What games that you have played have genuinely great stories?

[ascorbius]

Everyone seems to be talking about epic stories, they're easy choices.

I vote for QWOP.
The story of a Man, an underdog, an Athlete.
Representing a small nation with a woefully underfunded athletics programme.
Somehow, by some miracle, Qwop makes it to the Olympics and undeterred by the sneers of the other runners and the crowd, he runs. He runs for his country, for his pride, for freedom.
He may not be the fastest, but he has the most heart. Even if it takes him 100 years, he will run the 100 metres.
It's a story that will make you laugh, cry, even shake your fists and scream.

QWOP, The Legend.

 

[Drall]

Dragon Age: Origins.

 

[Vault Girl]

Fallout 3 (even with Original ending) - Best
GTA IV
Bioshock
Assassin's Creed 2
Banjo Kazooie (N64)
Heavy Rain
Silent Hill 2
GTA: San Andreas
Grim Fandango
Super Mario 64

 

[estoria-etnia]

Fatal Frame, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, Fatal Frame III: The Tormented, Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse.

I'd also like to nominate Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss. Probably Tales of Vesperia as well.

 

[gibboss28]

The Witcher 2. Brilliant story, one of the best I've seen in a game so far this year.

 

[Gitty101]

Good stories eh? To name a few:

Mass Effect (All of them)
The Witcher 2
Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (Best in the series in my opinion)
Summoner 1 and 2
Bioshock
Half-Life 2 and all the eps
Uncharted (All of them)

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[Dash-X]

Why is everyone saying Shadow of the Colossus? It doesn't have a story, it just has a few events towards the end without explanation. Don't get me wrong, one of the most fantastic games I have ever played and I'm constantly recommending it, but there is no story.

In a way, I agree with you, and in a way I don't. I'd argue that the whole of Shadow of the Colossus is a love story. It's a tale attesting to the great lengths this Wander fellow goes through to be reunited with his lover... At least, I THINK it was his lover.

All I know, is that if it was me, I'd have taken a good look at the first colossus, turned around, got on my horse, and returned the sword to the village along with a letter of apology.

 

[rolandoftheeld]

Killer7 has the best story of any game ever made, but no-one has ever figured out what it is.

In earnest, Heavy Rain is probably the most well done story in a game I've ever played, because it's actually set up as a proper narrative instead of characters endlessly explaining what's going on. For games being such a visual medium, very few ever learned to show instead of tell.

As for actual plot, the Half-Life series has always been a favorite of mine, as has Silent Hill - again, for their habit of showing events and letting the player discover the plot rather than throwing it out in exposition dumps. As many people have already brought up, Bioshock is pretty great at this too.

Can I also add "the parts of Metal Gear Solid that aren't completely idiotic"?

 

[karloss01]

legacy of kain

Damn straight!
I can honestly say that i haven't played a game with a deep a story as the Legacy of Kain series.

 

[Cuppa Tetleys]

Why is everyone saying Shadow of the Colossus? It doesn't have a story, it just has a few events towards the end without explanation. Don't get me wrong, one of the most fantastic games I have ever played and I'm constantly recommending it, but there is no story.

In a way, I agree with you, and in a way I don't. I'd argue that the whole of Shadow of the Colossus is a love story. It's a tale attesting to the great lengths this Wander fellow goes through to be reunited with his lover... At least, I THINK it was his lover.

All I know, is that if it was me, I'd have taken a good look at the first colossus, turned around, got on my horse, and returned the sword to the village along with a letter of apology.

I can admit it's not for everyone, but like aforementioned, the beauty of Shadow of the Colossus' story is its simplicity. It's the 'actions speak louder than words' scenario; it's a tragic story of a boy in a futile effort to revive the one he loves while being constantly poisoned by the darkness of the giants he must kill. There is very little dialogue and exposition; the rest you work out from the actions of the characters and the mechanics. Plus the ending kicks you in teeth, because you don't expect something so simple to do that. Each to their own.

 

[maninahat]

Mass Effect can be thought of to have a great story? That must have passed me by somewhere. The setting and character interactions are awesome but the main storyline is dull as ditchwater.

I agree, but then I seem like one of the few people in the world to not like Mass Effect. I basically found it extremely bland. The locales were all featureless grey corridors, devoid of any furniture or artwork of any kind. I had trouble believing that anyone could live in a mass metropolis space station and not think to put down carpets or paintings or any personal touches whatsoever. I know that is par for the course when it comes to space, but on this occasion, nothing looked lived in. Add that to an uninspired story, a villain I didn't give two shits about, and the fact that you're given a monster truck but have nothing but barren terrain to drive around, and you get a very dull game.

Some of the character interactions and gags were good, but that was entirely it.

 

[chuckman1]

I loved the story of earthbound.

 

[kalakashi]

I can admit it's not for everyone, but like aforementioned, the beauty of Shadow of the Colossus' story is its simplicity. It's the 'actions speak louder than words' scenario; it's a tragic story of a boy in a futile effort to revive the one he loves while being constantly poisoned by the darkness of the giants he must kill. There is very little dialogue and exposition; the rest you work out from the actions of the characters and the mechanics. Plus the ending kicks you in teeth, because you don't expect something so simple to do that. Each to their own.

I absolutely adore SotC, let's make that clear =P, but it cannot be highly regarded in terms of plot. The amount of plot we receive is that there is a boy who wants to bring an unknown girl back to life for unknown reasons, goes about killing 16 colossi whilst a group of unknown men chase you down and eventually catch you.

The plot is simply lacking. It is, however, told in such a fantasticaly emotional and heartfelt way that it often really affects the player. I'm not saying that the lack of plot is a bad thing, I think it's one of the most ingenious things about the game, but there really is no story.

 

[Taldeer]

Heroes of Might and Magic III, with all the expansions. Epic, long-range storyline presented in a way in which you get to feel like you're part of everything. Loved it, love it to this day. Actually, the bastard never seems to get old for me. )

Fahrenheit (or The Indigo Prophecy) had a story that really got me going from the start... slowly lost me along the way a bit with the M. Night Shamaylan twist thing, but still worth a mention I suppose.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and Redemption had good stories. Not as good as games derived from a *STORYTELLING GAME* should, but still, pretty good.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Cuppa Tetleys]

I can admit it's not for everyone, but like aforementioned, the beauty of Shadow of the Colossus' story is its simplicity. It's the 'actions speak louder than words' scenario; it's a tragic story of a boy in a futile effort to revive the one he loves while being constantly poisoned by the darkness of the giants he must kill. There is very little dialogue and exposition; the rest you work out from the actions of the characters and the mechanics. Plus the ending kicks you in teeth, because you don't expect something so simple to do that. Each to their own.

I absolutely adore SotC, let's make that clear =P, but it cannot be highly regarded in terms of plot. The amount of plot we receive is that there is a boy who wants to bring an unknown girl back to life for unknown reasons, goes about killing 16 colossi whilst a group of unknown men chase you down and eventually catch you.

The plot is simply lacking. It is, however, told in such a fantasticaly emotional and heartfelt way that it often really affects the player. I'm not saying that the lack of plot is a bad thing, I think it's one of the most ingenious things about the game, but there really is no story.

The same could be said about the games in the Metroid series; very little exposition, mostly done through events and actions rather than words. And just because, in reality, not a lot happens, it doesn't mean it can't be said to have a good story. Case in point; recent film '127 hours' by Danny Boyle, starring James Franco, is literally just about a guy who goes rock climbing and gets stuck, but it was still easily one of the best films of last year due to its execution. You often don't need a lot of substance to tell a great story.

 

[thepicle]

both Uncharted games and infamous, haven't played the 2nd though

 

[Buizel91]

Transformers: War For Cybertron had a good story, well, a good story considering the other Transformer games about. It wasn't the best ever, but unlike other Transformer titles, it wasn't bad.

The Portal games are a shining example of story. The Kotor games also have decent stories (The first more than the second, but the second still has a decent story)

If i were to say my favourite franchise for story (sorry to be generic) but it would be Halo. I know ill probably get 100+ inbox's saying how i am wrong, but MY opinion is that it has the best story that I have played (and this is someone who has played Bioshock, Portal, and many other popular titles). Why do i think it has the best story? Well, Halo 2 is the game that got me properly into gaming and got me to play other shooters, and even RPG games (other types of games followed after) after a while i played Halo: CE and i enjoyed it, there labelling them as the best games i had played (At that time anyway. Pokemon is currently my favourite franchise). With the introduction of Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST and Reach, it fast became the game i thought had a really good, and engaging story.

Sorry for that little rant there xD

 

[johnnnny guitar]

DA:O
Mass effect 1+2
Kotor
Portal 1+2
Alan wake I loved that game but thats just me
RDR
I want to say heavy rain it's a good game with great characters but it was full of pretty big plot holes but it was still good
oh and silent hill

 

[kalakashi]

snip

But you see that's the difference between a great story and great story-telling techniques. Like '127 Hours' (which I haven't seen but know the story of), as you say it's in the execution, not the story. That's a good director, a good scriptwriter etc. but the actual story itself is obviously extremely limited.

 

[Cuppa Tetleys]

snip

But you see that's the difference between a great story and great story-telling techniques. Like '127 Hours' (which I haven't seen but know the story of), as you say it's in the execution, not the story. That's a good director, a good scriptwriter etc. but the actual story itself is obviously extremely limited.

But isn't the story telling method part of the story itself? I understand your viewpoint; they are different things, but they both contribute to the experience and it is therefore irrelevant. To me, a simple story well told is still a good story. I suppose this is a subjective matter.