>>Implying only old games like Infocom Games had/have good stories.
>>Implying that such text adventures aren't fun.

/virtual greentext mode off

I've heard about quite a few models that supposedly reduce all creative works ever written to a few plots. The fact that there are numerous models with different amounts of plots and based on different aspects is in my opinion enough of a reason to doubt that a single one of them is really true or perfectly thought out - at least it proves that it's a matter of interpretation. Additionally most of these models (if not all of them) need some customization when comparing a few works that supposedly have the same plot. Not to mention that I could come up with a decent amount of works that just don't fit in a single one of these models - some of them are actually written with the premise of provoking the readers/viewers by not fitting into a category that people are accustomed to - and then go on to receive massive amounts of praise for this. Just think about some films by the Coen brothers - that they don't fit in one the "seven basic plots" Brooker defined doesn't mean that they don't have a plot or that they automatically have a bad one, does it? Well, according to Brooker it does but to quote a certain Blizzard employee: fuck that looser.

My opinion: the fact that apparently the necessity to define a new set of universal plots arises every few decades is itself prove that storytelling lives, grows and changes over time which makes the attempts to create a few plot archetypes not necessarily pointless (you need researchers who analyze these things) but it makes it laughable whenever someone comes up with a supposedly perfect and universal model that is bound to become obsolete sooner or later.

So did Tolkein have an ancient alien war spill over into his fantasy universe? (Though they more than likely got the idea off Might and Magic)-btw the series is Warcraft , which expecially after Cataclysm has some pretty decent lore.
You ever played Morrowind? That's not typical Tolkienseque fantasy and Skyrim is based more on Viking legends/sagas, as for Oblivion, Todd Howard even said himself he wanted it similar to Lord of the Rings, hence the lack of jungle in Cyrodiil.
Dragon....seriously though I didn't play it much the plot is so similar to Lord of the Rings with the god mutating people in orc-like things.
Didn't play Witcher games so I won't comment I heard the dialogue is good, I know it's was a book series originally but like Sam and Max it's more famous as a game series now.
What are the six basic plots Shakespeare mentioned, not much of a Shakespeare fan and Harry Potter are pretty common in Europe nothing dorky about them :)

I learned that in college and that was 17 years ago. Please don't make me dig back that far. My brain is old and doesn't work so good no more :(

Myst Series, prior to the URU stuff.

I got 2 recommendations:

Final Fantasies that takes place in Ivalice:

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Ivalice#History_of_Ivalice

And dare I say it Metroid, the Chozo civilization is facisnating.

Agreed on both counts. The lore helped to make Morrowind something truly special.

I would say Might and Magic has some pretty nice lore but the connections are extremely convoluted so I understand why Ubisoft rebootet it.

Then Dark Souls. The world design is absolutely great and already shows the deep lore in itself.

Then the Dungeons and Dragons setting especially the more exotic stuff that's not in Faerun.

Probably cause I'm used to game series based on Dungeons and Dragons, I hate Dungeons and Dragon lore as it seems so unoriginal.

Diablo, StarCraft, Warcraft come to mind first, you have to read lots of books to get the full picture, though.

Metro 2033 and The Witcher also come to mind, but again, you have to read the books to get a better understanding of the lore.

The Legacy of Kain series. There's none better...

Originality is not the thing why I like the setting. It is mostly based on a mixture of other stories or religions. I like it because it is pretty extensive without mayor plot holes in it.
And like I said I prefer the more exotic settings especially Planescape.

Blizzard fan much? :)

Yes.

Never played Diablo but played Torchlight and that was meant to bridge the gap between Diablo 2 and 3 so...
How is Diablo compared to Torchlight?