Go back to the 6th & 7th Generation of consoles and the third-person shooter genre was king. Releases were a dime-a-dozen, and nary a week would go by without a new entry lining the retailer shelves. Some would achieve acclaim and countless sequels such as Gears of War, SOCOM, Ghost Recon, Uncharted, Max Payne, and Mafia. But what of those that only had either one entry or a handful before the creative plug was pulled? The ones which, despite a smattering of flaws, middling review scores, and lack of interest from publishers, have a devoted fanbase.

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These are IPs that feel resigned to the past, to become nothing more than gaming memories. There are countless third-person shooters which are deserving of a second, third, or possibly even a fourth chance. Here’s a list of titles that are long overdue for a resurrection in the current era or even beyond.

7 Dark Void

Dark Void William with Jet Pack

Although it only produced one entry, Dark Void is something of a hidden gem within Capcom’s extensive and diverse gaming library. A rollicking adventure throwback set in an alternative history where Nikola Tesla has created a flying jetpack that allows players to live out their fantasies of being The Rocketeer. One look at the generic-looking cover, and it’s easy to see why many gamers might have passed this by. While the gameplay itself is nothing ground-breaking, think Gears of War meets Binary Domain, it does have a few nifty tricks up its sleeve.

It has a unique vertical cover-based system, allowing the player to change cover on the fly, and often means that falling debris or slain robots frequently tumble past the player during a shootout, leading to nail-biting moments. Additionally, the flying mechanics and open spaces can lend themselves to adrenaline-fuelled set pieces, feeling unlike any other shooters from the 7th generation. It’s a flawed but unique IP that deserves revitalization on modern hardware.

6 The Punisher

Punisher Frank Castle

The video game tie-in is often seen as something of a joke among most gamers, but there are more than a handful that hold up incredibly well. One of the gold standards for film or comic-to-game adaptations is The Punisher from 2005, which does the right thing and takes elements from the comics, the 2004 film and includes voice acting from Thomas Jane. Players get to feel like an unstoppable, gun-toting vigilante as locations are riddled with bullets and henchmen receive their comeuppance.

A core mechanic even revolves around torturing goons for intel, and it’s at the player's discretion how far that goes. Nearly two decades on, it still has the power to shock and awe in equal measure, and it’s about time The Punisher was rebooted or remade for a new generation. Next to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Punisher is one of the best mature Marvel video games.

5 Binary Domain

Binary Domain 1

This Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio game is, much like the previously mentioned Dark Void, something of a third-person shooter gem. The generic 7th Generation cover strikes once again, ultimately being a poor representation of Binary Domain’s highly entertaining content. Thankfully Binary Domain, a passion project for Yakuza series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, has garnered a sizeable fanbase since its 2012 release. Despite some of its mechanics being imprecise or broken, particularly the voice commands to direct A.I. teammates, it’s still incredibly fun to play.

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Where Binary Domain stands out is in its moment-to-moment gameplay, with a highlight being able to see the physical destruction of the rogue machines as parts satisfyingly chip off, or the sheer panic as partially destroyed robotics crawl their way toward players in the hope of inflicting some damage. It's also the only third-person shooter with a charming French robot companion that can be part of one's squad, and for that alone it deserves more sequels that deserve to become a reality.

4 Lost Planet Series

Lost Planet 1-1

In only three mere entries, the Lost Planet series moved from survival shooter to a pickup-and-play co-op mission structure, to finally a Dead Space-esque story-driven single-player. Going back to play this series now, it's clear Capcom wasn’t sure what direction to go in because, despite the third-person shooter connections, each entry feels individual and distinctive from the other. With a handful of frustrating mechanics between them all, it feels like a series ripe for reinvention, particularly with the RE Engine.

Imperfections and stylistic inconsistencies aside, the series is an honest-to-goodness alien-themed Monster Hunter filled with great action set-pieces and giant, awe-inspiring monstrosities to take down. Another Capcom series that deserves a reboot.

3 Kane & Lynch Series

Kane & Lynch

Outside the Hitman series, IO Interactive’s other properties have been met with either derision or a nonchalant shrug. But some fans appreciate the risks IO Interactive has taken with their other IPs, even when lackluster reviews or vitriolic hatred are flung towards titles like Kane & Lynch: Dead Men and Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. In many aspects, the shooting mechanics in the Kane & Lynch series are middling at best, and downright awful at worst.

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Yet, there’s something dangerous and taboo about these two deeply unlikeable characters, which are deserving of at least one more attempt. The Kane & Lynch series is an unsettling dive into a violent criminal mind and even with occasionally terrible mechanics, they feel like gritty and wholly incomparable titles in the current gaming landscape. There’s something to be said for a series that, despite having only two mediocre entries, can still elicit such strong reactions. Maybe it's time to bring the nihilistic duo back for one final go around the block.

2 The Suffering Series

The Suffering Series

For such a short-lived series, The Suffering and its sequel The Suffering: Ties That Bind, remain some of the best third-person action-horror-themed games created, leaving an indelible impression among fans of macabre action titles. This has only become more apparent in recent years, particularly with the severe lack of action-horror titles outside of staples like Devil May Cry.

The Suffering series is less survival horror and more an action game with a carnival of horrific delights. With the unsettling enemy design, a complex protagonist in death row prisoner Torque, and gnarly moment-to-moment gameplay, The Suffering series is anything but dull. Although the series isn’t scary per se, it has enough creatures to give a gamer a case of the heebie-jeebies. Although the story was neatly wrapped up in the final game, it would still be great to see the continued demon-slaying adventures of Torque.

1 Dead To Rights Series

dead_to_rights_retribution

Third-person shooters with a dog sidekick are significantly absent from the modern gaming landscape. The fact a new entry in the Dead to Rights series hasn’t seen a release since 2010 is a travesty. This neo-noir set title which mixes up third-person shooting with K9 control, Max Payne-esque bullet dodge mechanics, and melee fighting during combat encounters feels like a long-forgotten style of game.

No multiplayer, no microtransactions, just a dedicated single-player experience filled to the brim with outlandish gunfights, levels filled with explosives, and the best doggo companion that helps with bad-guy takedowns. Admittedly, the shooting aspect became less of a focal point as the series went on, with Dead to Rights: Dead Reckoning being more of a third-person brawler with shooter elements than prior entries. In an era where liner action games are less prominent than they once were, maybe it’s time Bandai Namco brought back a reinvigorated Jack Slate and Shadow.

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