With all the hype surrounding the genre, it will not be a surprise if you decide to join the bandwagon and play one of those highly popular first person shooters like Cross Fire, and many others that you might have already heard about.

Don’t take this the wrong way. Anyone’s free to free FPS games if they want to. However, the point is that jumping headlong into a game or genre that you’re not yet familiar with can be tantamount to jumping into a battle as a rookie without any basic training at all on the rigors of combat.

In other words, if you have no idea what you’re jumping into then you’re going to be in for a lot of frustrations. The more experienced players will make short work of you – sad to say, as a rookie, your character will be dead within seconds of respawning. It might not be a problem the first time around, but can be frustrating when you don’t get to do anything at all because you are quickly picked off by the experts.

Believe me, they know who’s a noob when they see one, and they’re sure to pick on you a lot.

So, the best advice to keep in mind if you’re new to FPS games – take it easy. Sometimes it’s very tempting to just jump into a match and play, even if you knew what you’ll be getting into as a newbie. What you should do then is to practice your skills first against AI opponents. Consider it as training – AI opponents, while pre-programmed, have different difficulty levels. This will help you build your own confidence, and to give you time to familiarize yourself with the controls of the games.

Piercing Blow, for instance, has a mode that allows you to practice on computer-controlled opponents that go up in difficulty as you kill more of them. At the start of the practice session, enemies will act like noobs (your own level) so you can easily pick them off. However, as time passes, you’ll find that they become more difficult and become more expert with their weapons.

If you’re itching for some PvP action even when you’re just a beginner, then you can try Global Strike on Facebook. The game has a dedicated server for people like you who are just starting into the game. This way, you’ll get to play against people who are also starting to just learn the ropes. If you get killed, at least, you won’t get a lot of trash talk from more experienced shooters as an unwanted bonus.

Another tip you should consider taking into heart – know your specialization. FPS games give a lot of room for players to work on their specialties. Are you more of a lone wolf who likes to fight from a distance with a sniper rifle? Are you somebody who likes to get up close and personal with a shotgun and a knife? Are you more of a team-oriented person who likes to work in pairs armed with assault rifles?

FPS shooters are enjoyable once you get the hang of them. Just don’t head into battles that you’re not familiar with, or ones that your skill level is not adequate for, if you want to avoid the frustrations.