The Greatest Story told by a Videogame

[aeros320]

Really this again? Didn't we have a thread on this 2 days ago?

Oh well, same answer anyway.

What can change the nature of a man?

Yeah this is totally unrelated to the thread so I might get suspended but I've been trying to figure out if I can run Planescape on my mac through vm fusion. I'm afraid if i buy it that the graphics card on my computer won't be compatible with the game (which happened with thief 2 when i tried to run that). would you randomly know any way for me to run it through boot camp or another program like that? or does anyone know for that matter??

 

[Grey_Focks]

Huh, after reading all these posts I get the feeling I should just suck it up and give them "persona" games another chance. I tried to play both 3 and 4, but it just wasn't for me (note that I dislike grinding, anime art style, grinding, those weird titles they put on the ends of some people's names, the grinding, etc, you get the idea)

Though I have already played most of the other games people have listed (except Planescape: torment, but I strongly doubt that will run on my Vista) and I agree that most of them have good stories....except FF10 and 12. They do not.

 

[Axolotl]

(except Planescape: torment, but I strongly doubt that will run on my Vista)

The rereleased version does at least (well it runs on 7 so I assume it runs on Vista).

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Chrono Cross.

Seriously...That middle twist was just so amazing...

DAMN YOU, LYNX!

 

[Grey_Focks]

(except Planescape: torment, but I strongly doubt that will run on my Vista)

The rereleased version does at least (well it runs on 7 so I assume it runs on Vista).

re-released version you say? Good show. I shall order on amazon now.

Oh, and this appears to be my 666th post...not sure what to think about that.

 

[Mr.logic]

Persona 4 no game I have ever played had a story to equal it.

the reason why? the writing was phenomenal. the premise was simple you are a group of teenage kids trying to catch a serial killer but the scenes are all so hilariously or brilliantly written that you crave more. its a long game(give or take) but I craved so much of it. it even taught me things about my life that I have been using for over a year. the story has enough...you know what? play it yourself and see.

I have it.. but haven't played it. YET! I got it when I got Persona 3 FES. I bought both on impulse without knowing jack about them either. I was very impressed with Persona 3. But I had to put it down for school and work. I have yet to resume yet. But I will! And when I finish Persona 3, I will play Persona 4.

enjoy =D hope you like it.

 

[Wolfram23]

I'm skipping all the comments so maybe someone said this, but Metro 2033 has a cool story. I really got into that game. Very gritty but the game is full atmosphere, and anytime you're in a metro station there's alwasy all kinds of conversation going on to really put you in the game and open your eyes to the gloomy situation at hand.

 

[oktalist]

The Longest Journey and its sequel, Dreamfall

This world, the world of science and technology, exists parallel to another physical world, the world of magic and fantasy. You are pulled from one to the other, several times, as mysterious forces arrange for you to fulfil your destiny and save the Balance of the worlds from other forces that seek to abuse it. Believable, sympathetic and interesting characters, a setting that alternates very effectively between enchanting and foreboding, and an intelligent, existential mystery that unfolds at just the right pace, all conspire to bring this adventure game franchise alive.

Syberia and its sequel, Syberia II

A corporate lawyer embarks on an odyssey across Europe and northern Russia in search of the heir to an esoteric toy-making business which her client wants to buy out. It becomes apparent that her quarry, a lovable genius savant, has laid out a path for her to follow, making use of all his marvellous, clockwork-steampunk inventions, and along the way gradually builds to an epiphany wherein she shuns her materialistic past and embraces a deeper truth than her previous occupation could provide. A beautifully told story of a gradually-building, deep, platonic love between, not so much a woman and a man, but a woman and an idea. An adventure that frequently uses puzzles as expositional plot devices to excellent effect.

Deus Ex, and to a much lesser extent its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War

Basically, 1984 crossed with The Matrix. The very effective illusion of choice and immersive gameplay really flesh out the deep, intelligent, philosophical and very well researched story of a near future corporate/government conspiracy in this role-playing shooter. Good use of many variations on the "dying log" trope, which the player is free to ignore but which otherwise give the story another whole layer or two of depth.

 

[GuerrillaClock]

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. Superbly woven in with the gameplay and helped along with terrific voice acting and cutscenes makes it one of my favourite game stories. The Lovecraftian theme was conveyed perfectly too.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Really this again? Didn't we have a thread on this 2 days ago?

Oh well, same answer anyway.

Spoiler

What can change the nature of a man?

And this, in my opinion, is the all-time winner in discussions as this. Nothing can beat such a strong story as troment told.

Planescape Torment probably had the better story, but I prefered the tale woven by Baldur's Gate. Black Isle always wrote the better stories but BioWare always seemed to grasp how to present them.

 

[martin's a madman]

I'll say Bioshock, Bioshock 2 wasn't lacking, just not as good. Starcraft had a good story, and Starfox 64 had voice acting that could have made any story it had good.

 

[captaincabbage]

Bah, I know people are gonna light me and the surrounding fields on fire with their flaming, but I've gotta say Red Dead Redemption. In my mind it's one of the most deliberately paced, well balanced and all out riveting stories I've ever had the pleasure to play through. It's story-telling brilliance in action. lots of action ^^

Completely agree, i've never felt that sad a the end of a video game and i've never wanted to kill a character more than i wanted to kill edgar ross. I also like how Marston's backstory is slowly revealed throughout the game.

Totally. The way the game slowly reveals information about his past life, his family, his gang and his friends really lets you sit back and take your time. Not to mention it has some of the best voice acting I've ever heard in a game.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

Tales of Symphonia and other games in the Tales series, as they aren't afraid to blur the line between good and evil and turn tropes/cliches on their heads.

And I also thought the stories for inFAMOUS and [prototype] were pretty engrossing as well.

 

[Lucifer dern]

beyound good and evil hands down. made me feel emotion for a pig...

 

[sketch_zeppelin]

Space Griffon VF-9. Old ass PSone game. It was basically a mech game/ dungeon crawler but with a survivale horror story. As the game progress you get to know each of your teammates and then around the halfway point they begin to die off one by one till in the end it's only you and the love intrest. the game is corny as hell by todays standards but at the time i remeber being very attached to my various team mates and actually was saddend and enraged as they were taken from me one by one.

I also enjoyed the stories of out of this world and flashback mainly because most of it was told without any dialouge only atmosphere and i felt it was a really compelling way of telling a story.

 

[AgentNein]

Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Portal, Baldur's Gate, FF VII, and Shadow of the Colossus.

There are plenty of others, but I tire to name them.

youve just named a shitload of good games, but portal and shadow of the colossus for story? wasnt the whole arty appeal of those games their almost complete lack of any narrative elements?

The ability to tell a story through silence is one I implore in every way.
Sure, nobody told you what was going on in Portal, but the player piecing it together was unique. It was one of the few games with a silent and emotionless protagonist that I felt I could actually transplant myself into.
Further more, Shadow of the Collosus' almost complete lack of any talking took the same element I just described way higher. You had to conjure up the idea for what was happening yourself, given only pieces around the gameplay. In my eyes, it had one of the best ending twists in a game.

Yeah, I'm seconding this. These are two games that truly embraced the idea that video games allow us to tell stories in completely new ways to different extents.

Shadow Of The Colossus in particular used almost nothing but gameplay to really convey the narrative. Amazing. I think I'm gonna go replay that now.

But yeah, Shadow and Portal are in my top five, along with Psychonauts, Silent Hill 2 and Earthbound. While those games tended to take a more traditional approach to storytelling, they each in their own way embraced the true strengths of their medium in some ways/shapes/forms.

On a side note (note the intent of this is not to start any shit, but to simply be honest), rarely do I feel that j-rpgs are as great as they're made out to be in terms of storytelling. At one time yes, they were the only games that tried to tell stories and tell interesting stories, and I appreciate that. Hell, FF6, Chrono Trigger, they're two of my favorite games of all time. But I really feel like they lost their torch to other genre's these days, and in comparison most (not all) come off as bloated convoluted versions of essentially the same story with minor differences.

Key words being bloated and convoluted. I'll take stock characters, stock storylines, etc if they can give me enough charm to go along with it. But hardly any of these stories merits their novelesque length.

 

[Jekken6]

Red Dead Redemption is definitely up there.

 

[sirpwnsalot65]

( This post contains spoilers, sorry!)


I've got to say that I thouroughly enjoyed all of Fallout 3's stories, from the mysterious haunted swamps of Point Lookout, Maryland to the Tragedy and loss of the main storyline. ( rest in peace James "Dad" (unknown last name).) I found them to be silly at times where it felt right but never flipped from sad to silly. The whole escape from project purity quest to be quite exciting and it kept my wits about me. What ever the future holds for Fallout: nNew Vegas I hope that it can live up to the vast and interesting stories of Fallout 3 : The Capital Wasteland.

 

[MasterMongoose0]

Metal Gear Solid 3. Not Metal Gear Solid 4, and definitely not Metal Gear Solid 2. The third game weaved its exposition into the player's actions and kept the characters' dialogue succinct. It also had convincing twists that the fourth and second game both attempted.

I'd also throw in the first Mass Effect, and the second game's character depth (but not its overarching plot).

Strangely enough, I think the first God of War's story was also perfect for video games as a medium. It may be one note (read: ANGERRRRR!) but it captures that raw animal rage perfectly in my opinion. If art is about emotion, then God of War encapsulates anger.