In the troll thread in the general chat forum or whatever, we were discussing game stories and I got to thinking. What are 5 game stories that are excellent, and stories that you'd like to revisit again at any time. Many so called game stories are absolutely garbage. There are few game plots worth talking about. It's hard trying to strike that balance. With many western games, the stories sometimes try TOO hard to go for the ultra serious. When it comes to Japanese games, they don't know what the hell they're trying to do and often fit ridiculous things in to their plots; Japanese game stories have MANY deus ex machinas.
The number of bad game stories that try to take themselves seriously (MGS2) is so staggeringly high that it's almost embarrassing. Thus, we shall henceforth compile a list of worth while game stories. List the names of these games and why you feel they have something to say.
Personally speaking, I can't stand overly convoluted game stories. I don't see the point. The BEST game stories are the most SIMPLISTIC game stories. These games often mold the story into the gameplay. In Silent Hill 2, for instance, the main character chokes his wife to death. To reinforce this theme, as a way of punishment, the majority of the puzzles and enemy attacks in the game have to deal with choking, or being choked. To me, a good game story is not created by the cutscenes that drive the plot per se, but the themes that make up the game. Since games should be about...well, playing games first and foremost, we don't really care or think about having cutscenes, this is why themes are for more important than a cutscene in a game. When developers realize the more subtle and simplistic stories are the way to go, it'll be for the better.
Even the artsy fartsy games like ICO and Shadow of the Colossus barely have cutscenes. Why? Because they remember that they're games, and emphasize THEME rather than shoving a cutscene down one's throat every 5 minutes. That's how it should be.
Here's my list in no particular order:
1. Grim Fandango
2. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
3. Psychonauts
4. Grand Theft Auto III
5. Silent Hill 2
Honorable mentions:
System Shock 2, Deus Ex, The Curse of Monkey Island, The Longest Journey, Metal Gear Solid 3, Killer 7, Shadow of the Colossus, Out of this World/Another World.
I'm about to head out. I'll list my reasons later.