I want a truly oldschool, single player FPS. Any recommendations?

[ninja666]

I'm in a mood for some oldschool shooting action game. Can anyone recommend something fitting these criteria, that I haven't played already? Here's what I want:
- a lenghty single-player campaign (10-12 hours or something close; the longer, the better);
- fluent controls unhindered by anything;
- complex levels;
- truly oldschool style of gameplay (run n' gun, health and armor pickups, no regeneration of anything, carry all your weapons at once, little to no covering);
- preferably no modern games (2008 and up) because the devs of these are for the most part doing a shit job at making any of their "oldschool" games actually play oldschool;
- preferably a dark, gritty sci-fi setting (ala Quake 2 [http://fps.maros.pri.ee/images/galleries/q2e1433652.jpg]), but to be honest, everything will do as long as I can happily shoot my way through enemies;
- traditional saving, or at least checkpoints that are relatively close to each other;
- weapons that "feel" powerful, can pack a punch, and have a strong kickback (it's a major part of what makes the shooting in the game fun)

I'm not too picky about graphics, it's the gameplay that counts. I'll take anything from '96-'97 to 2006-2007 (can be newer if it's worth it; refer to my criterion about modern games).

Here's what I've already played (the list's pretty long, so I had to hide it in a spoiler):

Spoiler

- Unreal + Return to Na Pali;
- Quake 1,2 & 4;
- Blood 1 & 2 with all the expansions;
- Shadow Warrior (both the old one and the new one);
- Rise of the Triad (same as Shadow Warrior)
- Duke Nukem 3D;
- Half Life 1 & 2 with all the expansions;
- Soldier of Fortune 1 & 2;
- Heretic & Hexen 1 & 2;
- Doom 1, 2 & 3;
- Shogo: MAD;
- Chaser;
- Witchaven;
- NOLF 1 & 2;
- Serious Sam 1st & 2nd Encounter, 2;
- Painkiller 1 + BOOH, Overdose;
- Far Cry;
- Star Wars: Jedi Outcast;
- Wolfenstein 3D, RTCW, and the 2014 one;
- Daikatana (yes, I have actually beaten that piece of crap);
- Call of Juarez;
- Chrome and Chrome: Specforce;
- Halo: Combat Evolved;
- Red Faction;
- F.E.A.R.;
- Left 4 Dead (it has something you could call a campaign, plus it's damn fun to play);
- Prey;
- Hard Reset;

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

You've played Shadow Warrior but not Hard Reset? It's even more old school than real old school. I can't count how many times I died in that game.

HERETIC! HERETIC!

captcha: walk the plank

Yeah, you go do that. Or alternatively, you could go ahead and play Hard Reset.

 

[The Madman]

Unreal 2 isn't actually half bad. It got a fair bit of bad press on release since it didn't quite live up to the original, but truth be told I rather liked it. The Unreal Tournement series as well can be played singleplayer with the tournament mode, 2004 in particular has some great system in place where you're recruiting new teammates, challenging other teams, and trying to win the tournament against the competition. Not exactly story heavy but I've always loved playing the UT games singleplayer, especially since the bot AI is so damned good.

Otherwise... hmm... old fashioned shooters eh. You've already played most of the good ones.

Well there's the Sin series, those are pretty nifty. Basically started as a Duke Nukem 3D knockoff but was surprisingly fun, and the single released 'Sin Episode' actually wasn't half bad even if it never got completed.

 

[ninja666]

You've played Shadow Warrior but not Hard Reset?

I knew I was forgetting something on my "already played" list. Thanks for reminding me.

Unreal 2 isn't actually half bad. It got a fair bit of bad press on release since it didn't quite live up to the original, but truth be told I rather liked it.

It surely isn't gonna recreate the awesome atmosphere the first Unreal had, but might be worth a try.

The Unreal Tournement series as well can be played singleplayer with the tournament mode, 2004 in particular has some great system in place where you're recruiting new teammates, challenging other teams, and trying to win the tournament against the competition. Not exactly story heavy but I've always loved playing the UT games singleplayer, especially since the bot AI is so damned good.

It's not really what I'm looking for. This kind of stuff gets boring and repetitive pretty quickly.

Well there's the Sin series, those are pretty nifty. Basically started as a Duke Nukem 3D knockoff but was surprisingly fun

I have the CD of it somewhere. If only I could run it on a modern system, that'd be great.

 

[The Madman]

It's not really what I'm looking for. This kind of stuff gets boring and repetitive pretty quickly.

Your loss. Personally I love it, especially since the structure of the tournament in UT2004 means that if you're sick of one type of game mode you can try your hand in another, and since there's approx a billion maps in the game (Roughly) you're rarely ever fighting in the same place more than twice unless you're actively opting for that map and challenging other teams to fight on it.

Still if it's a cohesive story and narrative you're looking for then yeah, the UT series doesn't have much of that... Well that's not true, UT3 tried having a story but that was just terrible.

I have the CD of it somewhere. If only I could run it on a modern system, that'd be great.

GOG seems to have the game so you could try grabbing it from there to get the original SIN running on modern computers. The single released Sin Epsisode uses the Source engine so that shouldn't have any trouble running on modern PC's.

 

[ninja666]

GOG seems to have the game so you could try grabbing it from there to get the original SIN running on modern computers.

Oh, that's great news! I think I'm gonna grab myself a copy, then.

 

[stroopwafel]

Kingpin: Life of Crime is the only oldschool FPS I can think of that fits your description and isn't on the list. It's pretty good though. Atleast from what I remember, as its been like 15 years since I last played it.

 

[ninja666]

Kingpin: Life of Crime is the only oldschool FPS I can think of that fits your description and isn't on the list. It's pretty good though.

I recall playing it some longer time ago. I remember it being overly complicated without providing any sort of clue on what to do. I roamed around the map for about an hour before I figured out how to get a "dolla" to trade for a gas pipe to be able to proceed (it was a time before I had access to the internet, so I couldn't just look for a guide). Don't really want to go back to that game.

 

[josemlopes]

You mention Call of Juarez, the 2nd and 4th games are very good, and they are also rather fast paced, it isnt Doom fast but I guess since you mentioned the first it gets a pass.

You can try EYE Divine Cybermancy, its a fuckfest of a game but if you manage to get yourself into it its a lot of carnage, imagine if Deus Ex and Serious Sam had a baby and the adoptive parents were an indie french studio.

Necrovision can also be kind of fun, its a WW1 shooter where the first level ends up with a boss fight against a wizard, and then you will drive a mech, have a superpowered demon claw and become a dragon.

You also have Rage but that one didnt do anything for me, even the clunkyness of Necrovision was more entertaining, it did had very good controls and animations, and the vistas and details were nice too but the overall packaging felt so bland (also the weapons were all ugly) that I didnt play much.

Serious Sam BFE is a must play if you managed to play through 2.

I think Postal 2 could also be called an oldschool FPS, I guess.

Edit: Reading your post better I got that you really want very good gunplay so I still recomend the Call of Juarez games, EYE Divine Cybermancy (most really pack a punch, and the better ones, oh my...), Serious Sam BFE and Rage. Necrovision and Postal 2 are kind of wonky with the gameplay (Necrovision mainly because the aiming seems a bit off, otherwise it would be a very nice oldschool shooter)

 

[Slitzkin]

Bioshock.

That is what you need to play. Do it already.

 

[Autumnflame]

The original duke nukem 3d. Come get some alien scum.

the classic

 

[Xenedus]

You might want to check out Ziggurat. It's a recent title. It's a rogue-like first person shooter but the shooting mechanics and the movement are very old-school.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Have you played wolfenstein, Doom, or Rise of the Triad?

Go play some 90's shooters!

 

[Dizchu]

My personal favourite is Doom. If you've only played vanilla Doom (original levels without mods) I strongly encourage you to check out the modding/mapping community. The maps the community have made are absolutely beautiful and extremely challenging. There's an annual tradition of awards being given to the best maps over at Doomworld. Also Brutal Doom is the bomb.

Other than that, Turok (was) a good series albeit a bit clunky. It's gritty and has a sci-fi theme, you may dig it.

Star Wars: Dark Forces I and II are great if you're into the Star Wars universe. The maps are ENORMOUS. I see you've played Jedi Outcast, which I personally haven't played but have been recommended. Any good?

 

[Schmeiser]

Serious sam HD versions are pretty sick

 

[ThreeName]

Brutal Doom is a brilliant mod for the original Doom that adds so goddamn much it's incredible.

EDIT: I was totally wrong about V20. Plz disregard.

 

[Worgen]

Serious Sam BFE, its quite awesome, its a new game but has that old school run and gun feel.

 

[Dizchu]

Brutal Doom is a brilliant mod for the original Doom that adds so goddamn much it's incredible.

Version 20 is out in a few days, but you can go for v19 if you really need to scratch that itch urgently.

Oh man I am so excited. Brutal Doom is a work of art.

I wish the assault rifle was in the original Doom, it makes so much of a difference.

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

Marathon sounds like it's up your alley.

It doesn't so much have health packs as health stations, but everything else you said is there.

On top of that, it's free to play now.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Either of the first 2 Turok games can fill your check list. In fact, the main complaint about the second aside from draw distance was its maps were too long and maze-like, particularly the last few.

If you liked Jedi Outcast, you'll like Jedi Knight and its expansion. Assuming you can find a computer that will run it. Come to think of it, that might be one of the only games I'd like a remake of.