probably to have a character that felt good to kill?j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
because god damn was Kai-Leng's death satisfying as fuck
Games that have outstanding writing
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because god damn was Kai-Leng's death satisfying as fuck
One of the worst, most laziest ways of excusing oneself for a half-formed character is saying "Oh, just go read the books. They'll make everything better." You shouldn't need outside material to use as a crutch. Whilst you can have it, it should be supplementary at best, and you should always go under the idea that whoever is playing your game is never going to pick up the books.teh_Canape said:
OT: Many. Planescape probably wins overall, but at times it does have that "really I'm just reading a book" feel to it, which I believe the devs have acknowledged. Excellently written nonetheless.
Also have a great love of the writing for KotOR II and New Vegas. Little bit of a Chris Avellone fan methinks.
or it could also be that they wanted to add the character in for the people who read the books and wanted to see a character in the gameLord Mountbatten Reborn said:
at least that's what a friend of mine feels (being that she liked Kai-Leng in the books)
Such a reason still doesn't excuse the laziness of having to direct people toward the books in the first place. Sure you can put him in the game for the benefit of people who read the books, but you shouldn't just rely on that. You have to pretend the books don't even exist and think "Is the character good if we take all our conceptions of him from the game?" If the answer is no, then they need to work on it.teh_Canape said:
This.The jokes are clever and have depth but does not go into anything juvenile.Dirty Hipsters said:
Deus ex gets my vote for a deep over arching plot with various themes, sadly the voice acting fell apart in places.....
At first I was going to go with a load of Bioware stuff (because Bioware really does have consistently good writers considering it's video games we're talking about), but then I remembered Portal/Portal 2.
Such. Good. Tight. Writing. I can think of nothing I would change writing-wise in either game. Admittedly I think the short length of the games works in their favour here as there's no room for excess waffle, and the fantastic acting is crucial too, but still. I'd look to those games as examples of how to get game writing right.
Also they're still hilarious on the millionth play-through XD
Such. Good. Tight. Writing. I can think of nothing I would change writing-wise in either game. Admittedly I think the short length of the games works in their favour here as there's no room for excess waffle, and the fantastic acting is crucial too, but still. I'd look to those games as examples of how to get game writing right.
Also they're still hilarious on the millionth play-through XD
C'mon TOMI is by far the worst written Monkey Island game both in puzzlewise and dialogue. The ending in chapter 1 and start of chapter 2 are so cheap. SMH @ cliffhangers. The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood is the only chapter on par with MI 1-4Karutomaru said:
Definately!j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
He just appeared out of nowhere acting all, "I'm a bad guy; Hate me." Why? I don't even know who the fuck this guy is. And then suddenly Anderson has a history with him, too. And why the hell does this apparent ultimate badass space ninja fail to see the advantage of a projectile weapon? In the words of Spoony;"It's the future, you're a soldier; Get a gun! Why do you have to use a sword?"
Seriously, any Rockstar game has awesome writing. Red Dead is probably their best but Max Payne 3 is also great.
Fallout New Vegas was rather good. It took me a while to get into the game, but it was very good once I did.
Tales of Destiny/the Abyss/Symphonia/Vesperia/Graces f <-- These are just the ones I've gotten to play. I'd love to play other Tales games, because they all have such delicious stories.
Some people will try to disagree, but I think Dragon Age: Origins was fantastic as well.
Maybe I'll be able to think of more later.
Tales of Destiny/the Abyss/Symphonia/Vesperia/Graces f <-- These are just the ones I've gotten to play. I'd love to play other Tales games, because they all have such delicious stories.
Some people will try to disagree, but I think Dragon Age: Origins was fantastic as well.
Maybe I'll be able to think of more later.
The entirety of the Monkey Island series, with particular attention drawn to The Curse of Monkey Island. <3
I whole heartedly agree with that. It was also the first game that made me put down the controller and have me think about how my actions, no matter what the intention, can affect others.j-e-f-f-e-r-s said:
However...
I disagree with you on that... sorta... While I think the story in Mass Effect 2 was extremely laughable, I still think the dialogue and emphasis on characterization saved it. The Collectors were a crappy enemy, and the twist behind them just seemed way too forced. Not to mention their presence was just nonexistent. I swear, if I didn't know anything about the game and was placed randomly in a level, I'd have told you that the enemy were just the three merc bands. As for Cerberus and the Illusive Man [small](which I always rolled my eyes at because of the name. Seriously, why not just name him "the guy who's gonna help you for now but gonna betray you later and is all mysterious about it")[/small], I was always asking for a "Fuck Off" dialogue option. Seriously, I'm a fucking marine who's being asked to join a terrorist organization. Why the hell do you think I'd join them, Bioware?!
But I was able to ignore all of that because of all of the cool characters that I got to meet along the way. Characters who I thought I'd absolutely hate were ones that I absolutely loved instead. Grunt was a tank-bred Krogan who was trying to find his place in Krogan society. Mordin was a scientist who had lied to himself that he was trying to do the right thing in only sterilizing the Krogan, while he was actually doing just as much damage. Miranda was... still a *****, but you get what I'm saying, right?
As for Mass Effect 3... I haven't played it yet, but I've seen what the content included. Based on what I saw, I agree with you again.
Bastion was brilliant and replaying it is like rereading a great book.
Pyschonauts is the same way despite some issues with the controls.
Assassins Creed 2 + Sequels have an interesting and deep story. It's a shame that they bring it down by talking about the end of the world instead of the far more interesting human conflict involved at the end of each game.
Monkey Island (all of them) because those were just amazingly classic funny games. I didn't like 4 as much as the others, but it still had its moments.
Deus Ex and Human Revolution because they were just plain brilliant.
Pyschonauts is the same way despite some issues with the controls.
Assassins Creed 2 + Sequels have an interesting and deep story. It's a shame that they bring it down by talking about the end of the world instead of the far more interesting human conflict involved at the end of each game.
Monkey Island (all of them) because those were just amazingly classic funny games. I didn't like 4 as much as the others, but it still had its moments.
Deus Ex and Human Revolution because they were just plain brilliant.
I'm tempted to say: Bioware! /thread
but I'm above that. Not entirely though they probably are the best writers in the whole damn industry (Even with Dragon Age 2's contrivance fest and ME 3's disturbing amount of gaping plot-holes.)
The undisputed best instance of writing in a game is in Record of Agarest War It's possibly the most challenging thing to balance campy goofiness and still hold some emotional weight over the intense moments of the story. It's truly flawless scripting.
Dead Rising 2 also deserves special mention
and Portal it has sparse writing but it's not the best game ever for nothing.
but I'm above that. Not entirely though they probably are the best writers in the whole damn industry (Even with Dragon Age 2's contrivance fest and ME 3's disturbing amount of gaping plot-holes.)
The undisputed best instance of writing in a game is in Record of Agarest War It's possibly the most challenging thing to balance campy goofiness and still hold some emotional weight over the intense moments of the story. It's truly flawless scripting.
Dead Rising 2 also deserves special mention
and Portal it has sparse writing but it's not the best game ever for nothing.
Sorry to jump into the middle of this but I didn't even think killing Kai Leng was satisfying.teh_Canape said:
Out of the entire Mass Effect series Shepard's scenes with Kai Leng are the only times he comes down with "Cut scene stupidity"
I could have killed him before he killed Thane.
I could have killed him on Thesia, if I had like 30 more seconds before the cut scene make me fall down a hole.
and when you beat him at Cerberus HQ Shepard just turns his back on him and sits down in a chair. You're lucky Leng tried to stab you in the back, what if he just got up and limped away?
Every thing he did was so disconnected from the point and tone of the game that I couldn't even feel glad he was dead.
I didn't read the books so the only introduction I got for Leng was when Anderson told me he was supposed to be more dangerous than the Reapers. And the Illusive Man says he's supposed to be Shepard's replacement. Which in it's self is a plot hole. If he was Shepard's replacement that would imply he's only been in Cerberus for 6 months, and Anderson said he's been on Earth that whole time. So how was he able to shoot Leng in both legs?
Unless the books have copious amounts of time travel in them Leng's character doesn't make sense.
I've always loved the writing in the Ratchet & Clank series. The characters are always well fleshed out for the style of game and the writing is genuinely funny without using any of the usual self-referencing crap that most video games throw in for cheap laughs.
Fallout 3, for me, had the best writing I've ever seen. When I hear the Super Mutant coversation in the Germantown Police HQ I almost feel bad about killing them.
It's more the enviromental storytelling, something Skyrim did well aswell. When I walk into an abandoned building and find decades of backstory, it really helps immerse me.
EDIT - I almost forgot too mention GTA: San Andreas and GTA IV. Brilliant games, fun gameplay and the right mix of silly and serious too work (serious in IV and silly in San Andreas). The characters are all great as well.
It's more the enviromental storytelling, something Skyrim did well aswell. When I walk into an abandoned building and find decades of backstory, it really helps immerse me.
EDIT - I almost forgot too mention GTA: San Andreas and GTA IV. Brilliant games, fun gameplay and the right mix of silly and serious too work (serious in IV and silly in San Andreas). The characters are all great as well.
