Recommend a good story driven FPS?

Even one with RPG elements is appreciated. Something Like Stalker, Fallout or Metro? Already played those three and:

The Bioshock games

Halo Series

Deus Ex Series

Half-Life games

FEAR games

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Singularity

Rage (The ending was so bad)

Not interested in:

The Darkness

Portal

Borderlands

It's a good thing you're not interested in Borderlands, considering the story is the bare minimum of what it needs to be.

Why aren't you interested in Deus Ex: Human Revolution? It can be a pure FPS if you choose it to be, and the story is really great, as is the atmosphere. This is coming from a guy who usually doesn't dig conspiracy thriller type plots. The Sc Fi setting is really well developed and the pacing is great, as is the element of choice.

I suppose you could try Far Cry 3, although the story is atrociously bad. The open world gameplay is really fun, though.

Wow... you've played a lot. How about Spec Ops The Line? Or, if you're open to a heavy RPG element how about the Mass Effect series?

@Chickan_117:

Spec Ops is a TPS, and ME has a lot of elements of a TPS.

Although, yeah, those are good picks.

Timesplitters: Future Perfect has a great campaign story, very comedic, charming and memorable. It's my go to game to recommend wen people want a FPS with a good story. It's also incredibly unique, i can guarantee that the game will stick with you for a wile, in a pleasant way, after you finish it.

Have you tried Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light?

Yep, I see them now. Derp.

Wasn't a hug fan of Timesplitters, though I beat it, I thought it was too comedic. I have played Spec Ops: The Line, loved it, and have zero interest in the Mass Effect series. I didn't say I have no interest in the Deus Ex games, I said I played them, and they are AWESOME. Whether it's a FPS or and FPS/RPG, the important thing is that the game is first person, seeing as that's what I am really in the mood for and I find them to be more immersive. I've also play the Elder Scroll games.

Black Ops actually had a really good story, sucks that the rest of the games wasn't as good

No, no, I'm a little sick of the Call of Duty franchise, thanks :/. I'm not looking for anything that has that "modern military" feel to it.

Metroid Prime

I like the storylines of the Modern Warfare and Black Ops series of the Call of Duty franchise. Both series had really good villains. Modern Warfare gives a riveting depiction of World War III, while Black Ops deals alot with the consequences and aspects of espionage and the military's reliance on technology.

Oh I know, I never said I didn't like them, they just aren't what I'm looking for. I'm the only person I know that bought the three games for the single player story and not the online MP (Not a fan).

You have to play Max Payne 1 or/and 2

System Shock 2 is another game you should play.

Other games may include Doom 3, and possibly Left for Dead if you like to play your FPS in teams.

There aren't really that many FPS with a good story. You got Metro, Singularity and Bioshock. Seems like you got most of the decent ones too.

That's actually why I play them too. The stories are not going to win any awards, but sometimes you just wanna blow some crap up. They're good rentals if nothing else.

Plus I love the Zombie modes. I don't care how many people say Zombie games/books/movies/stories are played out, I love em. Have since 1982, probably will until I die or turn into a zombie.

But the mutliplayer does nothing for me in CoD. I prefer Halo. :)

Yeah, I agree with you there.

I am considering System Shock 2. As for Left 4 Dead, I prefer SP over MP or team based any day of the weak.

That is a shame to hear.

Hey, have you tried Binary Domain? I didn't play it, but I heard a lot of people going on about how great it was a while back. Maybe check it out on Steam?

What about theFar Cry 3: Blood Dragon downloadable game? Or maybe Dishonored? Though Dishonored is more stealth than shooter, but it's first person and interesting. Doom 3 BFG Edition edition? How about Hard Reset?

I have played all of those (not BFG edition, but the original), and have NO idea how I forgot to list them. Didn't care for Binary Domain though, probably because with the exception of Spec Ops: The Line, I am not a huge fan of third person shooters (most of them just feel so... linear).

@MasterTankallex: Well bud, I think you may have played all the games that meet your criteria. I'm out of ideas.

Want me to start listing 3rd Person Shooters I really liked? :)

Damn, no thanks, I'm just not feeling up for any...

Thanks though.

Wait, I got one more...

Crysis?

I would draw a distinction between a "good, story driven FPS" and an "FPS with a good story" because these aren't always the same thing. The Halo games had a decent narrative structure that was told in a compelling manner, but the story itself wasn't that interesting beyond the first game. Bioshock 1 and 3 (and to a lesser extent, 2) had pretty interesting stories that were well told. Vampire was an absolutely awful game, but it had enough good ideas that kept me coming back even after I had beaten it.

A lot of good games have already been mentioned, but I would ask about The Darkness since you listed it as a game that you're not interested in. May I ask why? The first Darkness game was really a surprise gem for me. It's only on console, so I don't know if that's a limiting factor for you, but once you get past the cheesy opening it's actually one of the better story driven FPS games I have ever played. The gameplay is semi-non linear (you can hop a subway and explore, sit on the couch with your girlfriend and watch an entire movie, etc) and there's an upgrade system for your powers. It's by the same guys who did Riddick and the graphical style, environments, and voice acting are all pretty decent. The gunplay's a little weak, but the story was -very- good.

-Byshop

Special Needs gamer, can't player a game without a story ?

@BranKetra:

I don't know about Metroid Prime being story-driven. It's not like there are major cut scenes to be worrying about, unless you are talking about the last two games, which I haven't gotten through and beaten at all. However, the first game did require you to scan a lot of the game's environments and read a lot of text about what's going on. If that's story-driven, then I guess that works.

Why no interest in The Darkness? I'd say that takes the crown for best FPS story this gen. And while I'm thinking of Starbreeze, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay has a very cool, atmospheric narrative.

To answer the above questions, I've played Crysis and Crysis 2. Crysis 3 doesn't catch my interest.

I agree about Halo's story not being that spectacular, but it was entertaining none-the-less. Halo Reach had the best in the series IMO.

The story is one of, if not THE most important part of a game for me, I am not just entertained buy good gameplay, I need a reason to keep going.

I have heard good things about the Riddick games, but I would be hard pressed to look past Vin Diesel seeing as I look at him as nothing more than a gorilla/tool.

As for the Darkness, the reason I have no interest is because it wouldn't be a new experience for me, because I watched my friend play through both games so... that's my mistake for watching, but they were really good.

Far Cry 3, Dishonored (kinda I guess), Call of Juarez Gunslinger, FC3.

Some good TPS are Last of Us, Binary Domain if you are interested.

Honestly, you've just about mined all the promising veins of the FPS category when it comes to story. I'd jokingly recommend Killzone, but, the story in that is pretty awful, and I'd feel bad if you didn't know any better and sought it out anticipating anything other than pretty space marine shootan'. I always found the lore of the Halo-verse compelling, it just tends to not be so fleshed out in most of the actual games, though I hear Halo 4 was pretty terrific in that department, at least as compared to Halo 2 and Halo 3.

Shit; you're right. They're both more TPS than FPS. Still... as you say... well worth playing and the mechanics are still right :)

Prey!

It has a good story and an awesome atmosphere. I loved it.

Own it. Played it. Love it. I am VERY disappointed that Prey 2 is going through so many difficulties during development. It looks amazing, but I wouldn't be surprised if the final product looks nothing like what we've already seen.

Forgot about Prey. Easy to pass over as, at first glance, it looks like crap. Enjoyable game with a decent story though.

Just got myself Deus Ex HR Director's Edition and was gonna suggest that but... saw your first post :( You're already ahead of me there :)

How about Dishonored? It's more of a stealth game than a n FPS but definitely well worth exploring the world.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena maybe?

Actually. I've had that game in my Steam library for years but not just managed to play it. Maybe I will now. :P

You have played all the good ones TC! lol

Far Cry 3

Metro Last Light

This genre is not exactly the best one for story-driven experiences. There are only so many stories you can tell in which your main character commits a genocide. Still, you should play Clive Barker's Undying and No One Lives Forever 1 and 2.

Go play Prey now!

Also Condemned and Riddick

Fps's do not typically have very good stories, though there are 2 games that have had pretty good stories. The Darkness(which disappointingly you say your not interested in), and Bioshock which has an excellent atmosphere.

The best genre for stories would be RPG(Play Planescape torment(GOG has it) arguably the best story thus far in gaming), and Adventure. The Witcher series is well written. Metal Gear(Action-Adventure/Stealth), Xenogears, and Xenosaga if you like more complex storytelling, though be prepared for a lot of cutscenes, and dialog. Any bioware game for some good characters, though there stories leave a little to be desired imo.

Far Cry 2 and 3 are both good FPS games that you don't have on the list, and of course all the Call Of Duty games have single player story campaigns too!

Maybe Timeshift? I haven't played it but some people have said it has cool story. Although, others have said it sucks. At least it has an interesting concept with alternate timelines and whatnot. I've also heard Brothers in Arms have good stories. Again, I've never actually played these games, I'm just interested in FPS games with good stories as well.

I ordered Far Cry 1 & 2 on eBay, downloaded the demo for time shift and will play it tomorrow. With the exception of Planescape Torment, I have played all the RPG's on the list above, I will probably looks at it when I get this need to play some solid first person games out of my system. I also order condemned 1 & 2. Thanks for the help everyone.

You already played Left 4 Dead, then? That's one of my favourite games.

There's also Killer 7, but it's probably hard to find. It's on the ps2 and gamecube. Supposed to be a bizarre game. It's not completely first person, you move in 3rd person but the shooting moments are in first person.

Mentioned before, if you don't mind an older game, System Shock 2. For entertainment reasons and a passable story, Far Cry 3. Minimal story but still great fun, Mirror's Edge. The Riddick series is also nice, although I've only played Escape From Butcher Bay. Another exceptional game imo, Thief: Deadly Shadows (huuuge long loading times back in the day). Haven't played Dishonored but probably worth checking for the RPG element.

Anyway, these are the ones I can remember at the moment...

Far Cry 3 is also a game i would recomend

Crysis 3

Far Cry 2+3 and Mirror's Edge (more 'fp' than 's' though),.

I cannot mention any besides the ones that have already been suggested. The ones that I highly suggest are the bioshock series and to some extent, Far Cry 3. I suggest that you at least try some TPS. The Mass Effect series is a great example of a story driven game..

You can play Metal Gear Solid 4 as a first person shooter.

I did not receive any notification of your response and there is no in-forum differentiation of posts unread from read anymore, so I did not know you made it until a few minutes ago.

I was talking about the first game and the scanning did give a backstory to Metroid story. In my opinion, it was indirect story telling that was important for me to keep playing. I would not have been nearly as interested in Metroid Prime if the scanning did not give information about the environments and life-forms Samus interacts with. In other words, Metroid Prime is indirectly story driven.