In light of G4s top 100 list

[Grraarrgghh]

why, counter-strike of course source.

Fixed that for you. ;D

[Daverid]

Yes because the proper and rational response to someone stating an opinion is to rave and froth at the mouth about how wrong their completely subjective opinion is, and then go on to state your own as gospel.

So then, to take something from your list ... Lets play Half Life without it's story, Yep that one would be interesting...

Yea I know it's his opinion, And i probably took it one step to far because I get overly enraged when people talk about Story not having any say on whether a game is good or not.

The trouble is that most of the time the people that say, "Story is an added bonus" or "Story doesn't matter" ... Yet they have tons of Fave games that without a Story, would be completely lame. So I don't understand how one can consider 'Story as an Added bonus' especially if they consider something like Zelda OoT to be one of the greatest games of all time. Soon as you say OoT was amazing, you instantly nullify any comments you've made about Story being the most Meh part of a game.

But I guess I should put a Big ** Next to it ... Because of course there is plenty of games that simply work stand-a-lone, they don't require any Story. Most games in the RTS Genre don't even bother with a story yet they can be incredible. So it's definitely something that more Genre specific, but it's still something that has to be considered. At the very least, if it's an RPG (Any Sub-Category within), Story should be one of the Big factors without fail.

[frownface2000]

Only posting here to respond to one particular portion of the OP's post. Story should be the number one factor in whether or not a game makes a "top X" list.
Good gameplay doesn't make a game memorable. A good story sticks with you for years and gives you nostalgia every time the game is mentioned.

For that reason, games like Nier, Alan Wake, and Bioshock are often MASSIVELY under-rated due to having some of the best and/or most in-depth and interesting stories of the past few gaming generations.

...IMO, story isnt a factor, its an added bonus...

[Profyrion]

Any "top 100" list that doesn't include Starsiege: Tribes somewhere is automatically void.

[Grraarrgghh]

So then, to take something from your list ... Lets play Half Life without it's story, Yep that one would be interesting...

Yea I know it's his opinion, And i probably took it one step to far because I get overly enraged when people talk about Story not having any say on whether a game is good or not.

The trouble is that most of the time the people that say, "Story is an added bonus" or "Story doesn't matter" ... Yet they have tons of Fave games that without a Story, would be completely lame. So I don't understand how one can consider 'Story as an Added bonus' especially if they consider something like Zelda OoT to be one of the greatest games of all time. Soon as you say OoT was amazing, you instantly nullify any comments you've made about Story being the most Meh part of a game.

But I guess I should put a Big ** Next to it ... Because of course there is plenty of games that simply work stand-a-lone, they don't require any Story. Most games in the RTS Genre don't even bother with a story yet they can be incredible. So it's definitely something that more Genre specific, but it's still something that has to be considered. At the very least, if it's an RPG (Any Sub-Category within), Story should be one of the Big factors without fail.

Honestly, I think story is very important. However, what made Half-Life so awesome (for me) wasn't the story/lore, it was the amazingly tight (for the time) controls, the fantastic array of unique weaponry, the awesome multi-player deathmatch, and the unparalled (to this day even) modding community.

None of those things are story dependant.

[wildcardNS]

I'm not going to bother ordering them but the top 10 has to have the following: half-life, doom, diablo, counter-strike, mario, final fantasy, warcraft, zelda, elder scrolls, and star craft. Pick a game from the franchise.

[conscript]

Personally, I think any top 10 list that doesn't include Super Mario Bros, Ocarina, Generation 1 Pokemon games, WoW and NHL 94 are just wrong. Super Mario Bros, while completely overplayed at this point by Nintendo to the point where they keep making essentially the same game over and over, is one of the biggest influence in the industry. Ocarina is simply flawless. It is still the best adventure game ever made. The world was so huge and variable for a 64 game. Gameplay was amazing, music was even better, story was great, etc. There is simply nothing wrong with that game. Handheld consoles still exist because of Pokemon. If Pokemon never existed, the Gameboy consoles never would have reached the insane levels they are at now. WoW is the most commercially successful single game ever. Few other games have remotely near as many players as WoW. NHL 94 is simply the greatest sports game ever made.

Top X lists are mostly worthless though. It is impossible to compare games honestly across all genres to make some master list.

[Digglett]

The trouble is that most of the time the people that say, "Story is an added bonus" or "Story doesn't matter" ... Yet they have tons of Fave games that without a Story, would be completely lame. So I don't understand how one can consider 'Story as an Added bonus' especially if they consider something like Zelda OoT to be one of the greatest games of all time. Soon as you say OoT was amazing, you instantly nullify any comments you've made about Story being the most Meh part of a game.

It's funny because OOT was so much more than just saving the princess, people who have no idea what they are talking about tend to forget that.

[Grraarrgghh]

I feel the need to chime in since this thread has a very large OoT booster contingent. Obviously as a I listed, I think that Link To The Past is a superior game to OoT, but I also think Windwaker is better as well. I just couldn't get engaged in OoT. Maybe I just felt really let down by it since LTTP was my favorite ever, I dunno.

[SirRobin]

The fact that its from G4 handily wipes out just about any credibility it might have had.

[wariofan1]

Story is an added bonus?

Are you fucking with me?

Yea sure a game can be something completely simplistic like Super Mario where you just Side Scroll through worlds and all the plot ever amounts to is "Save the Princess" ... But gaming has evolved, Times have changed. Now Developers can incorporate Incredible Stories into their games which is what gives it the Headline. Not only that but the best thing about a Games story compared to a movie is that they have SO much more freedom to branch plotlines out into multiple Events (Mass Effect, Witcher ETC) which creates a captivating story that doesn't just work once, but can be enthralling even after 2,3,4 playthrough's.

You list Zelda: OoT as something that "Everyone auto has in their Top 10" ... And yet you can sit there and say that STORY is a BONUS? Fuck off .. If all you got to do in Zelda OoT was run around in circles in Hyrule doing chicken collecting and Cutting down bushes with no main story to drive the game it wouldn't have been NEARLY as memorable.

Story can make or break a game just as easily as gameplay. For someone like me, story is MORE important then the Gameplay, I can play a game with an INCREDIBLE story and meh gameplay, but I can't play a game with Completely revolutionary Gameplay but a story that makes me want to Vomit.

And TOP X lists will always be personal. For me The Witcher 2 is something i'd put in my Top 10 EASILY. But so many would disagree, just the nature. But as long as KOTOR is in there, I'll agree to that list.

Whether the story is a main factor depends on the genre. For RPGs it's mostly necessary, it can be done without an overly complicated one, as seen with the main Pokémon games. I would never dare touch a Dungeon Crawler without a good story though. I just finished Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness/Time/Sky, and the gameplay, although good, wasn't the main factor in the game, the driving force of that game is the story. It's the first time I've gone through a game solely for the story. I just finished the last Extra Episode in the Sky edition, and my mind is literally bobbling, that was simply too epic.

However, for platformers a story isn't really needed, I'd say that a goal is needed, but having a story interact with your platforming experience will ruin it. With platformers you really just want to go out there and get them in your own pace, I'd surely be pissed if cutscenes began to interrupt me while playing the standard Mario and Kirby games. And yes, gaming has evolved, but platformers haven't become outdated at all, some games simply just don't need an in-depth story, in the end it is a video game, not a book or a movie.

[Achaman]

tbh i dont care too much about story unless its forced onto me with non skippable cutscenes and books or notes you HAVE to read to continue but id say the fable series are in my top 5 not F3 though as its a piece of shit dissapointment and trying to think of a top 10 would take me forever so id leave it with that