Once-Great FPS Game Franchises That Lost Their Identity

First-person shooters exploded in the 90s, and they are now one of the most hyped up genres around. They’re also more fluid than they once used to be, adding in things like RPG elements and multiplayer to help evolve the video game industry.

Major Video Game Franchises That Never Recovered After One Bad Game

These were once hit video game franchises, but thanks to one bad game, we may never see them again.

Posts

By Tristan Jurkovich

Some of the best shooter franchises of all time have dipped in quality or never found their identity. Wolfenstein was a series that was growing stale, but then Wolfenstein: The New Order revitalized the brand. The following FPS series may not be dead or bad, but they are certainly starting to grow a bit weaker in identity and could use a reboot like Wolfenstein: The New Order or a bold new game to evolve the genre.

Halo

The 343 Issue

First Game: Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
Last New Game: Halo Infinite (2021)
Upcoming Projects: Halo: Campaign Evolved (2026)

Under Bungie’s umbrella, they put out five Halo games for Xbox consoles exclusively. Bungie was Microsoft’s golden child who could do no wrong, and the fanbase agreed, although things shifted when 343 Industries took over for Halo 4, which was a good shooter, but something felt off.

In the next game, Master Chief was labeled as a villain and wasn’t always playable, and then the most recent game added an open-world design. It’s not what Halo started as, a solid shooter starring a quiet but unbelievably cool protagonist via Master Chief, and things just haven’t been the same in over a decade now.

Medal Of Honor

WW2 Perfection That Went AWOL

First Game: Medal of Honor (1999)
Last New Game: Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond (2020)

Medal of Honor was certainly not the first shooter experience that focused on World War 2, but it was an early example on consoles. It was a premier series that most associate with PlayStation consoles from the first game on PS1 to Medal of Honor: Frontline on the PS2.

Medal of Honor: Frontline was like the crowning achievement for the franchise, as all other sequels were slightly lesser experiences, and yet things trickled on. The franchise even tried a modern setting, which was not met with positivity, and now, this once great World War 2 shooter franchise has largely been forgotten.

Call Of Duty

Lost Its Innovative Luster

First Game: Call of Duty (2003)
Last New Game: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (2025)

Overall, Call of Duty is a solid shooter series that somehow manages to get a game out every year. The first three games focused on World War 2, while the fourth main title, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, changed things forever. The modern setting was new, the shooting was tighter, and the multiplayer was a revolution. Even though the series bops around between different developers most years, that doesn’t mean there isn’t fatigue behind the scenes.

8 Shooters With Better Gunplay Than Any Call Of Duty

Gamers in search of exceptional gunplay that tops even that of any Call of Duty entry should look no further than these shooters.

Posts

By Tristan Jurkovich

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a good example that some fans aren’t on board with because the multiplayer, while stellar, is leaving a lot of players feeling like it has become too stale and less innovative. The campaign is also a bit messy as an online-only experience. So, while the games are never bad, Call of Duty could use a break to try and reinvent the wheel again, like what Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare did for the series.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon

The Phantom Shooter

First Game: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (2003)
Last New Game: Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint (2019)
Upcoming Projects: Unknown FPS Title (TBA)

The Tom Clancy series of video games started with Rainbow Six titles before Ghost Recon quickly became more popular. Most games feature squad-based gameplay wherein players can command their soldiers to do things like hold or provide cover fire. It was the norm for about a decade until Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands and its sequel reshaped the experience as open-world tactical shooters.

While the first game was great, the second was met with less enthusiasm. Either way, between spinoffs, gameplay changes, and cancellations, Ghost Recon is a phantom of its former self, but maybe the upcoming game can make things better.

Duke Nukem

The King Is Dead

First Game: Duke Nukem (1991)
Latest New Game: Duke Nukem Forever (2011)

Duke Nukem was a huge shooter in the 90s, even though it started as a side-scrolling game. Fans loved Duke Nukem 3D in particular, which was almost like a parody of shooters, but one that still managed to be a fun experience on the scale of Doom and Wolfenstein, as established 90s first-person shooters.

Between some spin-offs and waiting over a decade for a new game that didn't quite meet expectations, Duke Nukem Forever, the Duke Nukem name is far from what it used to be. It will be interesting to see whether the franchise can still turn things around after its latest entry.

Red Faction

Destruction Was Its Gimmick

First Game: Red Faction (2001)
Latest New Game: Red Faction: Armageddon (2011)

The first two Red Faction games were groundbreaking because they let players do something unexpected in a first-person game: blow up walls. That was the gimmick of the first two games, which were more linear shooters. The third game upped the ante on the destruction levels, but shifted the focus to third-person action in an open-world environment.

8 FPS Games With Better Stories Than Halo

Move over, Master Chief. While the Halo series has told its fair share of excellent stories, these other FPS narratives have it beat.

Posts

By Tristan Jurkovich

The last game was more linear again, but it added a new wrinkle to the destruction gameplay, which allowed players to repair some things they broke now. Beyond destroying things, it seems like the Red Faction series never found its true voice beyond destructible gimmicks.

Turok

The Dinosaur Hunter

First Game: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (1997)
Last New Game: Turok: Escape from Lost Valley (2019)
Upcoming Projects: Turok: Origins (TBA)

The Turok games combined the love of playing with dinosaur toys as a kid and the love of shooters as a teen. The series started as comics before the first game used the license to make an out-of-this-world shooter for the N64 in 1997.

Fans loved the first game because there was nothing else like it at the time, but the dip in quality did take its eventual role in the series, which led to a reboot that went over poorly. While the franchise has become a bit stale, there is hope that a new game could revive the brand, Turok: Origins, as long as it doesn’t get canceled like so many other Turok projects.

F.E.A.R.

A Once Great Paranormal Shooter

First Game: F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon (2005)
Last New Game: F.E.A.R. Online (2014)

F.E.A.R. Was cool upon launch because it looked great as an FPS, and it had a cool gimmick involving chasing the paranormal. The first two games, along with the multiplayer segments, won a ton of praise over the years. Unfortunately, the third game was a bit more middling in terms of reviews, and there hasn’t been a new mainline game since 2011.

After this initial trilogy, including DLC packs and standalone projects, there was a multiplayer-only game in 2014 called F.E.A.R. Online, which sort of defeated the purpose of the main games. There needs to be more spooky FPS games, and F.E.A.R., if it is ever brought back, could do wonders for the genre.