The 1990s were one of the best decades to be around if you’re a fan of shooters. With how many great games were coming out during the first-person shooter boom, there was always something new to play, especially if you owned a PC. Don’t take that to mean there weren’t a few solid console shooters, but the PC was where it was at in the ’90s. Despite the sheer volume of new shooters launching during the ’90s, a few great series were able to really stand out from the crowd.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Here are the five best shooter series from the 1990s.
5) Star Wars: Jedi Knight
LucasArts saw the success of FPS games in the ’90s and decided to get into the mix with Star Wars: Dark Forces. That first game stars Kyle Katarn, a mercenary working for the Rebels. Dark Forces takes the classic FPS formula and adds plenty of new movement options, making it one of the standout shooters of the decade. We also learn that Katarn is strong with the Force, setting up the rest of the series.
1997’s Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II keeps the FPS combat, but adds lightsaber combat as Katarn continues his story. Like the first game, it was a major hit, earning top marks for its combination of puzzles and combat. Dark Forces II got a major expansion when Mysteries of the Sith dropped in 1998, but fans had to wait until the next decade to see where Katarn’s journey would take him next. Still, those first two games did an excellent job of starting the fan-favorite series.
4) System Shock
System Shock came out in 1994 from Looking Glass Technologies. Unlike many of the other FPS games of the era, it did not become a massive commercial hit, but anyone who played it sang its praises in the street. It’s not as frenetic as something like Doom, instead preferring to slow the pace to a crawl, forcing players to really think about each encounter. That helped immerse you in System Shock‘s captivating world.
Then, System Shock 2 came along in 1999. Designer Ken Levine (of BioShock fame) took over from Warren Spector and Doug Church to give players one of the best games of the era. Like the original, this isn’t just an FPS game. Levine and his team mixed in survival horror and RPG elements, building on the original’s immersive sim elements. It’s an absolute gem of a game that catapulted Levine to stardom and helped give the world BioShock.
3) Duke Nukem
Duke Nukem had something of a weird decade in the ’90s. In 1991, Apogee Software released the first Duke game. Unlike the FPS gameplay Duke would eventually become synonymous with, this first game was a platformer. Sure, you still shot enemies, but it wasn’t anything what you’d expect, given the way the series went. The second Duke Nukem, released in 1993, was also a platform game, but added more weapons to the mix.
Then, in 1996, everything changed with Duke Nukem 3D. Developer 3D Realms took over and moved Duke to the third dimension. By doing so, they jumped in on the rise of first-person shooters, helping popularize the genre. It earned top marks across the board and was a major sales hit, pushing over three million copies during its run. From there, we got several expansions and ports, turning Duke into a phenomenon. Sure, the series completely fell off in the 2000s and beyond, but it was great while it lasted.
2) Quake
Developer id Software was at the forefront of the first-person shooter boom in the ’90s, so it’s not a surprise to see one of their series show up. And spoiler alert: It’s not the last one on this list. In fact, Quake was the successor to id’s genre-defining Doom series, taking the developer into new heights by focusing even more on multiplayer gameplay. The first Quake launched in 1996. You might assume id would take a few years before following up on the success of the first game, but the developer moved fast in the ’90s.
In fact, we got the second Quake the very next year. Of course, both games also got several expansions, adding even more content to the mix. Then, id finished the decade with a bang, dropping Quake III Arena in 1999. This series was all about pushing your rig to its limits while delivering fast-paced online deathmatches. Quake is easily one of the most important FPS series and deserves a spot on this list.
1) Doom
It couldn’t be anything else. As mentioned, id Software was the king of the FPS genre in the ’90s. It all started with Wolfenstein 3D in 1992, but the team quickly followed that up with Doom, which became all the rage almost instantly. The first game in the long-running series sold somewhere around six million copies, but around 20 million players downloaded the shareware version as well. In fact, some estimates claimed Doom was installed on more computers than Windows 95 at one point.
Doom was a phenomenon, and id Software wasn’t about to let it go quietly. In 1994, we got Doom II: Hell on Earth. The next year brought the Master Levels expansion for the second game and The Ultimate Doom, which collected all of the episodes from the original game into one retail package. Final Doom hit in 1996, and Doom 64 launched the next year. Each new addition added new wrinkles to the mix, giving even veteran fans a reason to jump back in. Doom defined the ’90s and might be the most important FPS game of all time, making it an easy choice for this list.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
