Games where you enjoyed the story more than the gameplay

[Frokane]

i thought of this when i picked up my bullet witch game a little while ago and played it again, the storyline was actually pretty cool and offset the somewhat dull gameplay

I got the same from velvet assasin, where the story is literally the onlything carrying me through the game.

even games where the gameplay is good, i found some stories to really shine
case in point chrono trigger when i think about it. and valkyrie profile covenent of the plume.

destroy all humans is a very average series with a amazingly witty script, setting and plot


im sure there are more?

 

[DJjaffacake]

Viking Battle for Asgard's gameplay was average at best, but the story was interesting enough to make me want to keep playing, until I got stuck trying to take on a massive doom fortress all by my lonesome.

And the console version of Dragon Age Origins was a pretty poor port, but the story sucked me in completely, even if I did get a tad bored selecting one dude after another for my dude to walk up to and hit til he died.

 

[Squidbulb]

Heavy Rain is the only game that comes to mind. Usually, if the gameplay is rubbish I won't bother playing.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Shade, Hunter in Darkness, Violet, Alabaster, etc. (They're all text adventures.)

 

[SoranMBane]

Well, pretty much any of the old point-and-click adventure and turn-based RPGs I've played, like Beneath A Steel Sky or the original Fallouts. They're fairly boring and unintuitive to play, but they generally have great writing and interesting worlds, so I end up at least trying to play them anyway.

 

[Ryotknife]

legacy of kain: defiance. gameplay is very boring (compared to previous entries in the series) but the dialogue and story writing is top notch

Xenosaga 3. once again, great story, but man do the fights get boring. some boss fights last for HOURS

final fantasy 12. eventually you can have the game play for you. the story was....weird. i had absolutely no attachment to any of the protagonists other than balthier, however i was very interested in the story that was developing on the antagonist side of the map (vayne, the judges, cid, gabranth)

 

[Frokane]

I agree about dragon age's sucky gameplay and combat system, but tbh i didnt find the LOTR rip off back story that interesting.

However the script was very witty, it wasnt enough to keep me interested though.

I suppose with out the story mass effect 2-3 as a whole wouldnt be very interesting games.

 

[SilverBullets000]

So, Dragon Age has been covered a few times already.

I'll get some flack for this answer, but GTA4 for me. The gameplay was worse than your average cover-based shooter game, which it tried to be inbetween car-stealing and debt-collecting. If it weren't for the fact that I wanted to know what happened to the characters, I wouldn't have made it as far into the game as I did.

 

[flying_whimsy]

GTA IV: tedious gameplay, especially compared to Saints Row 2; but there's something rather compelling about the story.

Final Fantasy XII: game turned into more of an endurance challenge to see just how bored I would get before I stopped. I thought it was a very interesting story, but between clumsy storytelling and gameplay (or lack thereof), I almost regret the time I spent on it.

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

I'm surprised no one has said Mass Effect yet.

Anyways, Mass Effect. The gameplay (for me) was simply boring. Shoot, take cover, pop up, shoot, move on, rinse, repeat. Over and over again.

I kept playing because I wanted to find out where the story went. Though I haven't played the third one . After hearing about the ending debacle, I doubt I want to.

 

[Apollo45]

Dear Esther.

Just bought/played it (sale on Steam). I'd heard about the mod before, but hadn't played it until the full-game release. I'm not sure if it can be called a game, as walking slowly through a minimally interactive world doesn't typically constitute as gameplay, but the story itself, and the execution of said story, was quite spectacular. So I think this fits the description of what you're asking for just about perfectly. I've played it through twice, to see what I missed, but even then I know I'm missing things because there are freaking ghosts everywhere and I only noticed one the first time through. There have to be more of them... And I got new story points the second time around, and actually understand the symbols on the walls...

 

[Nelires]

Mass Effect. All three of them really but especially 3, I think. It's a beautiful, brilliant story, but sometimes the gameplay leaves a bit to be desired. It's not particularly original, or exciting (how exciting can cover based shooting really be, honestly).

EDIT: Lol, just read Raphael's post after I posted this. XD

 

[CaptOfSerenity]

Mass Effect 1 and 2. 3 is about equal because the gameplay got much better.
Jak II, even thought it's fun as hell.

 

[malestrithe]

Final Fantasy 13. Sure it was a stock story filled with a lot of guilt driven characters, but it was presented better than other games. Also, being driven by guilt is not the same as being emo. Emos dwell on it longer than necessary. The characters in this game had their moments of doubt and moved on.

Gameplay was lacking.

 

[templar1138a]

Dragon Age: Origins. Great story, and I was particularly attached to my last character (not surprising, since it was supposed to be me in that context. I was trying to get a better understanding of how to roleplay complex characters and not go all good/evil).

Gameplay, on the other hand, is like walking with cement shoes chained to iron balls the size of Hummers being pulled in the opposite direction by a regiment of elephants made of dark matter.

 

[brunothepig]

Usually I refuse to play a game that has bad gameplay. Since, come on, most games have stories that are at best average, that means this list is rather short.
Bioshock, obviously. Average gameplay, damn good story and atmosphere.
Mass Effect. Gameplay was pretty poor, story was... Well, I didn't find it to be fantastic, but it was pretty cool.
Psychonauts. I actually didn't have too many issues with the controls, but there were some flaws and the story was so fantastic that it would overshadow great gameplay anyway.
Gotta agree with Destroy All Humans, although part of my issue is I rarely game on consoles, so when I do I'm always a little awkward with a controller.
If we're talking general world and stuff, I love Morrowind for it's atmosphere and land and all that, I don't hate the combat but it is pretty flawed. The story itself wasn't that special, although it was cool.

 

[loc978]

The Mass Effect series would be the biggest offender in this regard for me. Especially 2. Similar feelings about Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Persona 3 -It was fun at first, but I often found myself just mindlessly grinding over and over again just get to the next plot point. The battles got boring about half-way through.

Disgaea 1 -Compared to gameplay in other Disgaea games, it's sluggish and downright boring. With no way to skip special attacks, you're stuck watching the same moves over and over again, and some of moves drag on for a while. It's not necessarily a problem when your characters are doing their moves (because they are bad-ass as fuck), but when enemies are attacking, it can get annoying quickly.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Good story, great conversation battles, but being a prime stealth player, the game really screwed me over by providing the "single energy bar for stealth take down - eat energy bar to recover batteries - rinse repeat" system. I hated it so much.