need to be addressed. What about damage to walls with explosions? In real life a rocket would not simply leave a black mark on the wall, it would blow a hole through the wall! With that feature, you could use your rockets to blow holes in walls and take shortcuts through maps! I think that is long overdue.

There is something very statisfying about an FPS...players I talk to speak of the immersion factor. When you are looking through the eyes of the charecter you are controling, it seems more adventurous. I think the FPS ride has just started!

[Scream]

FPS remain popular because despite what many people would claim, we like the familiar and even the formulaic at times. It's comfortable. The learning curve isn't so steep. This is a good thing.

What I've always liked about shooters is that since the introduction of 3D gaming, FPS controls get in the way of the experience less than any other genre of game. There is less to learn, as many of the skills you develop in one title are transferrable to the next title, so you can spend more of your time enjoying the environments the game maker has created for you, and less time trying to figure out which button to press to do what.

[Mr.Fibbles]

For me it is something very fundamental: the complete lack of impact damage has on gameplay. Why should a player on the brink of death have the same speed and strength as someone completely healthy? I would have thought, by 2007, shooters would have solved this, but I have yet to see it done. Agree?

I think that is a good point. I have to agree with you on this because they are always shooting for realism (pun intended) but seem to lack the realism in injury. You get shot in the leg and it hurts a little but you can still run away? I'd love to see that happen in real life, it would make war exciting.
There are a few games that give you effects like that, most of them RPG. Fallout 1 & 2 for example had the target system and if you got shot in the eye, you were blind and your chances of hitting anything went straight down. You could break your arm and not be able to use the big gun. You break your legs and can't run away, which means you are dead soon. It happens in reality. You get kicked in the groin, you are going to fall down and then you are pretty much at the mercy of the assaulter.
Obviously, there are people who don't want to be disabled by the enemy but they want to be able to disable the enemy :doh:. To those, I say: Grow up and learn to deal with life, it is going to suck at times and you are not invincible.:p

[Bushido]

Yeah I'd agree that this year was the best year ever for FPS'...Call of duty 4, Halo 3, Bioshock, The Darkness, Crysis, Resistance: fall of man, Rainbow Six Vegas, HL2: The Orange Box...




...yeah, what a year!