Shooter

Shootmania Storm was announced at E3 last year and then was instantly forgotten. Lost amongst talk of Assassin’s Creed 3 and Watch_Dogs, Shootmania didn't seem to offer an awful lot. A short match between two teams of pro-gamers did little to glue it into the minds of gamers, especially those not interested in yet another shooter. The beta shortly after displayed a game that was utterly unique but without enough depth to keep your mind from wondering back to your comfort title.

Battlefield 3 is a first person shooter from the development company Dice, and was the showcase game for their new graphics engine, the fabled Frostbite 2. The game features a compelling campaign based on a United States marine who is arrested on suspicion of murder and for ‘apparently’ assisting Iranian ultra-nationalists in nuclear terrorism. We follow Sergeant Blackburn as he tries to save the world from re-entering the Cold War. Battlefield 3 is most revered however for its expansive multiplayer, which, like all previous Battlefield games, has redefined ...

Aliens: Colonial Marines has been in development for over half a decade. Despite the track record of developer Gearbox, and the popularity of the sci-fi franchise, the much anticipated game has been delayed more times than I can count. Considering that, it's something of a miracle that this game was released at all. Unfortunately, it's a little less of a miracle considering how surprisingly bad this game turned out to be.

Despite a generally luke-warm reception from critics, 2010’s Medal of Honor reboot from developer Danger Close was not all bad. The title focused on the elite branch of the military known as Tier 1, of which there are a mere handful of operatives currently deployed. Granted, the missions were a little sloppy and the characters not very interesting, but at its core was a mostly decent modern warfare sim with some interesting ideas that just didn’t quite come to fruition.

Battlefield is a franchise known for its more serious take on war and for its emphasis on teamwork and strategy. It got a following – and rightly so – for its large maps, it’s vehicles and its excellent community. Battlefield 3 is the first main entry in the series since Battlefield 2 was released in 2005 and is the first specifically for HD consoles. With top notch graphics and impressive animation, have DICE squeezed as much as they’re going to get out of the PlayStation 3?

Every year there is a deluge of First Person Shooter games, each one with their own level of hype around them and expectations from the developers and publishers as to how they’ll perform. The market has erred on the side of more arcade, fast-paced action of late much in the vein of the uber-popular Call of Duty series. For years now, the yin to the yang of Call of Duty has been the Battlefield games and for good reason -- the Battlefield games show that games within the same genre can be very, very different. Battlefield games tend to emphasize bigger maps, ...

The first Borderlands was one of the breakout successes of 2009. With its incredibly unique blend of first person shooter action with role-playing game character customization, Borderlands was an instant phenomenon. Gamers logged thousands of hours shooting bad guys, picking up loot, and repeating. Three years and lot of DLC later, Gearbox has finally released a proper sequel, complete with new characters, new gameplay features, and of course, about a billion new guns.

When Valve announced Left 4 Dead 2, the internet imploded. Fans had been promised a wealth of DLC, long-lasting support and now the developers had had the nerve to release a sequel. After mild controversy around launch and a steady sale-by-sale drop in price, this is a game that has become increasingly difficult to resist. Not only has the price dropped, but the content in the game has been expanded on as well. Along with the original five campaigns, Left 4 Dead 2 now contains every level from the first game, and a host of other content. If you’re looking for ...

The Far Cry series began life with the Crytek-developed PC title, Far Cry. Positively received on release, the original game cast the mold for the sandbox-shooter franchise and though development since that first game has been handled by Ubisoft Montreal, the second instalment received similar praise. Now, Far Cry 3 has arrived with the aim of continuing the series’ success, and fans will be pleased to hear that it doesn’t disappoint.

Call of Duty has become a yearly phenomenon, breaking record after record on an annual basis. Black Ops 2, the latest in the series, is no exception, bringing together an action packed single player story and a set of chaotic, fast paced multiplayer games to create what is arguably one of the best arcade shooters of this generation. The addition of Treyarch's popular Zombies mode is only that stretch extra. Call of Duty may have its fair share of detractors, but it remains one of the most popular games in the world, and deservedly so.