The first-person shooter allows gamers to directly experience another domain through the protagonist's eyes. The genre has grown in recent years to include more elements from the role-playing genre including deeper stories and weighted decisions. Even Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops II attempted to spin a deeper narrative. The category keeps getting better every year despite some copycats and clones. Here are our top five FPS games of 2012:
5. Darkness II: The Darkness II is a dark violent comic book based first-person shooter video game that got lost in the mountain of triple-A blockbuster titles. Series protagonist Jackie Estacado is so much more badass than your average main character. He charges through the environments ripping enemies and object apart with a mixes of firearms and ethereal powers. The game also features excellent story that deal with regret and death. The best thing is you can probably pick up this game in a bargain bin somewhere.
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops II: The campaign is short and can be defeated in a day or so, but at least it offers a morally ambiguous, multiple endings and weighted choices. Black Ops II's multiplayer is once again where most gamers will spend their time with the game. Online multiplayer returns with all the usual features like leveling-up, prestige and medals. There is also league play and a new "pick-10 "allocation system that allows a combination of any 10 items.
3. Borderlands 2: The return to alien world of Pandora with a set of four brand new vault hunters was fun and a little bit cheesy. The cel-shaded graphics give the game a Saturday morning cartoon look with Sunday night HBO appeal. Somehow this weird mishmash succeeds as Gearbox managed to create a fun to play game with plenty of reason to keep you coming back. The game combines the first-person shooter and role-playing genres to make it less shallow than many FPS offerings.
2. Far Cry 3: The open-world first-person shooter takes gamers to a land of lawless un-hinged criminals. Player must kill of be killed to survive this vicious world. The game is set in a tropical paradise filled with palms trees, white sandy beaches and crystal blue water. The world almost seems real as you watch daily activities take place and see ferocious wild life maim and kill unsuspecting natives. The single-player experience is awesome, but so is the game's multiplayer and co-op modes. The map editor is one of the best in gaming as gamers can easily recreate maps from other title.
1. Halo 4: The fourth numbered installment in the decade old sci-fi franchise has one of the best overall stories in video game. Some fans might be angry at how it played out, but it was well told. It was a natural progression for the series and it's characters Master Chief and Cortana. Developer, 343 Industries redefined the Halo experience by creating a medley of emotion, action and possibilities. Bungie is a great developer, but the past few Halo games have felt forced and somewhat bland. 343 Industries returned the series to sense of wonder and exploration. The game feels more like a true sequel to the original Halo: Combat Evolved.