In 2008, after the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, this quote from Cliff Bleszinski found its way onto most gaming sites:
Regardless of what you thought of the game's story or legacy within the series, it's safe to assume that most people would have agreed with that statement over three years ago. MGS4's lavish production was unlike anything else in the market at the time, with its sheer number of meticulously composed and framed cutscenes, all of which were mixed and mastered at Skywalker Ranch. Since MGS4's release, we've seen multiple entries in other blockbuster/AAA/cinematic-adventure game series. Franchises like Call of Duty, Uncharted, and God of War along with new IP's like Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, Heavy Rain, and Enslaved all have striven to give gamers a "cinematic" experience in different ways.
Uncharted made a name for itself by introducing gamers to the next-gen evolution of the standalone cutscene: the set-piece. Scripted events are nothing new to linear single-player action games, but the Uncharted series struck a balance (especially in UC2) between making the player feel in control just enough during these big cinematic moments for the illusion of player authorship to be conveyed. Something like the Call of Duty series sticks more to the template that Half-Life introduced to gaming: scripted sequences that happen around the player but cannot be affected by their actions.
In the case of Rockstar games like RDR and L.A. Noire, cutscenes are handled more traditionally in that there's a clear distinction between non-interactive scenes that are meant to progress the story and gameplay segments. The reason that I include these two games in the conversation is that their cutscenes exhibit notably high production values with regard to writing, voice acting, and image composition. That, and the believability of their game worlds lends that extra atmosphere and cinematic flair that really helps sell every scene. Heavy Rain is, essentially, one long cutscene fused with QTE's. While I personally found the writing/acting to be pretty sub-par, the game was definitely attempting to present itself as a cinematic experience. Enslaved is merely mentioned for the quality of its facial animation, writing, and voice acting to lend its cutscenes a polish that bolsters their impact.
Despite all of this ebb and flow with regard to how cutscenes are handled in games, I think it can be argued that Metal Gear Solid 4 still holds the title of Best Cutscenes in Gaming. Granted, Kojima's writing is verbal diarrhea at times and the story falls over itself trying to tie up every loose end, but the technical artistry that went into those cinematics is undeniable. Just look at the shot composition, sound mixing, and video editing in all of these examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6j3wsbHwIY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Timv4WqC0rY&t=7m00s (7:00 mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZA4vskvJU8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbZJrTQ8LbY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6dV3edKH4o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyrtLC_Pijw
Since there are hours upon hours of cutscenes in MGS4, I could go on to list dozens of additional examples. Has anything topped this level of digital cinematography (machinima) this gen? Or was there ever a game with superior cutscenes that preceded MGS4?
Honestly, I think Red Dead Redemption is the only game that comes close. It can't match MGS4 in terms of sheer spectacle, but it has better writing/acting and its overall aesthetic rivals that of some of film's western classics. Shadow of the Colossus would be an example of a last-gen game that I felt had absolutely perfect cutscenes. It didn't have very many, but the game was book-ended by two of the most pitch-perfect cinematics in gaming history IMO.
CliffyB said:
Regardless of what you thought of the game's story or legacy within the series, it's safe to assume that most people would have agreed with that statement over three years ago. MGS4's lavish production was unlike anything else in the market at the time, with its sheer number of meticulously composed and framed cutscenes, all of which were mixed and mastered at Skywalker Ranch. Since MGS4's release, we've seen multiple entries in other blockbuster/AAA/cinematic-adventure game series. Franchises like Call of Duty, Uncharted, and God of War along with new IP's like Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, Heavy Rain, and Enslaved all have striven to give gamers a "cinematic" experience in different ways.
Uncharted made a name for itself by introducing gamers to the next-gen evolution of the standalone cutscene: the set-piece. Scripted events are nothing new to linear single-player action games, but the Uncharted series struck a balance (especially in UC2) between making the player feel in control just enough during these big cinematic moments for the illusion of player authorship to be conveyed. Something like the Call of Duty series sticks more to the template that Half-Life introduced to gaming: scripted sequences that happen around the player but cannot be affected by their actions.
In the case of Rockstar games like RDR and L.A. Noire, cutscenes are handled more traditionally in that there's a clear distinction between non-interactive scenes that are meant to progress the story and gameplay segments. The reason that I include these two games in the conversation is that their cutscenes exhibit notably high production values with regard to writing, voice acting, and image composition. That, and the believability of their game worlds lends that extra atmosphere and cinematic flair that really helps sell every scene. Heavy Rain is, essentially, one long cutscene fused with QTE's. While I personally found the writing/acting to be pretty sub-par, the game was definitely attempting to present itself as a cinematic experience. Enslaved is merely mentioned for the quality of its facial animation, writing, and voice acting to lend its cutscenes a polish that bolsters their impact.
Despite all of this ebb and flow with regard to how cutscenes are handled in games, I think it can be argued that Metal Gear Solid 4 still holds the title of Best Cutscenes in Gaming. Granted, Kojima's writing is verbal diarrhea at times and the story falls over itself trying to tie up every loose end, but the technical artistry that went into those cinematics is undeniable. Just look at the shot composition, sound mixing, and video editing in all of these examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6j3wsbHwIY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Timv4WqC0rY&t=7m00s (7:00 mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZA4vskvJU8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbZJrTQ8LbY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6dV3edKH4o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyrtLC_Pijw
Since there are hours upon hours of cutscenes in MGS4, I could go on to list dozens of additional examples. Has anything topped this level of digital cinematography (machinima) this gen? Or was there ever a game with superior cutscenes that preceded MGS4?
Honestly, I think Red Dead Redemption is the only game that comes close. It can't match MGS4 in terms of sheer spectacle, but it has better writing/acting and its overall aesthetic rivals that of some of film's western classics. Shadow of the Colossus would be an example of a last-gen game that I felt had absolutely perfect cutscenes. It didn't have very many, but the game was book-ended by two of the most pitch-perfect cinematics in gaming history IMO.
