Games with excellent stories?

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artur79

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#1 artur79
Member since 2005 • 4679 Posts
I think Kotor is such a game, great characters, good interactions between them. The plot takes some good twists and turns, this game is like watching a movie. You care about what happens on screen.
So, on to my question: Is there other games like this that I can play? I mean, that have great stories, not necessarily RPG's.
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Thigeic

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#2 Thigeic
Member since 2004 • 1083 Posts
I agree about KOTOR Ok, i feel the same way playing Gothic games. Final Fantasy series, even if its playstation and nintendo.
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GeryGo

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#3 GeryGo  Moderator
Member since 2006 • 12803 Posts
HL2 definitely
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henryfox

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#4 henryfox
Member since 2006 • 419 Posts
Yep, follows on from HL1 nicely. In fact, in many ways HL1 has a good story-line, if a little linear in places. I like stories that get you hooked, and leave you asking questions at the end.
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Jd1680a

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#5 Jd1680a
Member since 2005 • 5960 Posts

Morrowind and Neverwinter Nights had really good story lines.  Titan Quest is another game I have played recently that have a good story line.  Gothic 3 appears to have a good one too.

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Raggamuffin0

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#6 Raggamuffin0
Member since 2004 • 329 Posts
Counter-Strike:Source has a really good story, but 1.6's story was really lame.
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nikolasg

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#7 nikolasg
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts
Planescape: Torment

The best story-driven game to date.

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DesRed

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#8 DesRed
Member since 2004 • 135 Posts
The game that have an excellent story, to me, is Final Fantasy 7. There are other games with good stories like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Fable to name a few but Final Fantasy 7 still ranks the top, in my opinion.
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The_Knight2000

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#9 The_Knight2000
Member since 2003 • 990 Posts
starwars: KOTOR, Halo, half-life, the warcraft seires and many others. cant think of more atm.
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The_Knight2000

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#10 The_Knight2000
Member since 2003 • 990 Posts
its funny how most ppl said KOTOR.
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Lonezerth

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#11 Lonezerth
Member since 2005 • 322 Posts

Planescape: Torment

The best story-driven game to date.

nikolasg

Period.

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tegol

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#12 tegol
Member since 2004 • 25 Posts
Beyond Good And Evil is a great classic with a nice storyline...
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beckoflight

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#13 beckoflight
Member since 2006 • 848 Posts
Legacy of Kain series the best story & voice acting in history !!!
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orchid_boy

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#14 orchid_boy
Member since 2004 • 438 Posts

[QUOTE="nikolasg"]Planescape: Torment

The best story-driven game to date.

Lonezerth

Period.

QTF
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dommeus

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#15 dommeus
Member since 2004 • 9433 Posts

fallouts, kotors, half lifes, final fantasies, silent hills, resident evils, farenheit, broken swords, pretty much any adventure game the list goes on and on and on

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Dice3

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#16 Dice3
Member since 2006 • 25 Posts
mafia
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LoranHalvard

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#17 LoranHalvard
Member since 2003 • 65 Posts

Planescape: Torment

The best story-driven game to date.

nikolasg

Agreed. If you're looking for a story-driven game, Planescape: Torment is simply a must. It's an instant-classic.

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#18 Terami
Member since 2004 • 3992 Posts

I agree with most of the games mentioned but I'm going to add a couple classics that I thought were great for their time... Diablo 2, Starcraft & BroodWar, Baldur's Gate II, Deus Ex, System Shock 2 and Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines.

Just trying to add some that I felt were worth mentioning. :)

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alex_minh

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#19 alex_minh
Member since 2005 • 25 Posts
GTA : San Andreas is the game with excellent stories I think.
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cybercuz11

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#20 cybercuz11
Member since 2004 • 133 Posts
A few games with good story lines,IMO,Beyond good and Evil,XII,No One Lives Forever 2,Fable.Tomb Raider Chronicles has a good story also,but you really need a fairly stout rig to run it well.
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indzman

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#21 indzman
Member since 2006 • 27736 Posts

Splinter Cell series have excellent stories.

 

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grisibur

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#22 grisibur
Member since 2004 • 600 Posts
Grim Fandango =)
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#23 jhunte99
Member since 2003 • 2673 Posts
Mafia Dice3

!QUOTED FOR UNDENIABLE TRUTH!
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dnuggs40

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#24 dnuggs40
Member since 2003 • 10484 Posts
Neverwinter Nights 2 has a great story. While it might not be the biggest mystery (it's pretty straight foward), it is presented with expertly crafted NPC interactions.
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sodiumpentathol

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#25 sodiumpentathol
Member since 2005 • 479 Posts

Neverwinter Nights 2 has a great story. While it might not be the biggest mystery (it's pretty straight foward), it is presented with expertly crafted NPC interactions.dnuggs40

Hmm.. I'm inclined to try this one myself, but doesn't it contain very many bugs? I seem to have heard rumors about this.

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dnuggs40

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#26 dnuggs40
Member since 2003 • 10484 Posts

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]Neverwinter Nights 2 has a great story. While it might not be the biggest mystery (it's pretty straight foward), it is presented with expertly crafted NPC interactions.sodiumpentathol


Hmm.. I'm inclined to try this one myself, but doesn't it contain very many bugs? I seem to have heard rumors about this.

Yes, it does have MANY bugs. The 1.02 fixed most of the compaing/story bugs, and the upcomming 1.03 patch is supposed to fix the performance and buggy engine stuff. Bugs and all, it is a fantastic RPG. And they WILL fix the bugs. Nevewinter Nights (the original) is still supported to this day! And once the mod community kicks in, you will have a game with the potential for YEARS of offline and online gaming. Any true RPG fan should NOT miss out.
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sodiumpentathol

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#27 sodiumpentathol
Member since 2005 • 479 Posts
[QUOTE="sodiumpentathol"]

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]Neverwinter Nights 2 has a great story. While it might not be the biggest mystery (it's pretty straight foward), it is presented with expertly crafted NPC interactions.dnuggs40


Hmm.. I'm inclined to try this one myself, but doesn't it contain very many bugs? I seem to have heard rumors about this.

Yes, it does have MANY bugs. The 1.02 fixed most of the compaing/story bugs, and the upcomming 1.03 patch is supposed to fix the performance and buggy engine stuff. Bugs and all, it is a fantastic RPG. And they WILL fix the bugs. Nevewinter Nights (the original) is still supported to this day! And once the mod community kicks in, you will have a game with the potential for YEARS of offline and online gaming. Any true RPG fan should NOT miss out.

Oh that's good to know. Sounds hopeful atleast. I think I'm gonna give it a shot. :)
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#28 -CheatMasta-
Member since 2006 • 108 Posts
The Half-Life series has nice stories, but then agian, they ARE written by an award-winning writer.

I thougt the X series had nice stories (and music) which emersed you.

And it's not the best, but I really liked C&C: Tiberian Sun's story. Only because there was a megalomaniacal dictatorship which you can PLAY as. I like games (and stories) where the enemy can win.
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#29 pooyanh
Member since 2005 • 937 Posts
Warcraft and Legacy of Kain series.
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mike_baks

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#30 mike_baks
Member since 2003 • 67 Posts

Freespace 2.

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#31 georgetkat
Member since 2004 • 124 Posts

Grim Fandango

Gabriel Knight 3

Neverwinter Nights (am currently playing the 2nd one, not far enough into it, to judge its storyline yet)

Beyond Good and Evil

Zork Nemesis

The Longest Journey

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MyopicCanadian

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#32 MyopicCanadian
Member since 2004 • 8345 Posts
I know this was already mentioned, but MAFIA had a great story. I also thought the stories for Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War were amazing.
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#33 Raptor6411
Member since 2003 • 41 Posts
Planescape: Torment I think probably wins if you're looking for the best story driven game. For plot consistency, relevancy and sheer excellence in story telling it has yet to be surpassed. It's not the only game with an excellent story, there are a fair number of games (though not as many as there should be) that have a great background idea. But in most of those the story simply provides the impetus for the action- in Torment, the story *is* the game.

That may sound strange coming for a guy who thinks that Fallout and Fallout 2 are the best games ever made, but in the Fallout series the story really resides in the world itself and provides loads of atmosphere, and it only drives you as much as you want it to. Playing Planescape is like playing a novel, which I think is what you were looking for.

Keep in mind that doesn't make it the greatest game ever. The combat is rather weak and many aspects of the interface are poorly implemented. It is a testament to the writing that it makes up for all of that.

Other than that, most any highly regarded adventure game will provide you with a great story driven experience. Grim Fandango is my favorite of these, both for story and the spirit of the game. It's also funny as hell, which doesn't hurt. For story driven action games System Shock 2 comes most prominently to mind. Deus Ex comes in a close second, and is really a sort of spiritual brother to System Shock both in gameplay and the story quality. You can't go wrong with the Half-Life series either, though if you really want to understand that world and what makes Half-Life work you'll have to do some reading outside the game or put the pieces all together yourself. American McGee's Alice has good gameplay and an excellent concept. The Max Payne series and Mafia both deliver an above average story for an action game.

If you're looking for something different than adventure, RPG or action then there are the small handful of Real Time Strategy games that pay off an excellent story. Myth: The Fallen Lords is the best one I know of- its story is superb, Tolkien inspired war of good versus evil that begins at its end rather than its beginning, when humankind has been pushed back to the remnants of its former holdings and final defeat is near. It's probably the most hopeless game I've ever played and remains that way all the way up to its end, which makes it a very powerful experience. You really feel like you're up against impossible odds, and that there's simply no hope of winning. The second Myth is still a great RTS but lost most of that feeling; however, it still retains the great world created in the first one. Homeworld is another good story RTS.
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simonbenoot

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#34 simonbenoot
Member since 2004 • 133 Posts
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines, Clive Barkers Undying, F.E.A.R.
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#35 mrbojangles25
Member since 2005 • 58310 Posts

Halflife series have excellent story, even if the endings always leave you feeling unsatisfied.

And, like everyone else, I like the stories of KOTOR 1 and KOTOR 2, although I thought KOTOR 2's story didnt tie into the story of the first game well enough.

Deus Ex has an amazing story, I loved how it used everything in the game to tell it (emails, conversations, books, news bulletins, NPC-to-NPC conversations, etc).  Also, it gave you the choice to conclude the story three different ways.  Amazing!

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#36 Jinroh_basic
Member since 2002 • 6413 Posts
[QUOTE="Lonezerth"]

[QUOTE="nikolasg"]Planescape: Torment

The best story-driven game to date.

orchid_boy

Period.

QTF

i second that~~

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#37 vrokolos
Member since 2003 • 25 Posts
Grim fandango and torment.. Then KOTOR. Nothing else will feel like those 3.
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scarlatti90

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#38 scarlatti90
Member since 2006 • 25 Posts
I mean comeon.... dont you guys ever remember Mafia!!! illusion studios...one of the best games with a stellar storyling and excellent gameplay.The infamous car race the signature plane chase and the horrible twist ending!! it is one of the best free roaming games of all time. Dont get me wrong but i love san andreas and most of the gta games but this game literally brought a tear to my eye in the end so many twists and turns, im all choked up remembering it. if any of you have never played this game before you have missed a great game i would give this game a 10 and give san andreas a 8. the 1940's NYC is beautifully rendered good smooth graphics and to top it all off no cheats in the game!! unless of course you play with a trainer.but it spoils the beauty of it. try playing it without cheating, you will be pulling your hair out for sometime but the end result is the most satisfying experiences i have never felt from playing a game before. speaking of which Undying also is a classic game with a haunting story...most of the people i know still believe its one of the most scariest fps till date 
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ttomm1946

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#39 ttomm1946
Member since 2004 • 1871 Posts
Sanitarium reall drew me in with it's totally weird story.
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fiendling

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#40 fiendling
Member since 2004 • 59 Posts

Freespace 2.

mike_baks

Truth.

IMHO it is the best space flight simulator ever released. I was just about to add it and then spotted your post :D
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#41 mismajor99
Member since 2003 • 5671 Posts
For nostalgia purposes

Wing Commander Franchise- favorite story, even though it's quite dated, but deserves some props....
King's Quest, Space Quest, and Police Quest..............


For older games

All C&C games...........
Return to Castle Wolfenstein......great sinlge player story
Mafia - Better than most movies IMO.....
Freedom Fighters
HL1
Neverwinter Nights 1
Grim Fandango

Newer games

HL2 Universe
Neverwinter Nights 2
Warhammer Dawn of War Series
Gothic 3
Indigo Prophecy



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mismajor99

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#42 mismajor99
Member since 2003 • 5671 Posts
Oh, and definitely add Beyond Good and Evil, excellent story.
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artur79

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#43 artur79
Member since 2005 • 4679 Posts
Thanx for all the great answers, allthough I might disagree on a couple of them. Looks like I've played the majority of the games you've mentioned, have to say Mafia IS excellent, not the gameplay, but storywise. The latest Broken Sword was a total letdown for me, the ending could be a little longer.
I think I will play through Grim Fandango (have it around here somewhere), check out Planescape Torment (I'm not a fan of top-down view in games, immersion is nonexistant for me).
I too will wait for the 1.3 patch in NWN2, but the game looks promising. The same goes for Gothic 3.
Can't wait for Mass Effect, I hope that will be the new story telling-standard in games.
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raziel1994

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#44 raziel1994
Member since 2007 • 25 Posts
i agree with that Legacy of Kain series
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thanatose

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#45 thanatose
Member since 2003 • 2465 Posts
Many of the games listed above had great stories especialy Planscape Torment. Another one I don't remember seeing listed was Arcanum, it had a great story.
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#46 ShotGunBunny
Member since 2004 • 2184 Posts

Planescape: Torment

The best story-driven game to date.

nikolasg

You win! A Cookie!

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#47 ikwal
Member since 2004 • 1600 Posts

The most recent game I've played with good story was Condemned. Maybe the story isn't written by shakespear but at least it has kind of a creepy story compared to most games how doesn't seem to have any other story than "bad guys are coming, blow their heads off".

I also like the story in both of the Max Payne games, they are brilliant.

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MasterEmil

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#48 MasterEmil
Member since 2005 • 1348 Posts
Dont know if any said Warcraft yet? But it IS if you ask me the best Story ever made in a game and it just keeps on evolving, They even made a Net Book on Blizzards Website that you can read trough ITS LOOOOOOOONG, and they keep adding new Chapters. The only reason i play World Of Warcraft (Since Day 1) is because of the Story.
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LouieV13

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#49 LouieV13
Member since 2005 • 7604 Posts
NeverwinterNights was awsome... so is dungeon siege. I really want Dungeon Siege 2 and Neverwinter2 but I cant afford it atm lol
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#50 Darth_Kane
Member since 2006 • 2966 Posts
Adventure games:

Syberia
Still Life
Discworld series ( Discworld Noir is the best )
Gabriel Knight series ( The 2nd is the best )
Monkey Island series ( The 3rd is the best )
Broken Sword series ( the 1st was the best, the 4th sucked )
Grim Fandango
Indigo Prophecy
Beyond Good & Evil
Psychonauts

Action games:

Metal Gear series ( Best story ever, the 1st best game ever )
Star Wars: Jedi Knight series
GUN
True Crime series
Mafia
Grand Theft Auto series
Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Legacy of Kain series
Devil May Cry
Marc Ecko's Getting Up
Tomb Raider: Legend

RPGs:

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series ( the 1st best PC game ever, the 2nd very disappointing )
Jade Empire ( from the same developer that made KOTOR 1 )
Fable: The Lost Chapters
Neverwinter Nights series
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Planescape: Torment