Games With interesting story/narrative?

[nath]

I've been playing through Lost Odyssey on the 360 and I've been amazed that it actually has a really engaging narrative. Mostly thanks to the short stories that are attached to it and unlocked as you play through (written by a respected Japanese short story writer).

It got me thinking, what games have there been with a decent story/narrative. I found myself umming and ahing and so far all I've got is Grim Fandango. 12 years ago.

Surely there must be other games out there with well written stories but currently I'm at a loss. Thoughts?

 

[Mabs]

you talking about games that have a story, or a game that you play the story ?

or to clarify, a game where you experience a story as you play, or something that is like the old adventure books, where you can change the ending ?

i think most semi decent plus games now have good stories, its just a case that people cant be arsed reading/listening/paying attention when theres people to shoot in the face

well written ones...
anything by Bioware pretty much
Vampire;tmb
most of blizzards stuff (its a tad...twee, but its quite well constructed, and there is a shit-ton of it)

/edit
tied into this aswell is ofcouse the out-of-game lore. which again, see mass effect/dragon age, etc, for, of which there is a metric tonne, that all improves the fluff of the game without effecting the actual shooty-stabby

 

[ECA]

Mafia 1 has an excellent story, I'll try and think of some more

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Obligatory Deus Ex mention.

 

[nath]

A mate mentioned DE and I thought about it, good ideas but I dunno. The characters just didn't grab me, it all felt a little wooden. Naff voice acting probably didn't help.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Them mass effects, starcraft 2(so far), i guess fables would be(if it strikes), saints row 2 even(more of an action plot), fallout 3 also has a nice story.

Umm, that's to name a few.

 

[nath]

Them mass effects, starcraft 2(so far), i guess fables would be(if it strikes), saints row 2 even(more of an action plot), fallout 3 also has a nice story.

Umm, that's to name a few.

All of those games, in my humble opinion, have shite stories. They're good "for games", but nothing more. I'm actually trying to think of something that's good fullstop. The short stories involved in Lost Odyssey, which got me thinking about this, are *very* good for games, and actually pretty decent compared to regular story telling mediums.

 

[gmloki]

*Cough* Gordon Freeman *Cough*

 

[Mabs]

All of those games, in my humble opinion, have shite stories. They're good "for games", but nothing more. I'm actually trying to think of something that's good fullstop. The short stories involved in Lost Odyssey, which got me thinking about this, are *very* good for games, and actually pretty decent compared to regular story telling mediums.

few if any films/books/games are truely "original" , so surely it must come down to presentation rather than originality of content ?

 

[old.Tohtori]

All of those games, in my humble opinion, have shite stories.

And i don't think that, all about what you like

 

[nath]

few if any films/books/games are truely "original" , so surely it must come down to presentation rather than originality of content ?

I wasn't talking about originality so much as quality of writing and story telling. Has anyone played The Longest Journey? I hear that's top notch in that respect.

 

[Raven]

Dragon Age
Fallout 3
Mass effect 1 and 2
Half life 1 and 2
Myst/Riven
Bio shock 1/2 (to a certain extent)
The Witcher

You won't ever get written book style story lines in a game though unless you go with the point and click style.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Also Halo series has an epic story behnd it, it's one of those games that have a very deep story behind a seemingly mindless shooter.

 

[nath]

Ah yeah, Bioshock was pretty decent actually.

 

[Mabs]

system shock 1 / 2 ?

<ok its just Bioshock 0.5 but wth >

 

[nath]

Also Halo series has an epic story behnd it, it's one of those games that have a very deep story behind a seemingly mindless shooter.

We obviously have *very* different opinions as to what a good story is .

system shock 1 / 2 ?

<ok its just Bioshock 0.5 but wth >

Never got to play the two SS's - really hope they get them on gog.com at some point.

 

[megadave]

Heavy Rain ?

 

[nath]

Heavy Rain ?

One would hope, given that it's more story than game - I've not played it though, no PS3 :S.

 

[Turamber]

Planescape Torment has the best storyline (and backstory) of any game I've played.

Not sure Heavy Rain counts as it is more like a (slightly) interactive film than a game.

 

[Marc]

Do not play Mass Effect2 if you want a "story".

Unless you like stories that consistent of "go recruit some guys and then kill a big robot..the end"

 

[old.Tohtori]

We obviously have *very* different opinions as to what a good story is .

Yeah, some like the Moon, some like Avatar, some like Le Poopie Ze La Chateu from 1967, some Terminator, etc etc. One mans epic story is another mans snoozefest

But seriously Halo has a nice storyline behind it, as does mass effect etc.

Just that in those type of games, it's often behind the shootey stuff and often ignored.

This is just the story that's in the "what i heard while shooting" bit

Lots of spoilers obviously!

YouTube - Halo:: Storyline explained in 5 minutes

 

[nath]

Planescape Torment has the best storyline (and backstory) of any game I've played.

Not sure Heavy Rain counts as it is more like a (slightly) interactive film than a game.

Ah yes, I've read that. I need to get hold of it. I'm not much of a western RPG player - is it quite tough to get in to?

Spoiler

Pretty much the only game you can beat the end boss by talking him round, that's quite something really.

 

[Wonk]

Farhenheit

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Halo, lmao.

 

[old.Tohtori]

It's better then the original star wars story for f*Cks sake

Anyway, games need this;

YouTube - Classic Video Game Premises, Explained!

Not some superstories

 

[ST^]

Planescape Torment has the best storyline (and backstory) of any game I've played.

Not sure Heavy Rain counts as it is more like a (slightly) interactive film than a game.

Why do you have to make such a great start to your post and then ruin it with complete and utter bollocks?

If there was only one answer, Planescape Torment would be it.

 

[ramathorn]

metal gear solid (the last one blew my fucking mind)

loved the old legacy of kain games too, though not sure if there is a PC port for them.

 

[Wonk]

oo, beyond good & evil. Definitely the best game from the last gen for me.

 

[nath]

oo, beyond good & evil. Definitely the best game from the last gen for me.

Really? I enjoyed the game and all it's silliness (rast-rhinos > * WHERE YA MAMMAGO?) but the story didn't strike me as that special. I never did finish it though, got about 2/3rds through, did it become Tolstoy shortly after?

 

[FuzzyLogic]

Sonic the Hedgehog, epic story.