Teach Yourself 1st-Person Shooter Games in 10 Tips

I play First-Person Shooter (FPS) video games a lot. Well, I used to. Age has somewhat slowed me down a little these days, coupled with the occasional times when I discover tragically that my current PC's hardware does not support a particular game since those games eat graphics cards and memory sticks for breakfast.

From humble beginnings of Quake II to the evergreen Counter-Strike, FPS games have changed little in terms of game play, storyline and tactics. With this, I bring you my experiences of what a standard run-of-the-mill FPS game has to offer. (Note: Those born after the 80s probably won't even have played the first Wolfenstein 3D).

Tip 01: Shoot anything that moves

The first rule of thumb in any FPS game. (Almost) everything that exists in the game running all over the place isn't going to come up to you and give you flowers. No, heck, all they want to do is pump you full of lead. Except for the occasional games like Quake IV or Half Life II where you have team mates to accompany you or some mysterious stranger giving you vital information, the rest are, to put it simply, cannon fodder, existing for the sole purpose of giving your gun something to do.

Tip 02: Inflammable explosive oil barrels equals enemies

In any given map, be it the urban cityscapes or some dark creepy mine of another planet, inflammable explosive oil barrels are always present. And welcome too. For you see, the presence of these barrels denote the presence of enemy soldiers/monsters nearby. Another use to these barrels, being their primary reason of existence, is that whenever a badass enemy is lunging towards you, just take a few steps back, fire a few rounds from your gun and watch the fireworks engulf the fiend. Of course, it pays to be both fast and accurate when executing these nimble acts else your character will be pushing up daisies in no time. We have a Malay version of this wise saying, which is, "Jikalau ada tong berapi, makalah ada musuh". Go figure.

Tip 03: Know your gun

With the exception of a few "extra-realistic" titles, most FPS games allow you to lug more than 5 guns around (excluding your puny pistol) and hold a few hundred thousand of rounds and grenades without even showing the least signs of fatigue. This is so since each gun "generously" bestowed upon you has its own set of strengths and shortcomings; some may be better at long-range sniping while others clear large masses of enemies without too much of a problem. Just remember though not to use those rocket-launchers at VERY close range. Not only it is suicidal, but you feel pretty wasted later. This applies to all games.

Tip 04: Ammo, ammo everywhere

Shortage of ammo in any FPS-genre title is like dying of thirst in a rainforest - it almost never happens. Unless you're an extremely poor shot, of course. Like those Viet Congs in Rambo II who can't even skin Rambo's hide using their AK-47s shot from a distance of 5 meters. Those poor Charlies. Anyway, back to the topic. As you progress and shoot up more dastardly foes and piss more metal from your gun, you will invariably always find ammo scattered conveniently everywhere to make up the ones you used; magazines on the floor, in open crates lying around, on table tops, grenades stacked next to coffee-makers, and some odd ones even hover above the ground while spinning around in a 360-Degree fashion. That is not the only surprising thing. In fact, all the bullets you pick up matches the current configuration of the guns you have in hand from the caliber to the diameter. Wow, what a coincidence! My enemies could've been smarter and got rid of all the crucial ammunition and slowly try to overrun me as I face a critical shortage of ammo.

Tip 05: First-Aid Kits do wonders to bullet wounds

No matter how many times you've been wounded, no matter how badly-shot up you are, all it takes to get you back in full fighting kick-ass mode are a few first-aid kits, also as conveniently scattered everywhere as the ammo magazines. It doesn't matter if you've been burned by napalm or gored physically until your mother would have a hard time recognizing your face, these miracle life-savers are the sole means of getting out of the particular map intact. Having over a few thousand bullets embedded in your torso accumulated by the tons of enemies you've fought through the progress of your journey doesn't seem to pose any long-term health risks either. All you do is grunt a little bit in a manly macho way, use one or two Band-Aids and cotton gauzes, and voila! your bleeding has stopped, your exposed wounds have healed and all possible germ infections have been exterminated. The best thing is, you can still use the kits even while both your hands are holding a gun akimbo.

Tip 06: Your team mates' AI is incredibly stupid

They may carry bigger guns that the ones you tote, but they're stupid. They may wear cool commando-esque outfits complete with NVGs and Kevlar helmets, but they're stupid. They claim to be sent from above to help you accomplish your mission task but most of the time all they do is block your way, stand there while a gunfight erupts, successfully trigger the alarm and get you killed in the process. Worse still are some games that actually REQUIRE you to keep a close watch on your team mates as getting a number of them killed in action puts you into Game Over mode, and your mates don't actually help lighten the situation but instead run like chickens all over the battlefield, and you have to give chase to cover them. Thankfully (some) games have fixed the problem of giving you useless team members, and some do actually prove to be useful. But the majority of games out in the market at this moment still feature dumbass commando colleagues. Therefore, never ever rely on a computer-controlled AI mate to get you out of a sticky situation.

Tip 07: The enemy's AI is incredibly perfect

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse raising the alarm due to your team mates' ineptness, the AI level for the enemy is unfortunately saddled on the other end of the scale. These guys can literally qualify for the Olympic Games' clay pigeon shooting tournament and get perfect scores. The ultimate hell ride can be seen from Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault (MOH:AA) which has a mission for you to flush out German snipers in camouflaged fatigues while the sky is raining heavily. Every nook and cranny hides a Kraut sniper and before you can see them through your own scope, their bullet is already in your head. Particularly frustrating is when you don't have the slightest notion where they are shooting from as well and yet you keep getting hit even when you're supposedly hiding behind a wall. SchaiB! Das ist nacht ein fair game spiel!

Tip 08: Your Health, Total Ammo Left and Map is conveniently laid out for you
You will always know how much ammunition you have left in your gun, and when is the most likely time you might die, and even (in some titles) know where to go although it's your first time stepping onto that alien planet. This is the unsolved mystery of HUDs (Heads-Up Displays) in every FPS game. In fact, you are even notified of how much bullets left you have in the current mag. I understand if some space Marine has his helmet feeding these electronic data display on his screen, but explain those gung-ho ones who just strut around half-naked carrying only a gun and lots of mean attitude.

Tip 09: Always aim for the head

To add more realism to the gameplay, recent FPS games have begun to feature kills by gunshot wounds to the head (ala headshot). Headshots are always the quickest way to dispose of any enemy, and this in turn saves your ammo and time, ensuring you get back just in time for tea and medals (old British phrase). Of course, just like how you aim for the flammable oil barrels, precision and dead-on-sight shots are very much required else you're gonna be spending the rest of eternity buried 6 feet under after those guys have picked your bones clean. It's a tough job being a heroic Marine "gibbing" generic repetitive monsters in alien planets, but someone's gotta do it.

Tip 10: The boss only appears at the end of the map

First of all you fight the weaklings, easily brought under control with no difficulty. Then you fight tougher enemy grunts, then even more badass types. This process repeats itself until you've used up more ammo than the entire WWII itself. Then comes the big boss, thumping mad like a pitbull looking for a chihuahua to eat since you've defeated his earlier worthless minions. The standard way of defeating a boss doesn't really vary much between titles; just shoot him a few thousand times, avoid whatever projectiles he hurls at you, and toast yourself to a glass of champagne once the campaign is over. Simple. The End.