Gamespot awards NWN2 for Best Story in 2006

[Spider]

Note that they use the same definition of story as Gromnir does. Ie, not critical path, but basically all in-game quests and characters. They used the Dark Brotherhood as an example of the story in Oblivion.

 

Not that I think it makes much of a difference. Oblivion was a good game for many reasons, but it's quality writing (or story design) wasn't one of them.

[Mortis Nai]

Good for NWN2, but Oblivion being one of the nominees for 'best story' just removes Gamespot's credibility altogether as far as giving out awards goes.

 

[/stealth troll]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I dunno, If Godzilla can have a cult following...

 

 

 

Note that they use the same definition of story as Gromnir does. Ie, not critical path, but basically all in-game quests and characters. They used the Dark Brotherhood as an example of the story in Oblivion.

 

Not that I think it makes much of a difference. Oblivion was a good game for many reasons, but it's quality writing (or story design) wasn't one of them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The Dark Brotherhood was the only set of "Quests" that had a story, and even those mostly involved "Kill everyone" and felt extremely empty and hallow at the end.

 

Thieves Guild, Fighters Guild, Mages Guild & Arena Guild were as laughable as the OC itself. where the PC Takes back seat and plays second fiddle.

Edited December 20, 2006 by Mortis Nai

[Llyranor]

Note that they use the same definition of story as Gromnir does. Ie, not critical path, but basically all in-game quests and characters. They used the Dark Brotherhood as an example of the story in Oblivion.

 

Not that I think it makes much of a difference. Oblivion was a good game for many reasons, but it's quality writing (or story design) wasn't one of them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Dark Brotherhood was the best part of Oblivion, but the story was horrific, especially the way it was told near the end. People can whine about NWN2 being linear and whatnot, but that was some freaking railroading there.

[alanschu]

I enjoyed the Dark Brotherhood quests.

[Slowtrain]

Oblivion's voice acting is worse than its story. In fact the story might have been more compelling if all of the voice actors weren't pronouncing daedra differently

[Hurlshort]

I was bored by Oblivion. It was beautiful and it entertained me for awhile, but after closing a few Oblivion gates, I quit. I wasn't engaged by any NPC's, and I didn't chuckle over a single line of dialogue. There weren't any surprising moments. It was a shallow game to me.

 

NWN2 engaged me a great deal. Sure, I had technical problems and a few bugs, but they weren't enough for me to stop playing. I enjoyed some NPC's, and enjoyed hating some NPC's. It wasn't until the 3rd act that I actually hit a wall, and that's more due to difficulty and my lousy high level D&D skills. There was actually a gut wrenching moment in the game.

 

I won't judge Gothic 3, but there are very few positive words about it in the media. I enjoyed the demo, but again, I felt like it's a bit more like Oblivion. Sure, it seemed non-linear, but I think I prefer an organized story and central characters in my RPG's.

[Cyric]

You can't trust all these so called review sites to deliver a valid and unbiased verdict of Gothic 3.

 

Pick up the game and see what it's about for yourself.

[Atreides]

I liked the touch where they included better NWN1 pieces in the sequel. It's not like there's no new stuff, gives more variety and nostalgia. I mean when you hit the city itself and the familiar score hits up there's feeling right there. Winrar.

[Azarkon]

When Gamespot says "story," I have the feeling that they're not just talking about the plot but also the presentation (cinematic techniques, etc.), the writing, and the level of interaction.

[Junai]

If I want a good story, I watch a movie. Games are meant to be played.

[astr0creep]

If I want a good story, I watch a movie. Games are meant to be played.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

So how did NWN2 play with you?

[Hurlshort]

If I want a good story, I watch a movie. Games are meant to be played.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I would have agreed with that when I was 14 years old. Now I expect more from my games.

[Llyranor]

I love how I can interact with stories in movies.

[Tale]

If I want a good story, I watch a movie. Games are meant to be played.

John Carmack, is that you?

 

Carmack's a cool guy, I just remember him trivializing the value of stories in games around the time of Doom 3's release. Maybe it was just action games specifically.

[Llyranor]

Or maybe it was his inability to do any sort of competent interactive storytelling.

[Morgoth]

He's a pimple faced programmer, what do you expect? Id Soft = Old school design at it's worst.

[Pop]

If I want a good story, I watch a movie. Games are meant to be played.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

NINTENDO FAN

[J.E. Sawyer]

John Carmack, is that you?

 

Carmack's a cool guy, I just remember him trivializing the value of stories in games around the time of Doom 3's release.  Maybe it was just action games specifically.

No one can knock his programming ability, but Doom 3 didn't excel in game design or storytelling. If either one were good in that game, the graphics could have carried it the rest of the way.

[Pop]

I also hear he's an exceedingly nice dude, not like that... other guy.

[Pidesco]

Doom 3 is a game that has always puzzled me a bit becauase with those graphics, it seemed like making a good scary FPS would be a no-brainer. Instead, they botched it.

[Pop]

Seemed a tad overlong to me. And I don't know if "scary" was what they were going for. It was dark, but it was still a full-blooded FPS. The transmissions and chaos that ensued after the (pretty ineffective) initial invasion of the moon base were pretty cool, but after 20 minutes it became the same old thing. That's what they get for taking the original absurd sci-fi + occult fantasy drivel of the original Doom and trying to make it into a "story".

Edited December 20, 2006 by Pop

[Pidesco]

I seem to remember them saying scary was precisely what they were going for with Doom 3. Because it was appropriate due to the nature of the engine, or something.

[Tale]

It was definitely scary for me. And I found it mostly enjoyable. But, the "overlong" complaint is one that I'm going to have to mirror. There came a point in each of my three playthroughs right around Hell where I would ask "is it over yet?" and then cheat the rest of the way through just so that I would finish. I didn't cheat because it was hard, but because after a point it became monotonous. (and the reason I played it 3 times was because I kept wanting to beat it without cheating!) Maybe a good story could have broken up the monotony. And actually, and I'm kind of looking to Episode I commentary from Valve, I think it was largely "combat fatigue" that really hurt me with playing that game. The game had no overt downtimes were you could just relax.

[Big Bottom]

I've tried to get through Doom 3 twice and have stopped at the exact same moment both times, near the beginning of Delta Labs (dunno why there, just a coincidence). It was just hard work to play through and nobody was paying me.

[Pop]

I stopped at about the point where the Hell Knights (those are the giant rocket skeletons, right?) come into play.

 

I actually didn't last as long on Prey, but at least Prey had Blue Oyster Cult and simulated card games.