Game With the Best Story? (For school assignment)

[zHellas]

So the title pretty much says the main idea. I do need some help with an argumentative essay I'm writing on the subject of "Can Video Games Be Art?". I'm arguing for it.

In one of the paragraphs, I admit to gaming's current faults and one of them being the relative lack of story quality (relative being the key word there). I say in the plan for the paragraph, "Story in games is currently bad, to be honest, with the apparently "best" one being: _______"

I was hoping I could get general consensus on what exactly do we gamers think is the game with the best story.

I personally view the Mass Effect series as being the best story, but then again I'm 17 and the amount of games I've played is quite limited compared to many other gamers.

(I know what I wrote for the paragraph's plan is a bit oddly worded, but it's just the basic idea I have for the few lines)

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Shadow of the Colossus.

Your character is killing these creatures to save the soul of a girl, these creatures are not a threat, they only defend themselves, for you seek them out, and with every one you kill, you can see the toll it's taking on your character.

So much is told without words.

The best stories always are.

 

[darth.pixie]

Planescape: Torment,Mask of the Betrayer, The Longest Journey, Grim Fandango, Legacy of Cain, Beyond Good and Evil. Honestly, there are a lot of games that have an amazing story or at least an interesting concept to approach.

Personally, I prefer Planescape.

 

[suitepee7]

bioshock. if not for the story, then at least for the way it is told. the history of rapture is told through diary entries, and it has a truly compelling story.

 

[Princess Rose]

I do need some help with an argumentative essay I'm writing on the subject of "Can Video Games Be Art?". I'm arguing for it.

In one of the paragraphs, I admit to gaming's current faults and one of them being the relative lack of story quality (relative being the key word there). I say in the plan for the paragraph, "Story in games is currently bad, to be honest, with the apparently "best" one being: _______"

I was hoping I could get general consensus on what exactly do we gamers think is the game with the best story.

**sigh** I'm not a fan of that sentence. Still...

The best stories in games?

Mass Effect is a good choice.

Personally, I'd say Xenogears and the Xenosaga series - they're my personal favorites.

Bioshock, Catherine, Persona 3, Heavy Rain, and Silent Hill 2.

 

[Creator002]

I think GTA IV's story was quite good and I liked the first Fable's story a lot. I still like Oblivion's story and I think Dragon Age (more 2 than Origins) is worth a mention too.
I'm sure lots of people will mention Mass Effect, Final Fantasy 7 and probably a Persona game, but I've never played any of those.

Also, I think you should mention Silent Hill if arguing for art. I've only ever played 2, but that atmosphere is as arty as you can get for a horror game.

EDIT - Oh, how can I be such an idiot. I forgot Beyond Good and Evil. That has the best story for me that I've seen in a long time. So that gets my number one.

 

[zHellas]

Planescape: Torment,Mask of the Betrayer, The Longest Journey, Grim Fandango, Legacy of Cain, Beyond Good and Evil. Honestly, there are a lot of games that have an amazing story or at least an interesting concept to approach.

Personally, I prefer Planescape.

Here's a list of games with great and better storytelling than the ME series:

*LISTY SNIP*

For the sake of all that is righteous about gaming, play any of these games soon. Hell, play one of them NOW!

It'd be nice if you'd write why they were better, in your opinion.

Sorry, but I'd like more than just, "Here are some titles with no justification as to why!".

Also sorry if I sounded like an ass here. Didn't mean to sound like one.

 

[theriddlen]

Either Mass Effect universe or Half Life universe.
At least I'll be the one posting games that are actually good and have great, epic and well told stories - but you can of course listen to the nostalgia crowd, and write about Space Invaders and Pacman.

 

[Hristo Petrov]

Ultima 6
Ultima 7 The Black gate & Serpent isle ( watch the Spoony one's Ultima retrospective hr does a great job at describing the games and their stories )
Bully
Shin Megami Tensei Digital devil saga 1/2

 

[imnot]

Deus Ex HR would make some intresting writting, its some pretty deep shit at some points.

Apparently captcha want Portal 2

 

[Zersy]

Metal Gear Solid,

Explaining it to anyone is like a university lecture but god damn is it epic.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

Bioshock has truly amazing story even if you feel detached from it due to silent protagonist syndrome.

The whole dystopian underwater setting reflects a flawed ideolodgy of the time period and that hypocrits will always be the bane of whatever civilisation they create.

Theres also a big heap of "genetic modification is bad" lumped in to have a theme relative to the contempary period and that if science isn't regulated morally then we'll all be "God Damn Splicers!"

 

[New Troll]

WarCraft. Realize it's not a single game, but still in my opinion the greatest story still in progress.

As for a single game, several RPGs readily jump to mind, but I'd probably stick with Silent Hill 2. Could easily have been a novel with such suspense and anticipation. And with multiple endings, it's a story begging to be told again and again.

 

[ToxinArrow]

You're asking for an objective answer to a subjective question? Yeah good luck with that....

 

[Culinus]

Well BioWare games have some of the best written story, espeicially if your into fantasy / sci-fi. If you on the other hand are looking for "story through gameplay" then I'd suggest Psyconauts.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

It'd be nice if you'd write why they were better, in your opinion.

Sorry, but I'd like more than just, "Here are some titles with no justification as to why!".

Also sorry if I sounded like an ass here. Didn't mean to sound like one.

Planescape Torment.

And realistically, anyone who has played Planescape is going to have it on this list. It's hugely imaginative, thematically rich, emotionally complex and avoids stumbling into 99% of the Boy's Own Adventure tropes that drive the vast majority of gaming narratives.

From Wiki, if you want more than my opinion...

Planescape: Torment received widespread critical acclaim upon its release,[49] but only made a small profit.[23][62] GameSpot's reviewer stated "It's clearly the best traditional computer role-playing game of the year",[2] a comment which the website would later expand to "one of the greatest ever".[25] The gameplay was often compared to Baldur's Gate, another Interplay game that used the same engine as Planescape: Torment.[45][50][63] The game's premise and writing were warmly received;[10] a review in the New York Times noted "The game's level of detail and its emotional impact have prompted some players to cast about for literary peers."[8] Reviewers were pleased with the ability to shape their character's journey as they wished.[45] In 2005, GameSpot stated "Planescape: Torment has quite possibly the best implementation of role-playing an evil character ever to appear in a computer or video game to date".[25] The heavily tattooed, egocentric and potentially selfish Nameless One was welcomed as a change of pace from the conventional RPG hero, who was considered a predictable do-gooder.[2][25] Reviewers also approved of the protagonist's ability to gain new powers by "remembering" past lives.[2][15] The dark and diversified representation of the D&D setting of Planescape was lauded as a fresh departure from the traditional high fantasy of computer role-playing games.[5][15] A review in NextGen praised the game, saying that "Torment offers the best RPG gameplay anyone can find on store shelves, hands down."[14]

 

[fates_puppet13]

my story i assume you mean narrative, otherwise you could have a flurry of subjective opinions.

in which case i'de have to say silent hill 2.
everything about the game sets the mood for each scene, even the bugs have been made to feel like part of the experience i.e. the fog and awkward graphical capacity at the time.

 

[kialas]

Tactics Ogre, the Knight of Lodis (GBA)

Little known game, amazingly complex and engaging story

 

[MPerce]

Shadow of the Colossus, Heavy Rain, or Homeworld. But all the games mentioned so far would work, too.