Top 5 FPS Games of 2014

Last year was a fantastic year for games. The new generation of consoles started pushing away from last gen and developers started to take advantage of the new hardware, moving away from the limitations of the old systems. First Person Shooters are still going strong and last year brought us the release of new IP’s, sequels and surprising additions to current franchises. Here are my Top 5 FPS games of 2014.

5. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Yeah, I know, a Call of Duty title. If it was 2013’s Ghosts it’d be dead in the water in my books and certainly wouldn’t be put anywhere near my list - that was a game that truly showed the decline in the franchise. Then, all of a sudden last year’s entry to the franchise arrived; Advanced Warfare, which was a long time coming, actually brought something refreshing to the franchise. Created by the new third developer in the pack (other two being Treyarch and Infinity Ward) and with a three-year development cycle, SledgeHammer Games. These guys used this time to its fullest with the introduction of the Exo-suit. The game gave players the ability to boost upwards, forwards, side to side and even backwards to create a unique way to play Call of Duty. Not only that, the campaign is actually pretty decent, almost as good as the original Modern Warfare. Plus Kevin Spacey, can’t forget about Kevin Spacey. Multiplayer with the exo-suit adds more verticality which takes getting used to, but once you get your feet off the ground, you’ll be boosting and shooting your way through in no time. Not only that, but the excellent pick 10 from Black Ops 2 makes its return in the form of pick 13.

4. Far Cry 4

I admit, I have a soft spot for open-world games. I love to get carried away in an open-world brimming with content with plenty to do and Far Cry 4 ticks all the boxes. Far Cry 4 is the next step in the franchise - it retains all the great open-ended gameplay established in Far Cry 3 (which I also enjoyed the hell out of) and kicks it up a notch; more beasts to hunt, more weapons, more challenges and of course; outposts to wreak havok upon and take control of. The story is better than 3’s and has more diverse missions as well as choices that affect the story. Even if you're not interested in the story Far Cry 4 is still a fantastic open world game that you could waste tons of hours just doing random stuff around the country of Kyrat either solo or in co-op, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that. Only worry now is Ubisoft milking the franchise like Assassin’s Creed...

3. Titanfall

So many times people have said this and that will be the next Call of Duty or Battlefield killer and all have usually turned out a failure, except Titanfall.Titanfall came very close. Developed by Respawn Entertainment, founded by Jason West and Vince Zampella (the original creators of the Call of Duty franchise, under Infinity Ward). Titanfall is a new generation of multiplayer; featuring awesome verticality, wall running and mechs! It was a big game changer and it was a huge amount of fun. Playing as a pilot allowed you to move across the battlefield taking down mobs and other pilots to gain the ultimate weapon;your titan. The titan adds even more fun to the mix. Jumping into your titan gets you into some epic fights and changes the playing field, especially compared to other more traditional first-person shooter. The only downfall? It died too soon. With not enough content (entirely multiplayer only), and only releasing on Xbox consoles and PC. The groundwork has been laid and with a confirmed sequel on the way it might just knock Call of Duty of it’s pedestal, unless of course the next game copies…*cough* Black Ops 3 *cough*

2. Alien: Isolation

The Alien games haven’t had much luck in past few years. Just like their movie counterparts, they’re just not that good compared to the originals. So after the announcement of Alien: Isolation was made, many still had the bitter taste of Aliens: Colonial Marines in their mouths. Colonial Marines, being an abysmal glitched butchery of something that when first shown looked amazing. Alien: Isolation on the other hand, took a whole different direction and brought back the fear and daunting that made the original Alien movie great. The single Alien on-board a space station, you can not escape from. Alien: Isolation is a survival horror title, where you have to hide and flee from the Alien before it kills you. It’s on my list as it is not only an excellent atmospheric first person survival horror, but also a solid shooter, that’s if you do decide to be brave and take on the other threats on board the space station. What's interesting as well, the game was developed by Creative Assembly who are more well known for their Total War series. Great job Creative Assembly for making the best Alien game in years.

1. Wolfenstein The New Order

My number one is a game that totally caught me by surprise. The return of Wolfenstein, but not how we knew it. Set in an alternative 1960s where the Nazi’s have won the war, the game brings a more human side of our war veteran B.J. Blazkowicz as he finds himself trapped in a world corrupted by the ruling new order (see what I did there) of Nazis. He and the resistance must work together to kill every last one them. Wolfenstein: The New Order is a fantastic new vision for the franchise, helmed by new developer MachineGames. It has hard hitting, powerful gunplay alongside a well-paced story that keeps you playing till the end. It may only be a single-player experience, but it’s an experience that's memorable and worthy of any first-person shooter fan and that’s why it makes my number one.

Finally, I couldn’t finish without at least a couple of honourable mentions...

Destiny

I would consider this being placed in the Top 5, if it weren't for the fact that, well, let’s face it: Destiny was a disappointment. It was a grind-fest of just rinse and repeat and had you playing the numbers game with the whole dropping of engrams which was luck (especially if it’s a purple). Taking it to Cryptarch would then spoil your fun, by giving you crap. It all just ruins the enjoyment of it all. Destiny does have its merits though, the multiplayer PvP was a lot of fun and I found it to be, for sometime, my go to multiplayer title. It’s just a shame that the content provided wasn’t enough to hold on to. Even with the expansion packs, which in no way worth their asking price, it wasn’t enough to hold me or other players. Unless you were really, and I mean really into grinding. Its not like there was a story in it to keep you playing...

Grand Theft Auto 5 - PC / Current Gen

Wild card bitches! That’s right, Grand Theft Auto 5. Now, for those who haven’t played the recently released PC version or the current gen editions (PS4 and Xbox One) you can ignore this. For the those have, you’ll know that Grand Theft Auto 5 can be played as a fully fledged First Person Shooter, with all the bells and whistles. The whole GTA5 experience can be done in this mode, with a simply switch of the camera, whether it be driving, flying or just popping caps in asses on the streets, you can enjoy it in a first person mode. I would place this in my Top 5, but as this is games of 2014 and GTA5 originally released in 2013 and the PC version didn’t arrive till this year, it doesn’t get a spot; but still well worth a mention.