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Worst video game stories of this generation

N

NotTheGuyYouKill

Member
I believe I saw a thread on stand-out video game stories of this generation, so... worst stories?

For this to count, the story has to be an actual component of the game that they obviously focused on. Can't just be throwaway stuff. Well, it could, but they have to have made an attempt.

For your approval, I submit:

1) LA Noire - One of the worst stories I've had the misfortune of slogging through. Starts off with promise. Great acting, set-up, decent writing. Then the plot gets repetitive, Cole is a bipolar asshole who starts
cheating on his wife out of nowhere (the wife that is not characterized at all), chases a serial killer that dead-ends the plot, then randomly bums around in Vice before stumbling on a conspiracy in Arson.
Shit just randomly happens. There's no build up to it. It's just stuff that happens. Cole's character remains pretty static throughout. We get this random conspiracy stuff thrown in here and there that amounts to a fairly underwhelming ending.

It was... just so stupid.

2) Crysis 2 - Non-sensical plot, random-ass plot twists out of nowhere, NEW YORK NEW YORK NEW YORK. Weirdest thing, they were hyped as fuck about Richard Matheson writing it, and it turns out to be... really, really shitty. There was no sense of urgency.
Why were the aliens doing what they were doing? Why was that old man still alive for some reason in a green tube of liquid? Alcatraz was dead, what? The hell.

2) Killzone 3 - OH MY GOD, WE BLEW IT UP, WHY. WHO CARES, LOL. You wanna know why everyone likes the Helghast? Cause everyone else is an asshole.
 
M

mullet2000

Member
Metroid Other M.

It manages to ruin the characterization of an iconic character, is terribly edited/written, and has monologues that might as well have come straight out of twilight.
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
Dead Space 3
Crysis 2
Heavy Rain (this thing has plot holes you could drive a tank through)
Modern Warfare 2 (the No Russian set up is just full of fallacies, plus I've seen Kojima villains with motivations clearer than this game's villain's. Incite WW3 to drive up Army recruiting or something?)
Resistance 2

Special props go to Dead Space 3 for the most cringe worthy, infuriating, "I want to reach through my screen and strangle you" characters. My favourite part that actually had me near shouting at my screen was at the end
we have the classic stand off where the villain has Isaac's girlfriend hostage and wants the MacGuffin for her life. She says dont do it, Isaac actually DOESN'T want to but Generic McCoop does do it cos he felt guilty about his family or something, in a scene 5 mins before where otherwise this guy had no backstory.

But the top billing goes to Crysis 2; easily the worst told story I've ever experienced in games. If anyone can succinctly explain just wtf happened in Crysis 2, they deserve a medal. Plus, in hindsight, the writer's chest beating about how video game stories are shit, is priceless.
 
M

MormaPope

Banned
ffxiii___lightning_posing_932.jpg
Click to expand...

FFXIII needed to be shipped with encyclopedias or some shit.
 
A

antitrop

Member
This is the Star Ocean 4 and Final Fantasy XIII thread.

Star Ocean 4 is worse, but Final Fantasy XIII is more offensive because of the franchise it belongs to.
 
D

daviyoung

Banned
Spec Ops: The Line.

Those who burn twice as bright burn half as long. It tried, it failed spectacularly. It crashed in a ball of flames. Games with no story will always win out over games with poorly conceived ones.
 
A

antitrop

Member
daviyoung said:
Spec Ops: The Line.

Those who burn twice as bright burn half as long. It tried, it failed spectacularly. It crashed in a ball of flames.
Click to expand...

Prove it. Spec Ops: The Line was listed over a dozen times in the "Best Story" thread, you're not convincing anyone.
 
C

Count of Monte Sawed-Off

un33dab@dpu$$y
NotTheGuyYouKill said:
I believe I saw a thread on stand-out video game stories of this generation, so... worst stories?

For this to count, the story has to be an actual component of the game that they obviously focused on. Can't just be throwaway stuff. Well, it could, but they have to have made an attempt.

For your approval, I submit:

1) LA Noire - One of the worst stories I've had the misfortune of slogging through. Starts off with promise. Great acting, set-up, decent writing. Then the plot gets repetitive, Cole is a bipolar asshole who starts
cheating on his wife out of nowhere (the wife that is not characterized at all), chases a serial killer that dead-ends the plot, then randomly bums around in Vice before stumbling on a conspiracy in Arson.
Shit just randomly happens. There's no build up to it. It's just stuff that happens. Cole's character remains pretty static throughout. We get this random conspiracy stuff thrown in here and there that amounts to a fairly underwhelming ending.

It was... just so stupid.
Click to expand...

Yes, LA Noire pisses me off the most. As you said, it starts with promise, then just... completely fucking fails. There's some bright spots here and there, but nothing that overcomes the shit.
 
S

shiftplusone

Member
Diablo 3, cataclysm and heart of the swarm were all pretty equally terrible. They all did bad things to those games' universes that were.definitely shit

Enchanted Arms was pretty bad too
 
M

MormaPope

Banned
Sonic 06 would also be a worthy winner of this award. Sonic 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog would make a fine feces wine.
 
D

daviyoung

Banned
antitrop said:
Prove it.
Click to expand...

There have been enough lttp party threads where I and others have stared our opinions on the game. Not going to go over the same, easily searched ground here.

Just saw your edit, unfortunately majority rules are nothing to go by in terms of subjective entertainment so I'll take that evidence with a pinch of salt. Also, did you challenge their nominations in that thread? I guess not.

LA Noire is also a huge offender, maybe even worse because there is no actual game there as backup.
 
Z

Zukuu

Banned
Tales of Graces F. Most cliche, utterly boring, forced, stupid story ever.
And also features the most retarded protagonist ever put into a video game...
Gameplay is awesome tho.
 
D

dreamfall

Member
My goodness, Far Cry 3.

I hated that so much- everything about it. The racist tropes, the sex/rape awkwardness, the awful narrative flashbacks, the second island, & Jeffrey Yohalem's "oh, you don't get it" bullshit.

Made me really consider what was worth playing on mute.
 
M

MormaPope

Banned
Assassins Creed 3's ending was so bad I actually felt nothingness for about an hour. The game has its moments, but that ending soured me on the game.

TheChaos0 said:
You apart from the one in the game and bunch of wiki pages on the net?
Click to expand...

The in game encyclopedia gets the player somewhat up to date with whats happening. But the actual fiction and lore is so fast and loose that understanding what was going on completely seems challenging.

And knowing the lore/references doesn't help a poorly written soap with detestable characters.
 
M

Mauricio_Magus

Banned
Zukuu said:
Tales of Graces F. Most cliche, utterly boring, forced, stupid story ever.
And also features the most retarded protagonist ever put into a video game...
Gameplay is awesome tho.
Click to expand...

I don't think it should be in the worst list, but yeah it's a shit story. The gameplay is so amazing!
 
Y

Yagharek

Member
Halo 3. Immature messiah trope with ninety percent of the story stripped out to be sold in comic books, novels and cross media synergies. Billed as an epic conclusion to a trilogy, filled with nonsensical religious allegory and cliched 'poignant' dialogue.
 
K

Kyzon

Member
mullet2000 said:
Metroid Other M.

It manages to ruin the characterization of an iconic character, is terribly edited/written, and has monologues that might as well have come straight out of twilight.
Click to expand...

I would have taken this as first post. The story almost managed to turn me off to the entire game. Thankfully I enjoyed the gameplay (pixel searches aside)

Edit: Oh and Sonic 06's story can die in a fire.
 
Oublieux

Oublieux

Member
I'm sure there are worse games... but among the ones I've actually played? Resistance 2 and Final Fantasy XIII.

After all the positive reception surrounding the Resistance franchise, I unfortunately could not find the first game where I live. I ended up buying the sequel and slogged through the campaign in disbelief at just how horrible a shooter it was.

As a long time FF fan, I really did try to enjoy FFXIII, but it just wasn't for me. I put 40+ hours into the game and it just never resonated. I felt the characters were two dimensional, I did not care for the plot (and its overt use of fictional words that made it inaccessible), and the gameplay was just not very fun.
 
A

Arklite

Member
Rainbow Six Vegas 2

I don't remember all the details anymore, but basically the end reveals
that an agent who, for some reason, felt he was incompetent in Rainbow, was obsessed about proving his superiority. He proves this by setting up the entire terrorist plot that your team was trying to solve and then, after revealing himself, lashing out about how he wasn't thanked enough, or didn't get enough pats on the back as an agent and Rainbow deserved this shit.
Literally the stupidest motivation that made for an almost hilarious conclusion.
 
A

antitrop

Member
daviyoung said:
There have been enough lttp party threads where I and others have stared our opinions on the game. Not going to go over the same, easily searched ground here.
Click to expand...
This is why you think Spec Ops is the worst story of the generation? Seriously? None of this is even accurate, except perhaps the "borderline patronising" part.

daviyoung said:
Eh, bought this cheap and was disappointed with everything except the gameplay lol.

Story is bloated and obvious.
Characterisation is tonedeaf and confusing.
The message is shallow, borderline patronising.

The gameplay saves it from itself. Spec Ops is a decent shooter, very little more. I'm glad it got made, but I would rather just have dudebro shooters than dudebro shooters that swing at windmills.
Click to expand...
 
K

Kyzon

Member
LordJim said:
Sonic 2006 is probably the worst I have actually played , but DmC is the one that hurt me the most
Click to expand...

I'm being 100% serious. What did you dislike about the DmC story? I found it entertaining, and hilarious, albeit a bit juvenile at times.
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
daviyoung said:
Spec Ops: The Line.

Those who burn twice as bright burn half as long. It tried, it failed spectacularly. It crashed in a ball of flames. Games with no story will always win out over games with poorly conceived ones.
Click to expand...

I agree, it gets way too much love here. It tries to be Bioshock and fails.

Wouldn't say worst of generation but probably most overrated story this gen.

Oh, and how did I forget Assassin's Creed 3? That ending is the real Mass Effect 3 disaster.
 
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