Top Ten Storylines

The storyline is an important part of any game, but some stick out above the others. Some games have complex, multi-game storylines while others stick to a simple, one-game story. This is the list of the top ten stories from the games I played.

Number Ten: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis



Indiana Jones is amazing (what fourth movie?) and always will be. Add Indy to an awesome storyline and you get FoA. Though many fans will bash this game, the basic storyline is excellent. You have three paths you can follow and two endings (well, two successful endings). You can guide Indy as he brawls through the Nazis and finds Atlantis alone. You can use Indy's wits to outwit the Nazis and find Atlantis alone. Or you can team up with the female lead and work through the elements and beat the Nazis to Atlantis as a team. The endings are either solo or duo. Depending if you save the female lead or not you will get one of two endings. Alas, the many choices do not undermine the basic Indiana Jones adventure.

Number Nine: Modern Warfare

Infinity Ward likes to throw us curveballs in Modern Warfare ranging from an unexpected enemy to the death of a main character. The constant thrill of the unknown and the always present sense of danger makes the storyline intense and consuming. The one downside is that you may lose track of the story and forget what you went through while you play. Then again, it is common amongst FPS. Minus that small fault, I would say the story is involved, intense, and in-depth. I am stoked to find out what happens in MW3 this upcoming year!!!

Number Eight: Fallout (series)

The Fallout series is set in a post-apocalypse alternate future, which opens many possibilities. The stroyline is fragmented, which makes it seriously non-linear and hard to connect, but each game continues the storyline in one way or another. The alternate future and nuclear wasteland story makes for an enjoying game and amazing story possibilities. Your choices always influence the outcome and can change the entire wasteland. The stronge customization of the story and intense nuclear wasteland action offset the fragmented and non-cohesive elements very well, or well enough to get to number eight on the list.

Number Seven: Fire Emblem

Fire Emblem was amazing both as a game and as my introduction to a new genre, turn-based-strategy. The story was deep and involved, but not over-the-top. The story was fun and understandable and did not distract from the game itself. It was a classic fantasy story with the same twists and turns, but with its own distinct flavor that made it much better than most other games. The original Fire Emblem for the GBA was the best (well, if you're a purist it is much better than the others) and paved the way for many similar games. Fun, fast, and deep, this storyline is one you can enjoy and remember for ages.

Number Six: The Dig

The Dig is probably a game most people don't know of, but it was one of the best games I ever played. After many changes and drafts, this "movie" was eventually converted into a PC game. Orson Scott Card, the science fiction writer, is credited with being the writer of the script. The storyline is intense and a basic, yet amazing, sci-fi adventure. Astronauts save the planet, end up on another planet, and the main character is an unlikely (yet practical) hero who save an entire alien race and his crew. If you're not into retro games or point-and-click adventures you may not want to play the game, but if you're a sci-fi fan you may want to find the script and story online and give it a browse. It's just as enjoyable a read as a game.

Number Five: Mass Effect

Another Sci-Fi adventure set in the distant future, Mass Effect is an amazingly detailed yet customizable storyline. The overarching story trumps the choices you as a player make, but your choices do influence parts of the overall story. You can be a badass or an angel, a species-ist (loves humans, hates aliens) or a space hippy, an assault soldier or a psychic sniper. Whatever you do, you need to save the galaxy. The depth and detail of the storyline is wonderful and the gameplay and graphics makes this a complete, and amazing game. (Oh yeah, I'm pretty pumped about ME3! I want to see how this all ends!!!)

Number Four: Halo (series)

I think I'm a sucker for fantasy/sci-fi storylines... or that's all we're given in the videogame world. Anyhow, Halo is a classic story in the world of gaming. One super soldier stands between the extinction of the human race and its survival. One man stands on the brink of immortality. One man ruins the entire plans of an empire. One man kills the largest threat to sentient beings. One man and his gun. Master Chief is one of the most memorable characters in videogame history and the protagonist of one of the best storylines in game history. I doubt I need to explain the storyline much more, but this is one FPS that does not suffer what I mentioned earlier.

Number Three: Resident Evil (series)

Resident Evil is a complex storyline with many twists and turns, all of them good. Bioweapons are a modern danger (well, maybe not to the extent of Resident Evil) and these games play on our worries as human beings of this time. Large, evil corporations ruining the world and causing unimaginable mayhem, evil, and disasters around the globe. Few people stand a chance against these nightmares, and stuck in the complex schemes of evil men fewer actually survive. The chracters are in-depth and believable and the plots are evil and detailed.

Number Two: Final Fantasy VII (series, extended)

Possibly one of the most complicated and twisted storylines of all time, Final Fantasy Seven can boast its storyline as one of the best. The focus on minute details and complicated twists makes my brain hurt. Seeing the entire storyline at a glance is impossible. This complex web of mysteries and mayhem has been made into many different games and the storyline keeps growing. The intensity of FFVII and its immense, complex storyline makes it one of the best ever.

Number One: Starcraft (series)

Starcraft has a simple sci-fi story of aliens and humans fighting out for survival. But it is the details and immense size of the story that makes it great. In the original games (Starcraft and Brood War) you got the storyline from all three races and got all the angles on the events of the Starcraft universe. This well-rounded and huge storyline is one of my favorites. It gets top billing for its details, relationships, well-roundedness, and immense scale. I waited for years for SC2 and one major reason was the storyline, I needed to know what happened next.

What stories are your favorites? Comment below.

Top Ten Videogame Playtimes

This week I'm going to do something strange... I'm listing the games I have logged the most time playing. Some games are just replayable, others are time consuming, and some are addicting. Here they are, the Top Ten Videogame Playtimes... for Neezo.

Number Ten: Star Wars Battlefront II



Battlefront II was one of the most fun Playstation 2 games my family owned. I was really good when we played and got all the achievements. It was one of the first games I owned that had achievements and I was really addicted to getting them. Maybe I never played story mode and only played versus or conquest, but I really logged some serious hours fighting the Dark Side of the Force.

Number Nine: Fallout: New Vegas



I was fully addicted to Fallout 3, and when New Vegas came out I was All In. I bought the limited/collector's edition with all the special props, and then began playing for some 12 hours straight. I think I beat the game in less than 24 hours with small breaks for college classes and a few meals. The hours I logged playing Fallout 3 still hold over New Vegas, but then again there have been fewer DLCs and I have been enjoying other games as well. But I still logged enough for it to reach number nine. (With the new DLC out I should be logging a few more here soon...)

Number Eight: Sonic Adventure 2: Battle



Possibly one of my most favorite games when I was growing up and my most favorite Sonic game. I love Sonic as a videogame character and I think he gets a bad rap for all the crap games the developers have come out with. SA2 was replayable, had good versus, and had "achievements" to unlock in each level. I strove to get an "A" on all achievements, and though I failed I DID get all of them. I just had a few E and Cs thrown in. The point is, the game was fun, the characters were good, and the replay value was really high. This let me log tons of hours in on my favorite game at the time.

Number Seven: CafeWorld



How else do you make it to the top in a Facebook game? You log in hours and hours and hours to top the competition. I haven't played in almost a year, and I'm still number one among my friends. I played for ten or twenty minutes here and a few more there all day everyday. If I were addicted to any game on Facebook, this was the one. I even have had intellectual conversations about it and true dialogue regarding strategy and recipes. Yeah, I was that guy.

Number Six: Left 4 Dead



My favorite zombie game comes in at six. The FPS zombie survival game has no "real" storyline or story mode, but four distinct campaigns. Playing with my roommate and friends led to hours of playtime. We played almost every night for an entire year, until Left 4 Dead 2 came out and we stopped. I still play online here and there and am still rather badass. However, I just don't log the same hours I do for the top five games.

Number Five: The SIMS Series



I'm including all SIMS games from SIMS 1 to 3. I have found myself playing for hours and hours customizing, creating, designing, and playing with made-up people. Though I now find it rather tedious and a bit repetitive I was addicted to following my Sims through their lives. I would sit there all night, 8-5, following the marriage, child birth, and death of my Sim. It's still cool for a playthrough here and there, but I'm not all SIMS anymore.

Number Four: Modern Warfare 2



I played Call of Duty 4 a lot and enjoyed it, until I was constantly sniped and pissed at the constant annoyances. The story was interesting and fun, and I was excited to see it continue. Modern Warfare 2 brought what I was hoping. The gameplay was the same, so I didn't need to start on Recruit and went to Hardened. Though it took me longer to beat the game on Veteran, I still enjoyed it. The storyline was great and what I expected from Infinity Ward and the multiplayer/co-op was greatly improved. I can survive and even lead my team in multiplayer and the co-op has helped push the hours beyond Left 4 Dead.

Number Three: Minecraft



Minecraft is the fastest growing time-consumer in my life. Instead of studying for my senior finals, I was playing Minecraft. Instead of researching for my senior thesis I was playing Minecraft. Instead of readying for Graduation I was... sleeping. Anyhow, this game has logged so many hours in the course of a few months I am sad to say I still play it. Though it has lost the excitement it once held, I still play Minecraft almost daily. I'd play for seven or more hours a day for months, and that has made it the fastest growing on this list.

Number 2: Pokemon Blue Version



Pokemon Blue was the only game I liked when I was a kid. It was also one of the only games I owned. I loved Pokemon and played it for hours and hours at a time. I beat the game 100% legitimately, all 150, no cheats, I beat the Elite Four, had almost all Lv100s, and never used a cheat. It took about 215 hours to do it. There was no quick use of the bike, no organiztion of items, and no running. Travel was slow and deliberate, and the rival was popping up all over. The race to Lv100 among my friends and I led me to hours of fighting the Elite Four. I was the best, like no one ever was.

Number One: Fallout 3



Oh, my, GOODNESS! I played for hours my first sitting. I was instantly addicted to Fallout 3. I loved it so much I couldn't stop. I kept playing and playing. I beat the game so many times in all different ways with such different characters. I would make a unique character each time, changing one or more choices each time. Then I downloaded some DLCs and beat them many times over. When my brother got Game of the Year Edition, I borrowed all the DLCs. I was stoked and played more. I kept playing and playing. The amount of time I logged literally overheated the XBox console many times over. My second XBox 360 may have been destroyed due to Fallout 3, but I'm not entirely sure. I bought the XBox for Halo 3, but kept it for Fallout 3. I still play it from time to time (it has been replaced with Fallout: New Vegas) and I still have ways to be unique. Oh, and I got 100% of the achievements after a year.

Which games have you spent the most time playing? Which ones really light up your scoreboard? Comment it up!!!

- Neezo