Doom, but with Nazis

January 13, 2006 7:24 PM

Help me find some simple shoot-em-up types games for either the PC, PlayStation 2 or the XBox

I'd like to find some PC/PS2/XBox games for my father-in-law that are relatively simple-minded shoot-em-ups. I'm thinking along the lines of original Doom or Serious Sam. Something with swarms of enemies and not too much in the way of puzzle-solving or strict mission-based play.

The problem is that he doesn't want to play games with aliens or anything too sci-fi. Something more historical with just humans is preferred. However, most games like that, like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, are too complicated for him. He wants something more mindless with lots of enemies.

He has access to a PC and both an XBox (the original, not a 360) or a PS2. Any ideas?

posted by thewittyname to Computers & Internet (20 answers total)

Unreal Tournament (the classic one) had some good mods for current or historical era guns. It'll run on pretty much any PC within the last 5 years. Even if not, its not terribly sci-fi. No puzzle solving, no missions. Just fragging. CTF & DOM maps are fun, too (classic DOM will never be beaten). Maps like AS-Overlord simulate D-Day, also, although a lot of the maps have a future bend to them.
posted by devilsbrigade at 7:43 PM on January 13, 2006

Try to track down a copy of the original Wolfenstein 3D? I wonder if that would even run on a modern PC...
posted by socratic at 7:45 PM on January 13, 2006

Noone lives forever? its kind of a campy rip off of 60's spy movies. Fun though.
posted by atom128 at 7:52 PM on January 13, 2006

Consider playing Call of Duty or Medal of Honor on easy mode. I very often find that people who think these games too challenging are unaware that difficulty modes even exist.

Next idea -- play 1 on 1 LAN multiplayer with him (with you in the same room) with special side rules that exist just between the two of you. Such as:

* "You can use any weapon you like, but I can only use a pistol."
* "If I can see you, I have to verbally announce that fact before shooting you, so I cannot snipe you unaware."
* "I cannot pick up a health pack, ever."

Then after he gets better at just playing, you start weaning him off these special rules.

This is how I got my wife to start playing Half-Life. Now she regularly kicks my ass.
posted by frogan at 7:54 PM on January 13, 2006 [1 favorite]

Also, its 3rd person but I thought stubbs the zombie was really fun.
posted by atom128 at 7:56 PM on January 13, 2006

Father-in-law? For either the Xbox or the PS2, he might get a big kick out of From Russia With Love. There's a few puzzle elements to it, but mostly its just one suspenseful run-and-gun after another. Beyond that, it feels just like the original film, right down to the music and mood. (And having Sir Connery revisiting his old character for voice work doesn't hurt either.)
posted by grabbingsand at 8:11 PM on January 13, 2006

Red Faction II for PS2 is frickin awesome with 2 or more players-- really fun and quick gameplay for battling. Our household is already on our second copy of the game, having worn out our first.
posted by hermitosis at 8:36 PM on January 13, 2006

Mexican Motor Mafia on the PC is a small shareware game he might like... although it takes a bit of dexterity. You drive with the WASD keys and shoot out your window with the mouse.

It's sort of a cowboys-in-Mustangs game... the cars, not the equines. Simplistic and not very long, but fun, and it has a free demo.

You can get the demo here.
posted by Malor at 10:18 PM on January 13, 2006

For PC you can download the free multiplayer of MOH Spearhead. He goes to WW2 and never comes back. This is by far the best free demo ever offered on the internet.
posted by SwingingJohnson1968 at 10:57 PM on January 13, 2006

On the PC: Battlefield 1942, Return to Castle Wolfenstein (Doom with Nazis!), maybe Far Cry. Almost certainly Soldier of Fortune and SoF Double Helix. Red Faction is mindless fun but slightly sci-fi-ey.

Counter-Strike is quite faithful in its use of real-world weapons but basically requires online play so you need to be quite good at it or prepared to have your ass handed to you repeatedly, which sucks a lot.

CS is a mod for Half Life which admittedly has a sci-fi story with aliens. However, I (and no shortage of others) think that HL is one of the best first person shooters ever made and a lot of it is played with non-SF weapons. The Opposing Force and Blue Shift mods have you playing the same storyline as soldier and security guard, respectively.

If he liked Serious Sam, there's SS: The Second Encounter and Serious Sam 2.
posted by polyglot at 11:23 PM on January 13, 2006

Call of Duty 2 is a superb game of the kind you want, and not at all complicated.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:45 AM on January 14, 2006

I second Medal of Honor although I only have the PS1 titles (there are two of them). I think they should still work on PS2 though.
posted by gfrobe at 1:39 AM on January 14, 2006

Get him Amiga Forever (the official Amiga emulation software) and then Cannon Fodder... it's possibly one of the most entertaining shoot-em-up games ever, and is - by its very nature - extraordinarily simple to pick up... heck, there was probably even a PC version IIRC, although I doubt (a) that it had the charm of the Amiga version and (b) whether it would still work on a modern PC...
posted by Chunder at 4:04 AM on January 14, 2006

Call of Duty 2 is great, and historical (WWII).

Castle Wolfenstein:Enemy Territory is free and pretty decent if you've got more than just him (multi-player only). WWII timeframe.
posted by mumeishi at 5:45 AM on January 14, 2006

The kinds of games you're looking for are called first-person shooters. Shoot-em-ups (or shmups) are usually-scrolling, usually spaceship-based games like Gradius, R-Type and Ikaruga. This knowledge may prevent some confusion at the video game store.
posted by box at 8:57 AM on January 14, 2006

It's pretty old now, but howabout Max Payne or Max Payne 2?
posted by pazazygeek at 9:22 AM on January 14, 2006

Max Payne and Max Payne 2. Fun games, shoot shoot, shoot-dodge, and shoot some more. Fast paced, not much in the way of puzzles.

MP2 is more arcade-like and is faster paced. Both come with kinda-nifty film-noir-esque stories. The art in both are aqesome.

(erm, yesh, what pazazygeek sez)
posted by PurplePorpoise at 11:21 AM on January 14, 2006

This is how I got my wife to start playing Half-Life. Now she regularly kicks my ass

There must needs be a website devoted to converting wives to the dark side.
posted by mecran01 at 1:52 PM on January 14, 2006

There must needs be a website devoted to converting wives to the dark side.

I've found that it's all about the extra "side rules."

We call them the "house rules," or the "girl rules."

* Fighting game: "I won't use any combos of more than X moves."
* RTS: "I won't rush your base until X minutes have passed."
* Chess: "I'll start without a queen."

At some point, she's properly acclimated and comfortable enough to play "for real," and then we're off to the races.
posted by frogan at 12:24 AM on January 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

Call of Duty, Metal of Honor, or FarCry (if his PC can handle it) on easy mode.

Once he gets more used to the controls, and if he likes to just shoot enemies, I would suggest maybe something like Day of Defeat. It's all multiplayer online, but if you find the right server it can be a lot of fun. Try one without friendly fire first, so you can only hit enemies.
posted by gemmy at 3:07 PM on January 15, 2006