Best FPS mechanics

[karcentric]

Even if the X-ray engine from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series broke a lot I liked the way the bullets had their on physics. And the AI in higher difficulties was pretty sneaky sometimes.

 

[Ninjat_126]

So far, the game with the best gun mechanics has to be killing floor. The guns in that game have the best feel to them that no other game has quite reproduced. It is probably because of the slow motion mechanic they need to comply with, but the guns have beautiful textures, animations and sounds. Not to mention the way the enemies react to your shot. And the game play of the game is great in that you can fire from the hip without missing your target, and you can use the iron sights for those crucial moments when you need to aim in. The game has no cross hair what so ever, but they position the HUD and the guns in a way that just direct you to the aiming line.

I love the guns in Killing Floor. They feel powerful, but at the same time you know that most of the things you fight are going to be tougher. Even your basic pistols have a good kick to them, the machine guns burn through ammo and enemies quickly, and the big lever-action rifles blow enemies apart but take forever to fire and reload.

I'm usually a sharpshooter, just to give me an excuse to use that starting pistol a lot. Best starter weapon EVAR.

I like Metro 2033 for some of the same reasons. Makes you feel like an actual human character in a story, since I actually believe in immersion.

Metro's guns controlled like crap to me. And then I boosted my difficulty, and it all made sense.

 

[Yellowbeard]

You used AMBX with Crysis? The rocket launcher is amazing with the fans...
Where Crysis sucked was that most of the time it just turned into a cloak-and-snipe party. Still though the AI was good and as it couldn't see through foliage and didn't magically know where you were. Still I felt that half way through the game they just gave up trying with it as bugs became quite prolific.

Never heard of AMBX. You're right about the AI, it had its good side. Really good at handling the foliage and not having superhuman accuracy in the open spaces. Main complaints are with the humvee drivers getting stuck, and any time a group of ~5 KPA are running together they ALL trip and fall down every 30 yards. Hilariously.

Metro's guns controlled like crap to me. And then I boosted my difficulty, and it all made sense.

Yeah, I'm playing on Ranger Hardcore, so...

I actually hated the first try, because the mutants don't react when you shoot them. It's not until they go down in 1-3 shots that it starts to feel ok.

 

[aguspal]

Call of duty + Borderlands, with the latter´s health sistem and the former´s fluid movement controls (Not gunb control because I feel that would annoy some people).

Both excellent games with excellent controls. Also they both have single player, even thougt in both games they are pretty much ignored in favor of its multiplayer.

 

[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.