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Forums - Gaming - What are some of the games with the best writing?

Jak II and Jak 3 had awesome writing, they were also some of the first games I saw where the characters actually acted, instead of just standing still when the lines were being said.

Half Life 2 also had some killer scripting going down.



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Words Of Wisdom said:
I recall Icewind Dale having pretty decent writing/narration but it's been a long time since I played it. Not as character-centric as Baldur's Gate, but very story-centric.

 Indeed, ID 2 was even better in this regard, and Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer has a profoundly good story and writing (can't go wrong with Forgotten Realms anyways... ).



rocketpig said:
twesterm said:
rocketpig said:

Thousand Year Door is actually pretty damned funny. You need to play it some time.


I picked the game up for something like $20 new more than a year ago when Best Buy had their huge Gamecube sell and I still haven't even taken the game out of its plastic wrap yet. -_-

And I don't know if I would put Uncharted in that list but it defintely had some awesome direction. Actually, if I put Super Paper Mario in that list, I could see Uncharted up there. It did an awesome job of putting you in an awesome 80's adventure movie like Romancing the Stone and that's why I really liked the game.


I agree... Until the zombie Nazis appeared. I have no idea why Naughty Dog thought that was a good idea. They had a great Romancing The Stone/Indiana Jones thing going until that point.


 Hmm, I guess I didn't get to that point.  I know I got pretty far in it but then put it down and haven't gotten around to picking it back up yet (it's on my list though, just my list is long and other games keep getting bumped to the top -_-).



rocketpig said:
Munkeh111 said:
Star Ocean 3 had some very good dialogue

HS and Uncharted should get praise more generally for their storytelling, not just the writing, but the presentation

GTA IV should have some mention, because many of the characters are superb, and it does have a good storyline

Heavenly Sword deserves a mention for the character Bohan alone. All the other characters were decent, too.

Uncharted was a lot of fun but I just can't get over those stupid zombie Nazis... Ugh. 

 


 Well, if they had kept the game in the jungle, focused more on exploration, and had not added the horror stuff, it would have been 10/10 for me, but it is only a 9/10 (on an integer scale, so 10/10 =/= perfect, it just means that it is exceptional)



That definitely happens. I still need to finish Lost Odyssey, GTA IV, Super Mario Galaxy, Okami, and Zack & Wiki before MGS IV comes out and I still need to buy The World Ends with You and finish it...

Yeah, right. That's gonna happen.




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I Totally agree with the radio stations in the GTA series :P Fantastic writing :)

Again I'll go with Chrono Trigger, because now that I think of it, for it having no voice work, the game had plenty of emotion and character structure :P I have a feeling most of that came out through the writing.

In regards to above I'm going to give some love to FF6 as well.

Of course Portal, just soooo fitting at times xD

Metal Gear series gets some love from me, it had that perfect "feel" to the game, and it's so easily recognizable, the writers do a fantastic job at making that experience. All the villains have they're little quirks too, it's all pretty badass I'd say :P (maybe I just love the cinematography behind it all)

I'll go out on a bizarre limb and say the Devil May Cry series, it's all so cheesy, but they're work with the voice actors is spot on, the game feels so "summer action flick", if they had altered the script in any other way I wouldn't feel the series as much :P Definitely cheesy, but somehow that series feels like it needs to be.

And of COURSE heavenly Sword :D Bohan and Kai alone put it on my list. Monkey Peaches~ <3 "Hitting them in they're weak points for Massive Damage!"



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Munkeh111 said:
rocketpig said:
Munkeh111 said:
Star Ocean 3 had some very good dialogue

HS and Uncharted should get praise more generally for their storytelling, not just the writing, but the presentation

GTA IV should have some mention, because many of the characters are superb, and it does have a good storyline

Heavenly Sword deserves a mention for the character Bohan alone. All the other characters were decent, too.

Uncharted was a lot of fun but I just can't get over those stupid zombie Nazis... Ugh.

 


Well, if they had kept the game in the jungle, focused more on exploration, and had not added the horror stuff, it would have been 10/10 for me, but it is only a 9/10 (on an integer scale, so 10/10 =/= perfect, it just means that it is exceptional)

I wouldn't have given it 10/10, but the rating would have definitely improved had they kept the game in the jungle and left out that last plot twist. 

 




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Mummelmann said:
Words Of Wisdom said:
I recall Icewind Dale having pretty decent writing/narration but it's been a long time since I played it. Not as character-centric as Baldur's Gate, but very story-centric.

Indeed, ID 2 was even better in this regard, and Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer has a profoundly good story and writing (can't go wrong with Forgotten Realms anyways... ).


I never finished IWD2.   The feeling just wasn't there.

I'll take Eberron over FR.  In FR, the world is on the verge of ending every day and there's an archmage behind every bush despite most of the world apparently getting along without magic.  In Eberron, things make a little more sense.  Not much... but a little.  That's probably a different topic though...



rocketpig said:

Thousand Year Door is actually pretty damned funny. You need to play it some time.

For me, my vote goes to Psychonauts and an honorary mention to the radio stations in GTA III. Those were truly fucking hysterical. PetsOvernight, Bongo, the original DJ Lazlo (when he was funny), the burned out rocker chick always talking about how big of a slut she used to be...

And, of course, Portal.

edit: It's weird how when I think of writing, the funny games are the ones that stick in my mind. I think that says something about the dramatic writing abilities of most video game writers... 


 Hahah, I remember those GTA III commercials like it was yesterday.

"PetsOvernight.com. Delivering little bundles of joy, in a box, directly to your door."

 I love it!!

Personally I go oldschool and enjoy the dialogue from FF VI (RPGOne Japanese Translation Patch).Very ahead of it's time back then if you use the proper translation. Alchoholism, swearing, etc... and it worked great.



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Euphoria14 said:
rocketpig said:

Thousand Year Door is actually pretty damned funny. You need to play it some time.

For me, my vote goes to Psychonauts and an honorary mention to the radio stations in GTA III. Those were truly fucking hysterical. PetsOvernight, Bongo, the original DJ Lazlo (when he was funny), the burned out rocker chick always talking about how big of a slut she used to be...

And, of course, Portal.

edit: It's weird how when I think of writing, the funny games are the ones that stick in my mind. I think that says something about the dramatic writing abilities of most video game writers...


Hahah, I remember those GTA III commercials like it was yesterday.

"PetsOvernight.com. Delivering little bundles of joy, in a box, directly to your door."

I love it!!

Personally I go oldschool and enjoy the dialogue from FF VI (RPGOne Japanese Translation Patch).


I crashed at least ten times in GTA III because my head was on my keyboard and I was laughing hysterically. Some of those commercials never got old.




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