Devolution: First-person shooters

Are first person shooters actually getting better, or is the genre backsliding into mediocrity?

It doesn't seem like so long ago that an uber-impressive feature list for the GldSrc-engine powered (read: a heavily modified Quake 2 engine) version of Team Fortress 2 inspired first-person shooter enthusiasts with the promise of a vastly different online experience. Medics would be able to provide teammates with health or revive them if felled, vehicular combat would complement the usual on-foot shootouts, while a commander would oversee all of the action, providing player-controlled soldiers with directions and supplies.

Of course, this particular version of Team Fortress 2 never saw the light of day, while its once-touted features were appropriated by other franchises. For a long time it feels as though the online foray for first-person shooters has been a re-skinned experience of a formula fans have played many, many times before. Sure, there are tweaks and improvements across the board, but there seems to be an overt development motif of ‘if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

Case in point: Call of Duty: Black Ops. While a helluva lot of fun and arguably the best iteration of Call of Duty multiplayer to date, it hasn't really added a whole lot to the evolution of the first-person genre. I'm talking about the actual gameplay elements that push a genre forward and challenge other developers to march onwards or run the risk of releasing titles that feel dangerously old hat.

So with that in mind, what is Black Ops left with in terms of novel inclusions? An expanded arsenal is expected and thus negligible in light of genre evolution, while the only real new gameplay addition is the hit-or-miss dive mechanic. You could choose to highlight the social elements, a persistent currency system, the ‘bragging rights' associated with etching a clan tag into your weapons or the addictive Wager Matches that have been heavily inspired by other popular play modes; but these are hardly the features that push the core gameplay of a genre into its next iteration.

For PC gamers, the refined destructibility of Bad Company 2 was a game changer. The entire concept of what constituted cover was thrown into doubt, and the natural tendency to throw oneself against a wall or seek the nearest corner was also fraught with the disconcerting knowledge that said cover could be taken away... along with your digital life. Beyond this, maps became a semi-dynamic affair as a house that provided a squad with elevated dominance one moment could easily be rubble in the next.

Homefront is another example of a first-person shooter that's taking strides in the right multiplayer direction. At a recent hands-on event, Homefront proved that it was taking inspiration from other FPS staples, but splicing them together to create its own evolved beast. One play mode boasted a tug-of-war mechanic that was a merging between Call of Duty's Domination and Bad Company 2's Rush modes. This was supported by vehicular combat options, but you had to accrue enough in-game cash to purchase them. Alternatively, you could spend your digital dollars on single-life upgrades such as armour or a rocket launcher for when a tank rolls around the corner. But earning successive kill streaks also meant that the game would place a target (and eventually a bounty) over your head, making you an attractive option for enemy players.

But for these examples of steps in the right direction, there are many counter examples of first-person shooters that aren't trying to mix it up. Medal of Honor removed the destructibility from the Frostbite engine; instead, opting for a merging of Bad Company 2's team-based mechanics with Call of Duty's kill streak rewards, which didn't really work for me. Even DICE's Vietnam expansion for Bad Company 2 toned down the destructibility, paradoxically removing one of the features from the core game that makes it so notable and, more importantly, replayable.

First-person shooters are still, very much, my favourite genre to play online. But if we're supposed to get excited about an arsenal expansion or a minor gameplay tweak that is touted as the next big step forward for the genre, I'm a tad concerned if we actually buy into the hyperbole and aren't asking for more from developers and first-person shooters.