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Best Story
Winner: The Last Express
"I can't say too much in praise of this touching tribute to the final shining moments of an era before the war to end all wars changed the world forever." - Ian Cooper, GameSpot Player Review
Consider the challenge: Because The Last Express is a real-time adventure game, it has to take place in a small, contained environment so it won't have to account for the time needed to travel from place to place. But such a confined area also poses the problem of limiting what the player can do without losing his or her interest too quickly. There's no doubt that the gameplay is in place - that was pulled off wonderfully. So how do you get the story, which lasts for only a few days, to carry the game all the way through to the end with some sense of immediacy?
Well, first you create a number of interesting characters, some from exotic places, others a bit more familiar, and slowly, yet carefully, involve them in the murder. Generate some suspicion, somehow, for almost all the main characters. The backdrop of WWI helps to create some tension, propelled by the young Russian bourgeoisie on the train. A bit of mystery is thrown in with the dark figure in the private car, et voila! You're in the middle of it all trying to uncover the circumstances leading up to your friend's murder, and you'll only have a few days to do it - in real time.
The Last Express does it all and then some, and does it brilliantly with the charm and intrigue of a murder mystery on the Orient Express. How can there be any doubt that The Last Express has the best story of any game in 1997?
Runner-up: Myth: The Fallen Lords
"Someone at Bungie has read books by Glen Cook and it shows; the background story and continuing plot of the game are compelling and well written." - Colin McRoberts, GameSpot Player Review
Aptly named, Myth has a truly mythical quality, with a storyline more likely to be found in a novel, not in a strategy game. The story goes that the Armies of the North are under siege from the Fallen Lords - a race of maniacal sorcerers who have resurrected an undead army comprised of Ghols, Thralls, Myrmidons, and others, to wipe the country clean of Good. The story unfolds through the daily diary entries of a journeyman, the last of the Empire of the Cath Bruig, telling you about the battles you must face and what it means to the armies of light. Troops with names like Kenway, ya'Nalo, and Mauriac must take on strategic points at places like Crow's Bridge, Madrigal, Tyr, the Covenant, and others to complete the story. If they fail, the Fallen Lords will make slaves out of your country and destroy your army.
With such a wonderfully thoughtful epic, we couldn't let the story of Myth go unnoticed.
Next: Best Ending
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