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Best FPS campaign in your opinion

ViewtifulJC said:
9. Star Wars: Republic Commando - I feel this game is a bit forgotten, which is a big shame, as its one of the Xbox's greatest games. A unique story set in the Star Wars universe, with a compelling squad system that Halo 5 can only sadly, poorly mimic.
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I always look at this one sitting in my Steam library when I want to play a shooter, I need to move it to the top of the list.
 
Gonna vote for Duke Nukem 3D.

Followed by an unsorted selection of Hexen, DOOM, Half-Life, Halo 3, Blood, Portal 2.
 
Duke Nukem 3D (varied, playful and inventive leveldesigns)
Unreal (amazing environmental storytelling, really alien atmosphere, best soundtrack of all time)
Half Life (great variety and insanely polished pacing)
Deus Ex (great writing, incredible worldbuilding and sidestories)
System Shock 2 (leveldesign perfectly supplements the addictive rpg mechanics)
Thief (completely insane leveldesigns that take hours to explore)
Thief 2 (less crazy, but even more intricate leveldesigns)
Edit: Star Wars: Dark Forces (really unique gigantic levels/superstructures with lots of verticality)
Edit: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (really unique gigantic levels/superstructures with even more verticality thanks to the jedi force jump, it's a shame this is pretty much the only game with this kind of vertical mobillity)

I can't possibly list any fewer than that...
 
Since TC mentions System Shock 2, I gotta give it a nod. Easily in my top 5 all-time list.

For more shooty shootbang, NOLF, both Metro titles (I played the Redux versions), and Bioshock 2.

With regard to Bioshock 2, yes the story is weaker but the mechanics are better. For the best of both story and gameplay, play Minerva's Den--it's actually the best Bioshock

EDIT & OG Half-Life ofc
 
Gunslinger said:
Lot of love for BioShock and half life 2 I see. Half life 1 imo was better than 2. Shame to see it getting not as much love.
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Half-Life 1 is the shit. I like the way the weapons sound, I like the over-the-top 90's level of gore and gibbing, I like Black Mesa, I like the military grunts.

I have bad opinions about Half-Life 2 I'll just keep to myself.
 
ScOULaris said:
Half-Life 1 has not yet been topped in this regard, and if you disagree with me I'm gonna pull the "you had to be there" card.
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I think this is post is spot on. Some games you just had to be there and be part of the zeitgeist to understand and truly "get" its significance to the genre.

My list was devoid of crucial fps campaigns for sure, original Doom, half-life games, WW2 CoDs or Medal of Honor games etc because I didn't play some of those titles.

Just because I didn't experience those titles doesn't make them any less important or groundbreaking.
 
Prior to DOOM 2016, the king for me has always been Half-Life 2 (though I'm still going back and forth whether this new Doom has finally topped it for me). The first Half-Life was pretty spectacular itself with its commitment to the first person perspective and the design of Black Mesa, while Episode 2 had some pretty great moments in a slightly more compact campaign. But everything about Half-Life 2, the journey you go on in that game, stands out so strongly for me.

You travel such a large distance and in such a variety of ways while still engaging in the core activity of shooting enemies. From zipping through the canals on the air boat, to the abandoned Ravenholm that still leaves me scarred with a fear of poison headcrabs, to the entirety of Highway 17 giving me the feeling of being on a virtual post apocalyptic road trip, to going above and below various parts of a war torn City 17, the various locales all stand out. Any moment in the game that would be seen as padding or downtime in any other campaign elevated the whole experience for me in service of keeping you in the character from start to finish, and not breaking you from the first person perspective. It's what made the first Half-Life work so well, and the same also goes for System Shock.

DOOM is only making me reconsider which game is better despite it being for different reasons. HL2 is like one big immersive experience with solid shooting fundamentals and level design while DOOM is like the closest FPS equivalent to a character action game. It's skill based, enemies are diverse and challenging, weapons are powerful, and the upgrade systems don't overshadow or compensate the need to play well in this game, but rather add more cool shit to do. It's so gameplay heavy in a way that makes me want to go through the campaign over and over, trying new stuff during combat arenas and see how good I can keep juking projectiles and not get hit.

So yeah, I'm just gonna put both as the best, because god dammit I hate having to choose between two fantastic things.
 
It was one of the Halo games (on the OG Box). It had world class music, I jumped off a bridge and on a giant robot spider. One of the most epic moments in gaming.
But a game as a whole? No FPS SP comes to mind. Probably OG Doom or one of the Quakes that created consistence memories.
 
It's not the best story line but to be fair to it; Modern Warfare 2 had a cracking campaign that was packed full of memorable moments. I know COD gets a bad wrap - but the early MW entries were really good imo!
 
I haven't actually played all that many. I'll be unoriginal and say that Doom 1 and 2 are definitely near the top for me. And I also have a massive soft spot for Blood, it might even be my favorite. Still hoping some day we can see a proper source port of it. I actually preferred System Shock 1 to 2 myself.
 
Goose_Se7en said:
From a narrative POV kinda sorta although I recommend against it. Resistance 3 goes away from Nate Hale's story as it's left open and unbeknownst to us is also closed with Resistance 2's ending.

Resistance 3 is a narrative of a soldier, now family man seeking redemption. Won't go into spoilers but I recommend playing Resistance 2 only because I'm biased towards it.
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ViewtifulJC said:
I think you should be ok. Its an unrelated story, at the very least.

Resistance 3 is a good one. Very Half-Life 2 inspired in its atmosphere, its set pieces and level design, the personal storytelling, even the art design in some places. In my top 10 somewhere, with Serious Sam First/Second Encounter, Doom 2016, Star Wars: Dark Forces, and The Darkness 2
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Awesome. Local Gamestop has a copy on hold and it's only $3.99. I'm thinking I'm about to grab me a heck of a good deal.
 
Infest said:
Falling_Desktop_1280x1024.jpg


Also the original Bioshock.....and even 2, I just love this universe.
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I don't know why you'd say it like that when it's the best one.

I'm not counting games like Deus Ex and New Vegas, so mine is probably TimeSplitters 2. Other favourites include:

F.E.A.R.
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Halo 3: ODST
 
Half-life 1 & 2
Deus Ex
BioShock Infinite
Modern Warfare 3
Resistance 2 co-op campaign

Destiny strikes and raids also deserve a special mention, because the gunplay is best in class.
 
My goodness, why don't they redo the resistance trilogy at 1080 60fps with improved visuals.......These games were excellent shooters.
 
Choosing just one, Half-Life 1. Lots of weapons with all but a few being consistently useful when you know what you're doing (and better gunplay than it's sequel somehow, even if it's still not best in genre material in that regard). Lots of enemy variety, to the point of being beyond most other linear "pure" FPS. Level design that's on the transition between openness and linearity, with actually quite a few optional areas and secrets. Storytelling that stays out the way past the intro but provides just enough to focus you, and also has some clever things going on under the surface that tends to be overlooked (especially the way the pacing mirrors/is the character development of Gordon himself). Basically all of the Black Mesa segment has some of my favourite pacing in an FPS, to the point I find it hard not to get sucked in to going all the way to the end when I start it up, I think even the more disliked earlier chapters like On A Rail fit well in the context of the overall pacing, and Surface Tension is probably my favourite stretch in an FPS (and is even better in the story context of how it's where Gordon makes the final transition into being a badass). Xen is the only issue I have, and even then I like the art, it's short, and the start of Interloper is the only bit I REALLY dislike.

Gauged purely for what it is I'd probably put Half-Life 2: Episode 2 over it, but it's shorter and the continuation of a previous game+expansion, so I don't feel listing it alone really works.

Edit:
SilentRob said:
I only played through Resistance 1 & 2 and pretty much hated both.

Guess I still have to play the third one sometime, eh? @_@
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I think the "Half-Life 3 we never got" hype is a bit exaggerated but it's still easily one of the best console FPS games I've played, and way beyond the rest of the series.
 
Ultimate Doom
Half Life 2 Episode 2
Battlefield: Bad Company
Modern Warfare 3
Halo 2
Far Cry 3
Crysis
Bioshock Infinite
Bulletstorm

Some of my favorite ones from what I played.
 
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect will always be my GOAT fps campaign.

Resistance: Fall of Man is also up there. Never got round to Resistance 3 partly due to the bad taste Resistance 2 left on me.
 
Wolfenstein 3D
Doom
Quake
Duke Nukem 3D
Quake 2
Unreal
Sin
Half-Life
Final Doom
Shadow Warrior
Soldier of Fortune
Kingpin
Turok
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Half-Life 2
Doom 3
F.E.A.R.
Prey
Shadow Warrior
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Black Mesa
DOOM
 
Half-Life 2. The environments were nicely varied, cool action sequences (with the very nice music kicking in at just the right moment), and the characters had great facial expressions. And, of course, HL2 had the gravity gun!
 
Haven't played the new Doom, but COD4 and Halo for me. All Ghillied Up is one of my all-time favorite game levels.
 
Already mentioned but NOLF 1&2, both have amazing campaigns. No One Lives Forever hasn't aged that well visually but the sequel is still perfectly playable today.

It is a bit sad that people with these massive PC fps lists aren't including them.

NSI6iuf.png
 
tuxfool said:
Already mentioned but NOLF 1&2, both have amazing campaigns. No One Lives Forever hasn't aged that well visually but the sequel is still perfectly playable today.

It is a bit sad that people with these massive PC fps lists aren't including them.

NSI6iuf.png
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IF THERE WAS ANY WAY TO BUY IT
 
The actual campaign: Goldeneye
To play in 2016: probably some form of Halo CE, I haven't played the remake since Microsoft only supports PC with games I don't want
 
Mine are:

Half Life 2
Halo Trilogy
Wolfenstein The New Order
Doom 2
The Metro games

I don't understand how anyone put Halo 5 as their choice. That game confirmed that Halo should really have not existed for this long. That campaign felt like a lesson in speed-running to a halo veteran even on heroic difficulty alone. We finished the fight so long ago.

And stop putting Portal on as a nominee before I vote in Talos Principle!
 
My favorite ones to play through are Half Life 1 and 2 and Duke Nukem 3D. Also fond of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, moreso even than The New Order. The story is nothing to speak of, but I love the levels and atmosphere.
 
Doom 2016 and Half-Life 2 are probably tied for first for me. Half-life for the more serious story and Doom because it doesn't take itself seriously and is just fun.

Bioshock infinite is just short of those two, though I know some people would disagree with me on that.
 
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