So what is *the* best modern FPS campaign?

[frozentundra123456]

MW1 definitely gets my vote for having the best single player campaign. It was so epic. Felt like you were in a movie the whole time, one where you could control the characters.

I liked the COD single player games through COD4. It want downhill rapidly after that. So for modern, if I interpret correctly, I would say COD4. COD 1 and 2 were great also, but not really "modern".

I also liked Fear and Half Life, but I dont know if they really have campaigns. More like a sci fi storyline.

 

[BudAshes]

Borderlands for the most fun and Half Life 2 for the best all around. Crysis gets honorable mention.

 

[BudAshes]

The most memorable "campaign" was the Soviet campaign in COD 1. This stuff is loosely based on real history and that makes it feel more real. You feel how bad it sucks to be a Soviet solder crossing the Volga. Your heart sinks when you are not even issued a weapon. Next thing you know you are on the ground with your ears blown out. If you poke your head up for more than a second you are dead. Oh and not one step backward or your own people will shoot you!

Yeah I remember this blowing my mind. Fuck the history channel lets just have history based video games.

 

[Childs]

COD 4+ all have decent single player campaigns, although I will admit I only played COD4, and watched the rest on YT. But they seemed like movies. Maybe a little scripted, but all of them are like that these days.

 

[Sulaco]

COD 4+ all have decent single player campaigns, although I will admit I only played COD4, and watched the rest on YT. But they seemed like movies. Maybe a little scripted, but all of them are like that these days.

This is honestly the biggest reason I shudder when people mention CoD as having the "best" singleplayer.

The constant scripted sequences, triggered events, and "action movie set" feel just got old and stale in about 2005, or whenever CoD 2 came out. Which is why I wonder for the people lauding CoD4 and beyond's single player, just exactly when they started playing the series. For those of us who started with it in 2003, it was painfully predictable by the second or third entry, let alone the 17th.

CoD singleplayer is designed solely around blowing your mind with the sheer amount of 'shit' they throw at you . Massive explosions, gun fire from everywhere, guys yelling at everything and anything, more explosions, and finally, some more explosions.
After awhile, it's so over-the-top in your face that it doesn't feel like a battle, but a Michael Bay outtake.

The scripted gameplay is worse. I remember sitting in a door way in CoD2 during the Russian campaign, literally mowing down German soldiers as they blindly charged up a stairwell into my fire, one after another, to be cut up; constantly respawning ad nauseum.
If I moved forward 10 feet and proceeded into the stair well, that would trigger a new scripted event, the battle would 'advance', and suddenly the endless wave of spawning Germans would cease, and we could advance.
Lo and behold, the SAME THING happened in MW. Stand in a doorway, watch endless waves of enemies approach, until I took another step to trigger another "part" of the scripted battle.

Oh sure, my guys are hollering excitedly the whole time, utterly meaningless gunfire is being exchanged, and if you're not paying attention at all, it all looks really impressive and epic.
But when you realize just how little is REALLY going on behind the scenes and how you're as much a part of a "battle" as you are a part of a pirate battle on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, it loses it's luster fast.

 

[RampantAndroid]

This is honestly the biggest reason I shudder when people mention CoD as having the "best" singleplayer.

The constant scripted sequences, triggered events, and "action movie set" feel just got old and stale in about 2005, or whenever CoD 2 came out. Which is why I wonder for the people lauding CoD4 and beyond's single player, just exactly when they started playing the series. For those of us who started with it in 2003, it was painfully predictable by the second or third entry, let alone the 17th.

CoD singleplayer is designed solely around blowing your mind with the sheer amount of 'shit' they throw at you . Massive explosions, gun fire from everywhere, guys yelling at everything and anything, more explosions, and finally, some more explosions.
After awhile, it's so over-the-top in your face that it doesn't feel like a battle, but a Michael Bay outtake.

The scripted gameplay is worse. I remember sitting in a door way in CoD2 during the Russian campaign, literally mowing down German soldiers as they blindly charged up a stairwell into my fire, one after another, to be cut up; constantly respawning ad nauseum.
If I moved forward 10 feet and proceeded into the stair well, that would trigger a new scripted event, the battle would 'advance', and suddenly the endless wave of spawning Germans would cease, and we could advance.
Lo and behold, the SAME THING happened in MW. Stand in a doorway, watch endless waves of enemies approach, until I took another step to trigger another "part" of the scripted battle.

Oh sure, my guys are hollering excitedly the whole time, utterly meaningless gunfire is being exchanged, and if you're not paying attention at all, it all looks really impressive and epic.
But when you realize just how little is REALLY going on behind the scenes and how you're as much a part of a "battle" as you are a part of a pirate battle on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, it loses it's luster fast.

Cannot agree more. This is my issue with COD2+

I mean, I guess DS1 and 2 have some good singleplayer, but it's also pretty scripted.

 

[OCNewbie]

I have a feeling we'll be reaching a consensus answer, to the question posed by this topic, shortly.

 

[micrometers]

Scripted sequences do kinda stink I agree. I'd rather just watch a movie and not deal with the stress of possible failure, or have more options to be creative.

 

[Childs]

The problem when your confined to FPSs in modern times, is that most are MW+ clones. You have either COD, BF (BC2 or BF3) or MoH. MoH's single player supposedly that bad either, but I would suspect its similar to COD. I saw sections of BF3 single player, and you couldnt do anything but walk and listen to some guy talk for like 10 min. BC2 seemed kinda funny, but I've never felt inclined to play the single player.

But other than those three franchises, what else fits the OPs criteria? Maybe Rainbow Six Vegas series? Operation Flashpoint, ARMA, maybe Far Cry 2. Not too many strictly modern military FPSs. Seems like there are a million of them, but not really.

 

[lakedude]

So I don't really like the obviously triggered, scripted events where you run out of bullets on an endless stream of enemy combatants, however...

One of my friend is a "camper" and he always hangs back and snipes or uses in place weapons. He will not advance until his is 110% sure the way is clear. He is a one step forward two steps back kind of guy.

Games like COD force him to play "normal" or more aggressively, which I like.