Personal favorite plot in a videogame.

[PureChaos]

Yeah, I didn't mean I actually KNEW it was going to happen. I just thought it was really obvious Was just funny that I didn't actually have the same trail of thinking the second time around.

you anticipated it was going to happen? how did you do that? came as a complete shock to me. but i suppose i was thinking more 'where the hell do i go now?'. then the 'examine' sign came up. did you find the bit where the bloke hanging from the ceiling could have been better, eg, instead of opening his eyes, flash, he's gone but he suddenly lunges at you or something?

 

[Nivag the Owl]

Yeah, I didn't mean I actually KNEW it was going to happen. I just thought it was really obvious Was just funny that I didn't actually have the same trail of thinking the second time around.

you anticipated it was going to happen? how did you do that? came as a complete shock to me. but i suppose i was thinking more 'where the hell do i go now?'. then the 'examine' sign came up. did you find the bit where the bloke hanging from the ceiling could have been better, eg, instead of opening his eyes, flash, he's gone but he suddenly lunges at you or something?

Well I just remembered what I was playing.
- Haunted house
- Horror game
- Bath tub

Saw it from a mile off. Unfortunitely the second time it was the along the same lines as what you did, haha. I can't remember that bit, when does that happen? Does it definitely always happen? Because some of the things are just random aren't they.

 

[PureChaos]

Yeah, I didn't mean I actually KNEW it was going to happen. I just thought it was really obvious Was just funny that I didn't actually have the same trail of thinking the second time around.

you anticipated it was going to happen? how did you do that? came as a complete shock to me. but i suppose i was thinking more 'where the hell do i go now?'. then the 'examine' sign came up. did you find the bit where the bloke hanging from the ceiling could have been better, eg, instead of opening his eyes, flash, he's gone but he suddenly lunges at you or something?

Well I just remembered what I was playing.
- Haunted house
- Horror game
- Bath tub

Saw it from a mile off. Unfortunitely the second time it was the along the same lines as what you did, haha. I can't remember that bit, when does that happen? Does it definitely always happen? Because some of the things are just random aren't they.

using logic like that i suppose it is a bit obvious. i just go with the flow, then regret it when something jumps out at me. It's later on in the game. your in the mansion and by the piano there is a guy hanging from the ceiling (he hung himself, it's the 'dark secret' the photo above the fireplace was referring to). you walk up to him and the 'examine' button appears, you get a close up of his face, his eyes open and they are all white and shiny, there's the hollucination flash, he's gone and he says 'the darkness is coming'. the phone call but was creepier than that.

 

[Nivag the Owl]

Yeah, I didn't mean I actually KNEW it was going to happen. I just thought it was really obvious Was just funny that I didn't actually have the same trail of thinking the second time around.

you anticipated it was going to happen? how did you do that? came as a complete shock to me. but i suppose i was thinking more 'where the hell do i go now?'. then the 'examine' sign came up. did you find the bit where the bloke hanging from the ceiling could have been better, eg, instead of opening his eyes, flash, he's gone but he suddenly lunges at you or something?

Well I just remembered what I was playing.
- Haunted house
- Horror game
- Bath tub

Saw it from a mile off. Unfortunitely the second time it was the along the same lines as what you did, haha. I can't remember that bit, when does that happen? Does it definitely always happen? Because some of the things are just random aren't they.

using logic like that i suppose it is a bit obvious. i just go with the flow, then regret it when something jumps out at me. It's later on in the game. your in the mansion and by the piano there is a guy hanging from the ceiling (he hung himself, it's the 'dark secret' the photo above the fireplace was referring to). you walk up to him and the 'examine' button appears, you get a close up of his face, his eyes open and they are all white and shiny, there's the hollucination flash, he's gone and he says 'the darkness is coming'. the phone call but was creepier than that.

Ah yeah, I sort of remember now. The longer we get into this conversation the more I'm devoloping an urge to play it.

 

[manicfoot]

My vote goes for MGS2 and FFVII. Yes, I like convoluted storylines XD

 

[I3uster]

Every Blizzard game.
Especially Diablo.

 

[Bored Tomatoe]

Bioshock was awesome plot wise.

 

[James430]

Personally my favourite plot was Batllefield Bad Company

 

[Arach]

Final Fantasy 6
Chrono Trigger
WarCraft 3

Medieval/magic setting is probably the best for a good plot although from these ones Chrono Trigger mixed different eras. But that game was genius in its own ways.

 

[boholikeu]

Portal

Love how a string of seemingly meaningless tasks evolves so damn well into a deep storyline.

I really liked Portal, but I wouldn't exactly call the plot deep. It might tie into Half-life 2 Episode 3, but that really only adds depth to Half-Life, not Portal.

The plot was plenty deep when you consider the game as a whole. On the surface it may seem like it's just a game about a crazy robot, but it's actually a pretty good allegory for a bad relationship. There are a couple essays about this on the web if you're interested.

I've seen a few essays on it before. I still think it was just a simple story, but very well written. Still an excellent story, just not that deep.

I love Portal as much as the next person but tell me specifically what was "deep" about it...hell tell me what the story was beyond "you're in an experiment and are being lied to about cake by a psychotic computer"

There's not really a story =/ some good monologues, but it's mostly pure gameplay, which is a good thing IMO.

There's a good story, but most of it is told through gameplay. Like I said before, the whole game is essentially about relationships: your connection with GlaDOS, with the escaped prisoner, and of course with the companion cube. The premise is that GlaDOS is supposed to represent a sadistic/manipulative lover, and your goal is to escape her grasp without being destroyed emotionally (IE killed in the game). Once you look at the game from this angle it takes on a whole new deeper meaning. Try playing through the game again with this in mind and I think you'll see what I mean.

What makes the experience even better is that the gameplay is really tied into the story's themes here. I dunno about you, but I much prefer this kind of depth to the "faux depth" you see in games like MGS. Games like that might deal with headier topics, but the fact that it's pretty much totally divorced from the gameplay really turns me off. There's no thrill in debating what individual gameplay elements might represent, and overall it cheapens the rest of the game. Why bother playing through the whole game if I can get the same thing from just watching the last cinematic on youtube? Why bother even making a game in the first place when you could have said the same thing in a movie?

Woah sorry. Didn't mean to turn this into another MGS rant. It's just disheartening seeing so many people list it as their favorite video game plot.

 

[The Rockerfly]

Would i be set on fire from flammers when i say that final fantasy 9 had a much better story the 7? Because it did
Oh and disagea hour of darkness. The main charecter goes from a foolish, cruel, selfish dick and then at the end of the game sacrafices his life. Seriously why did no one play this game

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Mass Effect first. (So sue me, I think it's nearly believable.)

I loved Mass Effect's story too... I was jumping out of my seat and punching the air at the end, it was so epic and had an old school giant exploding spaceship... magic

XD it's cliche, but AWESOME!

Cliches are often cliches because the reason they get used so often is because they rock. lol.

Playing through mass effect again now... can't wait to get rid of ashley

 

[DI7789]

Hmm, I liked 7 Days a Skeptic and Trilby's Notes, and all of the Ben Jordan games, as well

 

[Damolition]

Red Alert 3 has a great plot.

Can't beat Tim Curry going back in time to save the soviet empire, inadvertently makeing room for the rise of the Japanese Empire, led by George takai as the Emperor.

 

[Mister Benoit]

I'm surprised not a single person has mentioned Diablo II's story. I meant it's not the greatest but its pretty well delivered. Marius is the perfect horror movie character because he does everything we don't want him to.

Why not follow the dodgy hooded guy who just burned down a tavern with pure evil. Lets follow this wanderer through a desert and help awaken the lord of destruction.

I mean common Marius is great.


Besides that I'd have to go with;

FF IX
Bioshock
Dead Space until the last chapter.
Chrono Trigger
Pokemon Games always leave me in disbelief. Can't believe this kids mom lets help do all this stuff on his own at such a young age. Also it's strange that your dad is never at home.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

Suikoden 2 = Best Videogame Story Ever

The agressive kingdom of Highland led by the mad prince Lucca Blight stages an attack on its own forces to preclude an invasion of the peaceful Joweston City States. Your character and his best friend Jowy are members of The Unicorn Brigade, a unit of youthful soldiers all taken from a once disputed border town, and the target of the decietful attack. As the lone survivors of the attack you are branded traitors by your nation and forced to flee with your sister into an enemy land where you become embroiled in a conflict driven by an ancient and dangerous power.

This game is packed with more realism, empathy, death, betrayal and emotion than pretty much any other videogame plot ever. Also Lucca Blight remains the best videogame villain EVER.

 

[Sparrowsabre7]

Second Sight I think is one of the few stories I really got into, and Gears 2 was great for a game of its kind. It wasn't amazing storytelling but was entertaining and 'that' scene was quite shocking.

 

[Jonathan Hexley]

Bioshock. I loved that story.
Also, Oddworld Stranger's Wrath - also a candidate for 'Best Xbox Game Ever' in my books - was an excellent game with a good story. Nice twist, and I always loved the final section of the game.

 

[Meatstorm]

Deus ex
bioshock
Postal
halflife 2 and episodes
FF9

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Planescape Torment; one of the only games where the amnesia trope is not out of place. Excellent characters that seemingly drive the story and thus the game, rather than the other way around.

Shadow of the Colossus - Admittedly the story seems rather weak: you have a dead girl and to revive her you have to slay some giants. But the thematic subtexts of the game are ultimately as amazing as the gameplay itself.