Summary
FPS gameshave been around for a very long time, and throughout the years, many wonderful titles have been released. While the 1990s had some of thegreatest FPS gamesto date, the early 2000s also had a great selection of them, giving players amazing experiences that are lasting memories for many of them today.
Although games from this period did not have the best graphics or themost realistic bullet physics, they were still great fun to play. Some of these titles were released first as an exclusive to some platforms and then made available for many more players. Here are some of thebest FPS games that started out as original Xbox exclusives.
7Shadow Ops: Red Mercury
A Game That Raises The Stakes In Many Ways
Taking on the role of Captain Frank Hayden,Shadow Ops: Red Mercuryfocuses on a race against time to recover a briefcase containing a nuclear bomb code. The premise makes this title really interesting, not only because it’s something that could happen in real life, but also because it raises the stakes and makes everything feel a lot more serious.
Shadow Ops: Red Mercurywas first released for the original Xbox in June 2004 and later released for Windows operating systems in September and October of the same year for North America and other regions respectively. While this game was not reviewed favorably by critics, it still deliversa satisfying FPS experience.
Breakdownis one of those games on this list that not only started out as an original Xbox exclusive, but stayed that way, as it was never released for other platforms. The game focuses on the discovery of a place called Site Zero, which is believed to be directly linked to increased earthquake activity in the vicinity.
Players will take on the role of player character Derrick Cole, who is suffering from amnesia after being injected with a mysterious substance used to create supersoldiers with amazing abilities.
Although some players would argue thatCall of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earthis a survival horror game first and an FPS second, this title does feature a lot of action from a first-person perspective, making it a great addition to this list.
As it happens with other survival games, players will have to manage their resources carefully and avoid fights whenever they’re not necessary to make sure they keep their provisions as well stocked as possible. SinceCall of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earthis an older game,it runs very well on low-end PCs.
Far Cry Instinctsis a remake of the originalFar Cry, which was released for PC in 2004 and would not be available for consoles until 2014. As opposed to the original title,Far Cry Instinctsdid come out on console, exclusively for the original Xbox in 2005.
And while this remake was pretty good, it was also somewhat limited by the original Xbox’s hardware, which forced developers to make the gameplay experience more linear than that of the original title. Luckily, this didn’t affect the game too much, and players who wanted to join theFar Cryuniverse but didn’t have a PC got to join in, and they were happy about it.Far Cry Instinctsoffers a more modern FPS experience, but if players are looking for something that focuses more on historical events, there areplenty of titles with musketsout there that history buffs will love.
3Unreal Championship
A Fun FPS That Helped Make Epic Games What It Is Today
Along with other titles in the same universe,Unreal Championshipwas one of the first games to put Epic Games on the map, and it arguably helped this developer become the behemoth it is today. Moreover, this title is known for being the first console game to ever receive a downloadable patch, something that’s quite normal these days, but not as much back in the early 2000s.
Although Unreal Championship is not one of thehardest FPS games ever made, it featured six different game modes, including “Deathmatch”, “Capture the Flag”, and “Bombing Run”, which offered an outstanding experience for players.
2Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict
An Installment In The Unreal Franchise That Implemented Many New Elements
As opposed to other games on this list,Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflictallows players to combine combat from both a first and a third-person perspective, which makes for a more complete experience.
The game features 14 different playable characters from theUnrealuniverseand also introduces melee combat, which was very refreshing for most players as it allowed them to fight in many different ways. This title was made with Unreal Engine 2.5 and was released on July 05, 2025, for North America and on June 01, 2025, for Europe.Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflictwas an Xbox exclusive, and will likely always remain so.
While many younger gamers probably know Vin Diesel from theFast and Furiousfranchise, older players will likely remember him from his role in theChronicles of Riddickuniverse.The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bayfollows the beloved anti-hero, as he tries to escape a maximum-security prison.
This title was first released for the original Xbox in the middle of 2004 and later came out for Windows in December of the same year. AlthoughThe Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Baycan be played with a mouse and keyboard, it’s arguably one of those titles that are muchmore comfortable to complete with a controller.
