Narrative >>>> Gameplay

[Mr. Manhattan]

If Max Payne 3 had a shytty storyline i dont think i wouldve completed it, even tho the gunplay was excellent

I threw Watch Dogs in the bushes
because the storyline was trashh on a sandbox

 

[Thatrogueassdiaz]

Hell no

 

[D1renegade]

Ehh. I really can't say which aspect I would put above the other.
I'll tolerate both, good gameplay with a bad story and its' inverse.

Though I will say that a good story more than gameplay, can keep me invested in the long term of a franchise. The narrative was the main reason I stuck with Assassins Creed . But once they screwed up the story (AC3) I was done with the series. The gameplay (mainly combat) just isn't interesting enough for me.

 

[Zero]

fukk outta here


If the game isn't ultimately fun to play, what's the point?

 

[Kartel13]

Play all of the Legacy of Kain games. They're a little dated in gameplay and graphics, but the voice acting and story is one of the bests. And all of the characters were dope. Still would love to see it come to the big screen or mini series. And some of the scenery and music is also dope.

 

[Easy-E]

People hate on it because its not 'game' enough for some. If you liked Heavy Rain and stuff like that, you'll love Beyond.

It's one of my favorite games of last gen. Didn't get the promo it should have gotten and like dude said, it got looked over because it wasn't your normal gameplay type game. It's similar to the style of The Walking Dead games but it's better than those IMO.

Word. I think more "game" would've made TWD

check out The Wolf Among Us if you liked TWD

I gotta get into Season 2 of TWD, first

fukk outta here


If the game isn't ultimately fun to play, what's the point?

I think that there is a place for those types of games.

A don't play too many newer games, but, a lot suffer from horrible narratives just to get you from stage to stage to show off the fighting and jumpin' and rolling.

I think you can sacrifice gameplay if you have a great narrative, but, the other way around makes for horrible replay value, IMO.

The Tomb Raider reboot was fun, but, the story made little sense.

Bioshock: Infinite was beautiful, but, the story was dense and the dialogue was bland. Plus, the gameplay wasn't all that. That was my first Bioshock game. No way I'm playin' the others if the shooting is as bad as that one.

Batman: Origins is kinda boring, but, the fighting is the best it's been for the series. And I don't get them forcing multiplayer.

Play all of the Legacy of Kain games. They're a little dated in gameplay and graphics, but the voice acting and story is one of the bests. And all of the characters were dope. Still would love to see it come to the big screen or mini series. And some of the scenery and music is also dope.

 

[Fatboi1]

I'm not an either or type of cat that will say gimme a game with impeccable narrative and story telling in place for horrible gameplay or vice versa but I will say that a game with very strong narrative can keep me entertained even if the gameplay isn't the best. I felt that way with Beyond Two Souls. The gameplay was basically nonexistent but it was just interesting seeing what was going to happen next.

Same with TWD games, they're pretty much point and click but yea.. I prefer games like Uncharted or TLOU where they can blend them both seamlessly.

TLOU pretty much nails that presentation and strong narrative with solid gameplay. The Last of Us is the perfect game imo that does both good enough to where one doesn't seem to compromise the other. I wish more games were like that. If you thought TLOU wasn't good enough in the gameplay department, well that's on you but then again some people just can't be pleased.

There seems to be an anti-cinematic games group of people out there that love to shun games like TLOU or Uncharted whenever they get a chance to but to be frank, compared to other games TLOU was way more than serviceable in the gameplay department You actually had very "gamey" moments in the game despite it being so story driven and the gameplay is solid as hell.

• You have weapon upgrades that make sense since you collect parts and supplies which ties into the post apocalyptic setting...
• You start the game off with limited attributes that get better as you use items that improve them(Pills)
• You craft weapons and mod weapons from supplies and tools you find in game.
• There's lots of scenarios where it's counter productive to play it like a typical cover shooter and instead you can stealth your way through or just skip encounters altogether.
• Context sensitive melee which leads to some brutal and often gory finishing moves.

You don't get a feeling that you're just shooting shyt to get to the next part of the game, every encounter seems realistic as if that's what would really happen had this been a real life story. Uncharted had great mobility and freedom in movement that made shooting fun to me. I loved how the game just looked and felt when playing. If there's a game that you want to criticize for being cinematic, bring up Heavy Rain, TWD, Beyond Two Souls etc since they're pretty much just that, cinematic games.

A game like Mass Effect imo has pretty much subpar gameplay but people rave over it because everything else is done pretty good. I was always vocal against the mechanics of the ME series and how clunky they were. I couldn't for the life of me understand how the gameplay seemed to be overlooked in those titles. ME2 and 3 has very unsatisfying mechanics at times especially the cover system but I digress..

As far as narratives go, I technically prefer a more focused story with maybe one or two or even three alternating branches but they have to be undesirable in outcome with one clearly being the intended path for me to consider it. I don't like games where whatever happens happen because then when it's time to make a sequel, the story isn't cohesive and there's too much shyt to consider which results in disasters like ME3's ending. I prefer devs making strong stories and following their heart and not these whiny ass gamers who go "I want to make my own choices " all the time. Fukk them.
Imagine TLOU if it wasn't told the way it was, it would've been less impactful. Unless we're playing Fallout or Skyrim, then just tell me a great fukking story.

Oh and on the other side of the coin, a game with strong gameplay and boring narrative can put me off to finishing it a la Metal Gear Rising. I found that game boring as hell because I just couldn't care about whatever was happening with Raiden. The gameplay was straight but the aesthetics, music and narrative were subpar that it just bored me. Bayonetta on the other hand was superior in every regard: Music, gameplay and story which captivated my interest and they're both from the same devs.

Basically, I prefer if more devs can craft games made with care and effort put into pretty much all elements of the game. I loved FFXIII's battle system, but you could miss me with the story and lame characters. I gave up on it halfway through despite it having a great battle system.

 

[Liquid]

Narrative is NOT more important than gameplay in a video game.

The Narrative WILL get old, but if you nail the gameplay...the gameplay can last generations. HALO has been building on the same blueprint of gameplay and is still as popular as it ever was because of it. Most people don't even give a fukk about the story...they just love the way it plays.

 

[Easy-E]

@Fatboi1

You seem to get what I was gettin' at, the most. I didn't want to type too much in the OP and wanted to get right to the point.

If you just have a shooter, yea', you can't sacfice gameplay too much and you can stick a simple story on it.

I'm just sayin'; games become that much better when the story is as good as Mass Effect...

A game like Mass Effect imo has pretty much subpar gameplay but people rave over it because everything else is done pretty good. I was always vocal against the mechanics of the ME series and how clunky they were. I couldn't for the life of me understand how the gameplay seemed to be overlooked in those titles. ME2 and 3 has very unsatisfying mechanics at times especially the cover system but I digress.

...as for Mass Effect; this game was ruined by two things:

Business Decisions and the implausible decision to change the entire way they wrote it, to have two guys write the ending.

Mass Effect (1, 2,3) 's story makes it the best video game I've ever played. But, it suffered from trying to make sells.

It went from classic RPG to bang, bang shoot 'em up, linear gameplay. It never really grounded the gameplay, but, I do like a lot of the improvements they made. For example; I thought the first one overdid the weapon, ammo and armor customization. But, 3, kinda streamlined it too much.

I didn't mind the cover system and subpar shooting mechanics, because the variety and environment made it fun.

Try to kills those bashees at the The Ardat-Yakshi sanctuary

ANYTIME you have to fight husks

But, that's the best example of what I was gettin' at; my favorite game of all time was a 5/5 on story, but, 3/5 on actual gameplay.

The 3 games, in the OP, prove to me, games can survive on basing it on story progression, not combat and skill building.

The actual gameplay, in those games, aren't bad, just scaled back to present the actual as the lead singer.


EDIT: Also, I think multiple ways of interpreting the ending v. "alternate endings" is the best way to keep people invested in the game.

I think a story has to be grounded and basically limited. I still wondered what exactly else ppl wanted to do with the Reapers at the end.

 

[Easy-E]

Out of Journey, Beyond: Two Souls, Asura's Wrath

Beyond looks like the best one

I think the best way to make up for the lack of involved gameplay is great, challenging puzzles

 

[Fatboi1]

Narrative is NOT more important than gameplay in a video game.

The Narrative WILL get old, but if you nail the gameplay...the gameplay can last generations. HALO has been building on the same blueprint of gameplay and is still as popular as it ever was because of it. Most people don't even give a fukk about the story...they just love the way it plays.

We're not talking exclusively about one type of game. Is narrative not important in say a new Final Fantasy or The Last of Us type game?? Narrative is equally important in some titles like mass effect where the whole premise of the game revolves around how good the story is. Sure it's equally as important to flesh out the gameplay around the narrative which makes it even better but to some games and some gamers, narrative can make or break a game.

Obviously your Halo example is talking about a game where the main emphasis is shooting shyt up online since that's the main draw. A game like Battlefield doesn't need practically any story since it's main draw again is multiplayer but for certain SP games narrative is important. An example is Infamous Second Son whereby the gameplay is alright and the narrative is okayish but I felt like had that game had an amazing story with the same gameplay it has right now it would've been an even better game. I know you're thinking, " With better gameplay it'd be a better overall GAME!". I know that. I'm just saying a really strong narrative can give a decent playing game a boost.

I think people will misinterpret this thread by thinking of their favorite game where replay value is derived from it being really to fun suddenly having inferior gameplay in exchange for a stronger emphasis on story mode.

This thread isn't really talking about titles where story was never a main draw, it's more about games like TLOU or Heavy Rain or even Ryse .

 

[LucaBrasi]

GREAT & fun Gameplay can carry a game with no story: super Mario, Diablo, any RTS ever, Titanfall, CS and so on.

A GREAT story with garbage gameplay can't carry a game on its own


Therefore Gameplay >>>> Story