The Best Tactical Shooter Games of All-Time

Ranker Games
Updated August 11, 2023 15.0K votes 2.7K voters 238.2K views
Over 2.7K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Tactical Shooter Games of All-Time
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This is a list of the best tactical shooter games of all time for any console or system, including cover art pictures when available. These highly rated tactical shooter games are ordered by popularity, so only the greatest tactical shooter games are at the top of the list. Spanning the entire history of the genre, these tactical shooter games are considered the best in the genre. This list includes all challenging tactical shooter games that have ever hit the shelves, so it doesn't necessarily have all the more obscure or new tactical shooter games.

A list made up of games like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Gears of War.

This list answers the questions, "What are the best tactical shooter games?" and "What is the greatest tactical shooter game of all time?"
Ranked by
  • SWAT 4
    1

    SWAT 4

    Apr 05 2005
    691 votes
    • Developer: Irrational Games
    SWAT 4 is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by Vivendi Universal Games on April 5, 2005. It was built on Irrational Games's Vengeance Engine powered by Unreal Engine 2.0 technology. In SWAT 4, the player leads a SWAT tactical element in resolving various situations, such as hostage standoffs or apprehensions of dangerous subjects. An expansion to SWAT 4, entitled SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate, was released on February 28, 2006.
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
    2

    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six

    Aug 21 1998
    385 votes
    • Developer: Ubisoft Red Storm
    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six is a tactical shooter computer game and the first in the Rainbow Six series. It was developed and published by Red Storm Entertainment for the PC in 1998. It was later ported to Mac OS, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color. An expansion pack, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Mission Pack: Eagle Watch, was released on January 31, 1999. The PC version is available for purchase on GOG.com, while the PlayStation version is now available for download from the PlayStation Store.
  • ARMA 3
    3

    ARMA 3

    Jan 01 2012
    404 votes
    • Developer: Bohemia Interactive
    ARMA 3 is an open-world military tactical shooter video game developed by Czech studio Bohemia Interactive for Microsoft Windows. It was released on September 12, 2013. ARMA 3's storyline takes place in the mid-2030s during the fictional Operation Magnitude, a military operation launched by NATO forces fighting in Europe against "Eastern armies" referred to as CSAT led by a resurgent Iran with a coalition of other Middle Eastern and Asian nations. Set more than 25 years after the events of ARMA 2, in 2035, NATO forces deployed to islands of the Aegean Sea are trying to hold off a massive CSAT's offensive from the east. During the singleplayer campaign, the player takes on the role of a US Army soldier, Corporal Ben Kerry. Initially, the player must survive on his own after friendly forces are defeated in a failed NATO operation. During the campaign, the player will face everything from lone wolf infiltration missions to the commanding of large scale armored operations. The player will be able to choose different objectives and weaponry according to their play style. ARMA 3 takes place on the Aegean islands of Altis and Stratis of Greece, in the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
    4
    • Developer: Ubisoft Red Storm, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Milan
    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield is a 2003 computer game developed and published by Ubisoft. Released on March 18, 2003, the Rainbow Six video game series is based on Tom Clancy's best-selling novel of the same name. Based on the Unreal Engine 2.0, Raven Shield is a tactical shooter with realistic properties. Raven Shield moved toward mainstream first-person shooters like Counter-Strike, adapting various features absent in previous versions. These included the ability to see one's weapon while in first-person view, many new weapons and upgrades, and a redesigned multiplayer. A console version, entitled Rainbow Six 3, was developed for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo GameCube. This iteration of the game features the same basic engine, models, textures, and artwork, but with significantly different game mechanics, gameplay, and storyline. A port was also released on Mac OS X on December 19, 2003. Due to the console version's success on the Xbox and the popularity of its subscription-based online multiplayer service, Xbox Live, an Xbox-exclusive semi-sequel was released in 2004 titled Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow.
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
    5

    Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon

    Nov 13 2001
    336 votes
    • Developer: Ubisoft Red Storm
    Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon is a tactical shooter video game developed by Red Storm Entertainment, a Ubisoft subsidiary, and published by Ubisoft in 2001 for Microsoft Windows. It was ported to Mac OS, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2002 and to the GameCube in 2003. Ports for N-Gage and Game Boy Advance were planned, but later canceled. Together with Rainbow Six, game industry experts generally credit Ghost Recon with defining and refining the tactical shooter genre. Unlike Clancy's other tactical shooter series, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon is not based on any of his books. Ghost Recon's success has spawned 2 expansion packs, Desert Siege and Island Thunder, as well as numerous sequels for video game consoles and the PC.
  • Squad
    6

    Squad

    151 votes