Its the end of the year now, and as such all the GOTYs are starting to pop up. Best console game, best PC game, best Shooter, best RPG, you know the works. What I have noticed is that a lot of publications (not ALL, mind you) are have been disregarding one of the main aspects of video games: The narrative. Yes, it is true that the Video Games industry has been somewhat lacking in the narrative department, but we have more than enough games with great plots to make a category for Story of the Year. So, in honor of our games with their sights focused a little more on the narrative than most, let us have our own Escapist Story of the Year! No list to chose from, whatever you want to pick go for it.
Anyways, it would feel a little improper for me to make the article without my own personal choice, so if your interested in what I think than here we go. This year there have been a LOT of great stories told. Halo 4, Spec Ops: The Line, Mass Effect 3, The Last Story, Christ I could go on. But to me, of all the stories told this year the best one would have to go to Telltale Games' The Walking Dead. First of all, its on sale on Steam 25% off, and in about 10 hours will probably be on sale for 50% off so if you haven't picked it up do it, its gonna be the best $12.50 you ever spend. Secondly, when it comes to narrative this game puts most others to shame. Everything revolved around story, spare a few puzzles and one instance of a quick FPS mode and gameplay is almost completely thrown out of the equation. Without spoiling any of the plot (anything you couldn't figure out by the trailer, that is) you are the 'leader' of a group of survivors in the zombie apocalypse. But instead of spending 12 hours killing zombies non stop, instead they present you with the human aspect of what would happen with such an event. You are tasked with making tough calls, deciding things like who gets to eat and who has to go hungry, whether you steal from others to help the good of the group and, in some cases, who lives and who dies.
This elevates the 'moral choice system' that we all know and (if your like me) despise into something much more than in almost all other games: a moral choice system. You aren't being asked if your going to be Friendly Frank or Dickhead Dan, your asked questions that that test what your morals really are. Now tell me, what sounds more compelling: having to make the choice between saving the random person about to fall off a cliff or kick back and laugh when they fall to there death OR being asked to either save a random person from a group of zombies or let them die as a distraction to ensure that your group can escape. There is no right answer, but you have to give one anyways and when you compile it to some of the most brilliant characterization this industry has ever seen and a brilliantly done episodic format the allows 5 individual stories that all seamlessly go together to create one grand overall story and you have... well you have my Story of the Year.
Anyways, it would feel a little improper for me to make the article without my own personal choice, so if your interested in what I think than here we go. This year there have been a LOT of great stories told. Halo 4, Spec Ops: The Line, Mass Effect 3, The Last Story, Christ I could go on. But to me, of all the stories told this year the best one would have to go to Telltale Games' The Walking Dead. First of all, its on sale on Steam 25% off, and in about 10 hours will probably be on sale for 50% off so if you haven't picked it up do it, its gonna be the best $12.50 you ever spend. Secondly, when it comes to narrative this game puts most others to shame. Everything revolved around story, spare a few puzzles and one instance of a quick FPS mode and gameplay is almost completely thrown out of the equation. Without spoiling any of the plot (anything you couldn't figure out by the trailer, that is) you are the 'leader' of a group of survivors in the zombie apocalypse. But instead of spending 12 hours killing zombies non stop, instead they present you with the human aspect of what would happen with such an event. You are tasked with making tough calls, deciding things like who gets to eat and who has to go hungry, whether you steal from others to help the good of the group and, in some cases, who lives and who dies.
This elevates the 'moral choice system' that we all know and (if your like me) despise into something much more than in almost all other games: a moral choice system. You aren't being asked if your going to be Friendly Frank or Dickhead Dan, your asked questions that that test what your morals really are. Now tell me, what sounds more compelling: having to make the choice between saving the random person about to fall off a cliff or kick back and laugh when they fall to there death OR being asked to either save a random person from a group of zombies or let them die as a distraction to ensure that your group can escape. There is no right answer, but you have to give one anyways and when you compile it to some of the most brilliant characterization this industry has ever seen and a brilliantly done episodic format the allows 5 individual stories that all seamlessly go together to create one grand overall story and you have... well you have my Story of the Year.
This is of course, not counting the catalyst. I choose to count the original intended ending for the story. (which involved dark energy destroying the galaxy, and the reapers being there to find a solution to stop it from happening.)
