What is an FPS?

FPS has become a very popular and widely played genre of games from as long ago as the early 1990s, and for good reason.

FPS stands for First Person Shooter and is a game genre focused on gun fighting (shooting) with an enemy team while seeing through the eyes of your character (first-person). Some are more focused on using unique abilities or gadgets and others are more based on simply shooting.

No matter the focus, each game is an exercise in teamwork, intelligence, and personal skill.

Now that you know what it stands for and the general gist of things, we will explain how an FPS typically works. Unsurprisingly, it is quite simple.

There is always an objective in these games, with a common theme of eliminating the enemy team and/or planting some sort of explosive to win the game. Other game modes include the popular Capture the Flag or King of the Hill as well.

Though the concept for these games is noncomplex, to be exceptional at them you must use a variety of particular abilities.

These games require a gallery of skills not just limited to having decent aim. Here are the essentials:

• Aim – Shoot the target where the damage is highest reliably. Also, remember that practice makes perfect.
• Utility Usage – Using your utility is simply using your toolkit to the fullest. Blinding the enemy with a gadget or littering the field with smoke gives your team a tactical advantage.
• Reaction Time – Reaction time is your ability to react fast enough to an enemy showing up. Without good aim, great reaction time doesn’t matter and vice versa.
• Game Sense – Game sense is your tactical ability based on every factor of the game, be it the map, character, weapons, and more. You must understand your environment before using it to your advantage.

The first-person point of view draws players into the fight themselves, bringing a level of immersion into the game. This style of game gives the players an exciting experience, with fast-paced combat, reactive playing, and intense firefights between the teams.

The skill ceiling for this type of game causes a strong community to be built around it, and that is including a thriving E-sports scene for games like Valorant and CS2. It also helps that the core mechanic, "shoot at the enemies" is easy to understand, even if it is hard to do.

FPS games are some of the most fun and engaging games that you can play, and you can enjoy them even more on dedicated gaming monitors.

Hone your aim, throw a flash, coordinate, and last but not least, let the best team win.

There are tons of different types of FPS games, so we listed the most popular ones below:

• Arena Shooters - These focus on fast-pasted, often round based games with high mobility and confined combat spaces (Quake, Unreal Tournament, etc.).
• Tactical Shooters - These are realistic shooter games that utilize realism, strategy, and teamwork. They are less movement based and more focused on positioning (CS2, Rainbow X, etc.).
• Hero Shooters - Play as a unique character with distinct abilities, focused on team synergy and ability usage (Overwatch, Valorant, Apex Legends, etc.).
• Loot Shooters - In this type of game, you combine RPG elements with FPS logic and shoot for loot (Borderlands 3, Destiny 2, etc.).
• Military Shooters - These also tend to focus on non-fictional military scenarios like specific wars, focusing on realism and weaponry (Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc.).