The first-person shooter is one of the most tried and true genres in all of gamedom. However, in an age where the graphics vs. gameplay debate becomes ever more prevalent by the day, how much has the genre really evolved since the original Wolfenstein 3D? According to GamePro, not much. "Despite the increasingly cryptic lexical soup of new graphics effects (HDR, sub-surface scattering, anisotropic filtering), hyped physics engines and flailing rag dolls, the FPS fundamentals remain locked in a late-90s mentality. The reactionary design philosophy can be summed up in two words: exploding barrels." Taking this to heart, they've compiled a list of the top five FPS conventions that need to suffer a point-blank headshot.
With the Xbox 360 nearly upon us, the next generation of gaming is looming closer than ever before. And, as with the original Xbox, first-person shooters such as Perfect Dark Zero will likely play a seminal role in establishing the console in the minds (and living rooms) of gamers around the world. But graphical leaps aside, how will these games advance the shooting genre to heights never before experienced? Have first-person shooters finally achieved the uppermost plateau of innovation? Or are graphical upgrades such as smoother framerates and more enemies on-screen enough to sustain the genre indefinitely?
