There are serious and realistic first person shooters.  They are not mainstream, they aren't on consoles.   
 
I just read a bunch of people writing about bulletstorm and they all used leads saying that the market today is too crowded with serious and realistic shooters.    
 
No it's not.  You should play Arma II so you know what a realistic shooter looks like.   That's not even a knock against Bulletstorm or Call of Duty or support for what these games are.  It's just a fact that Arma II or the Original Operation Flashpoint for the PC are the kinds of things that a realistic shooter is like.  It's not fast paced, there's a lot involved more than just running around shooting dudes.   
 
I don't really like that style of game but they're a realistic game.  COD is just as arcadey as bulletstorm it's just a question of what kind of paint you put on it.  

I'll fight anyone who tells me Duke Nukem isn't serious or realistic.

"COD is just as arcadey as bulletstorm it's just a question of what kind of paint you put on it.   "

All aboard the Hyperbole boat!

This looks a lot like something that belongs in a blog.

Who the hell proclaims that Call of Duty is either of these?! Perhaps they meant "modern shooters"?

Until I can play a game where:
 A) a grenade can kill someone from 20 feet away because of shrapnel fragments flying in their eye cavities
 B) a bullet from a .50 caliber sniper rifle kills someone just by disturbing the air enough near their body to give them a concussion and/or internal bleeding
 C) a smoke grenade takes about 45 seconds to a whole minute to produce enough smoke to provide cover for multiple allied members
 
 Then sir I must object to your statement, and say that trying to vouch for a game being realistic is pointless, and it becomes simply about what is fun to play and what is not fun to play.

" Those aren't realistic either.  No shooter is. "

" @FiestaUnicorn said:

" Those aren't realistic either.  No shooter is. "

This. Also OP, why do you have your panties in a knot over something so minute? "

" @Vermy81 said:

"COD is just as arcadey as bulletstorm it's just a question of what kind of paint you put on it.   "

It's either black or white? No grey? OK. "

" There are serious and realistic first person shooters.  They are not mainstream, they aren't on consoles.    I just read a bunch of people writing about bulletstorm and they all used leads saying that the market today is too crowded with serious and realistic shooters.     No it's not.  You should play Arma II so you know what a realistic shooter looks like.   That's not even a knock against Bulletstorm or Call of Duty or support for what these games are.  It's just a fact that Arma II or the Original Operation Flashpoint for the PC are the kinds of things that a realistic shooter is like.  It's not fast paced, there's a lot involved more than just running around shooting dudes.    I don't really like that style of game but they're a realistic game.  COD is just as arcadey as bulletstorm it's just a question of what kind of paint you put on it.   "

/agreed. Just about the only thing realistic about CoD is that bullets kill you. The settings and characters are way overdramatized and the gunplay is a joke. Same goes for the Battlefield Bad Company series. Arma II should be used as the benchmark for what a "realistic" shooter is. Too bad only something like 1% of the total gaming population has heard of it, let alone played it. 

No one calls it either of those, stop giving a shit about games you don't give a shit about.

" @FiestaUnicorn said:

" Those aren't realistic either.  No shooter is. "

This. Also OP, why do you have your panties in a knot over something so minute? "

CoD is definitely a lot more realistic than Bulletstorm. Pretty much all the weapons and stuff in there are real-ass guns, and for the most part, what happens in those games is stuff that could happen in real life.  
 
And if you bump the difficulty up, you die after one or two hits, just like in real life (pretty much). 

" @Vermy81 said:

" There are serious and realistic first person shooters.  They are not mainstream, they aren't on consoles.    I just read a bunch of people writing about bulletstorm and they all used leads saying that the market today is too crowded with serious and realistic shooters.     No it's not.  You should play Arma II so you know what a realistic shooter looks like.   That's not even a knock against Bulletstorm or Call of Duty or support for what these games are.  It's just a fact that Arma II or the Original Operation Flashpoint for the PC are the kinds of things that a realistic shooter is like.  It's not fast paced, there's a lot involved more than just running around shooting dudes.    I don't really like that style of game but they're a realistic game.  COD is just as arcadey as bulletstorm it's just a question of what kind of paint you put on it.   "

I think what people mean by "serious" or "realistic" are not referring to the mechanics or the gameplay but rather the style of the game and also the tone of the game. Games like COD are generally set in real world situations, using real-world weapons, hence they are going for a "realistic" style even if the gameplay itself is not realistic (i.e. in that sense, there is no such thing as a "realistic" shooter outside of an actual combat simulator). Also while a game like COD doesn't necessarily always take itself seriously, it's definitely much more serious in tone than Bulletstorm, which is intentionally designed to be silly from the start. Though you can certainly argue that COD-style games are usually silly in their own ways. Gameplay wise, Bulletstorm and Modern Warfare isn't that different if we break down the basic game play components (i.e. the main difference would be that Bulletstorm has  skill shots) but in terms of tone and setting, they are very different. "

"

                   B) a bullet from a .50 caliber sniper rifle kills someone just by disturbing the air enough near their body to give them a concussion and/or internal bleeding.

                   

                "

" All aboard the Hyperbole boat! "

" @Tennmuerti said:

" All aboard the Hyperbole boat! "

You know, I use to pronounce hyperbole as hyper-bowl for the longest time. "

"  @JoeyRavn said: 

"  @Vermy81 said: 

"COD is just as arcadey as bulletstorm it's just a question of what kind of paint you put on it.   "

It's either black or white? No grey? OK. "

Actually, it is about as arcadey. You heal up in a couple of seconds, you move fast as hell for pretty much as long as you want and SOMETIMES FASTER, emptying a 30 round mag on full auto takes like 10 seconds, which is about 3 rounds a second, you magically jump into helicopters and gun people down, and every soldier has a device that calls heavy ordinance down on their enemies, or highlights them on a heads up display map.   Pretty fuckin Arcadey. "

It's 'realistic' for game standards. If shooters played like real life, only serial killers would play it, because it would be gross to look at.

" Those aren't realistic either.  No shooter is. "

I want to play Arma II and Operation Flashpoint

I think when people use the words 'realistic' and 'serious' for games they mean in terms of setting and tone.  COD has a Hollywood take on realistic settings and a serious-action movie tone.  Yeah, comparing what actually happens in real life and what takes place in these games the comparison is ridiculous.  But, for entertainment mediums, COD is fairly realistic and serious.  I can't really comment on games like ARMA II as I stay away from them like the plague.  But, I doubt even those games adequately mimic what is actually experienced by soldiers how experience those situations every day.  Therefore, I think saying they are more 'realistic' or 'serious' is a bit of a stretch. 

no one calls them that

" CoD is definitely a lot more realistic than Bulletstorm. Pretty much all the weapons and stuff in there are real-ass guns, and for the most part, what happens in those games is stuff that could happen in real life.   And if you bump the difficulty up, you die after one or two hits, just like in real life (pretty much).  "

" @Tennmuerti said:

" All aboard the Hyperbole boat! "

You know, I use to pronounce hyperbole as hyper-bowl for the longest time. "

Who ever said it was realistic. and the single player is plenty serious. Theres just some off tone moments. 

" All aboard the Hyperbole boat! "

If you dont go down, scream in pain, and need a medic to carry you off the battle field everytime you're shot its not realistic... i mean seriously, no one can get shot like 5 times and keep fighting.

" All aboard the Hyperbole boat! "

Seriously.  Let's be real people.

If i want to see realistic shooting i go and watch the news.

B) a bullet from a .50 caliber sniper rifle kills someone just by disturbing the air enough near their body to give them a concussion and/or internal bleeding

whats with all the obsession with realism in games, games have good stories, etc.. ? 
 why should a game be so realistic to impress? why should a game have a great story to be a masterpiece video game ? 
 
 
fuck realism and fuck stories WHEN a certain game does fine without them. i dont want realistic shooters, thats boring, we're playing video games here

The only shooter that ever seemed realistic to me was Six Days In Fallujah, such a shame it won't get a release.

"

                    @spartan0187 said:

B) a bullet from a .50 caliber sniper rifle kills someone just by disturbing the air enough near their body to give them a concussion and/or internal bleeding

  I refuse to believe that.  

                   

                "