Whats the best WW2 FPS ever made?

[Fijiman]

Wolfenstien: The New Order

Does that qualify as a WWII game?

No, it really doesn't. It's only in WWII for like the first twenty or thirty minutes of the game before you fast forward about thirty years.(though don't quote me on any of those exact time frames)

OT: The only WWII FPS I've ever played is Battlefield 1943, so I couldn't really tell you. I recently got Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, but I only recently regained the ability to play PS2 games again(as my brother had the PS2 and the good controllers with him at college) but haven't taken the time to play it yet.

 

[Potjeslatinist]

Wolfenstien: The New Order

Does that qualify as a WWII game?

No, it really doesn't. It's only in WWII for like the first twenty or thirty minutes of the game before you fast forward about thirty years.

And even then, that WWII bit in the beginning actually takes place in 1946.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I've got two.

Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30 (and "Earned in Blood" as well to a slightly lesser extent)

A WWII shooter that actually uses squad tactics and forces you to think?!? What madness is this?!?! But that's what it was; you basically are the commander of a squad (usually it's other people but every so often you get a tank or bigger weapons). You use your squad to lay down covering fire on enemies and then flank them. Meanwhile, the AI was good enough that it tried to do the exact same thing to you, something that the later games failed to do all that well..

Seconded. It was amusing watching a friend used to other shooters of the time try it out. He charged straight at the enemy, expecting the usual bullet sponge protagonist mowing down waves of Nazis. It went about as well as you'd expect. Needless to say, he quickly learned to appreciate the "four 'Fs.'"

Don't forget the gripping Band of Brothers-esque narrative as well. While other WWII games went for large scale battles and grand heroics, BiA is more intimate and introspective, reminding players just how ghastly war really is. It's one of the few video game series that made me tear up over the deaths of my squadmates.

Spoiler

RIP Allen and Garnett

My only major gripe is that the squad AI would occasionally shit the bed, hunkering down in front of cover rather than behind it. That and the infamous Thompson sound bug in Road to Hill 30, though most of the time it was a relatively simple matter of swapping it out for an MP-40.

 

[Squilookle]

Look, I'm a singleplayer man through-and-through. It's my jam. I have nothing but utmost respect for a game that weaves a wonderfully crafted narrative (or narratives) through WW2- Games like Road to Hill 30 and COD 2 are stellar experiences. I also want to shout out personally to games that are finally trying to expand WW2 into a dynamic sandbox experience such as The Saboteur and Sniper Elite 3.

But the simple fact is, I couldn't stop playing Battlefield 1942. Just couldn't stop. People have consistently played this game to this day. We've been playing it constantly for longer than the actual Second World War. The only reason I stopped is because servers dried up in my area. Save for that I would be playing it right now. No other game (and certainly no battlefield game) captured such a complete range of freedom that BF 1942 has. How many games can you think of that allowed you to torpedo a battleship from a submarine, blow up a factory with bombs you dropped from a dive bomber, and sneak up to someone from behind a palm tree and stick a knife in them from behind?

I know it's campaign is thin as hell. I know the bots are next to braindead (but hey- GOOD ON THEM for putting bots in in the first place) but you know what? When the gameplay is this good, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't.

​

 

[Hawki]

You're not really helping your case. One man against a horde of soldiers, mutants, and zombies is something that I can say with certainty did NOT happen in WWII, so instantly the core appeal of WWII fiction isn't present. As I mentioned above, Wolfenstein is harkening more to pulp sci-fi than historical context, so it being set in WWII doesn't make it a piece of WWII fiction in of itself.

Also, plenty of WWII games have you as one man for a sizable chunk of the game, if not in its entirety. It's not all that big of a distinction.

Im not a fan of military based war shooter my friend, thats why i choose wolfenstein because its not realistic. its old school twitch shooter set in WW2. so yes its WW2 game set in alternate reality. a Sci fi game set in 1940.

I'm not debating the game's gameplay, I'm skeptical as to whether Wolfenstein can be considered a WWII shooter in terms of elements such as context and themes. A story being set during the time period of WWII doesn't in of itself make it a WWII story. While Wolfenstein does deal with Nazis and the like, it's far more in the vein of pulp sci-fi than historical fiction, alternate or otherwise. Captain America (the film) deals with Nazis. Worldwar deals with Nazis. Neither of them I'd cite as examples of WWII stories in of themselves. Or, to list a hypothetical, if Nazi Zombies (the CoD mode) existed as its own, independent product, would people think of it as a WWII game? I'd argue, probably not.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

My personal favorite is Call of Duty 2.
It basicly upped everything that original CoD has done.(maybe except Stalingrad storm from the river bank, but rest of this town, i very much prefer in infamous russian winter conditions from 2). Defending Hill 400 was one of my most intense moments in FPS ever.

I was never big into multi WWII shooters, but from what i know Red Orchestra is best you can get when it comes to "real" experience. And since you've mentioned Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory if you want actuall World War.

 

[hermes]

I also have to give my support at the original Call of Duty. The soviets campaign was groundbreaking at the time...

 

[Wrex Brogan]

uhhhhh... it was one of the Medal of Honor games for the Gamecube. Damn, that shit was fun, but there was like 9 other Medal of Honor games at the time so I can't remember the title of it. I know one of the levels revolved around dealing with V2 missiles though, and the final level was diffusing a dirty bomb in a snowy landscape.

It had good guns though, and competent gameplay. Also health packs! That was nice.

 

[RealRT]

My favorite? The one and only - the ORIGINAL Medal of Honor for PlayStation. No other MOH game ever felt so cinematic, so involving, so great to me.
2nd favorite is the original Call of Duty. The original Call of Duty games deserve a great kudos for remembering that countries other than USA fought against the Nazis. Like, you know, Soviet friggin' Union. You know, they are only the guys who kicked Nazi asses all the way back to Berlin.
3rd favorite... yeah, I'll go with the ever-popular Return to Castle Wolfenstein. It was good. Aside from that forest stealth mission because fuck "One alarm and you're done" stealth missions and designers who make them.

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

I played original brothers in arms long ago and i found its rather boring and dull to be honest. never played third game which has third person wall cover.

 

[pookie101]

i liked the brothers in arms series but the ideal for me was operation flashpoint with ww2 mods. dropping by parachute into an area, knowing you and your squad have to take that village, and hold it until allied forces arrive and you are facing enemy armour and on top of that a single bullet can kill you and nothing is scripted

good stuff

 

[Remus]

If Wolfenstein is in the mix we gotta add Resistance: Fall of Man. Sure it's got aliens, and alien/human hybrids, but it's during WW2.
For straight up WW2 sims, my vote goes to Red Orchestra. With the expansions, the perk and leveling system has become less constrained and easier to level, which is a bonus for casual players.

 

[Sharia]

Return to Wolfenstein is really good if it counts. Other than that, I'm going to say Medal of Honor: Frontline and maybe Call of Duty 1 or 2. I haven't actually played Allied Assault.

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

I haven't actually played Allied Assault.

Im surprised sheria since you play almost everything.

imo that game was only decent (if not great) game in worthless series of 12 games. but unfortunately that game lead to the creation of original COD, thus iron sight and trend of scripted events happen and ruined FPS genre.

 

[Hawki]

If Wolfenstein is in the mix we gotta add Resistance: Fall of Man. Sure it's got aliens, and alien/human hybrids, but it's during WW2.

Being nitpicky, Fall of Man is set in the 1950s. I'm also not sure if it can be called a WWII shooter given the different time period, different enemy, etc.

That said, it does have more going for it than Wolfenstein in regards to contextual setting, in as much that Resistance has a distinct PoD (October Revolution doesn't succeed), and while the Chimera are an outside factor, everything from 1917 onward becomes a history distinct from our own. Even if it might not quite be a "WWII shooter," it certainly harkens to the aesthetic, and I think it's a very good case of worldbuilding, especially how it plays around with alternate history.

 

[Elfgore]

Call of Duty 2 or 3 for me. I really enjoyed both of those games immensely. 2 for the amazing levels and 3 because I got to play as Canadians and Polandtonians?

Now, if only we'd get a WWII FPS from a Japanese or German viewpoint.

Edit: Changed game to FPS. Several RTS games exist that allow you to play as Germany/Japan.

 

[josemlopes]

I tend to prefer bot shooters over linear campaigns these days, so I play a lot of the Forgotten Hope 2 mod solo. It's a BF2 mod so plays like a BF game but with bots its pretty much a sandbox shooter with plenty of maps to play, and with 110 bots its pretty epic in scale. Other than that Dino D day I'd mindless fun.

I still find it impressive that there isnt a single game that lets an FPS player fight an RTS player. RTS games manage to have big maps with organized troops, even the AI in those games can get some things coordinated.

From the last time I played a BF2 game with bots they still felt somewhat lost and just minding their own business. There was a tweak that helped but still even then... (I dont remember if its this exactly, I saved it on my google chrome markers way back then http://www.battlefieldsingleplayer.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=15109)

 

[Hawki]

Now, if only we'd get a WWII game from a Japanese or German viewpoint.

One of the original Company of Heroes expansions provides a German campaign, for what it's worth.

Edit: Per the original post, the people of Poland are called "Poles," in terms of nationality.

 

[WolfThomas]

MOHA was probably my favourite. That or COD 2.

This really makes me wish there was a new good WW2 game out again. I know we complained about over saturation but there's a lot of game features you could borrow from to make a great WW2 game. Character and gear customization. COOP. FPS with third person cover. Open level design with multiple approaches. Cover and suppression mechanics. Etc