I need some discussion on good stories in video/computer games to fix what FEAR 3's terrible story did to my mind. So, what are the best ones in your experience? What did you like about those stories?

Beyond Good & Evil is up there. Wonderful universe and characters even if there was that damn cliffhanger ending.

LA Noire. I love a good Noir.

I thought it had clever twists and turns, and I loved the performances by the actors. I also loved the way they tied several cases together, and the "Fuck you" ending.

Planescape: Torment (a lot of text but well written also probably the best 2D isometric graphics I seen in a game besides Chrono Trigger help the mood)

Not the best story but Bioshock's atmosphere and setting help tell a best story as far I'm concerned. (haven't played System Shock 2 though) I also like the fact for a mainstream game it did deal with some philosophical themes. Even though pretty linear the first person perspective the fact it doesn't get broken, combined with the audio tapes, and just the overall effect to me was very immersive. Also, the plot twist works very well and is a bit of a deconstruction in a sense of the generic video game.

Nier- beautiful music and playing the second half again with being able to "hear" the shades and the few extra cutscnes makes a truly awesome story experience. The characters also seem to comment on things often which helps a lot I think. This game is also pretty linear but I think it would have lost a lot if just being a novel or a movie. The fact you're going around on pointless fetchquests with other characters complaining and doing stupid puzzles with the characters complaining. Also, the fact you're the one fighting the shades makes a big impact with the plot twist revealed at the end and truly displayed for how awesome it s in the second half of the game.

Deus Ex, how the characters comment on things depending on what you do and how you go about the level. The story is also fun if a bit silly with all its conspiracy theories. Also aided by the fact it is one of the best games ever made and the overall game design just helps you get more involved in the world it is in.

Alpha Protocol even though not as good story as I was hoping (I mean Chris fucking Avellone working on a third person action RPG you think would be a bit more fucking crazy philosophy wise. considering he worked on Planescape: Torment and KOTOR II) but I think it is the only game where the dialogue wheel was used right. I normally don't like being rushed but I think it felt rather intuitive the way the conversations worked with brief descriptions of what the general gist and tone of what you would say. It is rather silly in games like Mass Effect which give you as much time as you want to consider don't let you just see the full text of what you will say. I would say Alpha Protocol is the only game I played where I think it was improved by giving a gist or one word description rather than the whole sentence. Also. liked how your actions/choices have a pretty large effect on who lives and dies. I just think the over aching narrative was rather sup par and cliche but it was less about the thematic themes to me than the character interactions.

Gabriel Knight. It is a murder mystery story but the New Orleans setting and the overall good quality writings helps make it work very well. But this would worked as well as a novel or movie or tv show I think.

That's it for now many others but just the ones that stand out in my mind at the moment. Your topic post is a bit confusing though. I consider best storytelling to be a different thing than best story... The games I chose I feel have the best storytelling to me for me and some of them take advantage of the medium being used. Video games I think should go for a different style of story telling than movies or books. I mean, Planescape: Torment uses tons of text but the level of interactivity/choice even slight combined with the graphics and music and the overall effect makes it more entertaining than any novel I read. (now that I think about it even though I enjoy Gabriel Knight greatly I'm not sure how much it's story is aided by being a video game. Just about the whole story could have worked as a novel or movie and not really missed anything...)

Any LucasArts adventure game! Even moreso, some of Telltale's stuff.

The early LucasArts games encapsulate everything that is artistic about games; they are visually stunning, musically enthralling, great characters and settings... The Monkey Island series is something you really need to play (except Escape) if you haven't already.

The Dig is a great storytelling game from LucasArts. You learn the history of this new world and uncover its secrets... Great atmosphere, fantastic gameplay concept and really well carried out with only 3 characters.

And another LucasArts adventure you must play is Sam and Max Hit the Road. If you're not familiar with Sam and Max, they're the Freelance Police. They're a dog and a rabbit-thing and they fight crime. Once you're done with Hit the Road, check out Seasons One, Two and Three from Telltale.

Happy adventuring!

I'm gonna skip Torment because while it has an amazing story, the storytelling is horrible for an interactive medium.

I think System Shock 2 demonstrated the best method for storytelling. If you didn't care about the story you would still get a general idea but if you really cared and explored the audio logs gave great insight into what happened. All the twists are very carefully laid out and its up to the player to connect the dots.

Heavy Rain

HIghly disagree with Planescape: Torment not being good for interactive medium. The dialogue choices added a lot to the game. even if most only had a short term effect story wise So did the beautiful isometric art and music. If just read as one long huge book it wouldn't have worked nearly as well I think.

I like the way you think. That sounds like my preferred method of experiencing a story in action games or shooters. It's a shame it's so hard to get.

Silent Hill 2:
The whole game was sort of weird the f*cked up in a unique way. Never had such an intense and enjoyable experience again :(

I cant believe no one mentioned Darkness (PS3) it had really heart-gripping story for me :(

Legacy of Kain (off course :P). Minus Blood Omen 2 which was a huge mistake in my opinion. Great story with great voice acting.

The problem with Planescape is it may as well be a choose your own adventure novel. I still consider it one of the best RPGs of all time but just think how the game is presented:
-The game has too much text. It expects the player to read constant walls of text and then make a choice, read another wall of text and make another choice. There is very little interaction. In most RPGs this is balanced out by combat which leads me to the next point.
-The action actually takes away from the game. This is the one place where the game tries to let the player interact a little bit and they do it with horrible combat that would be better off not included.

These aren't major flaws in the game itself but to me they are horrible ways of doing storytelling. I hate to compare Torment to Baldur's Gate (the whole saga) but I have to just to show my point. In Baldur's Gate there is a lot of text but it is balanced out with good combat. The game never gets bogged down in itself and it feels like a game instead of a choose your own adventure novel.