The best mainstream single player FPS campaigns

Take a look at some of the most memorable single player first person shooter campaigns of the current generation. Agree or not these are all fine champions.

[Ravenhoe]

Would be nice to see some more unknown, older or obscure games on the list. I agree with most of your choices but all of the picks are pretty much a no-brainer.

[kris9512]

Well it does say "MAINSTREAM".

[NukaCola]

Xboxworld is quick to bash Sony but no love for Killzone or Resistance?

Anyway, I would not put Bioshock or Deus Ex on there only on the account that one is an Explorative First Person Survival Adventure title(simliar to Metroid Prime) and the other is an RPG with some First Person Shooting as well.

[snipes101]

I agreed with the article until both BF3 and MOH popped up next to each other. Those were just not good SP experiences.

[da_2pacalypse]

I'm sorry... but the cod and bf3 campaigns suck... I don't care if it says mainstream.. if it sucks, it sucks...

[snipes101]

@da_

I think the fourth Call of Duty campaign was great. That's the one they mentioned here. They didn't say all of them were good (they aren't).

[gamingdroid]

@snipes101

I agree!

I don't see how BF3 and MoH can be on that list. BF3 was atrocious and almost universally abhorred by critics, so it ain't just me.

I also think CoD:MW series has an awesome single player campaign. Very intense.

I can respect the others on the list, even if some of them weren't for me.

[SilentNegotiator]

They may as well have put "Xbox 360" instead of "mainstream".

And really? Medal of Honor and Battlefield 3? Those games' campaigns sucked.

"Robert Cram's" articles are always an eye-roller.

[meetajhu]

Halo Reach and Medal of Honour! EPIC fail article website black listed

[Ravenhoe]

Yes, it does, well, that was a nice #failtoread right there. Anyhow, how about a non-mainstream follow up list ?

[h311rais3r]

Reach campaign was awesome

[da_2pacalypse]

yeah the reach campaign was actually pretty good... i don't know what you're talking about dude lol

[gamingdroid]

I enjoyed Halo: Reach campaign so I don't know what meetajhu is talking about.

[Bob570]

The Reach campaign sucked if you care about canon and had read the book "The Fall of Reach."

That games single player obliterated canon. I don't know how Bungie could just abandon everything that was Halo and make what we now know as Halo: Reach. It's easy to tell that Bungie was forced to make Reach, their heart wasn't in that game. Which is why every other Halo game is leagues better than Reach.

[bunt-custardly]

Bioshock number 2, was, although a good game, rather meh and a bit too safe in comparison to the original. Besides, Bioshock '2' is really going to be Infinite. ;)

[gillri]

I wouldnt put Bioshock or Deus Ex : HR in there

HL2 and Halo@CE for me

[RememberThe357]

How do you get that many disagrees? No one else thought that Bioshock or Deus Ex had great campaigns? F that, Deus Ex was one of the best games of the year.

[JaredH]

That's why he has disagrees. He put they shouldn't be on the list...

[hiredhelp]

I strongly agree deus ex story driven from start to end plots twists turns awsome.

[RememberThe357]

Oh haha I read it wrong.

[CommonSense]

He also said Halo CE which isn't from this generation. although the anniversary game is so damn good! and HL2...i guess it counts cuz of orange box, but it technically launched in 2004 which was the previous generation. then again, HL2 is such a good game, it counts for every generation.

[Chnswdchldrn]

...Sad list

only games that belong there are bioshock 1 and human revolution...the rest are OK but not the "best fps campaigns" of recent times...not by a long shot

[remanutd55]

idk why this is on the ps3 section but since it is i will give my opinion , the reason why i play fps today is because Resistance Fall of Man single player campaign ( which i think it was bested by Resistance 3 )

[Bundi]

Oh I don't know, maybe because most of the games on the list can be played on ps3?
That makes no sense, this xbox only site posts ALOT of PS3 news, in fact they've had plenty of lists that contained ps3 only games. This particular writer excluded ps3 exclusives not because its an xbox only article, but because he doesn't think any ps3 exclusive fps games deserve to be on this particular list.
You're welcome to check previous submissions from this site if you don't believe me

[remanutd55]

i was asking because its coming from a xbox only site , of course they wont mention any ps3 only game and therefore should not be posted on the ps3 section , dont you think ?

[JaredH]

But like Bundi points out. This site has put ps3 games on their list's before...

[TheFallenAngel]

No, the Resistance: Fall of Man was one of the best single player and multiplayer I ever played. Bioshock was pretty good too.

[JaredH]

I agree but I need to play the game again. It was the first next-gen game I played and the first game I actually played online since I did not have internet before that. Because of that I think I might have bias but I need to play it again to see if it still holds up. It's my favorite Resistance game and the one I played the most though.

[Frankfurt]

Battlefield 3?!? HAHAHAHA!

[omi25p]

BF3 is amazing. This is coming from someone who has owned every battlefield except 2042

[Zechs34]

Not the single player...

[hiredhelp]

BF3 campaign got hated on too quick. Yet i look at the SP on each and every cod.
Were the change really bullets dont register one hit kills from ai then next it can be reverse. Yet i thought bf3 was solid reasonable story did just as good as cod.

[irepbtown]

Battlefield 3 is absolutely brilliant.

However the campaign is a completely different story...

[Areeb11]

I simply don't get the hate on the BF3 campaign... it tried to be character driven and it introduced a lot of great set pieces, people should recognize that.

[trenso1]

i think people did, but it just felt hollow.

[d0nni3]

Had battlefield 3 been released before COD4 the singleplayer would have been held in much higher regard unfortunatly (as much as i liked it) it was really treading any new ground or doing anything really new and fresh!

For me it still warrants it's place on the list

[RaidensRising]

I'm surprised Medal of Honor made the list.

I would have added Far Cry 2 because despite the horrible AI the vision of African mercenary was magnificent. Plus it was a long game.

[tigertron]

Halo, Resistance and Killzone.

[remanutd55]

Killzone universe is very intriguing and interesting but in my opinion guerrila games has been able to narrate a very good story on blogs , post but not on the game itself , i think Insomniac Games has been much better at that

[kris9512]

Where is Crysis 2?

[BraveToaster]

In the garbage can.

[fullmetal297]

I didn't like Crysis 2. It did massive time skip from the first game and left questions unanswered like how and the aliens become bipedal and what happen to the main protagonists from the first, Nomad and Psycho?

[enfestid]

Other games that did a massive skip in time: Half-Life 2, Dead Space 2, Portal 2...

I have a feeling they're leaving the fates of those two unanswered for a reason. There's lots of hints in the story, but I think we'll see them in a third.

[3GenGames]

Halo's campaign is a joke starting with 3, I don't care what you say. But some pretty good games on the list. Although it makes me sad that these are all pretty much the best and it's true, good games to bad games proportion is so much higher than older generations. :/

[MerkinMax]

Then don't expect us to care either.

[antz1104]

Lol, did you even play Reach?

[baboom223]

What? wow... How the hell is reach's campaign a joke?

[R4MBO]

Halo Reach is a fine game, love the multiplayer

[3GenGames]

Since when is multiplayer the only thing that matters? Exactly. And Halo Reach isn't even close to the quality of MP Halo 3 is, they ruined it.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

BioShock, BioShock 2, Singularity, F.E.A.R. 2, Medal of Honor, Bulletstorm, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Killzone 2, Resistance 3 and Rage. I'd put Fallout 3 and Deus Ex: HR but those are RPG.s.

[TheFallenAngel]

Resistance: FoM was better than Resistance 3. it was very mysterious. Sucks Insomniac ruined it.

[remanutd55]

i think Resistance 3 is better but to each their own

[Muitnorts]

I'd say a case could be made for either. As long as we all agree that Resistance 2 was a tragic, series ruining mistake.

[JellyJelly]

Not sure if it ranks up there but I felt like mentioning RAGE's campaign. Beneath the amazing graphics it's a surprisingly immersive game with lots of variety and great level design.

And you can buy it really cheap now even though it's still pretty new.

[Bimkoblerutso]

It's not that I think any game on the list had a particularly BAD singleplayer campaign, but...good god, this is a terrible list. It's way too constrictive to really be worth anything. Not only do the games have to be what they define as "mainstream," but they also have to be "recent" and apparently can't incorporate any instance of extended exploration.

Even with all that, though, how games like Half-Life 2 (or at least Episode 2), Crysis 2 and Bulletstorm didn't still make the list is just....baffling.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Trishka's my girl ;D (don't tell my wife)

[Muitnorts]

I'd say BF3's campaign was bad. Really, really bad.

[Faztkiller]

Glad to see Medal of Honor on the list loved that campaign underrated imo

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Hell yeah. Especially the ending and credits. Very heavy, sobering and honorable at the same time.

[g5bay]

halo campaign sucks

[bunt-custardly]

It far from sucks, Halo Reach went as far as to give Combat Evolved a run for its money. Now, if you were referring to Halo 2's campaign, I might be inclined to Agree.

[Faztkiller]

I didn't like Reach's story maybe where I knew what was going to happen from the books but I think 1and3 are great 2 and odst sucked reach was meh for me

[undercovrr]

Where is Gears? It is THE mainstream single player campaign. Fail article, fail website

[trenso1]

last i checked gears wasn't a FPS.

[ShaunCameron]

Gears Of War is a TPS (third-person shooter). This is about FPS's

[tigertron]

Well its not fail when it clearly says FPS. Gears is not an FPS.

[AnotherProGamer]

where is half life 2?

[coolbeans]

I really felt like leaving when I saw Medal of Honor and Battlefield 3. It's your choice but I don't understand scoff's at Black Ops' "mental torture", yet back up MoH by dedicating a sentence to the "beards" in the game?

[FlashBack]

More like "All mainstream campaigns"

[Slapshot82]

I really wish people would start giving Resistance 3 a try. The single player campaign is one of the best on the market!

[Hufandpuf]

TO ALL THE MOH HATE:

The campaign was great, it was realistic in approach and if you REALLY played it, you'd remember the final mission at the end (Very intense)

[enfestid]

I wouldn't call it great. It was bug-ridden, had a horrible story, and simply wasn't fresh. It was a good start for Danger Close, and I certainly look forward to seeing what they do with the sequel, but I wouldn't claim it was "great."

[Hufandpuf]

Technical and graphical issues aside, I think that if they took their ime to polish the game, it would have been even better. I'm not claiming MOH to have the greatest campaign, but it was a change of pace from the Hollywood FPSs that seem to crop up everywhere.

[irepbtown]

Medal of Honor was very interesting game. Couldn't leave it, thats how sucked in I was.
There is room for improvement though and next MOH will be interesting.

The hate is simply because Multiplayer wasn't that great.

[A7XEric]

Medal of Honor? Are you kidding me. The campaign was so bad I returned it before even touching the multiplayer. And I have yet to play BF3 but from what I understand the campaign is "good" but hardly anywhere near close to being one of the best single player FPSs.

[Rettom]

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - You can't deny that the Ghillie missions were the best missions you've ever played.
Battlefield 3 - Why all the hate? I thought it was amazing!! Good actors.
Medal of Honor (2010) - Best campaign I've ever played. Why does everyone hate it. I got so attached to that game. It was emotional.

[Zephol]

No Halo 3? No Uncharted 2? No Killzone 2?? no Red dead redemption? No GTA IV? the medal of honor campaign sucks!!

[iamgoatman]

UC2, RDR and GTA4 aren't FPS games.

[xXtremeHDGamerXx]

LOL Battlefield 3 and Halo Reach

[optimus]

i agree with modern warfare but i really didn't like bioshock and battlefield 3 was just horrible; i actually returned that game and it isn't often that games make me do that.

[Der_Kommandant]

I personally LOVED every minute of MOH's single player campaign

[wenaldy]

Man look at that disagrees..

[devilmaydance]

Was thinking about picking up Medal of Honor for the campaign for cheap, could anyone give me any thoughts (especially in comparison to Battlefield 3's campaign, which I also thought was atrocious).

[theeg]

stalker is number 1 by far imo

halo 1 and 2 (everything has been downhill since story wise imo)

gears 1 (see above)

resistance 1 (see above)

far cry 1 (see above)

hmmmm a pattern is forming....

killzone 1 and 2 (again yes, 3 was mehh)

bioshock 1 (2 was bad)

call of duty mw1 only!

[Gigglefist]

Glad Medal of Honor made it. That campaign was excellent, and severely underrated.

Bioshock 2 is the only inclusion I have anything against.

[Swiggins]

IDK, I didn't much care for it, it just wasn't memorable, even though it was supposed to be "realistic".

Bioshock 2 I agree with though, nothing to write home about and completely predictable.

[Britainz-Fin3st]

Out of all those games mentioned Bioshock imo is the strongest in that category, MOH was a snorefest

[Gigglefist]

Britainz, I agree that Bioshock was one of the greatest. Easily.

The thing about Medal of Honor, is that it wasn't supposed to be over-the-top movie action. It was supposed to be a little more realistic, and I'd say it worked out.

[Xenomorph]

Brought to you by: MSxbox
Keeping news bias since Xbox.

Where is Killzone? We're a xbox site damnit. We don't approve of games on PS3 that have twice the epic single player experience as half these games.

[Britainz-Fin3st]

Someone isnt a fanboy.
Killzone is a great game, but is it one of the best, sadly i think not.

[djreplay]

The Halo Reach campaign was absolutely rubbish, also the worst beginning to a game ever I reckon.

[baboom223]

You crazy? That was one of the best campaigns in FPS period.

[NeloAnjelo]

Since the PS3 is tagged in the artcile, shouldn't it discuss games on that platform as well?

MOH and BF3?
Medal of honour's campaigns was way to buggy, and BF3's campiagn was seriously mediocre (though challenging)

Killzone 2's campaign was much better than both of those games. Also Resistance 3 and Crysis 2 deserved a mentioned. Both great games with strong story elements.

[Britainz-Fin3st]

I agree with the list apart from MOH, and Battlefield 3.
Also i do not believe killzone should of made the list as throughout the whole campaign i just wanted it to end, as for battlefield 3 i dont think i have ever been so bored when playing the game, the multiplayer is brilliant, but the campaign, its an insult to games like resistance and gears of war 2 (not 1 or 3)

[iMpuTeD]

lmao are u kidding me halo reach was wack. I was expecting a cinematic and emotional story and what i got was absolute crap. Characters were dying and i could care less because of the way bungie did it.

[PantherDST]

In my world the Half Life series would come first....

[SnowBlu]

bioshock and borderlands

[cyberwaffles]

i actually enjoyed singularity a lot and it qualifies as mainstream.

[k4rma]

Battlefield 3's campaign was atrocious. If it deserves to be on any list, it should be worst FPS campaigns of all time list. The CoD/MW SP campaigns haven't been that great either since CoD2. And MoH was another short pointless campaign you would only play once.

Obviously BF3 and MW, both those games more than make up for the weak souse SP components with their fully featured MP. Which is the only reason to buy either of those games.

Most of everything else on the list is pretty good though, especially BioShock. Though R6: Vegas 2 had a superior campaign to the first one.

I would also place Borderlands up there in place of MoH, not because the campaign had a great story, but because it was a very fun FPS experience. And while the Fallout games are considered RPG's by many gamers (like Deus Ex) they're still FPS, and deserve to be on that list way more than BF and CoD.

[XboxInnovation]

dumb article

[mistajeff]

no half life? i mean, i know this article is opinion.. but that's a friggin fact.

[Mutley416]

so did i hear right? halo 4 is gonna support the ps3 as well?