I braved the inanity to see what they were on about - well, I should say I braved parts of the article since it is split into seven pages and even with AdBlock I'm not going to give them that many views. Here are at least some clarifications from the article itself, which are somehow baffling all the same:
- Entries 11 to 50 are not ranked, and supposedly are equally recommended.
- To get on the list and be considered an FPS, the primary means of interacting with the world has to be shooting or hitting things (hence no Deus Ex). And no System Shock 2 because even though it doesn't escape that previous definition, the shooting isn't the best part of that game (their opinion, not mine). Of course, games like STALKER and Mirror's Edge made the list so honestly I wouldn't put too much stock that any critical thought happened here.
- Related to the above, the writer joked that if the definition were broader, they'd be forced to include "walking simulators" like Gone Home, so be happy they were discerning enough for that.
- Did they play all the games on the list? The writer of the article admits to not playing at least one entry, Action Quake 2, which is there because somebody named Alice told him to include it. I don't know who Alice is. On a side note, I've never played it either although I did play Action Half-Life for a week or two before getting attached to CS.
- At least for the case of Bioshock 2, the writer states that the original and the sequel are equally good, and it mostly came down to personal preference for him. He also states that Infinite was not good enough to be on the list.
- The entry for Far Cry 2 is retarded. I mean, I actually like that game more than its sequels, and I still think it is retarded. Supposedly it is because it is a deconstruction of power fantasies, or something like that, and that it teaches you that you aren't the hero and that nobody likes you. Only in our crazy world can a developer releasing a game with incomplete AI and scripting somehow push it up in these lists...