Best FPS mechanics

[Saika Renegade]

To echo others in this thread, I am fond of Metro 2033 on Ranger (either hardcore or easy). It's not only enormously immersive, but it also becomes a fairly self explanatory laundry list of good gun habits, especially against human enemies. Always aim, and when you do, aim carefully. Conserve ammunition. Know where the kill spots are. Know how armor and body clutter make killing a target more difficult. Always take cover and don't expose yourself for too long. Always strike from surprise. If you have an automatic, short, controlled bursts are the way to go. If you have to shoot, shoot to kill.

It also has very simple, intuitive use of cover and lighting, and on higher difficulties, rarely breaks the immersion. You're not some kind of power armored superhero, or a well equipped modern-day soldier. You're a young man stuck in the crumbling subway tunnels of a post-apocalyptic Russia carrying a gun made from rusty tubing and old plastic, and for a distressing percentage of that experience, you will be alone.

The intense and admittedly very depressing story doesn't hurt either.

 

[Fasckira]

Overall mechanics I got to give it to Quake 3 Arena, that shit was built from the ground up for the single solitary purpose of a great FPS experience, and the freedom of movement in it is like nothing else.

I still prefer Unreal Tournament on the basis of variety, but Unreal was always a general purpose engine and their movement physics were never on par, even Unreal 3 doesn't get up there.

Very much agreed. I remember when UT and Q3 came out and suddenly people got very split over which was better. UT won my heart with the map they pushed the demo out on, Morpheous - low grab jumping from building to building was great fun and made for a very enjoyable game. Q3 though just felt so much more involved, be it due to the increase of blood, the sound effects, the motion bob etc.. just felt more exciting.

And on that, I'd say Q3 as well.

 

[Slayer_2]

Red Orchestra had some of the most satisfying, realistic, and terrifying guns in any game. Getting shot at by a heavy machinegun gets the adrenaline pumping and it is realistically LOUD.

 

[Gatx]

Does Mirror's Edge count? You occasionally shoot in it and it's in first person. The platforming is good stuff, without a doubt, but I also really liked the melee combat and the way they incorporated it into the traversal with the running kick, sliding kick, wall run kick, etc.

Other than that I think what Halo did for FPS's was pretty revolutionary. I mean, holy crap, a button to throw a grenade instead of it being a selectable weapon? I rarely, if ever, used grenades because I didn't really switch between weapons until I ran out of ammo back then so it wasn't until Halo that I realized how useful they were.

 

[Quarik]

Halo has some of the best enemy AI I've ever encountered (yes, I know the driving AI sucks), and has some really damn satisfying guns. Grav Hammer, anyone? Borderlands 2 also has some great ones, and there's little as satisfying as Gunzerking the bejesus out of someone, shotgunning their face off, or turning their head into a lovely pink mist that redecorates the wall behind them.

 

[Ninjat_126]

The lean function. Cover based mechanics that don't turn you into a sloth.

Even more so with ducking.

You don't realise how much you miss it (in the slower paced games) until it's gone.