Originally posted by Killfrenzy
You need storylines. If you don't have them then the campaign becomes weak. Many of the missions in Derelict were weak, but the campaign had a great storyline, so they got away with it.
Of course there was the classic "dream" level...
(Sathanas jumps in) AHH CRAP
"Wake up sleepyhead"
Personally, I think Awakenings for FS1 was a great campaign. Plenty of action, the missions weren't formulaic, and it was a good plot. The only thing I minded was the Shivans controlling Riviera station; they should have just had their own station model.
But of course in those days, Dark was the only one who actually made successful FS models, and those were scarce. So it's understandable.
Another great campaign was Warzone. However, I don't think it was quite as good. While the combat was quite exciting and balanced, it was almost all combat, with a lot of bomber missions. The thing with Russik and the Vidar barely occupied the pilot's attention.
Derelict was better IMO. Its plot was longer, had more twists (I particularly liked the merc miniplot) and, while it was slow in the beginning, it was supposed to be that way I feel, and it helped it work. Towards the end, though, it did get a bit repetitive with the big anticap battles and all. Still, Alpha 2 provided good comic relief. ("Uh, Alpha 1, I know you're busy, but could you GET THIS DAMN THING OFF OF ME!?!")
The Aeos Affair had a lot of combat, and a good deal of small-scale action too. In that sense, it was quite good, and challenging, and the mission structure was nicely varied (from straight out destruction, to stealth scanning.) Its plot was also pretty good. The only shortfall is the campaign's shortness, but even that doesn't detract much from its good playability.
Pandora's Box had a branching and then re-branching storyline. A few of the ships seen in it, I noticed, were mentioned in command briefings in the FS2 main campaign (for instance, the NTC Rapier). The combat missions were good, but in some cases a tad repetitive. I also felt that with the number of times that capital ships were showing up, they would have died several times over had it not been for their "run away" flag. Still, the plot was good, and as an added bonus, we got to use the Valkyrie again, in all its l33tness. I also checked and its continuity with the normal FS2 plot is almost seamless. A very good campaign to play, with quite a bit of replay value.
Twilight. With a good number of new graphics (and some new music, even) it was very good in that respect. The GTF Creon kicked serious butt, especially with the NPW-2, which is now my 2nd favorite primary weapon, behind the GTW-38 Syrinx. And of course, there's the Cherubim missile... ahh... but I digress.
Anyway, the plot had a twist here and there, but it was too short to develop a very detailed one. The Laomedon Conclave seemed as if it popped out of thin air. On the upside, the rebel Vasudan fleet who believed the LC was a GTVA conspiracy was a good touch. The combat is very intense and well choreographed.
All in all, here are my ratings from 1 to 5:
Awakenings (FS1): 4.5
Warzone: 4.0
Derelict: 4.5
The Aeos Affair: 5
Pandora's Box: 4.5
Twilight: 4.0
