Im new to this gaming malarky, and i started out on the original xbox. as such, i use consoles a lot more than my pc (for games at least) however, ive heard many good things about pc games, and ive tried to get into them more. This did not go well, as i hit a stumbling block with the controls. well not with rts, but with Shooters, it comes to a point i simply cant play it. so, seeing as most of you (at least from what ive gathered) are long time pc gamers, i ask you: What games would be good to get into PC Shooters?

Half Life 2 (the orange box). the reason being is that its controls are basic (in that its; use a weapon and fire it with normal movement controls) unlike others which have extra things, eg bioshock has plasmids and weapons but different ammo types. this could be annoying if your starting out with first person shooters on pc.

I would love to say start out with Half Life, but it seems everytime i suggest it to people these days im greeted with "it looks old".

also if you get the orange box, you get Team Fortress 2!

check out Yahtzees orange box review again and im sure he can convince you better than me. Enjoy!

Bodo

Screw the graphics junkies. Go on amazon and pick up 'Deus Ex', 'Thief', and 'System Shock 2' to see when the FPS genre peaked.

All of the above are great. Another fun FPS is Far Cry. You can get it cheap now. It's got great graphics, lots of challenge, cool weapons, and huge environments with multiple options for taking baddies out. Story-wise, it's kind of ...meh... but You'll be too busy trying to stay alive to notice.

As much as I agree with L.B. Jeffries I'd like to add one game to his suggestions. This being Alien VS. Predator. This game is not the most basic FPS but if you start out as a marine wich is a basic FPS faction of the game and then go on to playing as the alien and predator factions you should get FPS'es like you've been playing them for a while.

actually, i have a problem opposite to yours (i can play fps's on a PC, but i barely play them in consoles)

anyway play something simple, like call of duty. But if you want to keep with the times, play half-life2

I hear nothing but praise for No One Lives Forever I keep meaning to pick it up but then I get sidetracked. Orange Box is an excellent PC pickup too, it's the only version I will even entertain the idea of dealing with. I hated Bioshock but if you have a good enough computer you might like the game on PC. Oh I almost forgot Quake 4 was excellent, the controls are very simple so there are not too many keys to remember which to me makes it easier to play on a PC than some of the other games out there.

OK Obviously it's gonna take longer for you to get use to it - if it's unbearable, plug a controller in. Yeah....you can do that.

Unreal Tournament is great as well, but make sure you get a three button wheel mouse.

Usual controls are Left to Fire, Right to Alt-Fire, Centre to Operate and Wheel to Select weapons.
All in one hand.

NOLF is really a must have. The Stealth sections are weak, but the sheer enjoyment of the game more than makes up for it.

I have the same problem when I play a PC game after a console game, have a real hard time trying to remember the controls. With gamepads if you forget what button is crouch for example it doesn't take long to find it do to the limited amount of buttons, with PC games it could be almost any button on the keyboard. It can make fire fights a real pain in the ass when you play a game for the first time. Its even more of an problem with lesser used stuff like nightvision

If your lucky the keyboard setup in options will tell you what the keys are but it doesn't always.

All you can really do is stick it out for a few levels and you'll eventually remember what they are. In other words the learning curve for controls is much higher on PC games then console games, but once you get it down it works better for FPS games esp online

What specifically are you having difficulty overcoming with the PC controls? Is it the mouse, keyboard, or both?

If you are having trouble with mouse, I assume that it's because it seems like a different way of aiming. Try setting the Sensitivity in the options of the game up or down. Try to find what feels right for you. Also, make sure you have a decent mouse. A ball rolling mouse just ain't going to cut it. Get a laser mouse with at least a scroller. Side buttons are also a plus.

If the keyboard is the problem, I would highly suggest that you use the WASD method of controlling. Instead of the arrow keys to control your movement, use W for foward, A for left, S for down, and D for right. Shift, which you use with your pinky, is mostly used for crouch. R is for reloading. E is generally for use. The number keys are usually for your weapon selects. Most FPS on PCs nowadays just default to WASD controls though.

I know that it can be difficult to transition from a controller to a mouse. However, it just takes time and practice. The bonus is that once you get good with it, it will provide you with much more accurate shooting than a standard controller can provide.

Good games to get into...really depend on how good your PC is. If your PC is good enough, I would recommend the latest titles.

Half-Life 2 is always a fantastic title that can run on a wide variety of PCs.
Counter-Strike: Source is a good online game for competition. It's not quite as difficult as the original Counter-Strike, so you won't do as badly when you first start playing.
Team Fortress 2 is also a really fun online shooter. It doesn't take much skill, so it might be good for you as you start to learn PC controls and try to get better with them.
Battlefield 2 is also another solid online shooter.
Farcry is a pretty decent single-player.
Call of Duty (the first one) is great single-player that should run on most modern computers.
Deus Ex is still one of the best FPS of all time and can be a really great time so long as the old graphics don't bother you.

After you become accustomed to PC FPS gaming, you'll look back at your console FPS playing days and wonder how you ever did it. The biggest bonuses are:

Incredibly accurate and fast aiming
Fast response time
Ease of use

While the third might not make sense, once you familiarize yourself with it, you'll understand why many PC gamers can't stand console gaming.

I'll second Unreal Tournament, i'm fairly sure that was my first PC FPS.

Oh, i play console and pc fps's and really have no preference for one over the other.

Start with Everyday Shooter for $10 from Steam, and you'll never look back.

L.B. Jeffries:
Screw the graphics junkies. Go on amazon and pick up 'Deus Ex', 'Thief', and 'System Shock 2' to see when the FPS genre peaked.

While I'm a fan of (and own) all three of these games, I have to argue against their inclusion on an "FPS primer" list. All three games are rather technical in their own ways (DE and SS2 actually "technical", Thief more along the lines of "very atypical first-person experience") and really should be approached with at least a basic understanding of FPS gaming techniques and conventions, or the novice gamer could come away simply confused and frustrated.

However, I'd definitely recommend them as "intermediate" FPS games, good for when the standard run-and-gun tactics begin to get a bit boring.

I know ur problem. I used to play shooters on the pc mainly then I started to play CoD4 on the 360 for heaps long and recently I started playing Battlefield 2142 on the pc... and I was absolute shit. But now because I've been playing it heaps I'm doing decent again.

All you have to do is play heaps and you'll eventualy pick it up.

Half Life 2 is a good starting point.

I'd advise getting The Orange Box as well... five games in one pack (seven if you get the new version via Steam), three are Half-Life games (which I personally don't much care for, but they are said to be the definitive PC shooters), one is TF2 (which I thought was bland and repetitive at first but is definitely growing on me), and one, of course, is Portal, which reinvents the entire genre.

The Rogue Wolf:

L.B. Jeffries:
Screw the graphics junkies. Go on amazon and pick up 'Deus Ex', 'Thief', and 'System Shock 2' to see when the FPS genre peaked.

While I'm a fan of (and own) all three of these games, I have to argue against their inclusion on an "FPS primer" list. All three games are rather technical in their own ways (DE and SS2 actually "technical", Thief more along the lines of "very atypical first-person experience") and really should be approached with at least a basic understanding of FPS gaming techniques and conventions, or the novice gamer could come away simply confused and frustrated.

However, I'd definitely recommend them as "intermediate" FPS games, good for when the standard run-and-gun tactics begin to get a bit boring.

I guess my logic was thinking of games that offer something that consoles don't. The guy said he mostly plays Xbox, so I thought I'd rattle off 3 that were not only great FPS titles, they were also ones that take advantage of the controls and complex options of the PC.

The Orange box is a good start, Left 4 Dead in November will be the best tho.

I'd say Orange Box. Call of Duty (Any). If you've got the system for it, Crysis.

L.B. Jeffries:
I guess my logic was thinking of games that offer something that consoles don't. The guy said he mostly plays Xbox, so I thought I'd rattle off 3 that were not only great FPS titles, they were also ones that take advantage of the controls and complex options of the PC.

Valid logic, and I suppose the three games fall into the "maybe, maybe not" classification. I suppose it all depends on how our dear Bling Cat chooses to experiment in the wild and wacky world of PC first-person shooters.

My first ever pc shooter game was S.T.A.L.K.E.R Shadow of Chernobyl and it got me nicely, ide only played a few N64 shooters before hand and i liked it. it made me moist like jam.

If you don't care 'bout graphics, why not try the good ol' Quake 2? It's as simple as run & gun gets, has all the basic techniques (in fact, it invented most of them...), is guaranteed to run on each and every PC that you may have, and is still fun after all these years. Afterwards, continue to HL and HLČ.

x434343:
I'd say Orange Box. Call of Duty (Any). If you've got the system for it, Crysis.

Crysis maybe not so much... it has the (sucky) vehicle section and the NPC's have unlimited range and accuracy... And you need an insane over-the-top computer for it.

Bling Cat:
Im new to this gaming malarky, and i started out on the original xbox. as such, i use consoles a lot more than my pc (for games at least) however, ive heard many good things about pc games, and ive tried to get into them more. This did not go well, as i hit a stumbling block with the controls. well not with rts, but with Shooters, it comes to a point i simply cant play it. so, seeing as most of you (at least from what ive gathered) are long time pc gamers, i ask you: What games would be good to get into PC Shooters?

You're better off starting with classics like Half Life (the first game - not HL2) Quake 2 etc. It's gonna ease you into the genre especially since those two are pure shooters with a lot of atmosphere wonderful game-play and design and don't have anything more difficult like the RPG or questing elements they are attempting to put into some shooters today.

Then you can move on to games like Star Wars: Jedi Outcast which is a first person shooter but with the jedi abilities like push pull choke lightning etc and the swordfighting as an interesting game-play element.

All of the above are pretty intense games with a lot of game-play hours imaginative and creative level design plot and setting. So with everything else on the side it's gonna give you a good standard to judge the current state of the gaming industry.

From then on you're ready to play whatever new-age flashy graphics pathetic excise for a game you new age consolers like :P

PP: JK I'm not a fan of the newer games God of War Halo 3 etc.

I'd suggest giving something like Quake 2 a go. It's old, it's cheap, and it was my gateway into gaming (when I was about five. I mean, quake at five? It's no wonder I'm desensitized.) The fighting is simple, and very mobile. You have to keep on the move, so it's good training for getting used to the controls.

Singing Gremlin:
I'd suggest giving something like Quake 2 a go. It's old, it's cheap, and it was my gateway into gaming (when I was about five. I mean, quake at five? It's no wonder I'm desensitized.) The fighting is simple, and very mobile. You have to keep on the move, so it's good training for getting used to the controls.

I dunno which is superior. Quake at 5 or Carmageddon 2 at 7 in my case :D. I love them both.

I'm mildly irritated that no one recommended Painkiller. Or Star Wars: Republic Commando. But really, it sounds like the issue is simply that he's not used to WASD and mouse control. There's no quick fix for this, and the only real solution is to just play FPSes with the mouse.

I've done my stint with hardcore CS and Quake competitive play, and all that started with moving from keyboard-only to the mouse in Quake 1. I reckon it was as weird a transition for me as it is for Bling Cat, because to this day i still remember how awkward and uncoordinated i was trying to go through Quake SP.

How to get into PC shooters:
1.) Get some pants on and grab your wallet.
2.) Walk to your local game store.
3.) Walk back home because they don't have what you need.
4.) Go sit in front of your soon to be gaming leetbox.
5.) Open your internet browser, if its not Internet Explorer skip step 6.
6.) Stab yourself in the hand with a fork then go to firefox.com and download and install Firefox.
7.) Go to steampowered.com
8.) Click the More About Steam button.
9.) Click the Free Download button, and install it when it's done.
10.) Register a username and password.
11.) With steam open, click the store tab and locate Counter Strike.
12.) Purchase said game.
13.) Play said game.

Congratulations, you are now a PC gamer worth his salt.

I started with Half Life, Quake, Unreal Tournament and Medal of Honor way back when. What got me into the FPS scene most, however, was Counter Strike. As much as I love the story of Half Life, gameplay of Quake and UT, and the online play of Medal of Honor I'm still playing CS today (well, CS: Source, but it's practically the same thing but easier) 7-8ish years later.

Play Half Life, one of the Call of Duty games, and buy the Orange Box and you will be have a good general knowledge of FPS's but play CS and you will become an addict.

The best thing about PC games is the mods. You can download mods and cheats to a lot of games that make them even better, sometimes even funny. The Xbox360 is starting to get mods but it's still way behind what you can do on PC's. Also, if you are into making stuff yourself, you can actually make your own maps, customize characters and generally mess around with games a lot more with the PC than you can with consoles.

Unreal Tournament is the ultimate FPS for the PC, I think. Get UT 2003 or UTIII and you'll see how much fun it is. It's fast paced and colorful like a lot of console games are. You can also get lots of mods for UT2003 that are pretty cool. UT2003 plays well on most computers too, so you don't need the latest super gaming rig to play it with smooth frame-rates.

I recommend playing the F.E.A.R. games on easy difficulty to you. There are a lot of fun firefights in this game, the enemies have a decent ai and you get a special slow-motion ability to help you out in tough spots.

For a first PC "game" then any of these suggestions are great but for a "training game" go with Halo or 2 for PC familiar ideas/nuances leading the only difference being the controls.

Start off with some Myst II, and we'll see how we feel after that.

Predictable-joke:

x434343:
I'd say Orange Box. Call of Duty (Any). If you've got the system for it, Crysis.

Crysis maybe not so much... it has the (sucky) vehicle section and the NPC's have unlimited range and accuracy... And you need an insane over-the-top computer for it.

Turn the post processing on Low and get the patches, and you'll wonder why everyone says "CRYSIS NEEDS SUPER COMPUTER OH NOES!"