7 – Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
If Wolfenstein is my favorite alternative version of World War 2, then Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway is my game of choice for a grounded, emotional, and focused experience that I have replayed for at least a dozen times, having gone back to it just last year for another playthrough. This is the final game in the Brothers in Arms trilogy and takes place during the infamous Operation Market Garden, and back in the shoes of Matt Baker. It’s a tasteful mix of first-person shooting and an expertly implemented cover-based system, which was quite in vogue in 2008, after the roaring success of Gears of War. Despite being nearly 20 years old (ouch!), Brother’s in Arms is still one of the best-looking FPS games ever put to code, and in 4K it still looks brand new, and that’s not an exaggeration.
6 – Killzone 2
In 2026, the Killzone franchise is a forgotten relic of the seventh generation of video game consoles, and unfortunately didn’t make the transition to modern systems, but during its heyday – and by that I mean, the Killzone 2 days- it was one of the most immersive first-person shooters to date. A groundbreaking visual masterpiece that had a memorable story-driven campaign that had you invading the Helghast homeworld on a massive ground assault on the city of Pyrrhus. But the most memorable part is the one that’s harder to play to this day, which is its fantastic multiplayer. A friend and I spent a whole summer fighting for the dominance of the Radec Academy, and yes, we were absolute menaces too. Or maybe, we just remember the highlights. Man, I wish I could go back.
5 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
I don’t think I have played any other first-person shooter in multiplayer longer than I did Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and if you were around when it came out, in 2009, you’re probably in the same boat as I am. Here’s a confession: I never finished the campaign! You know why? Because I was too busy in multiplayer using a noobtube to gather killstreaks to unleash map-nukes! Everything in this game was iconic, from the maps to the weapons, to the killstreaks, to the gunplay, the addictive progression systems that constantly dripped new weapons and attachments, and on top of all of that, it didn’t have any of that stupid skill-based matchmaking. To be fair, I was going to place Call of Duty: Modern Warfare from 2019 here, because I loved that game as much as MW2, but the existence of SBMM instantly makes it suck hundreds of times more.
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