Games with deep story lines.

[Lodestar]

Counter Strike
The question mark next to Sleeping Dogs is because for the half hour I've played it the story seems pretty strong. However, I've only played it a half hour. So I can't really say if it keeps it up.

It gets better, actually. Just finished that game a few days ago and was very impressed and satisfied.

[Menegrothx]

Ultima IV-VI (The Age of Enlightenment-trilogy).
Pretty much the first RPGs to tackle ethical and philosophical issues and not just be about "there's an evil wizard, go kill him". I haven't played the Mass Effect trilogy, but still I'm willing to wager that as a video game trilogy, this is the most thought-provoking and intelligent there is. Besides the fact that Ultima games were technically ground breaking (and did stuff you still don't see in modern games), the great thing about them was that moral dilemmas weren't as simple as black and white. And the story twist that happens in Ultima V is amazing, I'm not aware of any other game out there that does something as ingenious as that. It's truly mind blowing that a game from 1988 could tell a story as mature and thought-provoking as that, you don't see stuff like that even in modern games.

And if you don't know what I'm talking about but don't mind spoilers, I recommend checking out Spoony's ultima reviews ( despite the jokes/bad acting/endless nitpicking about minor flaws, they summarize the games quite nicely.


Planescape: Torment
The RPG with the best writing and one of the best stories in any video game ever made. One of the most unique and intresting game worlds ever, tons of well written dialogue and characters, a lot of philosophy and an extremely well written, emotional storyline. You can easily find reviews on the internet which tell why this game is so awesome so I won't bother trying to hype this game any further than that.

Deus Ex
Again, what can I say that hasn't already been said about this game? It's a legendary game for a reason. Conspiracies and social commentary with some existential philosophy thrown in to the mix. Matrix meets Soylent Green, or something like that

Silent Hill 2
Dat symbolism. This game is art.

These are the four games that are above all others when I think of games with deep storylines (=well written and engaging storyline that also has a message and makes you think). I could think of games with well written emotional storylines and characters like Persona 4, System Shock 2, Red Dead Redemption, Fallout 2, Arcanum, Baldur's Gate 2 and so on but I don't really consider them to be that "deep".

PS: http://www.rpgfan.com/features/Top_10_B ... index.html
I've heard a lot of great things about The Longest Journey but I've never played it, that one might also fit the bill.

I REALLY recommend Ni No Kuni on the PS3 - I finished it tonight and it's a fantastic game. Very engrossing story, great artwork/graphics, gameplay is addictive and genuinely fun.

Lol, the game is pretty much a typical "you're the chosen one, go slay the big bad guy" RPG. I still have a few hours of the story left so I haven't seen the ending resolution, but I doubt it's going to change that much. Now the story is good and the game is excellent, don't get me wrong, but that doesn't mean that it's in anyway deep, intelligent or thought-provoking. It's very much a standard RPG plot, with a few intresting twists.

[Gamerforlife]

Short and simple answer, play more role playing games and adventure games, including PC adventure games or games in that style. Some genres clearly lend themselves more to ambitious story telling. If I had to give some specific examples....

1. I'll second To the Moon on PC. It has a great, memorable, and mature story
2. Beyond Good and Evil is a good choice - It tells a sort of alien conspiracy tale with memorable characters and poignant moments.
3. Bioware games in general like the Mass Effect series have amazing stories.
4. Valkyria Chronicles - Sort of anime style reworking of events from World War II, but with other story elements added on
5. The Walking Dead series is great, but the ending is sooooooo predictable. You'll see it coming by the second or third episode and it has five total. Great series, but crappy ending.
6. Sly Cooper series - If you can get into a cutesy platformer, it has a surprisingly good arc for its characters that plays out throughout the PS2 trilogy. Better story than you'd expect from this type of game. They just released a fourth game last week too.
7. Jeanne D'Arc - Like Valkyria Chronicles, this is sort of a loose reworking of historical events. The story is really well told and engaging though
8. The Darkness - Based on the comic series, this is sort of a third person shooter with a great story
9. Peter Jackson's King Kong - The game actually tells a more engaging story than his movie did
10. Okami - A Zelda style game with a great art style, but unlike Zelda games it actually has an engaging story and memorable charcters
11. Dust: An Elysian Tale - An action platformer with an interesting story and great characters, unless you have an aversion to cute, furry, cartoon characters (which apparently some people do)
13. Journey - It's a bit of a stretch to say that this is a story based game. The story is there, but you kind of "experience" its story rather than just having it all told to you. As the title suggests, the game is about the journey you'll take as you play it
14. Lollipop Chainsaw - If you're up for something that doesn't take it self seriously, this game is full of great comedy and wacky moments. Look beneath the comedic surface though, and you'll see a thought provoking story that deals with the perception of gender roles, issues about free will, and the absurdity of video games.
15. Ico and Shadow of the Colossus - Minimalistic story telling at its best. Like Journey, these games are as much about the experience of playing them as they are the story itself.
16. Max Payne 2 - Great noirish love story, you should probably play the first game first so you're familiar with the character and his backstory

and yeah, Heavy Rain has a great story, I don't know why anyone would say different.

[floattube]

Whoa, this thread filled up quick! Looks like I'll be playing Okami, Heavy Rain, Ni No Kuni, and some of the others you guys have mentioned.

I had Sleeping Dogs for PC but my Hard Drive corrupted a while ago and I really don't want to start over.

Thanks for the recommendations!

[Retronomy]

Metal Gear Solid 2's story was so deep that I couldn't even comprehend it.

[flex wood]

If anything, the voice acting in the US version ruined it.

Ok I decided I wanted to play through Heavy Rain again so I started it up last night. The only complaint I have about the voice acting so far really is the kids. Are they supposed to have downs syndrome or something? I can't take them seriously, they just sound so terrible.

Besides that I like everything else. The game does do a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat.

[Retronomy]

Eh, heavy rain's voice acting is nothing compared to some of the games I've played.
House of the Dead 2, anyone?

Oh, and for the few that played it, Chaos Wars. The translation team literally brough their kids in to record the voice overs.

[MrPopo]

If anything, the voice acting in the US version ruined it.

Ok I decided I wanted to play through Heavy Rain again so I started it up last night. The only complaint I have about the voice acting so far really is the kids. Are they supposed to have downs syndrome or something? I can't take them seriously, they just sound so terrible.

Voice acting for children in the US tends to always be terrible. It's rare to use actual children due to various legal hurdles and most adults can't do a good child voice.

[BoringSupreez]

If anything, the voice acting in the US version ruined it.

Ok I decided I wanted to play through Heavy Rain again so I started it up last night. The only complaint I have about the voice acting so far really is the kids. Are they supposed to have downs syndrome or something? I can't take them seriously, they just sound so terrible.

Voice acting for children in the US tends to always be terrible. It's rare to use actual children due to various legal hurdles and most adults can't do a good child voice.

Most VA's who voice children are actually grown women.

[MrPopo]

Most VA's who voice children are actually grown women.

Right, like Nancy Cartwright. I think it works for cartoons because everyone is doing a "voice". But for something that's supposed to use natural speaking voices it makes the children sound very off.