6 Underrated 6th Generation FPS Games

A horrifying encounter with an Alpha Werewolf (picture courtesy of Blogspot.com)

Legendary (2008) Published by Gamecock Media Group and Developed by Spark Unlimited 

I am not going to attempt to convince you that Legendary is an amazing game. The gameplay and combat can be pretty sluggish, and the pacing of the story can feel sporadic. However, where “Legendary” excels is in its unique premise and enemy designs. Charles Deckard is a professional thief who accidentally opens Pandora’s Box, unleashing creatures of mythology upon the world. Early on Deckard battles Griffins, Drakes, a massive Golem, and Werewolves. Later in the game however you have legit boss battles against the Minotaur and the freaking Kraken. The game is short, around 5-7 hours, despite this it’s usually on sale and offers a quick, exciting ride of a first-person shooter. 

“Do you think Bethesda remembers us?” (Photo courtesy of t1gn.com)

Brink (2011) Published by Bethesda Sofwarks and Developed by Splash Damage

“Brink” comes from a similar line of movement-based first-person games that Mirror’s Edge and Quake fall into, and would eventually lead to games like Dying Light. Where free-flow parkour is a staple part of the gameplay. “Brink” has some rough patches, the game has an unfinished feeling that, even 13 years later, can not be shaken. Despite this, “Brink” is a stylish, movement-paced FPS game that offers a fun and unique gameplay premise. You can design a character from either of the game's two factions, The Resistance or Ark Security. You can select from 4 classes, Soldiers, Engineers, Medics, and Operatives, which in turn allows you to select from a Large, Medium, or Small body type, each of which affects your weapon handling and movement speed. Movement is key in this game, with wall running, quick-paced single-player missions, and a (very dead) multiplayer. “Brink” likely will never get a remake, but the quick exciting gameplay makes for a fun piece of FPS history.

Metacritic managed to look at this and give this game a 67 rating (Photo courtesy of the-nextlevel.com)

Turok (2008) Published by Disney Interactive Studios (yes really) and Developed by Propaganda Games and Aspyr

“Garrett there is no possible way you could believe that Tuork is a good game”, oh I believe my friend. Not only do I believe Tuork is a good game, but I think it’s severely underrated (for what it is). The Turok franchise has an interesting and unique history that would warrant an entirely separate article. To summarize as best as possible, the original Tuork games were shooters involving Native American space warriors, aliens, and dinosaurs. The games spanned from the N64 to the Gamecube and PS2, and each of the original 6 games offered a fun and interesting experience. “Turok” (2008) however is much more “grounded” serving as a hard reboot from the original games, focusing on a man named Joseph Turok, a tough space marine trapped on a planet filled with dinosaurs. What is Turok’s response to this situation? To use knives, a literal bow, rocket launchers, a flame thrower, and a hand-held chain gun to fight off waves of giant dinosaurs, bugs, and evil soldiers. And people say this game doesn’t rule. “Turok” offers some genuinely tense boss battles as you are often left fighting giant dinosaurs. and even a spider tank completely on foot. There are some amazing moments, with stunning visuals that hold up even to this day in some areas. Overall, the story is a sci-fi mess of fun mixed with simple gameplay and a unique variety of enemies. Also, there is a malevolent mother T-Rex who stalks you through the game for attacking her nest, do I need to say more?

The original enemies to lovers (Photo courtesy of inspiredpencil.com)

Aliens vs. Predator (2010) Published by Sega and Developed by Rebellion Developments 

Both the “Aliens” and “Predator” franchises have had a rough history with video games. While the older games of both franchises have their charm, “Aliens vs. Predator” (2010) is honestly the last good game from either group (excluding Alien: Isolation). The charm of the Aliens vs. Predators game stems from the three-part campaigns, where you play as a rogue xenomorph, a massive Predator, and a helpless space marine. Each campaign offers an entirely different FPS experience. The Space Marine campaign offers a genuinely horrifying experience as you are often alone against hordes of killer androids and aliens. At one point you even stand against a Predator as a lowly human armed with nothing but a Pulse Rifle and a colonial marine mean streak (also a super overpowered shotgun). The Predator campaign is a complete power trip, you vastly outgun every human and xenomorph you encounter, and even higher difficulties don’t offer much that you can’t overcome. The Alien campaign is a unique reverse-monster experience, where you have to rely on the shadows and stealth to pick off unsuspecting androids and humans. Overall, each campaign has some truly memorable sections backed by amazing lighting and unnerving sound design. “Aliens vs. Predator” is likely the last entry for the franchise for quite a while, so if you are ever feeling nostalgic for classic monster action, you can’t top “Aliens vs. Predator”. 

The Duke Nukem DLC is pretty much mandatory for this game (Photo courtesy of PC Gamer)

Bulletstorm (2011) Published by Electronic Arts and Developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games

I can’t believe I have to even put Bulletstorm on this list. 13 years later and why this fast-paced, stylish shooter never got a sequel is beyond my understanding. Bulletstorm is all about style points, literally, depending on how you use your grappling, various sci-fi weapons, and literally boot, you can score various amounts of points for unique actions You can use these points to further upgrade your character, making for a visually fun gameplay loop that never got old during my playthrough. The story is pretty generic for an FPS game and does offer some pretty funny dialogue moments, overall you’ll be so engrossed in the combat that you’ll likely forget about any story elements. The game even offers a very awesome DLC that allows you to play through the campaign as Duke freaking Nukem. Also, you fight a literal skyscraper-sized kaiju, I don’t think I need to explain myself on why this game needs a sequel. 

The Resistance franchise has a reputation for large bosses (Photo courtesy of nme.com)

Resistance 3 (2011) Published by Sony Computer Entertainment and Developed by Insomniac Games

I have a massive soft spot for the Resistance franchise, as I have done 100% playthroughs for each of the entries, including the PSP and PS Vita spinoffs. “Resistance 3” is easily my favorite of the franchise, as the helpless David vs. Goliath story makes for a thrilling conclusion to the Playstation-exclusive trilogy. I would like to do a separate blog eventually diving into the interesting story of the trilogy, and its unique setting, tone, characters, and alien threat, the Chimera. “Resistance: Fall of Man” (2006) and “Resistance 2” (2008) are both more military shooters, with large combat areas and a focus on taking the fight to the Chimera. This war however proves to be one-sided and humanity falls to the Chimera invasion, leaving the protagonist Joseph Capelli to stop the Chimera’s final plan, a wormhole in New York meant to freeze the planet over and finish off any human survivors. Capelli ends up on an exciting adventure that takes him across the Mississippi River where he fights monstrous sea Chimera. Eventually, you end up fighting a mythical Chimera in a coal mine, battling giant monsters on a train, breaking out of a bandit prison, and finally battling Chimera across downtown New York City. “Resistance 3” can be described as nothing less than an FPS epic, with a fantastic and long story, with fun, rich environments to find yourself immersed in.