(Note: All opinions expressed in this article is that of the author’s and do not represent the opinion of the entire site or the entirety of its staff)
By now, multiplayer shooter fans are used to buying new games every year for their multiplayer fix. While that might be the norm right now, that doesn’t mean gamers have to follow the trend each and every time.
Case in point: if you’re a shooter fan, you should be playing 2016’s shooters (Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1, Overwatch), instead of this year’s Call of Duty: WWII and Star Wars Battlefront II. I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy COD: WWII or Battlefront II, no. But if you have a choice, I suggest opting to buy and play Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1 and/or Overwatch instead of those two. Why? Let me explain.
Why You Should Play Titanfall 2
If you’re a Call of Duty fan, then chances are you’re a big fan of twitchy, arcade shooters, right? If so, then there might not be anything better than Titanfall 2. It’s made by Respawn Entertainment, which is made up of former founding members of Infinity Ward (y’know, the studio behind Modern Warfare, MW2), and while it doesn’t have scorestreaks or killstreaks, it does have motherfuckin’ robots that you can hop into and just stomp the shit out of everyone. You read that right! Robots! Mechs! Mechs with swords, mechs with sniper rifles and more.
It’s still got an active player base on both consoles and PC, which means you won’t have any problems finding a match on weekends or weekdays. And Respawn is still pumping out cosmetics, events and tweaks even a year after launch, too!
If you’re looking for an arcade-y shooter this year, then go give it a shot. And as an added bonus, the game’s single-player portion is just outright fantastic.
(Read the MP1st review of Titanfall 2)
Why You Should Play Battlefield 1
For those looking for something slower paced than Call of Duty, sad to say, there’s no Battlefield game out this year, but there is Star Wars Battlefront II, which is made by the same folks over at DICE. While the game has classes and vehicles, it’s far — super far — from what made Battlefield the beloved franchise that it is.
If you’re looking for something to play while waiting on Battlefield 2018, then go pick up Battlefield 1. It’s still very much played by hundreds of thousands of gamers daily, and DICE is still releasing BF1 Premium content, and free stuff, along with constant tweaks to the core gameplay, and even events.
(Read the MP1st review of Battlefield 1)
Why You Should Play Overwatch
If you’re reading this, chances are, you’ve played Overwatch or at least have heard of it. It’s Blizzard’s massively successful hero shooter that gets all heroes and maps for free…forever! Seeing as it’s made by Blizzard, it’ll be supported for a long, long time. Just this year, we’ve seen new heroes added, as well as new maps.
It’s the perfect shooter for those who want a casual fix, or for those who want something more intense, there’s Competitive mode.
(Read the MP1st review of Overwatch)
Why You Shouldn’t Be Playing Call of Duty: WWII
First off, there’s a ton of bugs that have yet to be exterminated. Sledgehammer Games has been silent in some of the gameplay changes the community wants for some odd reason. Longtime COD fans might find Call of Duty: WWII’s multiplayer a bit limiting as well.
There are also features that are still not working as intended a month after launch. Oh, there are server issues as well. Ranked Play seems to be running into issues too, with people saying that wins are counting as losses.
(Read the MP1st review of Call of Duty: WWII)
Why You Shouldn’t Be Playing Star Wars Battlefront II
While EA dialed back the microtransactions in Star Wars Battlefront II, the publisher has mentioned that it’s coming back. Will it affect gameplay? Be cosmetics only? Your guess is as good as ours at this point.
The gameplay itself isn’t as deep as other shooters, so if you’re not a Star Wars fan, it might not hook you in as much.
(Read the MP1st review of Star Wars Battlefront II)
Honorable Mentions
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 – It’s hard to believe that Black Ops 3 is more than two years old now. Sure, there’s jetpacks and wallrunning, but they’re done in a way that it’s not too much. Gun balance is fine as well, and there’s still a sizable player base out there right now.
If you prefer Treyarch’s blend of Call of Duty cocktail, then go play Black Ops 3 (either again or the first time), to see why the studio is the top-tier COD studio.
(Read the MP1st review of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3)
Rainbow Six Siege – Rainbow Six Siege is another game that’s more than two years old, but it’s like fine wine that it gets better with age. There are more players for Siege now than there were at launch, which is a testament to Ubisoft’s game design and post-launch support.
Yes, there’s still DLC coming to the shooter and the player base is very, very active.
(Read the MP1st review of Rainbow Six Siege)
Do you agree with my list and reasons why you should be playing these “old” shooters instead of the newer ones released this year? If you don’t, let us know why. Don’t forget to write in recommendations of other games we didn’t include in this feature in the comments.
