In this post I will make a tier list and rate EVERY SINGLE shooter game I've ever played for a substantial amount of time. I will add titles in the future after I have played them. All these games, I have either beaten or played for more than 3 hours.

Here is a basic list of the tiers. Read individual columns for more details on tiers.

S Rank: (100 - 91)

These games are the best of the best. Every game in this tier is a must-play.

Half-Life 2, Halo Reach, Half-Life, Half-Life 2 Episode 2, Titanfall 2, Quake, Black Mesa and Halo 2

A Rank: (90 - 81)

Great shooter games that are just not as good as the S-Rank titles. Some have flaws that held them back. Others just barely miss S tier.

Quake II (PC/Xbox), Half-Life Opposing Force, Star Wars: Republic Commando, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 3, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life: Uplink, Destiny 2, Team Fortress 2, Quake Champions, PREY and Call of Duty 2003.

B Rank: (80 - 61)

Good Shooters that are not games you play a series for. These are like "Oh cool! it comes with game pass." Games.

Half-Life Blueshift, Goldeneye 007 Quake 2 64, Star Wars Battlefront Classic 1 and 2 and Quake Live.

C Rank: (60 - 50)

Okay games that have room for improvement.

Star Wars Battlefront.

D Rank: (49 - 0)

Complete garbage. These games should not be played. These are trash titles.

Fortnite, Halo Infinite and Star Wars Battlefront 2.

To Be Added games:

Halo 4, Entropy Zero: 2, Call Of Duty Black Ops 6 BioShock, Counter Strike 1.6/ Condition Zero and Halo 3 ODST.

UPDATE: 11/29/2024: I updated some of the games. I lowered certain scores and started adding different versions of games.

S Rank Games

Half-Life 2. Score: 100

My favorite game in general. Half-Life 2 is a revolutionary game. The story is one of my favorites, And the gameplay is an impressive feat. Sure, the graphics need work, but the game IS from 2004. I played Half-Life Opposing Force before this one. But as soon as I got my hands on the UPS Match, (The HL2 Pistol) I was hooked. This game is a great combination of several game genera's. Some of these are: FPS, Puzzle, Platformer and more! Half-Life one was more of the same gameplay, But Half-Life 2 improved upon that and added a new story, Adversary, Armory and more! Half-Life 2 deserves a 100 score! The fact that there is no HL3 yet is infuriating!

Halo 2. Score: 95

My favorite Halo game. Yes, it's not Halo 3. Why is this my favorite? One name. The Arbiter. I always like a good Anti-Hero. I also like when the game developers tell another side of the story like in Half-Life Opposing Force. The Arbiter levels are a unique experience from the rest of the Halo games. The Flood is a formidable adversary, and I enjoyed the platforming sections. Halo 2 does have some weak points, as does any Halo game. Particularly its lack of waypoints. I hated looking for doorways in Halo 2. It was more irritating than the most annoying Half-Life puzzles. Overall Halo 2 is the best entry in the series and earns a 95. Also... What the heck is wrong with the people who say this is the worst of the trilogy?! And why do people say playing as the Arbiter sucks?! This game is way better than the others!

Titanfall 2. Score: 98

Titanfall 2 is nothing short of a masterpiece. Respawn nailed it. The mechanics of the game are as good as in Half-Life 2. I mean... Come on. You can't run around in a giant freaking robot and fighting in epic boss battles and not give this game a S rank. Ill break each mechanic down. Wall running: This adds an extremely fun parkour element and a new combat advantage. The wall running is a fun part of the game. Time Travel: One of my favorite levels was the Labs. It was extremely fun to use the Time Travel in combat situations. I could time travel behind an enemy, go back, and take them down one by one. Titans. What is there NOT to say about these guys. Playing as a Titan is only half the game but there is a perfect balance between fighting bosses as a titan and eliminating infantry as a pilot. Titanfall 2 is a phenomenal title and a must-play for any Sci-fi FPS fan.

Half-Life. Score: 97

Half-Life is a breakthrough title. I was a Portal fan and decided to play it when it was free for the 25th anniversary. I was shocked by what I saw. Half-Life hooked me within an hour of playing the game. It combined Story, Platforming, Combat and Puzzles to perfection. Valve has some of the best stories in all of gaming. Half-Life is a landmark FPS with its wide range of weapons and enemies. Platforming is also a key factor in this game. There are multiple sections of the game where you are platforming over dangerous Pits, Radioactive Liquids and Electrified water. Puzzles are also important. There are many different mechanics to use in these inventive puzzles. Half-Life is one of the greatest games ever period. (Update: 10/17/2024. Lowered score)

Black Mesa. Score: 99

Black Mesa is a masterpiece. Best remake I've ever played easy. Black Mesa removes what made the original annoying and improves where it was lacking. For example: Better combat arenas without annoying distractions. Clear goals and explanations to puzzles. Clear weapon mechanics (I never knew you could charge the Tau Cannon until BM) And expanding the original format for more modern level design. A little while ago I finished Questionable Ethics and went on to my favorite Half-Life level: Surface Tension. But QE had one of THE BEST shootouts I have ever played through at the end of the chapter. Black Mesa was SO CLOSE to the 100 but it BARELY misses out and if XEN is as good as people say it is it may hit 100 yet. Black Mesa is the best remake ever.

Quake. Score: 91

As a Quake 2 Addict I was expecting something good from the Quake one campaign. I Didn't expect it to be THIS GOOD. Once I finished the first episode I was HOOKED. I had snagged Quake along Doom + Doom II and Quake II for my new PC on game pass and this was the singular game that kept me coming back. The Weapons I will say are not as good as in other entries. There is not a wide group of weapons in episode one. It's essentially Bad Shotgun, Okay Nailgun, Sucky Axe, Grenade Launcher, Rocket Launcher, Good shotgun and OP Nailgun. Not a lot of options. The rocket launcher is more likely to kill you than your target and the grenade launcher is really useful. The shotgun is.... A shotgun and the nailgun is an AR/SMG combo that shoots...You guessed it. Nails. The enemies are also limited in Episode one to the Lunging Feinds, Annoying Ogres, Easy Dogs, Easy Rangers, Tough Death Knights, Normal Knights, Fish, Zombies that do nothing, Annoying Scraggs and the overpowered Shambler. But these enemies play differently enough that when used the way they are the game can be insanely fun. With Great level design, Excellent and Addicting Gameplay and A graphic overhaul Quake is 100% worth grabbing. Quake does a great job of keeping a game simple and amazing. While not as complex as Call of Duty or Half-Life, Quake is a must play and a masterpiece.

Half-Life 2: Episode 2. Score: 93

Half-Life 2 Episode 2 may not be your first guess for a S rank game. It's the best Episode / Add on in the series. It somehow manages to add new enemies and weapons along with an excellent addition to the Half-Life lore. I beat this game WAY faster than the previous ones. I beat it in a single day in 5.6 hours. It was a very fun game. Episode 2 is more of the same content from HL2 with some better graphics. The Antlion caves were fun to play through as was the Strider attack at the end of the game. Overall Episode 2 is a solid entry to the Half Life franchise.

Halo: Reach. Score: 91

Reach is the Halo Prequel. It puts you in the shoes of Spartan Bravo 6. This is the only Halo title where you can customize your campaign character. It's also the only one with good UNSC AI! (Halo CE,2 and 3 marines are so dumb. They shoot at the sky!) The story takes place as a leadup to the massive event known as the Fall of Reach. This is when the Covenant attack the main base of the UNSC. To be honest I think I've played more of the multiplayer and Firefight modes than the actual campaign. But the weapons and enemy rosters get significant boosts in this masterpiece. R.I.P. Halo. We will never have a Halo game this good again as long as 343 is making them. Halo Reach is one of my favorites.

PREY. Score: 93

PREY was my number one want to play for a while. When I finally got behind my keyboard and played, I was not disappointed. I genuinely want to give PREY a high score. I actually paused writing this exact section to go play PREY. I killed a troublesome phantom in the middle of writing this. It is a CRIME that PREY didn't get the attention it deserved. Arkane Austin created a masterpiece only for the marketing team not to do their jobs. PREY is one of the single most UNDERRATED games I have ever played. PREY's level design is amazing. whereas Arkane's masterpiece Dishonored had more linear levels PREY's Talos I gives the player a massive space station to explore. There are plenty of RPG and Immersive sim elements in this game that you wouldn't see in a plain FPS. PREY's combat isn't as good as you would see in Half-Life but it's still fun to take on the typhon. But a keynote is that PREY has many things you can do to avoid combat scenarios. PREY is great as an FPS and an immersive sim. R.I.P. Arkane Austin. Back after killing my first Poltergeist and Telepath and I can say this game only gets better with each session. Last game to do that was Black Mesa and its one of the few Non-Half-Life games that does that for me.

A Rank Games

Half-Life: Opposing Force. Score: 90

Adrian BARELY Misses out on S rank. It's no secret that I'm a die-hard Half-Life fan. Opposing Force is another one of the "Other side of the story" Games I like so much. One of the few HL games not made by Valve, OF is easily the best. Gearbox did not mess around. To think this masterpiece was an Add-on?! If it was its one of the best ever made. Gearbox's other efforts: Decay and Blueshift do not live up to this title's reputation. I've never played Decay and Blueshift falls down to B on this list. Opposing Force adds HECU Personnel to replace Black Mesa Staff, Race X adds a whole new roster of adversaries and Adrian's Loadout is almost completely different from Gordon's! Gearbox made an entirely new Half-Life title as an Add-on! This game does not get the respect it deserves. Opposing Force is a game every Valve and Gearbox fan needs to play.

QUAKE II. Score: 90 (PC/Xbox Version)

In case you're wondering: Yes. there are quite a few 90 score games. Quake 2 barely misses out on S rank as well. This is for the updated version of the game. The Game pass version of Quake II is great. The score for this game may increase because I was a N64 player of Quake and have played less of this one than Quake one. The gameplay is mostly the same at its core but is a whole new experience. There are more enemies than I can count, and each one is crazier than the last and the weapons are diverse, and each serves a different purpose. The Level design is also just as good as Q1. With new gimmicks and impressive design with plenty of side objectives and great combat arenas. Quake 2 took what made the original good and put it to good use.

Halo: Combat Evolved. Score: 90

One of the games that got me into the FPS genera, Halo: CE is a landmark. Halo: CE sports one of my favorite campaigns. It's also the first FPS I ever beat. CE is my 3rd favorite Halo game. CE has a great story, and I also like it due to its connection to the novels. (Yes, gamers do read books. Stop stereotyping.) CE's OG graphics stink. But in remastered the game looks great. I had so many "WHERE AM I!?" Moments in OG graphics. Some levels feel way too long, but some levels have the perfect length as well. The controls feel great, and the weapons are inventive and fun to use. The covenant is, once again, a great adversary for Chief. CE is a ton of fun to play and ages well. CE is a great Halo title.

Star Wars: Republic Commando. Score: 90

My favorite Star Wars game. The force is strong with this one. Republic Commando is based around squad combat with 3 other commandos. The other commandos are AI controlled and can be idiots sometimes. Once I could not move forward because the sniper guy got himself stuck so I had to kill him to progress the game. (You can revive squad members.) Some features of the squad system are interesting. Like Targeting. Where you select an enemy and your whole unit focuses on killing them. Revival, where you can be revived by teammates and ordering your squad to take assault and sniping positions. Normally you wouldn't expect Star Wars games to have a wide range of weapons but there's a Sniper, Pistol, Laser, Grenade Launcher and Shotgun. There's also a wide range of inventive enemies. Republic Commando is a bit like Halo: Reach in some ways. I only wish that EA could make Star Wars games this good.

Call Of Duty (2003) Score: 90

Call of Duty was a game I was hesitant about. I knew its rep and had heard great things about the franchise, but I only played it when I had some leftover Steam card money. I did not regret my purchase. CoD is a complex shooter. meaning that there are multiple things you have to keep an eye on. There are multiple modes of movement and weapon types. meaning that you can't just run in and shoot like a crazy person. And also, it means you are not immortal so you can't ignore your HP like in Halo. In CoD you actually have to plan out your moves. And I liked that. The game takes place in REAL WWII Battles and is an extremely enjoyable experience.

Half-Life 2: Episode One. Score: 83

Episode one is the second weakest game in the series. It's also way too short. (3.5 was my beat time.) But is still a good game. Episode one somehow manages to cram everything from Half-Life into a small title. It's not done nearly as well as Episode 2 is but is still a solid game. The game is paced strangely and features some odd sections along with fast paced combat sections that are extremely enjoyable. Episode one's main problem is that it introduces almost NOTHING new to the Half-Life 2 format. Whereas there were new mechanics and enemies in EP2. It's a good game but lacking in some areas. Overall, a good title.

Halo 3. Score: 89

Halo 3. The gameplay is amazing, and the story is as good as ever. Why is it an 89? Graphics. You may be thinking "But Halo 2, CE and all the Half-Life games graphics suck too!" Those games all have better gameplay or were remastered. 3 is lacking is certain areas and some parts of the game were boring. I also semi-ruined this game for myself playing it immediately after beating 2. 2 was so good that I was still thinking about it through my playthrough. I also played Half-Life shortly after. Halo 3 is still a good entry to the series but like Half-Life Ep 1, It fails to really add any new gameplay elements. I remember the other games I played next to this game much better than this title.

Destiny 2. Score: 82

Bungie's MMO FPS comes in at A. Destiny 2 is a better game than any of the recent Halo games. Bungie wanted to do something new and did so successfully. Destiny brings an entirely new combat system, Roster of enemies, weapon selection and then some. Destiny also adds something I've yet to see in any released game. (Arkane Studio's The Crossing had something sort of similar. The game was never released.) When you are in the game world you can team up and interact with any player on your server! Playing a main story mission? Get some backup! See a raid? Team up with some other players! See another player fighting a boss? Help them out! This is the key feature of Destiny, and it alone gets it to A tier. It's also a very complex game. You can ether focus on the main story and just pick gear based off power. Or you can accept all the side quests and geek out on character customization. It's an FPS for any play style.

Half-Life Uplink. Score: 81

Some of you may be saying "Wait.... What's Half-Life Uplink? I never knew of another classic era Half-Life." It's a 30-minute demo of Half-life one that has been added to the Half-life steam version as part of the 25th anniversary update in 2023. "But a demo isn't a real game!" This is an entirely different entry to the Half-Life franchise. One of the key things about the game is that it takes you through the fun of Half-Life one in 30 minutes. It's paced perfectly so you can get a full experience in its short amount of playtime. It's just a little too short for a higher score. They don't give you all the weapons either. So, you'll find yourself just using the MP5. and the enemy cast is limited to Zombies, HECU Vorts and a guest appearance by the Gargantua. But still, it's a great way for people to get into the game.

Team Fortress 2. Score: 90

TF 2 was my introduction to hero shooters. (It's also the only one I've played.) There are 3 reasons I played it. First: It's a Valve game. They are great at making games. 2: IT'S FREE. 3: I could not stop laughing at the "Meet the Team" Trailers. I mean.... "I don't even know where to start with you...I mean... Do you even know who you're talking to?" - Scout. But when I started playing it, I attempted to play Pyro. Moral of the story: DON'T START BY PLAYING PYRO. But when I found my guy with Solider, I was into it. It's extremely fun to run around in this goofy shooter game blowing up stuff and beating cartoony characters up with a baseball bat. Once I found my guys I started experimenting with other classes. Classes are one of the cool things about TF2. It's fun to play around with all the characters and see if you like them. I'm a Scout main who is good with Spy and Heavy and is okay with Demoman and Pyro. I don't really want to use Solider because he's the rookie character. But as I'm running around in servers as Scout, I'm sure of one thing. TF2 is fun. I will say though. If they had updated the graphics the score would have probably been higher. The 2007 graphics are not great. 90 is the right score.

Quake Champions. Score: 90

QC wins the underrated award. Champions is a FREE Quake game. What's not to like? Here are the pros and cons of this game. Pros: NOT a cash grab. You get the full QC experience for free. The "Champion abilities'" are NOT as bad as people say they are. They don't make much of a difference. The game is EXTREMELY enjoyable. The arena battles are addicting! You can have a duel against bots or your buddies at any time in a custom server! Cons: Unlockable characters are kind of stupid. You have to have "Platinum" or "Shards" To unlock characters and weapon / character skins. The game has an odd difficulty. You're either carrying a bunch of noobs or getting massacred by people who have played this game since 2017. There are only 100 people playing it at one time. I played this game because it's been in my steam library for FOREVER. I saw it a bit ago and decided to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. The arena combat is smooth and fun, you can train against bots, AND the game has tons of fun crossovers! You can play as Doom and Wolfenstein legends Doom Slayer and B.J. Blackajowitz. Not to mention old friends such as Ranger from Q1, Strogg and Peeker from Q2, Visor from QL and Q3A. Not to mention Death Knight from Q1 as well! The new characters are cool as well. Clutch is sick. Overall QC is one of my favorite arena shooters and a great addition to the already amazing Quake series.

B Rank Games

Quake II 64. Score: 80

I separated QII and QII64 because of the fact that they are almost 2 entirely different games. This is for the non-remastered Q264 from 97. The game is indeed fun. It's just so much better on PC or Xbox. Why? I HATE N64 FPS CONTROLS. These controls are an absolute NIGHTMARE. Controls aside the game was completely redone for N64 because Nintendo can't use disks for some reason. The Levels are not as big as on PC, some guns are missing and there is no soundtrack, and Some Boss fights are completely removed. But the game still is enjoyable on the older system. It's kind of like QI. Less weapons less baddies and focus on the gameplay. Unfortunately, the Levels are marred by the atrocious controls.

Quake Live. Score: 79

Quake Live is different from all the other games. This is the first game without a single player campaign and the second without a single player focus. (Destiny 2) I am a huge single player guy. Campaigns are why I play these games. So, when I bought Quake Live, I was pleasantly surprised. It's an arena shooter obviously. And it's the first one I actually played Multiplayer on. (Other than in person PvP on Quake I and II) The first thing is the weapons and areas. The arenas consist of about 3 floors you can go to using jump pads and stairs. The gameplay is insanely fast, so you have to be quick on the draw in combat. There aren't many weapons in the game, and they are all generically named. Like: "Shotgun," "Railgun" Etc. But each weapon has its own play style. You can carry every weapon at one time. This essentially makes you immortal. (For a little while.) There are special pickups and other items that can give you an advantage as well. There is a wide range of multiplayer modes, and each one is an enjoyable experience. Quake Live is a 79.

Half-Life: Blueshift. Score: 67

The worst Half-Life game comes in at B. It's not a bad game though. The reason why it's the lowest ranked game from the Half-Life series is because the game revolves around crappy scientist AI and weird puzzles. Gearbox attempted to make a game where it shows what the Black Mesa team was doing during Adrian and Gordon's missions. There was a focus on the non-combat sections in this game. Condsidering how Half-Life is an FPS this does not really fit well. There are also really tedious sections like the Xen mazes and when you have to rescue scientists. However. When there is combat, as per usual in a HL game, It's really fun. Because of this Blueshift comes in at a 67.

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic. Score: 77

Battlefront is a good game. This is way better than the trashy EA ones. It does way better in 3 main areas. 1: Characters. There are way more playable Races and Troopers. I hated how you only changed your gun in EA's games. But in this one you can use different troops with different stats. There are Droidekas, Ewoks, Jawas, Dark Troopers, Engineers with shotguns, Commanders with miniguns and even MagnaGuards. Each one has a different play style. 2: Gameplay. The older Battlefronts have way better level catalogues and there are plenty of gameplay modes. You can play classic Conquest, a single player mode, or fight massive battles. 3: Heroes. The hero system is WAY better in the older games. In the newer ones you have to grind BP until you have enough for a hero. And even then, if someone is already playing as that hero you can't use them until they die. and that never happens. In the old Battlefronts the player with the most kills gets the option to play as a hero at certain intervals in the battle. the cool thing is that every MAP. not faction. Has different heroes. Like on Genosis, the heroes are Mace Windu and Count Dooku. But on Tatooine its Boba Fett. There is a lot of variety and that's where EA failed. Heroes also lose HP over time so it will even the playing field. 77 For BF classic.

Star Wars Battlefront II Classic. Score: 77

Uh...... Basically it's the same game. This one came out later so there are new gameplay modes and characters to play as. As well as new heroes. The graphics are much better as well. Why are they both 77s? Because this game has slightly worse gameplay. But all the new features make up for that. This also added a new campaign which allows you to play as the 501st legion from the clone wars. Who is the 501st? The clones who attacked the Jedi temple in episode 3. This is a nice touch to Star Wars lore. Way better than BF2 from EA. 77 score again.

C Rank Games

Star Wars Battlefront EA. Score: 51

As I said before EA Star Wars games SUCK. (Other than squadrons of course.) But this is not the worst one. This game can be fun for a short amount of time because of its survival mode. But the controls are weird, there ARE no selectable character classes, and you can NEVER find online games. I do like how there are over 20 weapons to select but this game is still more annoying than it is fun. 51. the game needs much improvement.

D Rank Games

Fortnite. Score: 15

The "Biggest Multiplayer game in the world" Is a complete piece of garbage. Fortnite is the worst shooter I've ever played. Why? Stupid gimmicks. If they had not had all these dumb weapons maybe it would have been worth playing. But Fortnite requires no skill at all at this point. The game gets WORSE and WORSE with each event. Remember when you got killed by a kid who just spammed Deku's Smash from My Hero Academia? Or when you got screwed by some cheap Star Wars move? Or that time someone killed you using a Marvel Comics weapon. What about the Dragon Ball Kamehameha?! These stupid weapons are just the beginning. There are so many ways you can get screwed by someone who just knows that a dumb gimmick is the key to win. Don't play Fortnite. Just don't. The game is a massive cash grab at this point. 15. next one.

Halo Infinite. Score: 32

This game could have been so much. But instead, its ruined by a bunch of people who have no idea how to make a Halo game. 343 really blew it. Why? Halo games have always been known for their campaigns. Not their multiplayer. 343 tried to make a Halo multiplayer game. WHY. Halo is not a multiplayer franchise. But the biggest mistake is the trashy campaign. The story? Trash. The gameplay? Awful. The enemies? The Banished are just an excuse to fight elites again. The Weapons? okay, I guess. Tons of "Noob Tubes." The Price? exorbitant. I am not paying 60 DOLLARS for this trash. Also, there is so many microtransactions in what is free! That's right. MP is free. So only the garbage campaign is 60. DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME.

Star Wars Battlefront II EA. Score: 45

One of the worst licensed games I've ever played. There are so many flaws. There are 5 major ones though. 1: Characters. There is an extremely limited cast. Unlike the older games there is no variety in characters and every trooper is almost the same. 2: Levels. There are way less and worse levels from the OG ones. 3: Heroes. The hero system is so much worse than in the older games. If one player gets a hero, it takes forever for someone else to have a turn. 4: Campaign. The Campaign has no real value to Star Wars lore. 5: 3rd person. The whole game is played in 3rd person, and I HATE third person gunplay. And last of all this game costs WAY too much. Play classic but don't buy the new collection. that's just another EA trick. 45, we're done here.

Conclusion.

There you have it. Whew! I played way more shooters than I first thought! What do you think of my ratings? Do you agree or disagree? I'll update this post soon. See ya!

Rating Every Single Shooter Game I've Played.