Top 13 Multiplayer FPS Action Games

This is a stand-alone remake of the famous Team Fortress mod for Quake that helped popularize online gaming back in the late 90s. Team Fortress 2 isn't the most sophisticated multiplayer shooter on the market, but it recaptures the player classes and teamplay of earlier games in the series beautifully. It features a distinctly cartoonish appearance that fits it extremely well and gives it an extra dose of character. It has received steady updates since release, including plenty of new maps, and you can buy it separately or as part of The Orange Box compilation of games.

Renowned for intense infantry combat, Call of Duty 4 brought the series into a modern warfare setting and quickly became the most popular online shooter of 2007. Multiplayer features received special attention in this release, which has a deep and very addictive persistent stats system that rewards players with upgraded skills and items as they gain experience. Call of Duty 4 also offers a robust variety of multiplayer modes and some of the best graphics in its class.

The sequel to the hit horror-themed FPS Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2 features a new set of survivors and new melee weapons like axes, chainsaws, and (you guessed it) frying pans. It also has a new multiplayer mode called "Scavenge" and an improved AI Director. You'll fight your way through 5 campaigns set in the cities, swamps, and cemeteries of the Deep South. Left 4 Dead has been highly-praised both for its co-op play and its "Versus" mode, which puts one team on the zombie side.

Modern vehicular combat is the focus of this popular Battlefield sequel, complete with guided missiles and artillery strikes. The Battlefield series has always offered a wide variety of vehicles like tanks and planes to take into the fray, as well as allowing you to fight on foot. New features in Battlefield 2 include built-in voice chat, a persistent player ranking system, and a commander position which introduces some unique tools to facilitate team organization. The graphics still look decent years after release, and it isn't very demanding on hardware by today's standards. People have also been giving the Project Reality mod high marks.

Blasting through swarms of infected zombies is what Left 4 Dead is all about, as you're part of a small group abandoned in an area overrun by the ugly savages. Co-op is a central feature of this game and the campaign can be played with up to 3 of your friends by your side. In Versus mode, Left 4 Dead pits two teams of 4 against each other, with one side playing survivors and the other side trying to ambush them as zombies. It's a nice change from the abundance of war-themed shooters out there, and it has been a big hit on both PC and console.

Counter-Strike: Source is the multiplayer portion of Half-Life 2, bringing the beloved mod up to date with the latest graphics technology. It can now be purchased separately either on disk or through Steam. Gameplay is quite similar to the original, and the most popular of the old maps have been redone, but of course, it looks a lot better. CS is still the darling of online shooters, with an enormous following and a huge number of servers to play on.

Following in the footsteps of the highly successful Call of Duty 4, this addition takes the series back to its roots in World War II. Call of Duty: World at War has plenty of explosive, flamethowing action, and the deep multiplayer experience system from Modern Warfare makes a return. World at War is the first Call of Duty game to offer solid co-op play, allowing up to 4 players to tackle the campaign online. You can also unlock zombie mode for some old-fashioned hilarity, but the game still hasn't managed to get as much traction as its predecessor.

As the name implies, the latest addition to the Battlefield series is set about a century into the future. War is fought with a variety of high-tech weapons and vehicles, including large 2-man Battle Walkers. Battlefield 2142 has a lot in common with its predecessor, Battlefield 2, with some appealing new features such as an objective-based gameplay mode and a deeper item unlock tree. I actually prefer it to Battlefield 2, but the community has definitely spoken on this one.

Call of Duty is well-known for its single-player campaigns, but it has also become a big multiplayer hit on both PC and console. Modern Warfare 2 adds more perks, more killstreak rewards, and new items such as the riot shield and throwing knives. Despite the high price, it might be higher on this list if not for one major drawback - there is no dedicated server support for the PC version. The game is limited to 18 players (9 vs. 9) connected through Infinity Ward's matchmaking service, and games are hosted on one of the player's systems, much like the console version.

Warhead is a follow-up to 2007's Crysis, which pushed PC graphics to the next level, not only with first-rate visuals, but also some of the best physics in a game to date. Warhead's single-player campaign is shorter than the one in the first release, but multiplayer has seen improvements in the form of Crysis Wars. They've added a deathmatch mode and some nicely designed new maps. At only $30, the best part may be the price.