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I just finished Call of Duty 2 again, went a couple levels through Killzone, and started up FEAR on my X700. So, I have a lot on my mind about what makes a good single player experience for an FPS. That, and alwaysBETA is distracting me with its huge recent surge in traffic.

Call of Duty 2

First, my second impressions of Call of Duty 2 after beating it on a machine where I could crank the graphics up. The game is absurdly pretty at points. Specifically, landing at Pointe du Hoc. If you have all the shaders enabled your jaw will drop when a wave of water crashes into you and your vision gets misty for a moment. The opening of that level is really just...cinematic, and packed with energy. I think my problem with the game is that apparent lack of energy or cinematic feeling throughout the first half, despite all the prettiness. During the Russian campaign I felt like I was trudging along, whereas later in the American campaign I felt like I was actually immersed in frantic battles. In comparison, past Call of Duty titles have given me that frantic feeling for the entire game. Call of Duty 2 gets off to a slow start, and then, even when it ramps up, doesn't really seem to go anywhere.

Killzone

Even now, during my second playthrough, I'm still in awe of the gritty look of this unique wonder that is the PS2 FPS. Just the color scheme of the game - its muted tones, dark shadows, and constant dirtiness - makes you feel as if you have arrived on a war torn planet. The controls take getting used to, but for that I am inclined to blame the PS2 dual shock. It's great for most things, but can't stand up to that good old fatty Duke XBox controller when it comes to the FPS genre. Killzone has the story and exotic locations, but it largely lacks something vitally necessary, which prevents it from becoming a truly great game: varied gameplay. You can shoot tanks, but not operate them. There is also very little variety in the types of enemies fought. And rarely are you presented with more than 5 or 6 enemies on screen at any time. The Normandy style beach landing level in the game is one of the exceptions - and a great one. More moments like that would have me be even more enthusiastic about this sleeper hit. I hope that the next version has tighter controls, and lets me drive a tank or boat that I got to watch zoom by in this first installment.

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FEAR

My X700 has finally really come through. When I went through FEAR the first time, it was at 800 x 600 with all of the options turned all the way down. Now I've been able to turn everything up and still get between 20 and 25 frames per second. That's not exactly finger-twitch playable, but it has let me see what the game was meant to look like. I can now say with confidence that it is gorgeous. The soft shadows and dynamic lighting are probably the best I've ever seen. The water is superb, and every texture is crisp and clear. Just check out that fullsized screenshot above. Beyond the graphics, jumping into the FEAR world has reminded me of the best parts of Doom 3 and Quake 4 - it has that creepy, dark feel to it while still being action packed. I'm excited to go through the game again, rediscovering the entire story through voice mail messages and playing around with the nail gun.

Playing all these FPSs has given me one to-be-expected desire - I really want to go through Half-Life 2 for the 5th (or 6th?) time. And, I've gotten another, maybe less predictable want - I feel the need to go play some awesome 3rd person action games. I'm feeling the call of Ninja Gaiden: Black, Devil May Cry 3, Prince of Persia, and God of War. So many games, so little time.