Why Do Third-Person Shooters Have Such A Poor Reputation?

Outside of the Rockstar titles (which are almost always third-person shooters), third-person shooters seem to be the joke genre of many self-important gamers. Why is this? I myself find them much better than first-person shooters (since third-person shooters actually allow to know what you're doing and have better camera angles). But however, all of the big games are first-person shooters while third-person shooters are thrown into also-ran status.

Also, there's the case that Rockstar seems to be the only company that will give third-person shooters a fair shot at them doing well. Why aren't more companies following Rockstar's lead instead of trying to create the next Halo?

More Buscemi at http://forum.reelsociety.com/

Because third person shooters are almost always cover based. Which involves sitting behind a chest high wall, popping out to take a pot shot and then hiding again until your booboos heal which is incredibly slow and tedious.

Vanquish was an excellent game, and it was third person.
Resident Evil is held in somewhat high regard, and it has a third-person over the shoulder perspective. Not quite the same, but closer than most.

I honestly don't know. Maybe people think most games that use third person usually don't have as in depth or technical combat as first person shooters.
Maybe people just find it easier to jump into the perspective of the character, as opposed to the perspective of Navi.
Its hard to tell, really.

I just can't think of too many shooter titles that use third person.

That's pretty much the same with most First Person Shooters. Shoot, hide, regen, repeat seems to be the standard for shooters in general.

edited 13th Jan '12 8:32:18 PM by Zeromaeus

Rockstar are far from the only ones to give TP Ses a chance(hell, as far as actual shooting mechanics go, the GTA games and RDR are pretty lame; the open world aspect is the bigger draw), they just happen to be the only ones(other than Epic games and Capcom) selling millions with them.

Vanquish was amazing. Sold like shit though.

edited 13th Jan '12 8:42:12 PM by JotunofBoredom

Umbran Climax◊

I never found third-person shooters have a poor reputation. I mean, look at Gears Of War. It's a Trope Codifier.

This generation and not counting Rockstar?

• GTA Style:
  • The Godfather (Series)
  • Saints Row (series)
  • Crackdown (series)
  • Dead Rising (series)
  • Mercenaries2 (the first game was released last generation)
  • Mafia II (same as Mercenaries2)
  • Just Cause (series)

• Cover-Based:
  • Vanquish(Though I'm debating whether it should be in this category or "Other")
  • Gears Of War (series)
  • Uncharted (series)
  • Mass Effect (series)

• Other:
  • Alan Wake
  • Resident Evil 5
  • Warhammer 40000 Space Marine
  • Transformers War For Cybertron
  • Dead Space

edited 14th Jan '12 12:07:15 AM by JotunofBoredom

Umbran Climax◊

I don't know where this poor reputation thing came from honestly.

Don't forget the Mass Effect series.

I'm kinda embarrassed I forgot, since the ME 2 thread is probably the one thread on this entire forum I post on the most.

Umbran Climax◊

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine didn't use cover, and I thought a lot of people liked it.

Yeah, it was pretty cool.

Support Gravitaz on Kickstarter!

What about Just Cause 2? It's not really cover-based, it has a grappling hook, driveable vehicles and a lot of Stuff Blowing Up.

"Hipsters: the most dangerous gang in the US." - Pacific Mackerel

Man, I forgot the Just Cause series as well?

Umbran Climax◊

What I immediately notice is that a lot of the games listed up there are not shooters, per se, but rather exist in their own category or genre. The GTA series are sandbox games, Resident Evil is survival/horror, Mass Effect is an RPG, etcetera...

But they are shooters.

Something can be in more than one genre.

Infinite Tree: an experimental story

Also, the OP already name-dropped Rockstar, which kinda opens the floodgates in terms of genre recognition.

And why does RE 5 not count? Because the enemies are zombies? So if Gears of War had zombies, would it no longer be a third-person-shooter?

Umbran Climax◊

Vanquish is most definitely a shooter and Vanquish is most definitely good.
All of the games mentioned also have shooting as a major aspect of the game, so I don't see how they don't count.

edited 13th Jan '12 9:41:15 PM by Zeromaeus

Calm down. I'm not saying they're bad games. I'm saying most would not recognize those as "shooters" first. Thereby discounting them from the list of "good third person shooters". (making that list that much shorter).

edited 13th Jan '12 9:45:37 PM by GreatLich

Genre is a little hard to define nowadays anyway.
Name one game that sticks to one genre.
Its not easy.

Zeromaeus is the only one who responded to you with a comment about the quality of any of the games on that list.

Secondly. I'm not making that list for "most". I'm making it for the OP; who apparently counts GTA games as shooters, considering he just claimed Rockstar was the last bastion of good TP Ses.

Thirdly. I'm still not seeing any explanation for how RE 5 is not a shooter. I'm not counting the entire series here. With Mass Effect, you could argue the first game isn't since the action of firing your gun is fairly abstract(it's more like you suggest Shepard fire in the vague area of an enemy), but the second game definitely is. That it is also an RPG does not make it less of a shooter.

edited 13th Jan '12 10:10:31 PM by JotunofBoredom

Umbran Climax◊

That's not a cover shooter.

Ratchet and clank is a excellent TPS that has absolutely no cover elements. (Well there is things you could call cover but its more of the HIDE BEHIND THIS OR GET MURDELYZED than traditional cover.)

Apocalypse: Dirge Of Swans.

Dead Space is also an example.

Which reminds me, one possible complaint would be that your character covers up too much of the screen.

The majority of Mario games.

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."

in addition to what Jotun listed:

• Popamole-style
  • Army Of Two series (sold millions)
  • Dark Sector
  • Dark Void
  • Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter series (sold millions)
  • Kane And Lynch series (sold millions)
  • Mindjack
  • Red Faction: Armageddon
  • Strangehold
  • The Club
  • Wanted: Weapons of Fate

• Not cover-based and sandbox
• Bionic Commando 2008
• Lost Planet (first sold millions, sequel bombed)
• Red Faction Guerrila (sandbox)
• Wheelman (sandbox, mostly about driving)

Even if you discount the sandbox/multi-genres entries, there's a reasonable number of "pure" tps (mostly cover-based, admitelly) that did reasonably well, so

edited 14th Jan '12 5:50:28 AM by Glowsquid