On the other side, each year more and more people start talking about how they are sick of Call of Duty. Message boards and comments sections were full of complaints about this year’s game, and people were jumping on the Battlefield 3 bandwagon as if it was going out of style. Analysts said Battlefield would close the gap and sell almost as much as Call of Duty. Then COD came out, and sold more copies than ever before. What does this mean? Is it all talk, or are people really getting sick of Call of Duty?

Why People Are Not Sick of Call of Duty

The obvious argument is that the game is still selling bazillions of copies with each release. People are lining up at their local game retailers at midnight just to get a copy a few hours earlier. Each year, Call of Duty breaks its own record for the highest selling entertainment product. How can you argue with these numbers?

The fact is; you cannot. Until I see a tangible slip in the sale of Call of Duty games, I will not believe that gamers are sick of them. People can cry about lack of change and innovation until they are blue in the face, but until they stop buying the games, they are just crying for no reason.

Not only does COD continue to sell well, it sees gamers investing hundreds of hours. Log into Modern Warfare 3 any time of the day, and you will see hundreds of thousands of active players at any time, and even more during peak hours. Look up and down the leaderboard and you will see millions of high-level players, meaning they put a substantial chunk of time into the game. This means that not only are they still buying the game, but that they are continuing to play it, which will lead them right into buying next year’s game without question.

Nothing else can compete with Call of Duty. Until a viable competitor comes along, Call of Duty will sit atop the throne as the king of shooters. Battlefield 3 was supposed to be the great savior, and while it was certainly a smash success, it appeared to have no effect on the sales of COD. Someone needs to find a way to create that feeling that hooked gamers into the first Modern Warfare, and until they do, it is likely that Call of Duty will be the king until gamers get bored with shooters all together (which I do not ever see happening).

Why People Are Sick of Call of Duty

The message boards are blowing up. Complaints are pouring in about how sick people are of the Call of Duty formula. They are sick of seeing the same game over and over again. Five years of shooters that follow the exact same formula can become stale. Look what happened to Guitar Hero. It was bigger than sliced bread, and then it was forgotten because it became boring.

Go listen to video game podcasts like the Giant Bombcast and Weekend Confirmed, and you will hear some of the best video game journalists talking about Call of Duty fatigue. They will tell you how the formula of the game is wearing thin on them. It is a scary proposition for Activision, who even acknowledge that they think about gamers becoming bored with the franchise. It is a real possibility that the public could get sick of COD.

With most of the previous COD games, the one thing people never complained about was the quality. Every map was amazing, and overall game play mechanics were spot on, but with this one, complaints started happening. It still had a solid 89 on GameRankings, but Call of Duty 4 had a 94 and Modern Warfare 2 had a 93. That is an appreciable drop, and it shows that critics might be getting a little sick of COD.

The Verdict

No, people are not sick of Call of Duty – yet. The facts do not lie; each COD is selling progressively more than the last. Until we see a downward trend in these numbers, it is impossible to say that Call of Duty is on the down-swing. The people who are claiming to be sick of it are a vocal minority, and they just do not have significant enough numbers to provide any noticeable effect on the sales of the franchise.

The review scores are a little scary, but in the end, there is nothing wrong with an 89. Many games would kill for an average review score of 89, so I do not think this is anything to sweat over yet. I think the time will come when Call of Duty will sail into the sunset, but I do not see it happening until something better comes along. Battlefield left a blip on COD’s radar, but it was not enough to hurt them. It will happen, but I do not think it be will for a few more years.

What do you think? Is Call of Duty in its prime, or on the down swing? Are you sick of it personally, or do you still love it? Let us know in the comments!

The options in this genre are far more limited, most likely because shooters tend to demand more advanced graphics than other games. But there are a few good options for Android 2.2+ users.

N.O.V.A 2 HD ($6.99)

Like Halo? Want to play it on your Android? Then go install N.O.V.A 2 HD.

Almost everything about this game is a rip-off of the Halo franchise. The vehicles look similar. The guns look similar. The player character is similar. There’s even an attractive female companion that informs you about mission objectives. But hey, whatever. Microsoft hasn’t made Halo for a mobile device, so somebody had to do it. The graphics of N.O.V.A. 2 HD are about on par with the original Halo: Combat Evolved, and the controls are as good as any you’ll find on a touchscreen device.

There is also extensive multiplayer support. Up to 10 players can duke it out online in five different game modes, including deathmatch and capture the flag.

9mm ($6.99)

Let me first say that the writing of 9mm is more clichéd than an auto-tuned Nyan Cat video. It’s mostly one-liners about how the bad guys shouldn’t have messed with you ‘cause you’re just so awesome. Parents be warned – there is a lot of swearing and violence in this game.

The story isn’t particularly important, however, so it’s not hard to move past that. Once you do, you’ll find what is likely the best third-person shooter on any mobile platform. The gunplay is excellent and there are plenty of cinematic moments. Just as N.O.V.A 2 HD borrows from Halo, 9mm seems to borrow from Max Payne. And I really liked Max Payne.

Even if you’re not sure about the gameplay, you might just want to buy this game for the graphics. The lighting is excellent in most scenes, and the character models aren’t bad either. N.O.V.A. 2 HD can get by with some low-polygon models because most characters are either robots or look like robots, but 9mm does not have that luxury.

Destroy Gunners SP ($9.99)

If you’re a fan of mechs, then you’ll probably like Destroy Gunners SP, a third-person action title that takes its design inspiration from console mecha games. Although Mechwarrior fans may enjoy Destroy Gunners SP, be warned that this title has more in common with the Armored Core series, and is more oriented towards run-and-gun gameplay instead of a slow ballet of thunder and fury.

Perhaps this is why the controls work so well. Your mech buzzes about the battlefield with unnatural grace, targeting opponents and letting loose volley after volley of bullets, missiles and more. All of your weapons are just a touch away. There is also a mech customization aspect to the game, so you can pick-and-choose the weapons that you will bring into battle.

Destroy Gunners SP is expensive at $9.99, but unlike the other games listed here, a free version called Destroy Gunners F is available.  It’s basically a demo, but a long one, so it will give you a chance to see if the game is worth its high price.

The game will only play on devices with a resolution of at least 800×480.

Conclusion

Shooters remain something of a premium genre on Android. They’re rare, and they’re relatively expensive. But the graphics are almost always excellent, and the production values are also better than your typical $2.99 tower defense title. You do get what you pay for.

Do you know of a first or third-person Android shooter app that is awesome, and not listed here? Let us know about it in the comments.

When you miss a great game upon release, it leads to an intense feeling of sadness and longing, almost like when you forget something important for a trip right before you board the plane. However, the sadness is unwarranted, because the games will be there waiting for you, and chances are, they will be even cheaper than they were when they first released. Just check out your local game store, and you should be able to find these games for way below their launch price. The beauty is, even though they are cheaper, they aren’t any less fun!

The list that follows are three games from the last year or so that didn’t sell gangbusters, but are still very solid releases that are worth playing.

BulletStorm

BulletStorm is a first person shooter from the guys at Epic Games. In case you were unaware, they are the same company that have just released the mega blockbuster smash Gears of War 3. While BulletStorm is similar to Gears in that it involves big gruff guys shooting a lot of stuff, it is different enough that I actually like it (and I despise the Gears of War series).

What makes BulletStorm different is the Skill shot mechanic. You are constantly graded on the ways you kill the bad guys. Simply shooting them works, but it’s much cooler to kick them into an electric fence, and doing so will net a lot more points towards buying new guns and more ammo.

The game features a great single player mode, with a decent story and so much action it’s a little insane. It also has a deep multiplayer mode, but due to the terrible sales of the game, it isn’t very populated. If you are looking for a new shooter to play that isn’t called Gears of War, Call of Duty or Battlefield, this is one that is worth checking out!

EA Sports MMA

This is the best Mixed Marital Arts game on the market, but because it didn’t have a UFC license it sold something like four copies. It features a much smoother submission system, and a striking system similar to Fight Night (EA’s incredibly popular boxing game).

The game is populated with fighters from StrikeForce and various other smaller MMA promotions. While these fighters are not the household names like Georges St. Pierre and Brock Lesnar, they still feature top-tier fighters like Fedor, Randy Couture and Nick Diaz.

If you like fighting games, and especially if you like Mixed Martial Arts, this is a must-own game, and is available super cheap. In fact, it is so unpopular that the store might pay you to take it off their hands (this is not an actual fact so don’t quote us to the store owner).

Warhammer 40k Space Marine

Warhammer has a certain stigma around it. People tend to think of it being super nerdy, and not something that interests them. This may or may not be true for the more traditional Warhammer games, but Space Marine is cut from a different cloth. It is not a real-time strategy or pen and paper RPG like most people associate with Warhammer, but is a pretty slick third person shooter.

The general idea of the game is the same as any third person shooter; aim and shoot bad guys. The gameplay is similar to Gears of War, but not so much that it feels like a rip off. Where Space Marine really separates itself from Gears is in their Melee combat. Gears of War has some melee, but it pretty much consists of running up to a guy and slicing him up with a chain saw. In this game, the melee is more combo driven, and much deeper.

Warhammer 40k Space Marine has a great story, even if you aren’t into the deep Warhammer fiction. The developers realized that a large part of the gaming community has no idea what is happening in Warhammer, so they made the game as self-contained as possible. Of course, for those who are into Warhammer, there are plenty of juicy nuggets that most people will gloss over.

If you are looking for a great game that is being ignored in the massive holiday hype season, check out Space Marine.

Conclusion

It is just so hard to keep up with the fast-moving world of video games, and sometimes great games just don’t sell because of bad timing. Sometimes they don’t sell because they lack the license of a major brand, and other times it is just impossible to put a reason on why a game isn’t popular.

Are there any other games you think have been ignored in the last year, or ever, for that matter? If so, let us know in the comments.

What makes this year so great is that two out of the three on this list are games that you can easily spend hundreds of hours playing, and the other one is no short game either. This means that only these three games are going to be necessary to play because they will satisfy my gaming needs for the entire winter. All three of these games bring something a little different to the table, and they all look amazing.

Battlefield 3

BF3 is not only my most anticipated game of the 2011 holiday season, it just might be my most anticipated game of all time. I could not begin to imagine the amount of hours I spent playing Battlefield 2, and since then no other shooter has been nearly as satisfying.

The feature set in Battlefield 3 is awesome, and it looks like they are trying to capture the essence of what made the Battlefield games before the Bad Company series so great. It’s not that the Bad Company games were terrible, because they were perfectly competent shooters, they just didn’t capture the feel of a Battlefield game.

It seems like the people at Dice really remembered what made Battlefield 2 so great and they are trying to include that in 3. They even went as far as including some of my favorite maps from BF2 as a preorder bonus for BF3. Sharqi Peninsula and Strike at Karkand were the two maps I spent the most time in BF3.

I could easily write a whole article detailing the reasons I am excited for Battlefield 3, but I will just say, for me, October 25th cannot come soon enough.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

After a couple of weeks playing Battlefield 3 you might be ready for a little break from shooting people in the face, and if so, Skyrim is here for you. On November 11th 2011, Skyrim hits the market.

It’s been way too long since Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion came out, and while Bethesda has put out Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, both of which play similarly to Elder Scrolls, it just isn’t the same.

Besides walking around a massive world and doing pretty much whatever your heart desires, which is standard for Bethesda RPGs, the feature that really got my attention are the free roaming dragons in Skyrim. Imagine walking around the game world and a giant dragon comes out of nowhere and decides he wants to make you his afternoon snack. What makes these dragons so amazing is that they are not running a predetermined path laid out by the developers. They are given some rules and limits to follow and then sent on their way.

Another feature of Skyrim that has been greatly improved from Oblivion is the third person camera. For anyone who spent time in the last installment of the Elder Scrolls series, you know what I mean. The third person camera looked like complete trash in the last Oblivion game, and thankfully, they are addressing that and making the game actually playable in the 3rd person. In Elder Scrolls IV, the third person view looked so disconnected from the world that it was essentially unplayable. Now, they are building the game with the third person in mind, so for those players who prefer their RPGs in the third person you will be good to go.

Assassins Creed: Revelations

Assassins Creed is, in my opinion, the most improved game franchise ever. I played through AC1 and thought it was a game with great potential that was incredibly poorly executed. Then, AC2 came out and fixed everything that was wrong with the first one. The changes from AC2 to Brotherhood were much smaller, but still brought the franchise to an even higher level.

They are promising some improvements to the multiplayer. They are bringing new modes and improved matchmaking. To me, the online play is an afterthought in Assassins Creed, because I come for the amazing open world and the well done (albeit somewhat confusing) story.

It looks like the core game play is going to stay much the same in Revelations so if you are familiar with Assassins Creed you know just what to expect. The controls will remain the same, and the main objective of the game is intact. That is just fine with me, because it didn’t need much work in the first place. Basically, I just want more Ezio running around the city stabbing people, and it looks like on November 15th, Ubisoft is happy to deliver.

Check out the trailer!

Honorable Mention

Here are a few games that didn’t make the top 3 list, but I am still looking forward to playing them this holiday season.

Modern Warfare 3 – More Call of Duty is never a bad thing.

Forza Motorsport 4 – Forza and Gran Turismo are back and forth for the number 1 and 2 racing games, and I can’t wait for the Forza to swing the pendulum back to Forza’s favor.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: A Star Wars MMO made by the RPG geniuses at BioWare? Sounds like a recipe for a winner! That is if it actually comes out this year; I’ll believe it when I see it.

Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception: Uncharted is known for a great story line, great game play and awesome visuals, and the third looks to be no exception.

Batman: Arkham City: If this is anywhere near as good as Arkham Asylum, we are in for a winner.

Conclusion

The holiday video game rush looks like it is going to be a good one this year, and I cannot wait. You really can’t go wrong with any of these games.

Check out some other gaming related articles on MakeUseOf:

3 Best Multiplayer First Person Shooters Of All Time
5 Reasons Why You Should Not Give Up On Pokemon Games Even As An Adult

What games are you looking forward to this holiday season? Let us know in the comments!

First person shooters are one of the biggest genres in the video game world today. With games like Call of Duty setting sales records across all of entertainment, not just gaming, I think it is safe to say first person shooters are here to stay. Obviously, since there are so many first person shooters being released, narrowing it down to the three best is no small task, but when I really thought about it, these choices were actually a no brainer. Remember, I am only looking at these games in regards to their multiplayer prowess; their single player side is of no concern for the purpose of this article.

Halo: Combat Evolved

I will start this off by saying I am not a great Halo player. I have played every Halo, and no matter how much time I spend with them I just cannot get good. I reached a point where I realized that Halo just is not for me. However, I would be insane to leave the original Halo list off any top list of first person shooters.

Game developers had tried to make a good FPS for consoles for a long time and no one could seem to nail it. Then Bungie stepped into the picture and completely flipped the gaming industry on its head. They took a completely PC dominated genre and made it work on a console better than anyone imagined. Bungie brought incredible graphics, a silky smooth frame rate and a control scheme that was adapted perfectly to a game pad instead of mouse and keyboard. Even though Halo features no online play, it is still one of the best multiplayer shooters in history.

Halo has gone on to become one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, and I expect it to continue to sell like hot cakes.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty was a fairly successful PC shooter before the first Modern Warfare game came out. Then the dynamic shifted, and Call of Duty became a massive franchise that breaks every sales record in the book every year when a new game comes out.

COD4 added so much to the first person shooter genre. The core game play in Call of Duty isn’t that revolutionary. What makes it so special is all the things it added in terms of multiplayer features outside of the actual game. They gave their game a sense of purpose that is not often seen in a multiplayer game. They added a level progression system that many other shooters are borrowing now.

Infinity Ward also added kill streaks, which is a genius way of rewarding players for doing well. If you are getting a lot of kills, what better way is there to be rewarded besides earning more kills!

Their perks system, which allows you to change specific attributes about your soldier based on your play style, is something that kept myself, and millions of other gamers coming back for more.

Battlefield 2

This is without question the video game I have spent the most time with in my life. I can’t even begin to imagine the number of hours I have spent playing Battlefield 2, and I think if I knew the number it would terrify me. Battlefield 2 was the game that finally broke first person shooters out of their World War 2 rut. I cannot stand playing WWII shooters because the guns always feel old and slow.

Battlefield 2 took the systems Dice originally laid out in their earlier shooters Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam, expanded them and put them in a modern setting.

What truly makes Battlefield so special is their emphasis on large-scale teamwork. It is one of the first games to bring giant 64 player battles to the player, and more importantly, they did it in a way that didn’t feel like an unmanageable cluster.

Dice took classes to a whole other level. Having people play as medics to revive and heal teammates, support classes to provide ammo and even engineers to repair damaged vehicles.

Did I mention vehicles? Battlefield 2 merged vehicle-based combat with on-foot combat in a way that I still don’t think has been replicated. They offered all kinds of vehicles like ATV’s, tanks and airplanes. The scope of the game is tremendous. One minute a player could be running around shooting a squad of enemies on foot, and the next flying around in an airplane dropping bombs on the very same squad.

For me, Battlefield 2 is the single best first person shooter ever made, and honestly, one of the best video games ever made. The only game that might top it could be Battlefield 3.

Conclusion

There have been hundreds of first person shooters released throughout the years. Pretty much any one of those shooters released in the last ten years borrows something from these three games. Not only are they revolutionary in their genre, they are also downright great games. Even today, going back to these games is still fun. And the best part? They all have sequels coming out in the near future.

What are your favorite first person shooters? Do you think my list is asinine? Let us know in the comments.

I think most of the reason stems from the fact that most of the online games really suck. I’ve browsed for hours before, trying to find a flash-based free online game that actually has good graphics, cool sound and an interesting plot. Most of the time though, my search ends in disappointment. However, I was quite surprised to find one online game site called FreeGamePick, that actually offers an entire category of free downloadable games with really cool graphics, awesome sound and addictive game play.

Free Downloadable Games You Can Play on Your PC

From the main page, you’ll see that the site is split into two sections – one area for a huge collection of online games, and another for the free downloadable games.

The downloadable games section actually offers a decent selection of games to choose from, covering a pretty good mix of game genres. I found some really cool shooter games, racing games, and of course arcade-style games in the downloadable section of the site. I also played around a little with some of the online games offered, and the ones offered for download are much higher quality by far.

One of my favorite games here, which you have to download and try out, is called Aerial Fire. Most of these games I was going to just download and play for a few minutes before moving on to the next. With Aerial Fire, I was addicted for hours trying to get to the next level.

Basically, you command an attack helicopter and battle against enemy units in the air and on the ground. There are explosions, an awesome soundtrack, and a pace that will keep your heart pounding.

If you like those shooter arcade games where there’s a scene and you have to quickly take out the bad guys before they take you out – then you’ll love Anto-Terror. In this game, you are battling an army of terrorists that are hiding in doorways, in towers, and behind walls and sandbags.

As they peek, jump, or run out towards you shooting, it’s your job to take them out before they cause too much damage. Run out of health before the end of the level and it’s game over for you. Multiple weapons are available as the game progresses.

This isn’t to say that there isn’t a place for the occasional simple puzzle or brain-teaser game. Those are the staple of online games, but when you download one to your computer, you will usually find better graphics, better sound effects, and a better soundtrack. El Dorado Quest is a good example of that.

Race with the red timer bar on the right to swap two objects and match up at least three similar items at a time. As you get better at this game, you’ll find that you’re matching 4 or 5 at a time, with the items cascading down quickly and your points are going through the roof. This is another downloadable game that’ll make you miss deadlines and really tick off your spouse.

Of course – you can’t play video games without Pac-Man. Yes, that’s another game available from FreeGamePick, but in this case it’s called PakMan2008. This is a 3D version of the classic game, with ghosts replaced by strange, random objects.

I’m not sure I completely get the point of this one, but the fact that it’s 3D really does draw you into the game in a way that the classic game never could.

My second-favorite type of game to play is anything to do with racing. While street and track racing is always a blast, the best racing game on this site is Offroad Racers. In this face-paced game, you take your off-road vehicle on a soft-packed dirt track – trying to pass your opponents, or run them off the trail.

It can be hard to go very fast in the soft dirt – so you also get a cool turbo-boost. However, boost too often and you’ll overheat the engine and explode. How’s that for excitement?

FreeGamePick proves yet again that downloadable games always offer a better gaming experience. All of the FreeGamePick games that you download get installed in the same folder under the start menu, so you’ll never have to hunt for them. Just launch the game whenever you’re bored and have a blast.

Do you prefer downloadable games over online games? Have you tried any of the free downloadable games at FreeGamePick? Let us know your favorites, or share your thoughts about online vs offline games in general, in the comments area below.

Image credits: Kerem Yucel