Games with good gameplay but terrible story that made you stop playing
- Thread starter JellySlimerMan
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I would go as far as to say any of the prince of persia games.. brutal legend.. i couldnt get passed jack black screaming something about metal in my ear, every 5 seconds. Duke Nukem Forever. Maybe even Halo4. I wasnt really impressed with the story vs. the other halo franchises.
I..I liked the story in Dishonored... It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad enough to make me not put 100 hours into it... *Cries in Corner*JellySlimerMan said:
But seriously I thought Dishonored had a pretty good story. Maybe it was just really good atmosphere.
Killzone 3. The ISA are so generic and uncharictarizing they have to make a Helghast campaign.
Fuck the ISA
Fuck the ISA
I've never stopped playing a game over a bad story but I've refused to play many games with allegedly great writing that had shit gameplay. Every Bioshock springs immediately to mind. And I almost skipped the original Deus Ex because the shooter mechanics were so awful in the beginning.
I say allegedly because if a game is truly well written then gameplay is complentary. Otherwise the gameplay is completely superfluous; at that point I'd be better off reading a book or watching a film. It's faster, easier and actually does what it's supposed to do.
I say allegedly because if a game is truly well written then gameplay is complentary. Otherwise the gameplay is completely superfluous; at that point I'd be better off reading a book or watching a film. It's faster, easier and actually does what it's supposed to do.
I don't I've ever stopped playing a game for the story either. If it was, it was because it was dragged out and the gameplay got increasingly tiresome. The only game I can think of is Mass Effect, in the sense that everything I know about the story og ME3 really makes me not want to play that game and continue on from 2.ScrabbitRabbit said:
I do need some context, though. I'm never good at games like Pacman that have no story because I need a little bit of story to keep me going. Not much, but it's the difference between Elite Beat Agents and Guitar Hero.
Arc Rise Fantasia. The gameplay was solid and the visual were ok but oh lord that story. And even worse than the story, that voice acting. It was like, they found a bunch of stoned communication's majors and threw them in a recording both, the english dub is so painfully bad and the game didn't have an option to switch to the Japanese dub.
I had to stop playing, which is a shame because I normally enjoy jrpgs but this was just terribly written.
I had to stop playing, which is a shame because I normally enjoy jrpgs but this was just terribly written.
Probably Skyrim. I don't hate the game, I just couldn't find motivation to explore more places when all the inhabitants, enemies, and quests started to feel noticeably hollow.
Hm, I usually hear the characters and gameplay described the other way around.ABLb0y said:
Huh, this is the polar opposite of the most common complaint about the game. So, I have to ask, did you get up to the RTS segments?ABLb0y said:
well the idea is that gameplay and story shouldnt be so easy to separate; the story should be told through the gameplay, otherwise its just an arcade game with cutscenes. i dont invite anyone to sever every aspect of a game into the "game" part and the "story" part because where the whole issue of people thinking video game narratives are invalid comes from: if youre actively thinking of a game as two entities, one the actual game and the other non-interactive writer-stuff, then youre missing the point of interactive fiction. the player's actions are meant to be a part of the living story, a level of artist-audience interaction that no other medium can provide.
skyrim and the elder scrolls games are my example: they have some of the best game narratives i have ever experienced. oh, the actual written plots were generally forgettable, but the games are designed to provide the environment and tools to experience your own amazing personal story purely through gameplay, and what YOU decide to do with what the developers have provided. i dare to say that bethesda doesnt really care for their own plotlines and just writes them because they know no game will sell without some kind of easily understood goal right from the start.
skyrim and the elder scrolls games are my example: they have some of the best game narratives i have ever experienced. oh, the actual written plots were generally forgettable, but the games are designed to provide the environment and tools to experience your own amazing personal story purely through gameplay, and what YOU decide to do with what the developers have provided. i dare to say that bethesda doesnt really care for their own plotlines and just writes them because they know no game will sell without some kind of easily understood goal right from the start.
Well, I disagree with you on Jack Black's character, but I'm just glad to find someone that actually enjoyed those segments. And the Drowning Doom is available in multiplayer, if you have any interest in that.
Ilikemilkshake said:
Yeah thats alright, but for games you are usually for the gameplay first... the rest comes after that. Unless you are really, REALLY damn interested on its history and ONLY on it, but then you could whatch a walkthougt in youtube as I said before.
I.. am I kinda clueless on how some people seem to belive this, I will admit. But either way. More power to them, who I am to stop them?
I don't like the term 'story' because it basically entails 'plot'. The actual narrative weight of a game is made of more elements than just that. Graphic style, item descriptions, lighting, characterisation, monster and character designs, voice acting, word choice in dialogue...
But anyway, to answer your question, there are no games with above-par gameplay that I have put down because the narrative was poor. However, there are plenty of occasions where a good narrative has saved a game where the gameplay itself was mediocre or even bad. A good example might be the first Bioshock, which had clunky shooter mechanics but a fantastic setting and a good story.
But anyway, to answer your question, there are no games with above-par gameplay that I have put down because the narrative was poor. However, there are plenty of occasions where a good narrative has saved a game where the gameplay itself was mediocre or even bad. A good example might be the first Bioshock, which had clunky shooter mechanics but a fantastic setting and a good story.
Agree with everything you say.Longstreet said:
OT: For me, he story doesn't have to be incredible so long as it avoids that plasticky half ass attempt at a story. Blizzard's stories seem to be heading this way. StarCraft II WoL's story was something I tolerated since "THE PROPHECY" schtick was being thrwon around every single fuckin IP they had (Cataclysm and Diablo III for example) but fine it was supposed to setup a trilogy. Then came HoTS and wow the story blew so much. To quote Gavin, "I'dve been less embarrassed if someone walked in on me while watching anal fisting."
Probably gonna get crucified for this but, honestly? The Souls games.
The gameplay's punishing. Okay, fine. That's the principal allure of the series. What really kept me from enjoying and finishing the games, though, was how opaque everything was. I kept wondering where my sense of agency was in all this, I didn't know where I had to care about the state of the Boletarian Palace or if I had to wonder why there was a big-ass dragon wrecking up one of its upper areas - nothing attached me to the game.
Playing through the Souls games, I kept hearing the designers going "Oooh, oooh! Here's an awesome setpiece! Ooooh! That awesome goat demon we talked about in another meeting? Let's put him there! Oooh, oooh! And the player turns into a zombie when he dies and there's Furtive Pygmies and OH MY GOD, I'M JIZZING IDEAS ALL OVER THE CONFERENCE ROOM IT FEELS SO GOOD."
All I saw were disparate, albeit nice-looking puzzle pieces. I don't mind difficulty in gameplay, but difficulty in narrative construction? I don't see that as a ground-breaking concept; it's more an admission that From Software didn't so much world-build a convincing universe as they just glued stuff together and figured nobody would care.
Why would anyone care? People like the Souls games because they're challenging, right? Fuck lore and world design, right?
*sighs*
The gameplay's punishing. Okay, fine. That's the principal allure of the series. What really kept me from enjoying and finishing the games, though, was how opaque everything was. I kept wondering where my sense of agency was in all this, I didn't know where I had to care about the state of the Boletarian Palace or if I had to wonder why there was a big-ass dragon wrecking up one of its upper areas - nothing attached me to the game.
Playing through the Souls games, I kept hearing the designers going "Oooh, oooh! Here's an awesome setpiece! Ooooh! That awesome goat demon we talked about in another meeting? Let's put him there! Oooh, oooh! And the player turns into a zombie when he dies and there's Furtive Pygmies and OH MY GOD, I'M JIZZING IDEAS ALL OVER THE CONFERENCE ROOM IT FEELS SO GOOD."
All I saw were disparate, albeit nice-looking puzzle pieces. I don't mind difficulty in gameplay, but difficulty in narrative construction? I don't see that as a ground-breaking concept; it's more an admission that From Software didn't so much world-build a convincing universe as they just glued stuff together and figured nobody would care.
Why would anyone care? People like the Souls games because they're challenging, right? Fuck lore and world design, right?
*sighs*
Unfortunately I never actually played the original Crysis which I hear is much better but, with that being said Crysis 2 was one of those very few games in which the gameplay was great but the story was deplorable. I literally had to force myself to finish it. I thought the story (or lack thereof), was SO convoluted, inconsistent and unremarkable.
Now that I think about it there are a few more games that fit this criteria;
-Rage
-Homefront
-Brink
-Medal of Honor (2010)
-CoD: MW2 & Black Ops (stopped playing after BO)
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
In retrospect, at the time I bought and played those games I rarely if ever actually watched or read reviews prior to the purchase. I use to pre-order games almost sight unseen without really looking into what I was about to buy. Ironically Mass Effect 3 was the catalyst
, for me. It was the one game that started to make me question and take my role as a fan/customer/consumer more seriously and actually be more patient before buying a game. Now I actually take the time to read 5+ reviews on one game, watch 2 or 3 different video reviews, look at all the pre-release trailers, ads and even then wait a week after release until the patch(es) come out (Tomb Raider).
Like many other faithful customers before me, I've been screwed too! I just feel sorry for those poor bastards that bought Aliens: Colonial Marines... At least with ME3 it was just the endings that sucked not the entire game!
-Hawk
Now that I think about it there are a few more games that fit this criteria;
-Rage
-Homefront
-Brink
-Medal of Honor (2010)
-CoD: MW2 & Black Ops (stopped playing after BO)
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
In retrospect, at the time I bought and played those games I rarely if ever actually watched or read reviews prior to the purchase. I use to pre-order games almost sight unseen without really looking into what I was about to buy. Ironically Mass Effect 3 was the catalyst
, for me. It was the one game that started to make me question and take my role as a fan/customer/consumer more seriously and actually be more patient before buying a game. Now I actually take the time to read 5+ reviews on one game, watch 2 or 3 different video reviews, look at all the pre-release trailers, ads and even then wait a week after release until the patch(es) come out (Tomb Raider). Like many other faithful customers before me, I've been screwed too! I just feel sorry for those poor bastards that bought Aliens: Colonial Marines... At least with ME3 it was just the endings that sucked not the entire game!
-Hawk
Well for a start, I think there's a balance to be had. A ratio, if you will, of the comparative quality of gameplay to story, in which I think the gameplay is the more important component to keep a person's interest. To more directly answer the question, I will admit that a bad story is a bit offputting, but the worst it's made me do is stop playing for now, whereas bad gameplay can prompt me to stop playing entirely.
Case in point, the world's least credible frame-job in Dishonoured I found almost insulting - I think it was supposed to make the player feel some sort of righteous indignation, but the fact is a child could've seen through that feeble frame-up (I think in this case they stretched my suspension of disbelief too early). Back on topic though, I played the intro, switched that crap off, then came back a couple of days later and enjoyed it much more on the second attempt. Just a wild idea, could it have been better by skipping the intro and leaving it a mystery, letting players figure out for theirselves whether Corvo was guilty or not?
Case in point, the world's least credible frame-job in Dishonoured I found almost insulting - I think it was supposed to make the player feel some sort of righteous indignation, but the fact is a child could've seen through that feeble frame-up (I think in this case they stretched my suspension of disbelief too early). Back on topic though, I played the intro, switched that crap off, then came back a couple of days later and enjoyed it much more on the second attempt. Just a wild idea, could it have been better by skipping the intro and leaving it a mystery, letting players figure out for theirselves whether Corvo was guilty or not?
Did people really dislike the RTS segments that much? Why?bluepotatosack said:
Anyway, I think it would be cool if the DD got their own campaign. Whatshisface seemed so much like a villain (Loud, obnoxious douchebag who helped drive a woman to suicide) for comfort.