Favourite Stories/Genres?

[Jebus]

Apologies if this has been done before but I've not seen it so here go we Now, when I say genres I don't mean "FPS" or "2D Shooter" etc, in fact perhaps "Themes" may be a better terminology for what I mean. With my own examples I'll probably give more insight into what I mean. I'd like to know your favourite genres followed by favourite game storylines from within those genres

My favourites are Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror/Thiller with "Comedy" coming in just behind.

I'll give examples...

Final Fantasy VII has one of my all time favourite stories, I'll never forget the moment Cloud lets Aerith go into the water...the music was absolutely perfect and the emotion it made me feel I'd never before and never since felt in a game. I've never felt so involved in a game as with this one.

Resident Evil is another of my all time favs, just absolutely brilliant but so over the top stupid at the same time. It got so damn convoluted as well at times later in the series.

So, over to everyone else! What's your favourite genre to play and from it, what are your favourite stories?

[Extra Terrestrial]

It seems to me that only the likes of Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill have captivating enough stories to keep you gripped throughout.

[RustyS Badge]

and I cant think of any that fall outside of the two genres already mentioned. Nige is a huge fan of homoerotic space marine rip offs though

edit: I suppose the best you have after them is war games, especially the tom clancy ones. I dont think they quite have the depth of story of a FF though or even a resident evil.

[peeveen]

Don't think I've ever really been captivated by a videogame story ... most seem like they're written by ten-year-olds.

Killer7 was very interesting, but I don't think you could call that jumble of concept and style a "story".

Even Zelda, which is usually quite good, has been disappointing story-wise this gen ... I've lost track of whose dark magic is controlling whose light magic, and what sage or guardian or realm is being controlled by what or who, etc ... utterly tenuous stuff, but thankfully the game is good.

The only videogame story I've REALLY enjoyed is Halo, and most of that is due to the novels.

Honourable mention to Half-Life as well.

[Concept]

Good thread.

Horror for me too usually. You can't beat a properly well-made horror game. Not really the Resident Evil kind of horror these days, but more the real world, contemporary settings kind. Stuff that I can better relate to, be they games like the first half of Fahrenheit, Condemned or what's been shown of Alan Wake. There needs to be better written and acted characters in stories within thrillers and horror games, but this is something the industry has been saying loudly for a good seven years now.

Alernatively, stories that are ethreal and slightly abstract in nature tend to attract me too. I like contrasts when I'm playing games. Stuff like ICO, Okami, Katamari, Killer7, Bioshock Beyond Good & Evil and things like that to compliment the more conventional material.

If we're talking preference of developers with regards to story telling over the last five years, well Rockstar is to the West what Capcom is to the East. Both are incredibly plugged in to general pop and gaming culture from the 70s onwards up to the present day, they both deal with violent pulp-like content and both feature high production values.

Then there's the ICO team - who are also part of a scant handful telling stories that don't have to be considered 'mature' to feature bald space marines, WWII stereotypes and spies that progressively grow younger with each passing game.

To be honest, you know who I really miss? Sega. Sure, they didn't flood the market with strong narrative storytelling, but there was a time in the late 90s and early 00s when Sega were completely on their game in delivering interesting plots and imaginative worlds.

[Concept]

My favourites are Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror/Thiller with "Comedy" coming in just behind.

Yeah, that's another one. I miss Lucasarts back when they were actually good.

I will stick up for gaming in relation to some of the other posts. Sure, the vast majority of games feature poor stories - undoubtedly a higher percentage than in either film or literature.

That doesn't mean there aren't good ones though, because there are. Playing a story in a game is as much about structure, pacing and atmosphere as it is about writing and acting.

[peeveen]

Yeah, that's another one. I miss Lucasarts back when they were actually good.

Yeah, now those were good.
Also, Infocom and Magnetic Scrolls.
But these games were almost pure storytelling, with some puzzle-solving mixed in.

Mentioning Infocom has just made me think of the most emotional I ever got while playing a videogame ... "Trinity" grabbed me from all directions, and I'm still utterly fascinated with the history of the atomic bomb to this day, thanks mainly to this game.

[Prophet Hero]

I find quite often it's moments in games that resonate than the overall story. I feel that way about the Zelda games themselves.

I don't think I have any genre preference when it comes to games - I appreciate any well told story. Usually something simple as love and loss (of course it can be argued that those two things are never simple) has a far greater impact on me than anything intricate or heavily plotted.

Anyway, games that I have enjoyed beyond gameplay include ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, BG& E and the Soul Reaver series.

[MattyD]

I like games where you get to be alone and explore without NPCs getting in the way. I'm a loner at heart I really love the Metroid series, SotC, Silent Hill etc where you can immerse yourself in another place and soak up its atmosphere.

The other type of games I really like are realistic infantry combat sims. My favs are the Brothers in Arms games and Rainbow Six Vegas. Full Spectrum Warrior was ace too. Unfortunately the 'generic FPS with WWII uniforms' genre seems to be far more prevalent than the serious type war games.

[NekoFever]

I love sci-fi and horror usually, which is a good way to go if you're into games, I suppose

Halo is probably my overall favourite story within those. It's good a good one on its own but when there's such a wide extended universe (side games like Halo Wars, novels, comics, audio plays, ARGs, etc) ripe for fan theories and speculation, I love it. The day I finish Halo 3 and therefore the main story will be tinged with sadness.

Resident Evil is a good one, too. As with Halo, there's plenty of story outside and buried in the main games (just too bad that so much of it is buried in those **** spinoffs) and I like playing the new ones for the found documents as much as anything.

Shenmue is my anomaly. Love the story but will never know how it ends