1 – Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Ask about the most influential FPS games in history, and you’ll always get the same answer: Doom, Half-Life (and Half-Life 2), Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, and Halo. And it’s no wonder, each of these games pushed and pulled the boundaries of the genre in one way or another. Some refined their shooting mechanics to be as deterministic as possible, others brought story and immersive elements into the mix, and a couple are just really fun. As for Halo, I don’t rank it so high because of its mechanical innovations, or because it refined the FPS genre for console, or because of its amazing campaign and multiplayer, individually.
For me, the original Halo was a look into the future of FPS, a new and exciting IP that ditched the gritty realism of World War 2 for a new space adventure where each weapon was unique, enemies were challenging and served a tactical purpose, and the whole story was gripping, and the map design was just right up my alley. To this day, I can still navigate the island of the Silent Cartographer from memory. It was an exciting period to be a gamer, and the original Xbox promised a higher level of fidelity and possibilities that the PS2 and Gamecube struggled to handle, and playing Halo really made you feel like you were stepping into a brave new world of gaming that was unthinkable just a few years prior.
I have also fond memories of playing in split-screen with a group of friends, and going over the whole campaign over the course of the summer of 2002 with my cousins. I’m not a big gaming memorabilia kind of guy, and aside from a couple of figures from Shovel Knight, the only gaming character I have on display in my office is a small figure of Master Chief, the best protagonist in FPS history.
Conclusion – Wrap It Up, Boys! We’re Going Home!
So yeah, that’s it. I’m a massive fan of shooters, and for 2026, I promised myself that I would feature some new genres on Strategy and Wargaming, and why not start this whole thing off by showcasing what’s possibly my second-favorite genre in gaming? What about you? Do you enjoy shooters? If so, which ones and why? Be honest, you probably have several hundred hours in one, and you’re too ashamed to admit it.
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