5. Half-Life 2 (PC, various ports)

Half-Life 2 is one of the best games ever made. Say what you want about the Counter Strike mod for the original, but HL2 improved upon everything in the original.

HL2 featured a more engaging story, improved upon never-ending action concept and, of course, unleashed the gravity gun upon gamers worldwide. At a time when the 1st person shooter genre seemed to be occupied with only multiplayer games and glorified bot-matches, HL2 reminded us how amazing a single-player campaign can be.

4. Halo (X-Box, PC-port)

Halo is akin to the second coming of GoldenEye 007. Halo featured an excellent single player experience and one of the most enduring console multiplayer components of all time. Even with two sequels, many gamers opt to play the original with friends.

Halo was ahead of its time graphically, was the first shooter to feature a useful melee attack and improved upon the quick-use grenade method used in Starsiege: Tribes. From a strategic standpoint, adding an effective close-range and a pressure-sensitive triggered grenade attack put a new spin on everything gamers thought they knew about 1st person shooter strategies.

3. Unreal Tournament (PC, various ports)

In the beginning, Doom and Duke Nukem introduced the death-match and life was good for gamers. Unreal Tournament said, “I bet we can do better.”

In addition to fully realizing the possibilities of TCP/IP multiplayer, UT introduced multiplayer modes that featured more than just blowing each other up. UT’s “Assault” mode—in which players would take turns trying to take over the other team’s base—introduced a revolutionary way to play a shooter. The game also featured a good capture the flag mode and a good king-of-the-hill/domination mode. Also, many gamers remember the game for having lucrative insta-gib matches at LAN parties.

If Doom brought PC shooters in to puberty, Unreal Tournament was the genre’s coming-of-age tale.

2. GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64)

GoldenEye 007 is the most important console shooter ever because it brought the genre off the PC market and in to the living room. For many young gamers, GoldenEye was their first long-term experience with a shooter.

GoldenEye had it all from an engaging single player campaign to one of the most addictive multiplayer experiences in any game. Many gamers grew-up on Friday night game nights with their friends and this game.

The game received four excellent spiritual sequels—Perfect Dark & Timesplitters 1-3—that many gamers missed because of the loss of the James Bond franchise.

1. Doom (PC, various ports)

id software’s Doom redefined the first person genre. Doom was the first shooter to successfully fake a 3-D game play experience, and did so with flying colors.

Though the single player mode lacked a coherent plot and the multiplayer mode lacked support for large numbers of players, the game nailed all the basic concepts embraced by every shooter that followed.

Violence controversy aside, Doom was a revolution within itself, and the shape of gaming to come.

Honorable Mentions:

Starsiege: Tribes, Battlefield 1942, Half-Life: Counter Strike, Rainbow Six, Duke Nukem, Descent 3, and Timesplitters 2.