10 Greatest 90s FPS Campaigns

It's hard to think of a more iconic decade for the first-person shooter than the 1990s. It was the age of Doom and Quake, whose highly advanced tech would pave the way for an entire generation of shooters for this decade and many more to come.

Beyond the technical advancements of those games, however, the 1990s was also a time of experimentation and innovation when it came to first-person shooter campaigns. Story and narrative were becoming more of a focus industry-wide, and the FPS wasn't about to miss out on that.

The 1990s were excellent for the FPS, and many of them had some spectacular campaigns to play through. As time went on, a lot of shooters treated the campaign as secondary, a sort of training ground for the multiplayer suite, but these titles had it all and went for it all. They had campaigns that combined the best stories with a thrilling single-player campaign, and when taken as a whole, helped shape this decade of shooters.

10 Duke Nukem 3D

An Innovative Next Step

For all his crude, offensive behavior and language, the one thing I've always admired about the Duke Nukem games is that he's always the butt of the joke. Duke is a relic, a dinosaur from the past that no one really seems to enjoy or like. It's that self-aware humor that has routinely made the franchise so much fun.

Duke Nukem 3D was among the first games in the genre to really put a strong focus on player interactivity and the ability to find secret locations, items and collectibles by just examining your environment. This philosophy would go on to influence future games from 3D Realms, as well as the rest of the genre.

As with most games in the franchise, Duke Nukem 3D is keen to ratchet up the chaos early and often. Each map you're dropped into feels unique, and it's one of those games where you never feel like you're doing or visiting the same place twice. The pace is absolutely perfect.

9 South Park

In That Quiet Mountain Town

It's almost impossible to imagine the 1990s without South Park. It was surgically connected to 90s pop culture in a way that almost nothing else was, and as South Park found itself emerging alongside the rise of 3D gaming, it was a no-brainer for the two to eventually meet.

The self-titled South Park game from 1998 really had such a stranglehold on me as a teenager. I was obsessed with the TV show, and when my aunt brought the game over, I immediately started finding ways I could secure my own copy. It was that immediately appealing.

South Park has all the crude, offbeat hallmarks of the iconic television show. Creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker returned to lend their voices to the project, and the writing has such a fantastic sense of authenticity to the cartoon.

8 Alien vs. Predator

A Heavyweight Showdown

The Alien and Predator franchises have been squaring off against each other for years, dating all the way back to a 1989 comic book. That epic crossover has generated its own multimedia franchise, complete with a long-running book series, live-action films and a host of video games.

Alien vs. Predator first released on PC back in 1998, and despite it getting a superior Gold Version two years later, the original version is still a spectacular experience today. It features three campaigns, allowing you to choose from the Xenomorphs, Predators and the Colonial Marines.

Each campaign is filled with some of the most heart-pounding, claustrophobic map design I've ever played. Even over twenty-five years later, Alien vs. Predator is one of the finest 90s FPS games you'll ever find.

7 Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

Existential Dinosaur Dread

GoldenEye 007 and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter were among some of the first titles that led to first-person shooters becoming more competent on consoles. Previously, if you wanted to play a shooter, PCs were the way to go. One game that took advantage of that new landscape so brilliantly was Turok 2: Seeds of Evil.

Turok 2 has such a blistering pace in both its level design and its narrative. What it really does well is separate that narrative from a traditional story, as Turok 2 is more focused on creating an interesting scenario as opposed to a full-blown cinematic story.

The game also makes use of some fascinating environmental storytelling. Many of the game's major themes and concepts, that of forbidden knowledge and the unseen horrors lurking behind the curtain, are implied through in-game storytelling.

6 System Shock

The Birthplace of the Immersive Sim

Deus Ex creator Warren Spector famously said of the 1990s shooter that he wanted to create a game that went against industry norms at the time. Instead of creating something that was a mile wide and an inch deep, he wanted to create something that was an inch wide and a mile deep.

It's fair to say that he has succeeded multiple times throughout his legendary career, and System Shock remains one of his most important works. Largely seen as one of the innovators of the immersive sim, System Shock is still a game filled with so much creeping dread and unspeakable horror that it can stand up well against its modern-day contemporaries in the genre.

You can almost feel and hear every single step in System Shock. It's backed by a wonderfully moody score and some of the most brilliantly dark atmosphere I've ever felt in a shooter.

5 Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

That Old Familiar Feeling

Following the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, live-action Star Wars content was at an all-time low. With the advent of CD-based technology and the ability to produce live-action cutscenes, that all changed. The old familiar feeling returned, and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II felt like a legitimate Star Wars production.

You can really feel the budget at work in Dark Forces II. It was among the first Star Wars games to use live-action cutscenes, following 1995's Hidden Empire. Everything that you love about Star Wars, from lightsabers to Sith Lords, is presented with so much glee and fanciful fun in Dark Forces II.

It helps that the entire game is genuinely wonderful, as well. It has such a dark, grimy look to it, and it still feels rather enjoyable to play today. You can see the kind of direction Star Wars was going in from this game quite clearly, as the combination of underworld dealings and traditional Star Wars trappings would be present in many future productions for the franchise.

4 Star Trek Generations

The Most Underrated Star Trek Game Ever Made

Star Trek's dominance of film and television during the 1990s can't be overstated. While the classic show from the 1960s broke new ground in numerous ways, Star Trek was on a generational run during the 1990s. Multiple television shows, feature films and big-budget video game tie-ins were the norm, and anything less than spectacular felt like a huge downgrade.

Many of the games from this era had authenticity as its main focus, attempting to feel like you had literally stepped right into an episode of the TV show or one of the movies. Star Trek Generations was a prime example of that, serving as an adaptation of the 1994 feature film and one of the most fascinating first-person shooters I've ever played.

It's one-part shooter, one-part classic adventure game. It almost feels like you crossed Star Trek with Resident Evil, as it has elements of inventory and resource management. Movement and shooting feels impeccable, and it's one of those Star Trek games that really captures the spirit of the franchise in such a profound way.

3 Medal of Honor

Bleak and Moody

Shooters set during World War 2 were a big part of the early 2000s, but they really had their roots in the 1990s thanks to Wolfenstein and Medal of Honor. Backed by director Steven Spielberg through his DreamWorks Interactive label, Medal of Honor was among the first WW2-themed games to treat the horrific conflict as the dark, dreadful event that it truly was.

The stark, uneasy dread that PS1-era graphics create were a perfect match for a game like this. Everything about Medal of Honor looks so darkly alluring in both its subtle, brooding art direction that almost gives it an analog horror feel.

For a game of its age, over two decades old at this point, it still feels absolutely fabulous to play. The movement is incredible, and each level does a wonderful job of escalating enemy threats and objectives.

2 Star Wars: Dark Forces

I've Got a Very Good Feeling About This

The ongoing relationship between Star Wars and video games has been a positive one for as long as I can remember. Even during times when Star Wars games feel more inconsistent than others, there's always going to be at least one that's decent. Star Wars: Dark Forces is a game that's a winner no matter what year it is.

Dark Forces was one of the first pieces of Star Wars media to explore the clandestine acquisition of the Death Star plans, a major plot point that would be re-examined and retconned multiple times. Growing up during this time, anything that explored the world of Star Wars beyond the movies felt like gold.

At this point, I've rolled credits on Dark Forces at least twenty times. Each time, I feel like I'm experiencing Star Wars at one of its absolute peak eras. It just has so much relentless swagger and charm, that you can't help but fall in love.

1 Half-Life

The Greatest Shooter of the 1990s

No matter how many shooters I've played over the years, regardless of how many I will play in the future, it's rare when I find one that hits me the same way as the original Half-Life. To this day, I haven't found one that combines its unique sense of dark humor, oddly specific and accurate science fiction.

It's a game fully committed to its own world, as well as solid explanations for seemingly everything within that world. It's mundane opening moments serve as a prelude to the madness to come, and it's precisely that level of ordinary that makes the extraordinary events that befall Gordon Freeman feel so honest and earned.

It's a ride that ebbs and flows, escalates and then de-escalates, creating an experience that feels so cinematic. No shooter campaign from this era comes close to reaching the pace, structure and quality that's on display in Half-Life.