Games recommended for the story, with combat tolerable

[WiseUp216]

edit, mis-read OP

 

[Thomas L.]

Mass Effect series for sure !

 

[BrightCandle]

Another vote for Spec ops the line. The combat is actually reasonably satisfying but the story is morally twisted and I loved that.

 

[AdamantC]

Another vote for Alpha Protocol. That game has some of the best written dialogue I've ever seen. Even minor characters you might have one conversation with are very well done. Not to mention it has some of the best snarky lines of all time.

Also, Planescape: Torment, Deus Ex, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Baldur's Gate 2, Psychonauts, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Morrowind, Oblivion, CoD 4, System Shock 2, Legacy of Kain series, Diablo 1+2, Starcraft 1, Warcraft, Stalker series, Jade Empire.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

My favorites already mentioned
Morrowind
Longest Journey and Dreamfall
Witcher 1 and 2 (I say 1 because it sets up plot for 2 and you can add plot line from 1 to 2 )
Deus Ex
Mass Effect
Not exactly story driven,and definitely shooters: Return to Castle Wofenstien and Painkiller. I prefer story driven games, but I really liked these two games. Also. Max Payne 1 and 2 for a real film noir atmosphere.

The Wife

 

[XiandreX]

Another vote for Bioshock Infinite. Gameplay wise, it's a pretty standard shooter that doesn't do anything special. Once you get the sniper rife and hand cannon, you can breeze through most battles. The story is pretty mind bending though. Especially if you're in to alternate history fiction and quantum physics.

I honestly think the presentation overall was amazing for Bioshock Infinite.
The ending was pretty unique as well.

 

[frozentundra123456]

OP mentioned KOTOR but not KOTOR 2. If you haven't played it, you really need to.

Fallout New Vegas has a better story than Fallout 3 and combat is reasonable.

Bioshock Infinite, set the combat on easy. You don't need to have played Bioshock 1-2 for the story, it's a different place and characters.

Already mentioned: Planescape: Torment, Mass Effect

Kotor 2 was a great game, but be prepared, the ending was rushed and somewhat anti-climatic. I also wanted to suggest the Mass Effect series, but just can't get past the absolute disappointment of the ending of ME3, no matter how great the other two games were. Perhaps it is more satisfactory with the updated ending, but I was so disappointed and infuriated with the original one that I vowed to never play anything related to Mass Effect again.

 

[AlexAL]

Bioshock Infinite and Max Payne 3.

 

[Lorne]

Dungeon Seige, Homeworld and Spell Force, I know there old but there story and timeline totaly drew me in.
Cant forget good old Diablo series, But I havent played or read up on 3 yet.
Halo, The story is way better then the games.

 

[Achilles97]

1)
...
3) morrowind - combat is an afterthought. Exploring the island and lifting the dark cloud is the heart of the game.
....

this ^

 

[Red Hawk]

Kotor 2 was a great game, but be prepared, the ending was rushed and somewhat anti-climatic.

Which is why you install the Restored Content Mod.

I also wanted to suggest the Mass Effect series, but just can't get past the absolute disappointment of the ending of ME3, no matter how great the other two games were. Perhaps it is more satisfactory with the updated ending, but I was so disappointed and infuriated with the original one that I vowed to never play anything related to Mass Effect again.

Your loss, man. I was just as infuriated by the original ending as the next guy, but the extended cut helped fix things (as did the Leviathan DLC), and the Citadel DLC was legitimately great, a love letter to the fans.

 

[desura]

Impactful game world stories...

Call of Duty games generally have pretty solid SP campaigns. No kidding

Spec Ops the Line is very good

I mean to get around to playing the Brothers in Arms series in WWII

Valve games generally are

The unconventional recommendation I have is Dragon Age 2. IMO, it is probably the best game Bioware put out in the 360 generation.

 

[Red Hawk]

The unconventional recommendation I have is Dragon Age 2. IMO, it is probably the best game Bioware put out in the 360 generation.

I enjoyed Dragon Age 2, but no, not even close.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Which is why you install the Restored Content Mod.

Your loss, man. I was just as infuriated by the original ending as the next guy, but the extended cut helped fix things (as did the Leviathan DLC), and the Citadel DLC was legitimately great, a love letter to the fans.

I just finished re-playing KOTOR 2 with the content pack installed a couple of weeks ago.

I enjoyed seeing all the new stuff, but I can also see why Obsidian cut most of it out before shipping the game.

If you enjoy RPGs enough to replay them, I think it's better to play once with the "vanilla" KOTOR 2 then again later with the restored content. Maybe light side as a Guardian weaponmaster, then dark side perhaps as a sorceror for lightning fun.

That way you also get to revisit your choices and pick the snarky jerk replies instead of the wonderful goody two shoes light side ones

 

[artemicion]

Darksiders 1 & 2 are under-the-radar type games that haven't been mentioned yet. Fairly interesting high fantasy story with pretty good voice acting.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Which is why you install the Restored Content Mod.

Your loss, man. I was just as infuriated by the original ending as the next guy, but the extended cut helped fix things (as did the Leviathan DLC), and the Citadel DLC was legitimately great, a love letter to the fans.

Well, I dont think you should have to buy DLC to get a complete story, especially when the series is hyped to high heaven about how the story depends on your choices and how it will all be brought together in the final game.

And even though it was free, I refused to play the "extended cut" since I view that as a cop out by Bioware to try to cover up the lousy job they did on the original ending.

 

[CottonRabbit]

Alpha Protocol is very underrated.

 

[Red Hawk]

Well, I dont think you should have to buy DLC to get a complete story, especially when the series is hyped to high heaven about how the story depends on your choices and how it will all be brought together in the final game.

And even though it was free, I refused to play the "extended cut" since I view that as a cop out by Bioware to try to cover up the lousy job they did on the original ending.

Oh I agree, Leviathan's plot details really should have been in the main game. It is what it is though, and for what it's worth I enjoyed ME3, Leviathan, and the Citadel DLC.

How is providing a enhanced ending for free, which gave a lot of what fans wanted short of scrapping the ending entirely (more closure with your characters, fixing some plot holes, an epilogue of sorts to show how the galaxy was effected, more explanation and demonstration of just what the final choice did) a "cop out"? "Cop out" implies you're avoiding having to do something hard. The easy thing would have been to leave the ending as it was originally, not change it for free. And it's not a cover up either, because by making it they're implicitly admitting that the ending they first made was not what fans wanted.

Alpha Protocol is very underrated.

Yup, yup. Obsidian Entertainment did more with impactful decisions that change the storyline in one game than BioWare did with the whole Mass Effect trilogy.

 

[cbrunny]

Mass Effect
Assassin's Creed

 

[s44]

I actually think with the original question that NWN1 mods may be what is called for -- some have really long, very good storylines with lots of dialogue options, and the combat is... tolerable.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I actually think with the original question that NWN1 mods may be what is called for -- some have really long, very good storylines with lots of dialogue options, and the combat is... tolerable.

Adam Miller's Shadowlords / Dreamcatcher / Demon mega-campaign was good.

Darkness at Daggerford (I think that's it, by the Mystery of Westgate team) for NWN 2 was good too.

 

[Lil Frier]

Assassin's Creed

IDK, I find calling the AC combat "tolerable" a stretch. It is the main thing that has kept me from playing Brotherhood and beyond for years. It's too shallow, redundant, and easy for me to like. But if you're osmeone who loves that style of action game, the story is definitely worth it.

 

[Childs]

Bioshock Infinite, and any of the recent Fallout games.

 

[Creig]

Homeworld.

Old game, but stands out in my mind as easily the best storytelling in a game. I've never empathized so much for a bunch of electrons.

And with the possibility of a refreshed Homeworld 1 & 2 Collectors edition coming out and a prequel (Homeworld - Shipbreakers), it renews my hope that there may eventually be enough support to develop a Homeworld 3.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/26/5245828/gearbox-posts-homeworld-survey-hints-at-collectors-edition

 

[DigDog]

hmm .. stalker (the first one, with "complete" mod), CoC Dark Corners with patch mod, NWN 1's many thousands of player-written modules, some of which were MUCH better than anything i've come across from 15+ years of live and computer RPGs ... i really liked the first God Of War, but im not sure it even exists on PC.