After strategy games, first person shooter games are my second favorite genre on PC.  I always liked the idea of exploring a map through the eyes of the player as if I was there.  The gun play also helped fuel my enjoyment of this genre.  The 90's where a great time for FPS games with a lot of classic franchises getting there start during this decade.  While I didn't play all the FPS games during that time (not yet at least), these are my ten favorite games from that decade.

One note for this list, I am not counting games that were mods from Half-Life on this list.  Most notably Counter-Strike and Team Fortress Classic.  These games are classics, but they became popular from Half-Life and I don't want to take spots away from other games due to that fact.  I'm planning on doing a Top Ten Mod list in the future where these games will show up.  These games would have easily made this list if I would include them.

10.  Half-Life (1998)

Admittedly, I was not a big fan of Half-Life the game.  While this game was a big leap forward for the FPS genre, I didn't care for the story.  I did love the mods that came out of this game though.  While Counter Strike and Team Fortress Classic were the big ones, I also liked They Hunger and Firearms.  This series went on to spawn some expansion packs, a sequel and a remake with a newer engine.  The importance of this game in the genre can not be overstated.

9.  Descent (1995)

I played this for the first time  at my friends house in the late nineties.  I wasn't the best at it due to the controls but over the years I have gotten much better at it.  This game's big draw is that while it is considered a FPS game, it's also a game where you are flying around in a small ship while shooting in first person mode.  Not the easiest game for me, but one I spent a lot of time playing back in the day.  The game spawned two sequels.

8.  Shadow Warrior (1997)

Shadow Warrior is one of many games made using the Build Engine.  The main character, Lo Wang, says some pretty funny lines throughout the game and keeps things entertaining.  The game also has good game play, weapons and enemies.  I have never beaten this game yet, but I have always enjoyed it.  This game had two expansions for it, two remake games have come out and an updated graphics version of the game have come out over the years .  (Updated graphics version pictured)

7.  Blood (1998)

Blood is another Build Engine game that came out the following year after Shadow Warrior.  Like Shadow Warrior, this game has some good one liners, but the game has a much tone to the whole game.  I also found the weapon selection to be better than Shadow Warrior and the enemies more interesting.  This is another example of a game that I have yet to beat.  There were two expansions for this game, a sequel and a updated graphics version of the original game. 

6.  Delta Force (1998)

Delta Force was one of the first military FPS games I ever played.  The game was completely different from any other game I played before it with its weapon selection before a stage and that you had to play a little more stealthy than other FPS games.  I used to play the first mission over and over with different weapon combinations to see how fast I could clear it.  The series had seven more games, some being sequels and others remakes of the original games in the series.  While I did play Delta Force 2 online, I played the first one the most.

5.  Unreal Tournament (1999)

I have always enjoyed the Unreal Tournament Games.  They are fast paced arena shooter games with a good variety of weapons.  Unreal Tournament had a decent amount of game mods and playing against the computer, while not as challenging as other players, still provided some fun.  There were three sequels after this game along with a game of the year edition of this game.  The game was also used by the mod community to create some pretty good mods over the years.  (Unreal Tournament Game of the Year Edition shown which came out in 2000)

4.  Shogo Mobile Armor Division (1998)

Shogo Mobile Armor Division is a game that I really enjoyed when it came out.  It had mech and ground based combat each with there own list of weapons.  It had a branching story line with two possible endings.  The game play and graphics were pretty good for its time and the game had a very unique feel to it   This is the only game in the series.

3.  Rise Of The Triad:  Dark War (1995)

I first found out about Rise Of The Triad from my god parents son while we were over visiting them.  I ended up getting it, showing it to my friends and they also ended up getting it.  The game had some interesting weapons and enemies.  The levels had a lot of secrets as well.  This is another game I have yet to beat.  There was a remake of this game that came out a few years ago.

2.  Duke Nukem 3D (1996)

Duke Nukem 3D is the most popular Build Engine game and for good reason.  The game has a lot of great one liners, the guns are fun to use and their are a variety of different enemies.  The stages are also pretty well done with a lot of hidden secrets.  This was the third game in the series but the first one that was a first person shooter.  There have been many mods based off of this game and the game itself has spawned many other games in the Duke Nukem franchise.  Duke Nukem 3D has also had a few updated versions over the years.  (Duke Nukem 3D:  20th Anniversary World Tour pictured)

1.  Doom II:  Hell On Earth (1994)

This is the first PC game I ever played at my best friend's house.  It was also the first PC game I ever bought.  The game franchise had a profound effect on the FPS genre when it came out.  The game is fun to play, has good level design and a great soundtrack.  Some great mods also came out of this game.  There have been plenty of re-releases of this game and the original along with some add-on packs and some sequels.  Doom is still a very popular franchise almost thirty years since the first game came out.

Bonus Game

Operation Body Count (1994)

So to get this out of the way, this is not a good game.  However, growing up we had a bunch of demo discs and a shareware version of this game was on one of those disks.  My brother and I used to play this game when we had two hour delays on school days since it was a short version of the game.  Recently the full game was put on Steam and GOG and I couldn't help myself, I had to pick it up.  This is a game I plan on beating one day just to say that I did it.

Honorable Mentions

Star Wars:  Dark Forces (1995)
Quake 3  (1999)
Alien Versus Predator (1999)
Outlaws (1997)
Wolfenstein 3D (1994)