Games don't need stories.

[Pyro as Bill]

Reasonable said:

Sorry, but you can't just decide adventure games aren't games.  They are, period.  They may not appeal to you, but an adventure videogame, even one without graphic such as an old text based adventure game are games.

As for the other we'll need to disagree.  As I say Uncharted 2, Fallout 3, etc. I believe for the majority would be weaker without their stories, certainly that would appear to the general feeling from reviews and gamers in general.  Uncharted 2 has become one of the best critically recieved games and I don't see the majority of those who enjoy it arguing it would be better without the story that drives the SP element of the game - and that for me is the point.  Another example would be ICO, which simply wouldn't be the experience it is without the story.

There are today many, many different types of videogame, few appeal to everyone, but some by their very nature clearly need a story.  I really don't see any post in this thread refuting that.  You can state games don't need a story, but I then ask how can you ignore the games that clearly do?  Silent Hill 2 simply wouldn't work as well without the story.  In short, there are a small but definite number of games that are better for having their story, something accepted by critics and those who enjoy those games - I think you'll struggle to find someone who genuinely enjoyed Silent Hill 2 who wishes it didn't have the story and feels the game would have been better without one.  I know for a fact you have no chance of proving the majority of those who enjoyed that game wish it didn't have its story.  So to be blunt, so long as you have games which have a story, and which the majority of those who enjoy that type of game want the story, then you have definitive proof that some games do need a story.

A final example - one poster said he ignored the plot of Fallout 3 - to be honest, big deal.  I guarantee you the majority of those who really enjoyed the game didn't.  The story is a central element of a game like Fallout 3.  There will always be a few in the minority, but its the majority view that matters, and so far as I can see the evidence is that the majority of those who played Fallout 3 want an RPG with quests and tasks linked by by a story that progresses.

One thing I do agree with you on is that if the videogame is good, the story will never get in the way of the game.  But that's a different topic.

Videogames, imo, can only be done as videogames. Text adventures can be done as books, computers just make them more efficient and enjoyable. Solitaire or poker can be played with a deck of cards, computers can improve the experience but they are still card games. Same goes for board games.

I don't care what the reviewers say. Most of them have some ridiculous fascination with cutscenes and story that I do not share.