Just in time for another huge wave of FPS’s this month (Call of Duty 4, Crysis, Soldier of Fortune, and Unreal Tournament 3) I’ve got some brief thoughts on the single-player experience of the games from earlier this fall. That means I’ll leave the Team Fortress 2 discussion for another day…so that I have more time to snipe Brian in the face right now.

Portal

Not a strict shooter, but still in a first-person perspective, Portal is the most amazing puzzle game I’ve played in recent years. The personality and character built into the AI that instructs you throughout the game is incredible and hilarious. The actual levels are fun and challenging without being too frustrating, and the game unlocks some really hard and mind-bending puzzles at the end to give even the most hardcore some nice re-playability. The story tie-in with Episode 2 is also a huge bonus, and works really well once you’ve played through both stories.

Of course, the best part of the game is the way that the gaming public has carried away a couple of its concepts. First is the “Weighted Companion Cube,” which is simply an item that you must use to complete one of the levels…but the game gives it such personality (including a hidden love shrine for it) that everyone who has played the game has a huge amount of sympathy for it. Yes, I am planning on getting a plush one for myself (shown below).

The mantra “The cake is a lie” has become synonymous with the game, and there are rumors of t-shirts. I won’t tell you what it means, but that should just be more motivation to buy the game. And if you have played, then you already know that it’s true.

Finally, the ending song is the funniest finale to a game I’ve ever heard. I was literally laughing out loud throughout the entire thing. Of course, it’s not that good if you haven’t just played through the game, but it’s still worth listening to, being written by our favorite online composer, Jonathan Coulton.

Halo 3

Halo 3 is much better than Halo 2. But then again, you knew I was going to say that, as I pretty much despised Halo 2 and let everyone know what a terrible job Bungie had done on it compared to the first. That said, Halo 3 still does not live up to the first game, but it comes considerably closer than the previous sequel.

The single-player campaign is of a fairly appropriate difficulty, though I still would have preferred Heroic and Legendary to be harder. The addition of achievements also gives some more reasons for going through more than once. The main problem is just that it was not up to par with what I was hoping for.

The story is really not that epic feeling, and nothing really happens. It felt like the first game established so many new ideas and concepts and all the second two did was dilute them. I really thought they were going somewhere interesting with the whole Cortana being possessed thing. Tycho and Durandal (crazy AI that are your main source of story) were the best part of Marathon 2, but Cortana in this game in no way lived up to their legacy. The ending is also terrible. I was left with a “what?” and completely unsatisfied feeling.

In general, I just wanted more “awesomeness” and “epicness” - fast paced war-like action with alien carnage in beautiful HD surround-sound was my order, and Halo 3 gets a poor tip for its delivery.

Bioshock

Bioshock is the best FPS I have played in recent memory. It is definitely a contender for my favorite FPS of all time, at least based on my first time through. My brain puts it in league with games such as Goldeneye and Halo. The RPG elements thrown in - getting experience and spending it on upgrades for magic-like powers and skills - are a welcome addition to the run-and-gun genre. The atmosphere, artwork, music, and setting are impeccable in their attention to detail, consistency, humor, and even story. The art and the way it communicated what the game was about blew me away.

The story of the city of Rapture, told through audio diaries and radio calls, is an intricate and well-crafted piece of fiction. Themes from the game revolve largely around capitalism and the idea of the utopia. Having never read Ayn Rand, but being familiar with the general gist of her stories, I’m fairly certain that Bioshock touches on many of the same concepts. There is even a FAQ that analyzes the story and reads like a thesis, comparing it to literature with slants describing what it says about religion, gender, and race. You just don’t see those for most games made nowadays (though I’m betting Metal Gear Solid has one as well).

If you’re looking for an excellent FPS with RPG elements and the best story this side of Rapture, you owe it to yourself to go play with the Big Daddies and Little Sisters of Bioshock.