Welcome to FOV 90, an FPS column from staff writer Morgan Park. Every other week, I cover topics relevant to first-person shooter enjoyers, spanning everything from multiplayer and singleplayer to the old and the new.
Welcome back to another special community tournament edition of FOV 90, the only FPS column that I'm aware of.
Last week, we started the work of determining the greatest FPS mode of all time through spirited democracy. In Round 1, 16 classic and modern modes were pitted against each other in 1v1 matchups. The seeding, which I chose myself, was completely uncontroversial and everyone liked it—especially the part where I made them choose between Conquest and Domination.
Over 7,000 votes were tallied over five days, and the results are in.
🥁drum roooooooooolllllllllllllll🥁
Round 1 Results
- Team Deathmatch (75%) wins over FFA/Deathmatch (25%)
- Battle Royale (52%) wins over Extraction (48%)
- Conquest (68%) wins over Domination (32%)
- Bomb Defusal (85%) wins over Hostage (15%)
- Payload (52%) wins over Gun Game (48%)
- Infection (61%) wins over Prop Hunt (39%)
- Capture the Flag (91%) wins over VIP (9%)
- Attack & Defend (52%) wins over King of the Hill (48%)
I think we can all agree a few of those winners were predictable—I can see Team Deathmatch or Capture the Flag going all the way at this rate—but several matchups surprised me. Battle royale just barely edges out Extraction while Gun Game is brought down by Payload. The voting body showed up for both serious and playful modes, which makes me happy. I also enjoyed watching you all share your votes and memories in the comments.
And here's how PC Gamer's staff reacted to the results:
"I'm sad to see Extraction go—to be completely honest I'm too washed to compete in either Extraction or Battle Royale multiplayer shooters, but the severe high stakes of Extraction games makes them like nothing else on this list. That could've made for a very funny face-off against Infection."
"I'm a little surprised to see battle royale beat out extraction, the big mode of the moment, but I guess PUBG and Fortnite have still got shooters out there. The adoration for CTF, which I agree with, only makes it more disappointing that there's no big modern CTF game out there. (Last Flag tried, recently, but didn't get far.)"
"Honestly, I’m surprised to see King of the Hill defeated so early. I still think of it as one of the archetypal shooter gametypes: Give people a reason to go to one specific spot on a map and burn all their best power weapons in an effort to secure it. It’s a mode without pretensions."
"No surprise at all that VIP gets blown out, but I do have a lot of affection for the mode as it existed back in the early Team Fortress Classic days, would like to see it make a comeback as a standalone game."
"It's diabolical for Morgan to put Gun Game and Payload up against each other, but it's even more diabolical to see that the votes were so close. Rise up payload lovers, we can't let the others win!"
Yes, I'm a monster. But alas, it's time to bury our dead and move on. Round 2 is on!
The Bracket
Round 2 - Vote!
Read up on the matchups below and vote for your favorite. Round 2 voting closes on Monday, October 12 at 11:59 PM PDT. The more votes we get, the more interesting the results, so tell your friends! Next week we'll be back to share the results and begin Round 3.
Team Deathmatch vs Battle Royale
AKA: Team Slayer (Halo) // It's always called BR
Intimate team-based action, or large-scale slaughter?
Conquest vs Bomb Defusal
AKA: Warfare (Hell Let Loose) // Bomb (Rainbow Six Siege), Plant/Defuse (Valorant)
The consensus king of competitive, or all-out warfare?
Payload vs Infection
AKA: It's always Payload and Infection, because they're perfect names
Both unusual, asymmetrical formats that rely on staying together to get anything done. This will be a painful vote for me.
Capture the Flag vs Attack & Defend
AKA: It's always CTF // 2CP (Overwatch), Breakthrough (Battlefield)
Attack & Defend was a surprise winner of Round 1, but CTF is coming off a 91% majority win. Will this be an upset?
