Feature: 'The Quantum Leap Awards - The FPS'

For today's Gamasutra feature, with the results now in, we present the first Quantum Leap Award, as voted by the readership of game industry professionals, awarded to the first-person shooter that represented the biggest 'quantum leap' in the genre over its entire history, with an additional look at the rest of the most important first-person shooters of all time. As the introduction explains: "In August 2006, the editors of Gamasutra asked its readership of game industry professionals to chime in and vote for which game in the first-person shooter genre "brought the genre forward" in the biggest way - whether it be an early game that helped define the FPS, or a more recent one which took those core ideas and developed a more rewarding experience than before. Specifically, we asked: "Which first-person shooter/action title over the entire history of the FPS game do you think has made the biggest 'quantum leap' in the genre, and why?" On the following pages, we'll first present eight "honorable mentions" - games that, while certainly innovative and important, did not receive enough votes to make it into the top echelon. Following this, we'll present the top five first-person shooters voted for by our readers, in reverse order, ending with the overall recipient of Gamasutra's first Quantum Leap Award." You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the topic, with industry commentary on 13 of the genre's most groundbreaking games, and find out which took the elusive Quantum Leap prize (no registration required, please feel free to link to this feature from external websites).