God I love all three of those games. Final Fantasy II is actually my fave FF storyline, but you can't really go wrong in the whole series.
I was just about to post this. That was the best story ever. Just plain awesome. I wish I could play it again, but I switched to OS X...
I also love the storyline in FEAR, although it takes you to the end before you really understand it, if you ever really do. Gears of War would have a good storyline if they gave you more background information on what was happening. Maybe GOW 2 will shed some light on what is going on there.
You don't need a backstory. You are the good guys. Ugly bad guys come out of the ground. You blow them to bits. End story.
Starcraft and its expansion pack, Brood War. Here's another lesser known game Ogre Battle 64 BTW, the only MGS game I played what MGS 2: Sons of the Patriots, and I did no like the story. I mean what's the point of playing the game for 2 minutes and then watching a cutscene for 5 minutes?
No mention of Resident Evil? (obviously not every iteration in the series though) Halo - but then I'll admit it, at the end of the day it's just a balls to the wall fps (but the story is damn good for what it is) Half Life 2 - see Halo above and consider the story not as in depth as that (considering you never step out of Freeman's shoes) Metroid Prime anyone? Sure there really aren't any cut scenes, but all the things you have to read throughout the world provide a great backstory to your journey. MGS - probably has the deepest and most engrossing story by far of the games I've played. However, 1 and especially 2 are very convoluted to the point of exhaustion and can become very cheesy as well. In that regard, Snakeater was probably the best at keeping a tight grip on the story and staying focused.
Not surprising you didn't like the story when you can't even get the title right ... it Sons of Liberty And I'd try Snakeater...the cutscenes aren't as numerous or long.
I love the responses in the thread so far. I personally put the story in Xenogears over any other story in a video game I've played, although a lot of the games mentioned here (KOTOR, CC/CT, Marathon, Suikoden, etc.) aren't far behind it IMO (depending on how MGS4 wraps up the MGS series, I might put that on the same pedestal). Some of the votes for recently released games has me excited, since I plan on playing a few of them in a few weeks, once the semester is over. Of course, this thread also reminds me about how sad I am that I lost my copy of Planescape: Torment before I was able to finish the game (or even get that far IIRC). Some responses to specific posts: I'm guessing that was his opinion, which is also an opinion that I share. I'm not saying I can't enjoy a game with a poor storyline (or not storyline at all), but I don't usually think too highly of those games. I don't think that has really bothered me in any games I've played. I guess it could be a small annoyance, although given that stories in games can probably be MUCH more complex than movies due to the time invested (40-80 hrs developing a story vs 2-3 hrs), I don't really have a problem with it. Of course, I've been known to just watch the cutscenes of a game to get the story, which I guess is a good way to avoid this problem. Wish there was a better way to do this. Yeah, he's one of my favorite villains as well. Found some good videos of him for those who haven't played the game: (spoilers of course, although more so in the 2nd and 3rd videos) <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DLVDD5W8ltE&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DLVDD5W8ltE&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RIMSpZh2OYs&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RIMSpZh2OYs&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OQH3OjCtrfs&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OQH3OjCtrfs&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> I love these games, but I don't really consider their plots to be all that great, at least when compared to other RPGs (most of them listed in the thread already). I guess it is pretty good considering that the player has so much control over the universe though (difficult to have good storytelling in this case); this does allow one to "create their own story" if they wish, which is pretty cool, although I can tell you now that I couldn't come close to creating a story as good as those found in some of these other games. I think I liked CT better, although I'd strongly recommend you play both. I liked the story in CC more than CT (although I think it would be better to play CT and then CC if you were playing CC for the story), but I had some issues with the other parts of CC. It has been a while since I played CT, so I may have had similar complaints, although I kind of doubt it. I can see how people would strongly disagree with me on this, but assuming the cutscenes and story are good, I'd rather there be more time dedicated to cutscenes and less time for gameplay. Even when the game is really fun to play (or not....*looks at original KZ*), if I find myself totally immersed in the story of a game, I really want to advance the story to see what happens next. IOW, I don't want to be stuck trying to fight off a bunch enemies or trying to solve some complex puzzles. BTW, minor point but MGS2 was subtitled Sons of Liberty (a re-released version was subtitled Substance). edit: JunkyardDwg beat me to the punch on that last part.
Best storyline etc. belongs to the MONKEY ISLAND series. Curse of Monkey Island pwns. I actually really liked COD4's too.
