There was a span of over a decade in gaming history where nearly everything was a shooter. This could even be dated back to Halo in 2001, but it was more noticeable in the back half of the decade. The genre was hugely popular both for its competitive online scene, and it's embracing of high-end graphics and physics engines. FPS games (as well as third-person shooters) controlled the market in this era, and some of the best in the genre were released during this time.
However, along with that came a slew of very average shooters. When every studio was attempting to create the next CoD, many of them fell short of that mark. The market was severely oversaturated and the genre lost a lot of steam in the process. That doesn't mean those games had no value though. While plenty of them weren't worth the full price tag, they would often have one level that exemplified the developer's desire to push the genre in creative new directions.
7 NecroVisioN - Chapter 6 (PC, 2009)
One of the earliest titles published by 505Games, NecroVisioN was a World War I FPS that combined standard military action with a supernatural twist. Think Painkiller but slower. It was a wildly creative game - sometimes too much for its own good - but was bogged down by being a grey-looking shooter without much visual or gameplay appeal.
Except for one moment, that being Chapter 6. At the end of the previous chapter, players face off against a flying vampire that shoots fireballs, and killing him granted a weapon called the Shadowhand. This weapon was a glove that took over the player's left hand. It hit like a truck, sending enemies flying through the air, and could extend a set of claws exactly like what Wolverine uses. Chapter 6 sent players to the vampire world, and let them loose with the Shadowhand on unsuspecting enemies, to great and satisfying effect.
6 Killzone: Shadow Fall - The Patriot (PS4, 2013)
The PS4 launch title Killzone: Shadow Fall was not well-received by fans. Between an incoherent story, terrible cover and stealth mechanics, and an inventory limited to two weapons where one slot is locked in for the duration of the game, many fans found the game more frustrating than enjoyable, and those feelings are justified.
However, just before the game's halfway mark, it all came together. That was Chapter 4, titled "The Patriot," where players had to climb a skyscraper to free some hostages held at the top. This level capitalized on everything that worked in the game: gorgeous graphics, exciting gunfights, environmental destruction, and set pieces. Players ascend the tower while gazing out at views of a beautiful cityscape, they can shoot enemies through walls or stealth their way through a squadron unseen, and it culminates in an epic sequence where the player is dangling by a rope attached to an airship while shooting at those on board. It's truly awesome stuff.
5 Rage - The Scorchers DLC (PS3/Xbox 360/PC, 2011)
By the time it was released in 2011, Rage had been hyped up well beyond its capabilities. It was Id Software's first new IP in a decade, and in trailers and promotional material looked to be one of the most graphically impressive games ever made. Add to that state-of-the-art AI systems that allowed enemies to change their behavior based on their environment, and expectations for Rage were sky-high.
The result was a game that spread itself too thin. The focus was broken between buggy racing (double-entendre very much intended), shooting, and a mostly empty open world, leaving all of these elements feeling half-baked. The Scorchers DLC managed to fix that by narrowing the focus to just the shooting, with great results. The game's gorgeous environments and unique weaponry are showcased very well in the confines of the Scorchers' tunnels. It all concludes with an epic battle in the Scorcher lair, an old-world stone temple set against a backdrop of the setting sun.
4 Doom 3 - Hell (PC, 2004)
Doom 3 got a bad rap upon its release in 2004. It wasn't a bad game, it just wasn't at all reminiscent of Doom as a franchise. The traditionally fast-paced shooting action had been replaced with a slower, more methodical game akin to the Halo franchise. This angered longtime fans and resulted in the series being sidelined for over a decade, until Doom 2016 brought it back to its roots.
The thing is, in a vacuum Doom 3 is pretty good. It's scary, it has good gunplay, and some creative level designs for its time. This is best exemplified in Chapter 16, simply titled "Hell." In it, players are thrust into hell with no weapons, and although they quickly attain a pistol and shotgun, they will be constantly scrounging for ammo in the early stages of the level. Add to this a creepy and oppressive atmosphere (made all the more unnerving by a disembodied voice telling them just how "doomed" they are), and some of the toughest enemies in the game appearing room after room, and "Hell" is still a memorable level all these years later.
3 Red Faction: Armageddon - Roads Less Traveled (PS3/Xbox 360/PC, 2011)
Deep Silver's follow-up to Red Faction: Guerilla was panned for its shift from an open-world shooter to a linear one. It's true that much of Red Faction: Armageddon takes place in tight corridors, which limits the otherwise epic scale of the destruction physics that made the series so popular.
Despite being a bit of a letdown, the game's vehicle sections are fantastic, the best being in Chapter 13 titled "Roads Less Traveled." Piloting the Scout Walker takes the destruction to new heights with its extremely powerful laser cannon. It can also just walk right through structures, which feels great. Eventually, the walker is destroyed and players set out on foot, letting them use the game's signature Magnet Gun to rip through both structures and enemies in brutally-satisfying fashion.
2 F.E.A.R. 3 - Co-Op (PS3/Xbox 360/PC, 2011)
This isn't a level exactly, but more of a game mode. Nonetheless, F.E.A.R. 3 is a deeply disappointing entry to the franchise as a single-player experience. It does away with the game's tight confines and dangerous enemies and becomes a sub-par FPS clone with nothing unique to its name.
Co-Op is an entirely different experience, and the best of it is, surprisingly, left for the second player. Player 1 gets the single-player role of Point Man, the F.E.A.R. series' protagonist. Player 2 gets to experience the game's most unique feature: playing as the villain Paxton Fettle. Gameplay as Fettle allows players to possess enemies, throw objects with telekinesis, and suspend enemies in mid-air for Point Man to pick off with ease, or for Fettle to explode if he gets close enough. It's a fantastic game mode and the best part of F.E.A.R. 3.
1 Black - Naszran Town (PS2/Xbox, 2006)
When Black was released back in the Xbox and PS2 era, it received a lot of critical praise. What held it back was a painfully short campaign and a lack of online multiplayer in an era where shooters lived and died by their online capabilities. However, Black's destruction physics and intense, visceral gunfights were unheard of for that console generation, and few games have managed to reach that level since.
It all peaked in the game's third mission, titled "Naszran Town," which starts off with players entering a massive cemetery with a sniper posted up in a tower at its center. Players move from cover to cover behind giant headstones, avoiding the sniper's fire. The intensity of Black's destruction physics is on full display as the sniper fire rips apart any headstone players hide behind after a few moments, forcing constant movement and adjustment. It's an awesome firefight that is unique in the genre.to this day.