Games To Play If You Love Call Of Duty’s Campaigns

Even though the Call of Duty series thrives with its multiplayer modes, the games wouldn’t be the same without its cinematic, rollercoaster-like single-player campaign modes. From its early days, when the games were set during the Second World War, showing off epic set pieces like the Storming of Stalingrad in the first Call of Duty or the now-iconic All Ghillied Up mission when the series shifted to the modern day with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Though shortlived and linear, the single-player campaigns offer memorable Summer blockbuster moments that few games can match. These are other games from various genres that feature epic set pieces and incredibly cinematic moments that fans of Call of Duty’s campaign modes will appreciate.

1 Titanfall 2

An Epic Sci-Fi Shooter From Veteran Developers Of The Call Of Duty Series

Even though its predecessor didn’t feature a single-player campaign, Titanfall 2 was developed by former members of Infinity Ward who worked on the Call of Duty series. There is enough here to separate it from CoD, but it features comparable and fantastic set pieces but superior level design and missions.

Titanfall 2 is a buddy-cop story with mechs and some of the best shooting mechanics in the genre. However, the game’s story will stay with players far longer than Activision’s military shooter. There hasn’t been a sequel, but its spirit continues with the online shooter Apex Legends.

2 Battlefield 1

A Stunning Shooter Set During The First World War

Like the Call of Duty series, Battlefield’s bread and butter is the multiplayer. However, Battlefield 1‘s collection of six single-player War Story campaigns set during the First World War deserves mention as being some of the best in the series’ history. It shines on the PC, but the game holds up beautifully on the last-generation systems.

Battlefield 1 features brilliant and cinematic set pieces that show off the power of the Frostbite Engine. The War Stories center on different characters and scenarios that offer varied gameplay, from stealth missions to operating tanks set on the frontlines of The Great War.

3 Spec Ops: The Line

A Narratively Driven Military Shooter With Epic Set Pieces

Spec Ops: The Line‘s single-player mode is a military shooter loosely based on the novella The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, which also inspired the movie Apocalypse Now, starring Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando. Spec Ops is set in Dubai and sets the scene for some of the most cinematic moments in the genre.

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The ambitious title creates moments of morality and choice that few games match when it comes to the atrocities of war. There are four endings and a thought-provoking twist that questions the rationalization of one’s actions in combat. Spec Ops: The Line wasn’t a commercial success, but fans owe it to themselves to play this gem if they want a mature shooter with the cinematic flair to match its story.

4 Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist

A Cinematic Stealth Game That Fans Of “All Ghillied Up” Will Appreciate

A stealth game is the polar opposite of what the Call of Duty series usually offers. However, one of the most iconic set-piece missions in the franchise is All Ghillied Up, a tense stealth-based mission executed to perfection. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist features many scenes of a similar nature and plenty of cinematic action to make players feel like they are super soldiers.

Fans of Call of Duty’s story will enjoy Sam Fisher’s fight against an advanced terrorist organization called The Engineers. The voice work is terrific, with an exceptional performance from Eric Johnson (Smallville and Vikings) taking over the role of Sam Fisher, and Carlo Rota (24 and True Lies) is outstanding as the antagonist, Majid Sadiq.

5 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

A Balance Of Cinematic And Tactical Combat

The influence of the Call of Duty series was unavoidable after Modern Warfare became a huge success. This was evident with Ghost Recon: Future Soldier ramping up epic shootouts and cinematics. However, players who tried to use a run-and-gun strategy would pay the price with its challenging missions.

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Players must use strategy and elements of surprise tactics to take down enemies. Combined with story-based set pieces, Future Soldier was a balanced military shooter that offered the best of both worlds and is arguably more cinematic than the series’ latest open-world offerings with Wildlands and Breakpoint.

6 The Gears Of War Series

A Brutal Sci-Fi Action Series With Epic Set Pieces

The Gears of War series is a third-person shooter that defined the cover shooter mechanics that are so popular now. It merges high-octane action set pieces with science-fiction horror themes similar to the Alien and Predator films. Like Predator, it features 1980s-style muscle-bound action heroes outmatched and outsized by their enemies.

The series’ single-player missions feature iconic cinematic scenes on par with the Call of Duty campaigns. The bloody underground sequences from Gears of War 2 with the team fighting their way out of a monster’s stomach are epic and grotesque. Gears of War is a must-play for fans of cinematic action.

7 The Uncharted Series

The King Of Cinematic Set Pieces

The Uncharted series may be the king of cinematic action adventure. Taking inspiration from the Indiana Jones series, players take on the role of a globe-trotting adventurer and treasure hunter named Nathan Drake. The series features several iconic set pieces, like the cargo plane, the shootout on horseback from Uncharted 3, or the fight with Rafe in Uncharted 4.

Several set pieces throughout the series make players feel like they are playing the role of an action hero in a Summer blockbuster. The developers at Naughty Dog have mastered the balance of thrilling gameplay and cinematic action set pieces, with each title getting more grand with every sequel.

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