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I was just playing Phantasmagoria and wondered to my self: "Self, what is the best FMV game available." This of course started an argument with myself (which tends to happen quite frequently). I know the general consensus is the FMV was the bane of games coming out of the 90's, but I actually like them. I thought the entire C&C line was made better because of the incorporation of FMV.
Here is the question I pose to the GoG community. Which current GoG game has the best overall FMV? I am torn between Pandora Directive and Gabriel Knight 2. GK2 had hardly any cheese, and was overall extremely well acted. PD had a healthy smattering of cheese, but it was the type of cheese that makes B movies fun to watch.

So, what do you think?
Wing Commander 3!
Honestly, I don't have that much experience with the FMV games on GOG's catalog. The only other games with FMV here that I played were Phantasmagoria and Spycraft.
Edit: I forgot about the Crusader games, but I found the acting too cheesy.
Post edited January 11, 2013 by SCPM
Virtual Cameraman!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi4pZQEQ9cc

It should be on GOG!
Post edited January 11, 2013 by ZYZKryten
How the Hell did I forget WC3/4. Ack, now I am going to have to start arguing with myself again. After flogging myself for forgetting WC3/4
I'd wager that Spycraft is one of our better FMV games but it's difficult for me to recommend anything FMV because it can divide people :D.

I'll tell you that one of the worst FMV games ever created was Night Trap :D. There was even a Congressional or Senate committee about that game :D
Privateer 2 has quite cool fmvs even though the game isn't all that good according to some of those who have played it.
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JudasIscariot: I'd wager that Spycraft is one of our better FMV games but it's difficult for me to recommend anything FMV because it can divide people :D.

I'll tell you that one of the worst FMV games ever created was Night Trap :D. There was even a Congressional or Senate committee about that game :D
I was going to say I really liked NightTrap, I played it on my Sega CD. I think I just had a crush on Dana Plato though. I have not tried Spycraft, but I think I am going to have to pick it up.
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JudasIscariot: I'd wager that Spycraft is one of our better FMV games but it's difficult for me to recommend anything FMV because it can divide people :D.

I'll tell you that one of the worst FMV games ever created was Night Trap :D. There was even a Congressional or Senate committee about that game :D
That was my guess for GOG's 500th game. So i think that rules this game out!
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XYCat: Privateer 2 has quite cool fmvs even though the game isn't all that good according to some of those who have played it.
It is indeed. Perhaps the highest quality, both in production values, "name" actors, direction and acting ever to come out of an FMV game. One of the reasons I so badly want it to land on GOG. The gameplay itself is tolerable if you're a space-sim fan. It's no Freelancer or Wing Commander Prophecy, but it's tenable (I think Starlancer used a heavily upgraded version of the same Engine). The real big blemish on the game are the the random crashes and corrupted saved games that can occur suddenly and arbitrarily, erasing your progress.

FMV games are often mocked and lambasted as a symptom of the bloated excesses of 90s gaming that crept in by the middle part of the decade, but a few good ones rise above the dreck of Supreme Warrior, Night Trap, Sewer Shark, and Double Switch. The Wing Commander series is the gold standard, but I also have a weakness for a couple of interactive "psychological dramas" by a 90s company called Aftermath Media, specifically Tender Loving Care which tried to break the mold with psychological profiling of the player. And when that profiling is done by gravelly-voiced John Hurt, I cut it a lot of slack.
I know its been mentioned but Tiberium Dawn had Michael Biehn AND James Earl Jones! How can you possibly beat that?! One thing I learned from the whole Tiberium series: there are no ugly people in the future.
I'm sorry but the best FMV game of all time is Slam City with Scottie Pippen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZb2fVp7B1Q

Okay, okay seriously though Wing Commander 3 and 4
should a distinction be made between games that use FMV just for cutscenes versus FMVs used as gameplay/interactive elements?
Even though they have FMV, I consider games like Command and Conquer to not be them as they are used as cut-scenes between fights. As far as actual FMV games...

The first one that comes to mind is Dragon's Lair as it was one of the first to do it, I think. I also remember playing Night Trap on the Sega CD long long ago, and it was horribly good. I have very little experience with PC FMVs outside of watching videos of people making fun of them, so no recommendations there.
GK2 was the peak of FMV adventures.

But later games like Wing Commander IV or V have amazing FMV quality as well.
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Fictionvision: The first one that comes to mind is Dragon's Lair as it was one of the first to do it, I think.
Even though Dragon's Lair might technically fit the category, FMV (Full Motion Video) usually refers to something at least partially shot with a camera, not animated.