Games That Stick With You

[nullPointer]

I just finished playing through The Walking Dead: Season 2 the other night as part of my annual "Halloween Gaming Extravaganza" (and speaking of which don't forget to check out our Monster Mash Classic Arcade Bash 2014 currently underway). After completing it I was blown away once again by the masterful storytelling Telltale manages to convey through their games, just as I was after playing through Season 1 last year. From a "pure game play" perspective I might give a slight edge to Season 1 in terms of increased interactivity, but Season 2 is absolutely epic in terms of it's scope. I highly recommend it to any fans of zombie fiction, point and click adventure games, or anyone interested in the art of quality storytelling through the medium of video games.

But I keep thinking about the events in the game, just as you might after having finished a good book. Season 1 stuck a similar chord with me, but after finishing that one I was comfortable that the choices I had made for each of the characters were good ones. The protagonist of Season 1 (or at least in my play through of Season 1 ) was very dedicated to upholding a code of ethical standards and behavior in a world gone to hell (very similar to the way that Rick is in the TV show and comics). Season 2 on the other hand presents the player with choices that are much more ethically vague; choices in which the "right" course of action is not always so clear (and often times there is no "right" course of action). This is very much in keeping with the world of The Walking Dead, but as a result I keep thinking about the in game choices I made and what they meant and/or mean to the characters in the story. Did I make the best choices for the characters? Did I make choices based on what the character would have done, or what I would have done? (Yeah I know that question sounds a bit mental, but in games of this nature I think the true role-playing aspect can't be so easily dismissed).

My point to all of this is that it takes a pretty amazing game to stick with you in this fashion. Silent Hill 2 was another game in which I was completely absorbed by the world it painted for a long time after completing each of its various endings.

So I put the question to you. What game(s) have you played that kept you engrossed with the story, characters, and game world long after you had finished playing it (bearing in mind that one doesn't necessarily need to play through to full completion in order for games to have this sort of effect)?

[DazzleHP]

Screw the games! It's the choices you make, and even though i've never palyed it, it seems to provoke the choices we all have to make at some point in our lives. It's a great question And i feel we will all give different answers, depending on previous life experience hehehe

To answer your question though - Prototype Won't tell you why

[nullPointer]

Screw the games! It's the choices you make, and even though i've never played it, it seems to provoke the choices we all have to make at some point in our lives.

Good lord, I hope I never have to choose between shooting an infected family member or letting them turn into a walker! I mean ... my experiences with various fictional undead apocalypses have taught me what the right choice has to be ... but all the same I hope I never have to make it.

[KRC]

I agree with you on Silent Hill 2, that game is in my top 5 of all time. Great Story, Great Soundtrack, Oh and that weird scene with Pyramid Head and the mannequin

Most games I played on the PS1 in 1995-2000 have embedded in my mind, specifically the Resident Evil and Final Fantasy series, I still play them in this day and age.

A couple of obscure mentions are Kula World (RollAway) and Point Blank, which are brilliant imo.

Resident Evil 4 on Gamecube should also get a nod as in my opinion this is one of the best games ever made period and paved the way for games to come after that.

[nullPointer]

I agree with you on Silent Hill 2, that game is in my top 5 of all time. Great Story, Great Soundtrack, Oh and that weird scene with Pyramid Head and the mannequin

Totally agree. I've enjoyed all the Silent Hill games (at least of the ones I've played), but Silent Hill 2 is in a league of it's own. At the time of it's release it was (and still is) one of the most mature stories I've ever experienced in gaming. Up until that time the "mature" games I had played garnered that rating and/or reputation either through, "OMG look at that pixelated gore!" or "OMG, foul language!". SH2 was neither of those things ... or maybe it was both of those things. The difference is that SH2 treats you like an adult. It never once patronizes or speaks down to you, the gamer. It never once indulges in spectacle for the sake of spectacle. (OK ... maybe the dog ending, but hey you can't have a Silent Hill game without that amiright? ) Rather it draws you into it's hellish maw, then dares you to look away from the atrocities therein even if only for a second. It challenges you to understand the cryptic messages it leaves behind which only add to the mystery and mythology. There are so many moments in that game where you just stop and ask yourself, "OK, but what does this really represent?"

A brief anecdote about Silent Hill 2. A number of years back I was playing SH2 in the living room while my wife was reading on the couch. This was about the time in the game where you discover the "message" in Lakeview Hotel and from then on through to the ending of the game. At some point my wife had started paying more attention to the game than to her book (she is not at all a fan of the horror genre, mind). Just as I started fighting the final "boss" she exclaims, "Oh. My. God. That is disgusting!" And I asked, "What is, this boss?" And she says, "No. Just the entire thing!" And that's when it clicked with me. The entire game is masterfully engineered to be unsettling like that. The story and events of the game are brilliantly written to strike a certain visceral nerve with people. And it still leaves you wanting more! Brilliant.

[KRC]

I actually got my fiancee to play SH2 a few years back and with my input she completed it on easy difficulty, I remember some certain parts of the game when the music and atmosphere would get more intense and she would start to panic and pause the game and compose herself lol Most of all she panicked when on the way down the many floors in the historical society/Prison, The scream in the prison courtyard, aaah good times.

I remember her asking me questions on her way to completion, it seemed like she actually found the game interesting, She was actually the person who pointed out that when james reaches the final floor in the lakeview hotel you hear Mary cry for James through the locked stairwell. I had to reload the save and hear it for myself

Overall I think Silent Hill 2 was a very clever game!

[KRC]

I'm pretty surprised nobody else has replied to this, maybe nobody else has played video games when they were younger.

[hansolo77]

I never owned it, but I always end up playing a bit of Super Mario Brothers (NES). I also play a lot of Sonic 1 (Genesis) because it was the first true console game we had.

[Adultery]

I can't imagine how long my list would be and it keeps growing.

[RIP-Felix]

I just went strait and picked up a copy of Medievil. I missed this one as a kid and discovered it later as an adult, via emulation. See, if it wasn't for emulation I wouldn't have bought it! Kick @$$ gothic horror adventure. Immediately vaulted to my list of nostalgic games, which is very unusual for games I discover later in life. This class of games is usually reserved for my childhood first in its genre, RPG=Final Fantasy series, Horror = Resident Evil, Adventure = Zelda, Platform = Mario, etc.

[hansolo77]

Medievil is the one with the knight right? I remember playing that on my PSX.. still have it too.

[RIP-Felix]

Yes you play a "cowardly, skeletal undead knight, Sir Daniel Fortesque. Zarok, an evil sorcerer attempts to ensare the land of Gallowmere under his evil reign, but unwittingly brings his old nemesis, Sir Daniel Fortesque, back to life. (wikipedia)"

[hansolo77]

^-- Yup thats the guy! Good game.