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Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Sarafan on August 08, 2009, 04:07:17 pm

Title: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Sarafan on August 08, 2009, 04:07:17 pm
What do you all think are the best and worst game endings out there? Just say the name of the game and why its the best/worst and if you really want to explain it further dont forget to use the spoiler tag. :)

Worst:

Assassin's Creed

Spoiler:
The ending is insulting in that its not even a ending proper, they leave it clear there'll be a sequel but its also not even a proper cliffhanger, its like instead of a ending they just stoped the game much like if you stop watching a movie in the middle of it right before you start getting some answers.

KOTOR

Spoiler:
The game is awesome but the light side ending is quite dull, oh, you get a medal while that annyoing SW music plays and thats it; the bad side ending isnt much better either

Best: Legacy of Kain Defiance, Soul Reaver 1&2, Baldur's Gate 1&2, MGS4 (not that great but very good), Starcraft & Broodwar, C&C: Red Alert, FFX and these are the one I remember so far.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: StarSlayer on August 08, 2009, 04:31:57 pm

Worst:
Far Cry 2  after driving around killing respawning checkpoint mooks and completing the samey missions across Africa for a god awful amount of time...

Spoiler:
My options are: Blow myself up setting off some dynamite to block the military from attacking refugees or...  take a brief case full of diamonds to pay off the border guards so the same refugees can escape, then inexplicably shoot myself in the head....  WTF?!  I was tempted to hack the game and create option C Where I decided to take the brief case for myself, screw the refugees and go to a planet with naked sebacean girls and margarita shooters

By far this was the most stupid ending I have yet encountered.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: mxlm on August 08, 2009, 05:09:37 pm
Quote
a planet with naked sebacean girls and margarita shooters

Great reference.

Worst: KOTOR2, because it's unfinished. Maybe Team Gizka will eventually remedy that

Best: 

Planescape: Torment
Spoiler:
You go fight in the Blood War. Which is fantastic. Or, like, you can kill yourself. Which is also fantastic
Vampire: Bloodlines
Spoiler:
Actually only ever got one ending, in which I was chained up in a sarcophagus  and dropped to the bottom of the ocean. Sweet

I liked the endings of Half-Life 1&2 as well.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Mr. Vega on August 08, 2009, 05:45:01 pm
I consider Planescape: Torment's ending to be the greatest choke job I have ever personally seen in the history of storytelling, for reasons that I have already elaborated upon considerably in several threads.

Along with that, I would lump in Diablo, Thief II (which wasn't their fault, LGS was in trouble and they had to release it ASAP if they hoped to stay alive), Chrono Trigger (actually a pretty boring game for long stretches), and Silent Threat (Duh).

Best? Dreamfall (I will defend this to the death and take you with me), Thief I, Super Metroid (now THAT'S a final boss battle), Freespace 2 (the last five missions are just mentally exhausting), and above all, Final Fantasy VI - it is impossible to finish that game and not feel that you got your money's worth.

Quote
a planet with naked sebacean girls and margarita shooters
But crackers don't matter!
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Mongoose on August 08, 2009, 05:59:55 pm
Mine would be one of a few adventure games I've played from Dreamcatcher Games, particularly The Crystal Key.  Essentially, the vaguely-defined plot against some nebulous super-enemy who's threatening Earth ends with...a screen of text informing you that you've beaten him.  And this is a commercially-released game that was made during this decade.  Hell, Bad Dudes had a more compelling resolution. :lol:
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: mxlm on August 08, 2009, 06:43:37 pm
I consider Planescape: Torment's ending to be the greatest choke job I have ever personally seen in the history of storytelling, for reasons that I have already elaborated upon considerably in several threads.
Very interesting points you make, too.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Ace on August 08, 2009, 07:21:29 pm
Vampire: Bloodlines
Spoiler:
Actually only ever got one ending, in which I was chained up in a sarcophagus  and dropped to the bottom of the ocean. Sweet

So you betrayed your fellow vampies for this?

(http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/5684/626616-ch_temple_10014_super.jpg)
Who is actually
Spoiler:
a giant slug
?

a planet with naked sebacean girls and margarita shooters

Nobody has pizza with margaritas!
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: NGTM-1R on August 08, 2009, 07:41:38 pm
Limbo of the Lost has the worst ending ever, narrowly beating out King's Quest VI.

Go watch it on youtube if you doubt me.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Mr. Vega on August 08, 2009, 08:16:49 pm
I consider Planescape: Torment's ending to be the greatest choke job I have ever personally seen in the history of storytelling, for reasons that I have already elaborated upon considerably in several threads.
Very interesting points you make, too.
You like Torment so I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic unless told otherwise.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: mxlm on August 08, 2009, 08:53:03 pm
Uh. No. Wasn't being sarcastic.

Quote
So you betrayed your fellow vampies for this?

Spoiler:
Fellow vampires my entire ass. Those ****ers compete with the Jedi for the title of Biggest Douches Known to Man. At that point in the game I wanted them all to die, and was totally willing to pick what, it was oh so subtly made clear, was the bad ending to achieve that goal (seriously, the cab driver practically says, "If you do this, it will suck. No, really. I mean it. Is that your final final final answer?").

Also, those folks were slugs? Was that info in the game or did you get it from some White Wolf publication?
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Ace on August 08, 2009, 09:22:14 pm
Uh. No. Wasn't being sarcastic.

Quote
So you betrayed your fellow vampies for this?

Spoiler:
Fellow vampires my entire ass. Those ****ers compete with the Jedi for the title of Biggest Douches Known to Man. At that point in the game I wanted them all to die, and was totally willing to pick what, it was oh so subtly made clear, was the bad ending to achieve that goal (seriously, the cab driver practically says, "If you do this, it will suck. No, really. I mean it. Is that your final final final answer?").

Also, those folks were slugs? Was that info in the game or did you get it from some White Wolf publication?

Of course they're dicks, they were warned about Stephanie Meyer books years ahead of time. (why did you think there was all of that talk about the end times coming?) Well if you hate them all, there's always the option to:
Spoiler:
Go solo, you'll leave LaCroix there to die, flip him off, walk out, flip off all of your Anarch '"friends" and watch the building explode behind you.

As for queen scumbag
Spoiler:
When you fight her, she turns into her true form, a giant ugly slug critter.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Ghostavo on August 08, 2009, 09:31:34 pm
I nominate Ecco: The Tides of Time for best ending.

You are told to destroy the Atlantean time machine to stop the Vortex Queen from going back in time.
Spoiler:
You fail and use the time machine on yourself, destination unknown, and are never heard of again. The Vortex Queen while succeeding in using the time machine, is stopped by the very life forms she wanted to rule over in the Earth's ancient past. In the end, life goes on.

If visual novels are acceptable, then Saya no Uta's true ending is very nice.

The protagonist manages to kill the last person who had a chance to kill his beloved and ruin what remained of his life.
Spoiler:
Except that his beloved is an eldritch abomination which dooms the world afterwards by unleashing spores which will gradually change the whole world's population into eldritch abominations like herself. In the end, life (but not life as we know it) goes on.

Yes, I like slightly downer endings. :p

As for worst endings, Fable. I don't even want to go further with that.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: CP5670 on August 08, 2009, 10:41:11 pm
Quote
Assassin's Creed

Spoiler:
Yes, this game was pretty bad at the end. Not just the very end, but I thought the entire last level and its surreal boss fight kind of ruined the gritty, realistic medieval setting they had built up until that point.

Crysis and Warhead comes to mind as well. I liked Crysis a lot, but the ending was more of an unfinished game than just a cliffhanger. I didn't even realize the game had ended until the credits showed up.

Spoiler:
Then in Warhead, you wrestle a 60 year old Korean general and have trouble beating him, right after you just blew up a huge spider mech with your plasma cannon. :p

The best ones I can think of are the various endings of C&C (what other game lets you choose a world landmark to blow up? :D) and both Deus Ex games. Monkey Island 2 also gets an honorable mention for being so unique.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Sarafan on August 08, 2009, 10:50:51 pm
Quote
Assassin's Creed

Spoiler:
Yes, this game was pretty bad at the end. Not just the very end, but I thought the entire last level and its surreal boss fight kind of ruined the gritty, realistic medieval setting they had built up until that point.


Spoiler:
I actually liked the explanation for what that thing was, it made people see whatever you wanted them to see but I agree that the fight, the whole last part actually, could/should have been done much better.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: NGTM-1R on August 09, 2009, 06:01:12 am
Of course they're dicks, they were warned about Stephanie Meyer books years ahead of time. (why did you think there was all of that talk about the end times coming?)

Best. Answer. Ever.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Vidmaster on August 09, 2009, 07:49:11 am
WHY DO ALL PEOPLE HERE HATE CLIFFHANGERS SO MUCH?

For example, I thought the Assassins Creed ending was brilliant. It closed the whole Altair story arc in a logical way and the twist before the final sequence was great. And back in reality, I thought it was just as awesome.
the AC ending didn't leave be unsatisfied but hungry for more, that's a good cliffhanger.
Or Half-Life 2. Another open BUT satisfying ending. I really loved it, just like the first's ending. Best cliffhanger so far goes to God of War 2 which has a awesome narrative and gobsmacking ending  ;)

Bad cliffhangers? Halo 2 pulls a real bad one for example. On the other hand, the whole story of that game is presented in a terrible way. Let's shift to:

Great game narratives with bad cliffhanger endings:
- Rachet and Clank: Tools of Destruction
- Crysis (the only flaw in that near perfect game).
- SystemShock 2. Let's face it, these last 20 seconds were unnecessary. Again, the only flaw of a perfect game.

Everybody can agree with those I think. But those are still okay, now for the big one:

Great game narratives with horrible endings (of whatever style):
- Bioshock. The "good" ending works but the rest is broken. Broken because the "morality system" is broken.
Spoiler:
The game displays you as a mercyless conquerer
- Kane & Lynch. There are actually two. Both are ****.
Spoiler:
I have absolutely no problem with the game ending bad. I would have been disappointed if it wouldn't, it was only logical. The problem is that both endings are executed so goddamn horrible, it's a pain. We just see a terrible 10 second in-engine cutscene and CREDITS. Crap. Especially since the game has brilliant in-engine cutscenes in all earlier levels.
- XIII  
Spoiler:
One of the worst and silliest cliffhangers ever!!! After stopping the conspiracy to overthrow the US gov from inside, you finally come face to face with your nemesis and it just ends there.

I can't decide who wins the price. XIII or Kane&Lynch...



EDIT: Since when do we have censoring here in the forum? **** **** ****...    ...yeah, censored  :confused: :confused: :confused:
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TrashMan on August 09, 2009, 07:52:26 am
Of course they're dicks, they were warned about Stephanie Meyer books years ahead of time. (why did you think there was all of that talk about the end times coming?)

Best. Answer. Ever.


http://www.vgcats.com/comics/
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: BloodEagle on August 09, 2009, 09:43:34 am
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of The Earth had a pretty good ending, if I recall correctly. Despite its tediously buggy gameplay and annoying "puzzle" elements. You can probably find all of the cutscenes on YouTube, though they probably won't explain everything in the plot.

Spoiler:
Be forwarned (if you're reading these despite never playing the game, you sick bastard) that the protagonist commits suicide in a mental asylum. Or does he fail? I can't remember....  :/

Side note: Cthulhu should be added to the spellchecker.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Retsof on August 09, 2009, 11:19:20 am
Lets see, bad ending: Star Wars Force Unleashed
Spoiler:
Yeah, you die, although I guess it's sort of a heroic sacrifice.  Should have just killed the Emperor and been done with it.
Good bad ending: LoZ Twilight Princess.  It hurt, but atleast it elicited an emotional response.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Galemp on August 09, 2009, 01:48:13 pm
Neverwinter Nights 2. No joke:
Spoiler:
Rocks fall. Everyone dies.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Sarafan on August 09, 2009, 01:51:41 pm
For example, I thought the Assassins Creed ending was brilliant. It closed the whole Altair story arc in a logical way and the twist before the final sequence was great. And back in reality, I thought it was just as awesome.
the AC ending didn't leave be unsatisfied but hungry for more, that's a good cliffhanger.

Spoiler:
The Altair part was great the way it was finished, my problem was the ending back in reality. The ending was you staring at the wall and saying "I wonder what that means?", that doesnt leave me interested in the sequel, it leaves me pissed off because I spent money and time on a game that it didnt even bother explaining what you were after and when you think you'll start to get some answers what you get is "Oh, no, you dont, you gonna have to buy the sequel".
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: NGTM-1R on August 09, 2009, 02:01:20 pm
Spoiler:
Rocks fall. Everyone dies.

I chose to view that as a meta joke gone terribly wrong rather than an ending.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: 0rph3u5 on August 10, 2009, 12:31:39 pm
The Best:
Legacy of Kain: Defiance
on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoI-8-CVbzo)
"Most ironic was the last gift that Raziel had given me [...] the first bitter taste of that terribel illusion: Hope"


I know a lot of bad endings .... so I cannot really decide which one is the worst...
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TESLA on August 11, 2009, 10:56:37 am
Great endings:

World In Conflict
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Soviet Ending
Mass Effect
Fallout 3 (original Ending)
Dead Space
Portal
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special edition

Terrible Endings:

Far Cry 2
Prey
Turok
StarShip Troopers
Republic: The Revolution
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on August 11, 2009, 02:01:10 pm
When I rack my brains for terrible endings, Philips CD-i comes into mind...

Spoiler:
In Hotel Mario, when you complete the game, you see Mario and Luigi getting kissed by Princess Peach, and then you are given the title of "Best Player Ever".

...as well as some of the games that AVGN played to the end (or otherwise cheated to the end).

Spoiler:
I think that Ghostbusters game does it worst. It's just several lines of text that's worded wrongly. "Go and rest our heroes!"? WHAT IN THE NINE HELLS OF...

Death Rally also comes into mind. The game was great for its time, and I especially like the introduction, but the ending is just a bit abrupt.

Spoiler:
You shoot up the main bad guy, The Adversary, you see his car burn, and then this guy says that The Adversary is dying in his burning car and that his reign is over. LIKE DUH, if I killed him, I can see him die on the cutscene; I don't need some deep booming voice to tell me what I'm seeing!


Good endings? Hmm...

Duke Nukem 3D does it pretty well, I think.

Spoiler:
At the end of Episode 1, he shoots the boss in the head and says, "I'm Duke Nukem, and I'm coming to get the rest of you alien bastards!"
At the end of Episode 2, he holds true his promise to the boss before the final fight, which is to "rip off your face and $#!^ down your neck!".
At the end of Episode 3, he kicks out the eye of the boss through a goal-post and says, "Game over!".
At the end of Episode 4, he sticks a pipebomb into the womb of the Alien Queen, says, "It's time to abort your whole freaking species!" and blows her to bits ... underwater.

Bejeweled 2 Deluxe

Spoiler:
Puzzle Mode's ending is a bit odd, but the music and backdrops are pretty nice, and that weird jewel-composed face is pretty interesting. You don't get to see that anywhere else in the game.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: CP5670 on August 11, 2009, 02:15:45 pm
Fallout 3 (original Ending)

You're kidding, right? :p I love this game, but the ending is one of the worst aspects of it. At least they changed it slightly in the Broken Steel DLC and let you keep playing the game.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TESLA on August 11, 2009, 06:57:17 pm
Fallout 3 (original Ending)

You're kidding, right? :p I love this game, but the ending is one of the worst aspects of it. At least they changed it slightly in the Broken Steel DLC and let you keep playing the game.

I thought it suited it. Every story must have a beginning, middle and end, fallout 3 had all of it   :D
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Scooby_Doo on August 12, 2009, 12:17:38 am
Dreamfall: the Longest journey had a HORRIBLE ending.
FAXX 2 had a to be continued ending and there was never a sequel  :ick:
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Demitri on August 12, 2009, 06:08:44 am
I just finished Far Cry 2 and would have to put that in for a pretty poor ending, then again the game as a whole didn't impress me much tbh
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Rick James on August 12, 2009, 01:37:30 pm
I thought it suited it. Every story must have a beginning, middle and end, fallout 3 had all of it   :D

Which does not change the fact that the ending felt too much like a forced, contrived Jesus story.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TESLA on August 12, 2009, 05:36:02 pm
I thought it suited it. Every story must have a beginning, middle and end, fallout 3 had all of it   :D

Which does not change the fact that the ending felt too much like a forced, contrived Jesus story.

I have to disagree there, kind of reminded me of the ending to Mad Max 3.

Also enjoyed how your actions concluded the games outro.
The old hero of villian scenario.

Spoiler:
The game started with your birth, its ending with your death seemed the only logical conclusion
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: MR_T3D on August 12, 2009, 05:40:54 pm

Worst:
Far Cry 2  after driving around killing respawning checkpoint mooks and completing the samey missions across Africa for a god awful amount of time...

Spoiler:
My options are: Blow myself up setting off some dynamite to block the military from attacking refugees or...  take a brief case full of diamonds to pay off the border guards so the same refugees can escape, then inexplicably shoot myself in the head....  WTF?!  I was tempted to hack the game and create option C Where I decided to take the brief case for myself, screw the refugees and go to a planet with naked sebacean girls and margarita shooters

By far this was the most stupid ending I have yet encountered.
by brother insists, having just completed the game 1hr ago, that he does not actually shoot himself in the head, he actually escapes.


okay, i completed it, and i call bull on what he said, he's fulll of crap.
what a ****ty ending.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: StarSlayer on August 12, 2009, 09:08:08 pm
Quite frankly given how I was wailing on waves of mooks at that point in the game I was fairly confident if given the option I could have stopped the enemy conventionality with a M79, M95 and M249 then turned around and blown the crap out of the Border Guard Post.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TrashMan on August 13, 2009, 06:02:13 am
Great endings:

World In Conflict
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Soviet Ending
Mass Effect
Fallout 3 (original Ending)
Dead Space
Portal
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special edition


Eh? Care to explain that. Fallout 3 had a terrible ending that made no sense whatsoever. It completely ignored several very logical outcomes and forced only 2 that were total crap.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Vidmaster on August 13, 2009, 06:39:32 am
Dead Space has a terrible ending.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: NGTM-1R on August 13, 2009, 06:44:40 am
Spoiler:
The game started with your birth, its ending with your death seemed the only logical conclusion

Y'know, he's got a point.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Snail on August 13, 2009, 07:29:06 am
Far Cry 2 had the worst ending in any game I've ever played. :ick:
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TrashMan on August 13, 2009, 04:51:21 pm
Spoiler:
The game started with your birth, its ending with your death seemed the only logical conclusion

Y'know, he's got a point.

It's still a stupid death. It's not heroic - just stupid.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: McCall on August 13, 2009, 04:59:43 pm
Wing Commander 3 and 4 had the best endings. Totally cool.

Worst... for me it's gotta be Need For Speed Underground 2. I know it's a race game with a plot thinner than paper, but the ending so barely exists that there's nothing to cover up with a spoiler. You win, the bad guy loses, a couple girls shout, "Yay!" That's it.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Akalabeth Angel on August 13, 2009, 05:42:21 pm
WHY DO ALL PEOPLE HERE HATE CLIFFHANGERS SO MUCH?

For example, I thought the Assassins Creed ending was brilliant. It closed the whole Altair story arc in a logical way and the twist before the final sequence was great. And back in reality, I thought it was just as awesome.
the AC ending didn't leave be unsatisfied but hungry for more, that's a good cliffhanger.
Or Half-Life 2. Another open BUT satisfying ending. I really loved it, just like the first's ending. Best cliffhanger so far goes to God of War 2 which has a awesome narrative and gobsmacking ending  ;)

Half-Life 2's story was garbage imo. Because there wasn't one. They threw you into the middle of the story and then you're supposed to care about what's going on even though you have no idea. As such the cliff-hanger didn't mean anything for me because there wasn't anything to care about. The episodes were better.  .  .

But for the most part I agree with Yahtzee, cliff hangars are stupid especially when said game may never get a sequel. Finish the story, and if you want a sequel then leave enough loose ends to allow for one. Don't just not finish the story.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: SpardaSon21 on August 13, 2009, 06:23:58 pm
WC4's ending was awesome.
Spoiler:
Tolwyn hangs himself in his jail cell in disgrace after being convicted of crimes against humanity.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Polpolion on August 13, 2009, 08:36:00 pm
Quote
Great Endings:

...
Fallout 3 (original Ending)
...

wat
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: deathfun on August 13, 2009, 10:18:32 pm

Worst:
Far Cry 2  after driving around killing respawning checkpoint mooks and completing the samey missions across Africa for a god awful amount of time...

Spoiler:
My options are: Blow myself up setting off some dynamite to block the military from attacking refugees or...  take a brief case full of diamonds to pay off the border guards so the same refugees can escape, then inexplicably shoot myself in the head....  WTF?!  I was tempted to hack the game and create option C Where I decided to take the brief case for myself, screw the refugees and go to a planet with naked sebacean girls and margarita shooters

By far this was the most stupid ending I have yet encountered.

Of course, you would have to suffer with Malaria for the rest of your life while on that planet with naked sebacean girls and margarite shooters
I don't think there would have been medecine there either. I didn't mind the ending. It's better then many others


Quote
Half-Life 2's story was garbage imo. Because there wasn't one. They threw you into the middle of the story and then you're supposed to care about what's going on even though you have no idea. As such the cliff-hanger didn't mean anything for me because there wasn't anything to care about. The episodes were better.  .  .

But for the most part I agree with Yahtzee, cliff hangars are stupid especially when said game may never get a sequel. Finish the story, and if you want a sequel then leave enough loose ends to allow for one. Don't just not finish the story.

I have a different opinion about Half-Life 2. To me, the story simply continued the power G-Man had over you. You were needed in a situation and you were pulled out to solve it.
Besides, the episodes wouldn't exist without Half-Life 2.

As for cliff hangers, it all depends on the deliverance of such ending.  If you get a game that simply drops dead, just like that... it's bad (in most cases but not all). Better cliff hangers ease you into the ending before pulling the plug



Rainbow Six: Vegas (One). Nice little lead off on that one
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: mxlm on August 13, 2009, 10:36:01 pm
Of course Half-Life 2 didn't have much of a story; neither did Half-Life. The presentation was compelling, but the narrative itself was always extremely bare-bones. I mean, really; science experiment goes wrong, aliens invade, military attempts to kill everyone, fails, our physicist goes to another dimension, kills the alien leader, is enslaved.

And really, HL2's ending isn't a cliffhanger; what happens next is obvious,
Spoiler:
Gordon remains a slave. Until he dies. And chances are, the next time he's activated it'll be in a world as unrecognizable as HL2's was
. Now, okay, the episodes come along and change that, but the game, taken on its own, does have an ending. It's just, y'know, a downer. Also abrupt.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on August 13, 2009, 11:13:43 pm
But for the most part I agree with Yahtzee, cliff hangars are stupid especially when said game may never get a sequel. Finish the story, and if you want a sequel then leave enough loose ends to allow for one. Don't just not finish the story.

Like how CP ended The Procyon Insurgency? ;)
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: StarSlayer on August 13, 2009, 11:31:17 pm

Worst:
Far Cry 2  after driving around killing respawning checkpoint mooks and completing the samey missions across Africa for a god awful amount of time...

Spoiler:
My options are: Blow myself up setting off some dynamite to block the military from attacking refugees or...  take a brief case full of diamonds to pay off the border guards so the same refugees can escape, then inexplicably shoot myself in the head....  WTF?!  I was tempted to hack the game and create option C Where I decided to take the brief case for myself, screw the refugees and go to a planet with naked sebacean girls and margarita shooters

By far this was the most stupid ending I have yet encountered.

Of course, you would have to suffer with Malaria for the rest of your life while on that planet with naked sebacean girls and margarite shooters
I don't think there would have been medecine there either. I didn't mind the ending. It's better then many others


I'm sure I would have had to pay Grunslik a Dominar's Ransom but, I think the Diagnosin probably could figure out a remedy. 
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 13, 2009, 11:41:13 pm
I'd like to change my fave to wing commander 3/4. (Yes three quarters:nervous:)
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Sarafan on August 13, 2009, 11:59:54 pm
As for cliff hangers, it all depends on the deliverance of such ending.  If you get a game that simply drops dead, just like that... it's bad (in most cases but not all). Better cliff hangers ease you into the ending before pulling the plug

That's my problem with Assasin's Creed, it drops dead. Now one of the best cliff hangers I've seen is Legacy of Kain: Defiance, it neatly ends everything you've seen while at the same time it presents new things for a new game (if they ever decid to do one).
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Akalabeth Angel on August 14, 2009, 02:24:36 am
Of course Half-Life 2 didn't have much of a story; neither did Half-Life. The presentation was compelling, but the narrative itself was always extremely bare-bones. I mean, really; science experiment goes wrong, aliens invade, military attempts to kill everyone, fails, our physicist goes to another dimension, kills the alien leader, is enslaved.

Half Life had a beginning, it had a middle and an end. Ie a story. HL2 had no beginning. You're thrown in there, and suddenly you're fighting for what? Why is my character going around killing hundreds of soldiers and police officers? Yeah people's life is **** but sorry I need a little more backstory before I start mass murdering everyone.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: deathfun on August 14, 2009, 05:04:34 am
Quote
I'm sure I would have had to pay Grunslik a Dominar's Ransom but, I think the Diagnosin probably could figure out a remedy.

Once you got it, you got it

Quote
HL2 had no beginning. You're thrown in there, and suddenly you're fighting for what? Why is my character going around killing hundreds of soldiers and police officers? Yeah people's life is **** but sorry I need a little more backstory before I start mass murdering everyone.

There indeed was a beginning. It began with the reanimation of Gordan Freeman to which he is told that he is once again needed for his expertise (or something like that). Of course, it would make sense for everything to be confusing. You were just in stasis for a long time, and suddenly are thrown into a future and unreckonizable world. Wouldn't that make sense?

There was a backstory. During the time of the invasion of the aliens, a new martian group appeared and seized control of the planet. Kinda like the Nazis in World War II or in any occupation situation. The reason for your mass murdering is simply to overthrow the regime alongside rebels (this is the backstory, and in no way shape or form a spoiler).

Sounds like reason enough to kill people. Why would you let some random group of whatever they are take over what is reightfully yours?


Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Snail on August 14, 2009, 05:28:21 am
\
Of course, you would have to suffer with Malaria for the rest of your life while on that planet with naked sebacean girls and margarite shooters
I don't think there would have been medecine there either. I didn't mind the ending. It's better then many others
Far Cry 2 had no plot whatsoever.

That said, I found the resultant mindless violence very enjoyable.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Akalabeth Angel on August 14, 2009, 07:47:04 am
There indeed was a beginning. It began with the reanimation of Gordan Freeman to which he is told that he is once again needed for his expertise (or something like that). Of course, it would make sense for everything to be confusing. You were just in stasis for a long time, and suddenly are thrown into a future and unreckonizable world. Wouldn't that make sense?

There was a backstory. During the time of the invasion of the aliens, a new martian group appeared and seized control of the planet. Kinda like the Nazis in World War II or in any occupation situation. The reason for your mass murdering is simply to overthrow the regime alongside rebels (this is the backstory, and in no way shape or form a spoiler).

Sounds like reason enough to kill people. Why would you let some random group of whatever they are take over what is reightfully yours?

You know this backstory how exactly? From Episode 1 I'm betting.

The point is, Gordon Freeman, the character, the person who you are supposed to be playing doesn't know any of this stuff. So why is he doing it? It's not his town, it's not his life, he's only been there an hour or so before he starts shooting people. Some cute chick asks him to go from A to B so he goes to B and takes out 100 or so guys along the way? All I'm saying is that the story didn't draw me in, at all. I didn't give a damn about the story until Episode 1 (ie when they explain it to you in plain english). And not only that, okay, HL1 he was at the experiment, he knows what's going on so he does it no questions asked. HL2 Gordon knows jack ****, the world's gone to hell, wouldn't he open his mouth to ask "hey, what the hell happened here?"


It doesn't help when some of the in-game assets are crap and take you out of the moment. Like, why aren't there any girl zombies? And why aren't the zombies dressed like the civilians are dressed? All the zombies dress like Black Mesa scientists. How hard is it to do a texture re-skin so that the clothes of the corpses match the new environment of the game. Most of these faults are unfortunate btw, because the in-game acting by the NPCs in that game is the best I've seen thus far. At least they got their act together for the episodes.


Anyway. I should contribute to this topic but I don't have any candidates myself. Most endings don't blow me away one way or the other . . .

Oh. I will say though, not to get stuck on HL but the the climatic battle from Half Life 2 Episode 2 was pretty awesome. The end of the episode, whoop-de-doo an okay cliffhanger, but the end battle was great.

Spoiler:
After the battle I'm walking into the base and people are like "good job freeman!" "thanks a lot freeman" and I'm saying to myself with a big grin on my face, "****ing rights I did a good job, WOOOOOO!"

FEAR:XP's ending was pretty good too, XP had much more atmosphere than the original game. Though that game is fundamentally flawed when it comes to trying to make you scared.  I'm not going to be scared if I'm a super soldier fighting a bunch of normal punks.

Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: CP5670 on August 14, 2009, 11:17:07 am
Quote
It's still a stupid death. It's not heroic - just stupid.

Spoiler:
It becomes worse if you have Fawkes with you, who is immune to radiation but refuses to go in with a ridiculous excuse. Broken Steel lets him go in, although they still call him a "true hero" in the cutscene when all he did was flip a switch and nothing happens to him. :p

Gameplay-wise, it's also a bad idea due to the free-form nature of FO3. You have to do everything you want in the game before the final quest. I didn't even do the ending until Broken Steel came out so I could keep playing the game.

Quote
HL2 Gordon knows jack ****, the world's gone to hell, wouldn't he open his mouth to ask "hey, what the hell happened here?"

This has to be the worst aspect of the story. It's absurd how he never says anything. The other characters even ask him questions and then they realize he can't talk, so they answer the question themselves. :p
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: StarSlayer on August 14, 2009, 11:22:04 am
Man has PhDs from MIT and has saved the world on multiple occasions, and all you can do is whinge about him having Aphonia.  Way to categorize someone based on their disabilities instead of their accomplishments... for shame. :P
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TESLA on August 14, 2009, 12:31:02 pm
Man has PhDs from MIT and has saved the world on multiple occasions, and all you can do is whinge about him having Aphonia.  Way to categorize someone based on their disabilities instead of their accomplishments... for shame. :P

Second that!


And dont forget he can really use a crowbar!! He will come get ya!
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Kosh on August 15, 2009, 02:49:47 am
Best Ending:

Deus Ex, Helios ending.

Solitaire.

Worst Ending:

Freelancer, it was totally rushed and unfortunately it shows.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 15, 2009, 06:30:23 am
I freakin love Starlancers and Freelancers intros.....
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Kosh on August 15, 2009, 07:36:52 am
The intro's were cool, but this thread is about endings, which freelancer falls short.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 15, 2009, 10:13:45 am
Freelancers intro is Starlancers ending :nervous:
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Locutus of Borg on August 15, 2009, 11:16:04 am
Trent is a hero, and the order sits to watch the node of the intergalactic trade network. Is that not an ending?
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: deathfun on August 15, 2009, 02:06:25 pm
Quote
You know this backstory how exactly? From Episode 1 I'm betting.

I just came up with whatever I had from my memory, so more then likely.

Eitherway, I will explain the obvious parts.

Black Mesa incident - aliens invade. Aliens are still there in HL2 meaning they were never eradicated. Then you have the new guys. Well, it's obvious they don't belong there so that leaves only the possibility they came here  and started to run things.

All from HL2, not the episodes
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Dark Hunter on August 15, 2009, 05:53:24 pm
Best Ending?

"Now these points of data make a beautiful line, and we're out of beta we're releasing on time..."

But also: .hack//quarantine
Seriously. The final scenes were actually pretty moving, and then there's the absolutely awesome final battle directly proceeding them.

As for worst....

I have no idea. Let's see... Robotech: Battlecry.
Spoiler:
Enemy does a space fold maneuver for no particular reason, you're caught in it, and the two of you have an admittedly pretty good final confrontation in orbit around... Jupiter? Or Saturn? Eh, anyway: and then the hero dies, because he has only a couple hours of oxygen, and he's in orbit around a gas giant. Just like that. The end. You don't even get to find out what was happening back on Earth after the big battle.

There's probably plenty of worse ones, but I can't remember them at the moment.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Dark Knight on August 15, 2009, 06:36:41 pm
Best game ending?

Baldur's Gate ToB. That is with the same character you've had through BG1, TosC & BGII. I must've taken that character through 600+ hours of gameplay! The superbly written NPCs all had their moment and the romance plot (in my case Jahira) all came together with games ending to form a natural conclusion that felt like it stemmed from my choices and not the arbitrary decisions of the game's writers (although I am aware it was an illusion)... the end battle was is bit blargh but the sheer emotion of it, and the feeling that you'd ended a truly epic story... You can't make a game that BIG any more. the EPIC has gone out of epic RPGs. Mass Effect takes what? a Day to complete? 2? I suspect Dragon Age wont take me more than a weekend just like KotoR. They just don't make RPGs like that any more. Largely cos their too expensive but frankly i could live without the graphics for a gaming experience like that again. May try out the BG1 Tutu NPC project i've been hearing about a roll up a new character :D

Worst game ending? Crysis. Mainly because I remember all the interviews and previews with them saying the Carrier was only the start of the last act and then the rest of the game was going to be on the island fighting in the snow. They blatantly ran out of time on that one and didn't do a very good job of covering it. I mean! You go from playing as the fraking Predator to being in a side-scrolling shooter with a gun you can't even FIRE!

Still hidden in that games files is probably my favourite thing ever, the file name with the options for the hardest difficulty setting is called Bauer :D
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Akalabeth Angel on August 16, 2009, 12:56:02 am
I just came up with whatever I had from my memory, so more then likely.

Eitherway, I will explain the obvious parts.

Black Mesa incident - aliens invade. Aliens are still there in HL2 meaning they were never eradicated. Then you have the new guys. Well, it's obvious they don't belong there so that leaves only the possibility they came here  and started to run things.

All from HL2, not the episodes

Yeah but . . .

Spoiler:
Let's see, Half Life 2. Who do you fight? Faceless cops. Faceless marines. Faceless security guys. You don't fight aliens. Sure, headcrabs here and there and their associate zombies but all the otherworld aliens, they're on your side. And it's not explained at all. Oh, the former enemy soldiers, the electricity aliens are suddenly good guys. And randoms other non-sentient aliens are there and and you're PROBABLY fighting some alien overlords aliens but the only thing you ever kill is other humans so yeah despite the fact Gordon know's nothing about what's going on he'll just go on killing guys.

I'm sorry but that's not how a story works. If you do "en medias res", or "in the middle of things", you should reveal the story as you go. Not reveal much of anything until the next game entirely. HL2:Ep1 is basically HL3 (Valve's words not mine), not knowing the REAL story of HL2 until HL3 is crap.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: deathfun on August 16, 2009, 02:59:33 am
Ah well, I saw things differently, that is all. I tend to infer things from what is presented to me




Here's another cliff hanger game. B.L.A.C.K.

Old PS2 game, the ending basically has you starting the same thing you were trying to do in the beginning
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: NGTM-1R on August 16, 2009, 05:36:11 am
Ah well, I saw things differently, that is all. I tend to infer things from what is presented to me

Like what for ****'s sake? What the **** can you infer from HL2? :P
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: SpardaSon21 on August 16, 2009, 10:13:22 am
B.L.A.C.K. was awesome.  I wish they got the chance to do a sequel.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: headdie on August 16, 2009, 03:22:41 pm
I just came up with whatever I had from my memory, so more then likely.

Eitherway, I will explain the obvious parts.

Black Mesa incident - aliens invade. Aliens are still there in HL2 meaning they were never eradicated. Then you have the new guys. Well, it's obvious they don't belong there so that leaves only the possibility they came here  and started to run things.

All from HL2, not the episodes

Yeah but . . .

Spoiler:
Let's see, Half Life 2. Who do you fight? Faceless cops. Faceless marines. Faceless security guys. You don't fight aliens. Sure, headcrabs here and there and their associate zombies but all the otherworld aliens, they're on your side. And it's not explained at all. Oh, the former enemy soldiers, the electricity aliens are suddenly good guys. And randoms other non-sentient aliens are there and and you're PROBABLY fighting some alien overlords aliens but the only thing you ever kill is other humans so yeah despite the fact Gordon know's nothing about what's going on he'll just go on killing guys.

I'm sorry but that's not how a story works. If you do "en medias res", or "in the middle of things", you should reveal the story as you go. Not reveal much of anything until the next game entirely. HL2:Ep1 is basically HL3 (Valve's words not mine), not knowing the REAL story of HL2 until HL3 is crap.


ok lets try this been a while since played and not played any of the Episodes but here goes

Spoiler:
In original HL2 you figure out that earth is being run by an alien combine (i.e. multi species government of indeterminate structure) with the former administrator of Black Mesa (the location of HL1) acting as the Administrator of Earth, i say admin because its obvious the combine could undemocratically remove him at any time it suits them.  the electric aliens are persecuted by the combine to the possible point of xenocide, the combine came to rule earth after a war of 7 days.  the old Black Mesa team lead a resistance movement with limited success against the combine.  and finally i would suggest that the "GMan" of HL1 works for a movement opposing the combine either for the sake of opposing the combine for some reason or has ulterior motives to see Earth free of combine control.  with the death of the administrator the combines control is weakened and GMan intervenes but for some reason dint pull you out.

anyone who played the episodes elaborate on this?
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Locutus of Borg on August 16, 2009, 03:26:38 pm
Which is the episode when the protagonist turns on the Hadron collider and we all die?

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_osrVjnPbdEM/SL6O2afSIrI/AAAAAAAAD98/RRs2hXdgg-4/s400/Gordon+Freeman+Spotted+At+CERN.jpg)
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: headdie on August 16, 2009, 03:40:55 pm
Which is the episode when the protagonist turns on the Hadron collider and we all die?

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_osrVjnPbdEM/SL6O2afSIrI/AAAAAAAAD98/RRs2hXdgg-4/s400/Gordon+Freeman+Spotted+At+CERN.jpg)


awsome.... headdie starts fantasizing that one of his fave characters could be real, then slaps himself back to reality
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TrashMan on August 16, 2009, 03:44:09 pm
The EPIC has gone out of epic RPGs. Mass Effect takes what? a Day to complete? 2? I suspect Dragon Age wont take me more than a weekend just like KotoR. They just don't make RPGs like that any more. Largely cos their too expensive but frankly i could live without the graphics for a gaming experience like that again. May try out the BG1 Tutu NPC project i've been hearing about a roll up a new character :D

Words out there's roughly 100 hours of gameplay in a DA:O for a single playtrough.


Quote
Worst game ending? Crysis. Mainly because I remember all the interviews and previews with them saying the Carrier was only the start of the last act and then the rest of the game was going to be on the island fighting in the snow. They blatantly ran out of time on that one and didn't do a very good job of covering it. I mean! You go from playing as the fraking Predator to being in a side-scrolling shooter with a gun you can't even FIRE!

What gun you can't fire? I liked Crysis. Got to admit the ending was "What? Already? But I want MORE!!!!!" I actually liked the later levels...
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Dark Hunter on August 16, 2009, 05:09:48 pm
ok lets try this been a while since played and not played any of the Episodes but here goes

Spoiler:
In original HL2 you figure out that earth is being run by an alien combine (i.e. multi species government of indeterminate structure) with the former administrator of Black Mesa (the location of HL1) acting as the Administrator of Earth, i say admin because its obvious the combine could undemocratically remove him at any time it suits them.  the electric aliens are persecuted by the combine to the possible point of xenocide, the combine came to rule earth after a war of 7 days.  the old Black Mesa team lead a resistance movement with limited success against the combine.  and finally i would suggest that the "GMan" of HL1 works for a movement opposing the combine either for the sake of opposing the combine for some reason or has ulterior motives to see Earth free of combine control.  with the death of the administrator the combines control is weakened and GMan intervenes but for some reason dint pull you out.

anyone who played the episodes elaborate on this?

Pretty much correct, but a few details are off.
Explanations and elaborations below.
Spoiler:
The death of the Nihilanth (giant boss alien at the end of HL1), escalated the portal storms to a global scale, rather than just centered on Black Mesa. This is why so much Xen wildlife is on Earth in Half-Life 2. All this interdimensional activity got Earth noticed by the Combine, and they saw a juicy new conquest.
The war lasted 7 hours, not days.
Breen, that is, Black Mesa's admin, was appointed as Earth's administrator as a reward for collaborating: it was he who formally surrendered Earth to the Combine, rather than allow the human race to get wiped out completely.

The Vortigaunts were slaves of the alien race that invaded Black Mesa, and thus don't hold any particular ill will towards humanity... with the death of the Nihilanth they were freed from their slavery. Naturally, the Combine tried to oppress them as well, hence why they sided with the human resistance.

As for the G-Man, exactly what his goal is is unclear. He seems, for the most part, to be working against the Combine, but not necessarily for the benefit of Earth (there's some evidence that he might have caused the Black Mesa incident in the first place). And in fact he did pull Freeman out after the explosion on top of the Citadel: the Vortigaunts used some pooled uber-mind powers to repel him and bring Freeman back. (This is, incidentally, the only time in the series that something has apparently happened against the G-Man's will.)

It wasn't so much Breen's death as the destruction of the Citadel that weakened the Combine's hold...
...but that and the rest of the story is told in the Episodes, so I'll stop there.

Except for a couple of sentences at the end, all of this is available in Half-Life 2, but you have to look for it. Largely listening to little comments made by the characters, and those newspaper clippings in Black Mesa East. The "All-Knowing Vortigaunt" gives some more info, but he's well-hidden.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on August 16, 2009, 11:10:07 pm
Which is the episode when the protagonist turns on the Hadron collider and we all die?

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_osrVjnPbdEM/SL6O2afSIrI/AAAAAAAAD98/RRs2hXdgg-4/s400/Gordon+Freeman+Spotted+At+CERN.jpg)


~GORDON FREEEEEMAAAAAAN~
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: deathfun on August 17, 2009, 01:25:35 am
Quote
"Now these points of data make a beautiful line, and we're out of beta we're releasing on time..."

Great song

Great ending

Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Ransom on August 17, 2009, 02:09:43 pm
The Witcher's ending is a great piece of work. The whole experience is quite rocky up until that point, but the entire finale is glorious. And I'll second Throne of Bhaal. It does a wonderful job of concluding a long and fantastic journey. Beyond Good & Evil's ending was also very well-executed, at least until the surprise cliffhanger.

That said, I agree with Vidmaster's sentiment that cliffhangers can be good stuff. Defiance manages to be a fair bit of cliffhanger while still being satisfying and all-round excellent. Though it's a horrible shame that we'll probably never get the final entry in that series.

Worst, I think, was the ending of Clive Barker's Jericho. People shat all over this game, and while I rather liked it, I've never been so unsatisfied by an ending as I was with this one. It's not even the idea of it that's the problem - it just happens so unceremoniously that you're left thinking 'Oh.'

oh hey whats up mr vega

Very interesting points you make, too.
You like Torment so I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic unless told otherwise.
I take offense at this! I like Torment and found your points interesting. :(
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Sushi on August 17, 2009, 03:04:20 pm
Except for a couple of sentences at the end, all of this is available in Half-Life 2, but you have to look for it. Largely listening to little comments made by the characters, and those newspaper clippings in Black Mesa East. The "All-Knowing Vortigaunt" gives some more info, but he's well-hidden.

Actually, the Vort who mounts the gun on the airboat is also "all-knowing" and can give you all of the same information. I had a lengthy chat with him after he mounted the gun, then was disappointed later to find that the hidden Vort said all of the same things...

But yeah, HL2 had an epic ending. :D
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Topgun on August 17, 2009, 03:26:16 pm
nothing can beat Minesweepers ending.

srysly, the
Spoiler:
yellow dude puts on sunglasses
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: bahijal74 on August 17, 2009, 05:48:29 pm
in my opinion right off the bat...
its funny its  major cliffhanger because of the game before it and how it ending and how it effected this game...and a certain general that really knew  how to piss of the pilot
Best ending/cliffhanger type (for me right now):
Freespace2 itself...be honest ho much WOULD YOU love to see a (i mean has OT be to do it) great ending and explanation to the real event following it (if its on th wiki or somewhere by the volition group..i know..i will feel stupid) I MEAN COME ON!!
Spoiler:
If you think about maybe Bosch will have been right maybe somehow he would have really saved this universe's ass or something..but damn JUST like the last part freespace just FEELS like it was meant to tell this story..and to be honest it deserves an award just so simple yet so deep to me.. rivals the potential mass effect has.
the shivans blowing up the star..so easily...after it seemed to them a workout to get to the soul...beings who where very hard to kill and endless...obviously something its..just mind blowing when you really think about it
maybe sits just cuz i love a good story who knows.. lol either way you gotta admit..it DOES have a great cliffhanger..and sadly..its a permanent one in a way.....
(i may have been young and not aware at the time this series was made at first and i played it) but this game isn't just the greatest space sim to me..it actually is the game  (well fs1_that got me into the computer world..and its a major thing lol and i may be a newb or whatever but
To freespace.....without you....the world of space...would be so very very very dull. at least we can hope one day..the universe will be full of shivans..so we can all be reborn and kill them like th Good old days... (lol so weird i know but ahh i am happy so WOO!!!) a toast indeed!
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TESLA on August 17, 2009, 07:38:33 pm
Monkey island: Special Eiditon

Spoiler...

Spoiler:

LeChuck the evil undead ghost pirate Explodes in the sky at night after been defeated by Guybrush Treepwood (mighty pirate(TM) wannabe)...

GuyBrush: You know, LeChuck was a diviant, obnoxious, slithery, creepy crawling sort of guy, but  ill say one thing for him..........

Elaine: What's that?




GuyBrush: He sure looks nice, exploding against the nights sky.

Elaine: Yes, very romantic........ Can i buy you a root beer?

GuyBrush: Sure! Hey, wonder what happened to Stan............... I Completely forgot about Herman Toothrot (stuck on monkey island for 20years) (still stuck on monkey island now)(Guybrush forgot to save him)
Ah well, at learned I learned one thing from all this.....


Elaine: whats that?



Guybrush: Never pay more than 20 bucks for a game!

Elaine: A what?

Guybrush: I, dont know, im not sure why I said that?




Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on August 17, 2009, 11:54:21 pm
nothing can beat Minesweepers ending.

srysly, the
Spoiler:
yellow dude puts on sunglasses

Turn sound on and hear some weird sound play when he does that. ;)
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Dark Knight on August 18, 2009, 03:34:38 am

What gun you can't fire? I liked Crysis. Got to admit the ending was "What? Already? But I want MORE!!!!!" I actually liked the later levels...

I think it was called the tac-nuke gun or something. U have to hover it over the target until a little loading bar has rolled across the screen signalling a lock-on then u get to click a button and see a bit of it explode. Rather than getting the satisfaction of blowing it away yourself you end up with what amounts to a shoddy interactive cutscene or semi-quicktime event. It takes away all real control from the player. That, and finding out and the realisation that "THIS IS THE END?!?!?!?!?!" was a real let down. I was expecting another 2 hours of play since the Aircraft Carrier sequence was origenally billed as being the 2/3rds or even the halfways point. The game was supposed to have an ending, not this TO BE CONTINUED bull. But they ran out of time and EA is never opposed to wringing more money out of us poor shlubs by making us buy another game just to get the ending of the one we already played so what can you do?
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Akalabeth Angel on August 18, 2009, 04:18:41 am
Speaking of minesweeper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs)
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on August 18, 2009, 04:37:49 am
Speaking of minesweeper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs)

Cool. :)

I've never managed to get the timer to hit 999, even on the Expert board.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TrashMan on August 18, 2009, 05:35:00 am
I think it was called the tac-nuke gun or something. U have to hover it over the target until a little loading bar has rolled across the screen signalling a lock-on then u get to click a button and see a bit of it explode. Rather than getting the satisfaction of blowing it away yourself you end up with what amounts to a shoddy interactive cutscene or semi-quicktime event. It takes away all real control from the player.

Eh? You needed to aquire lock and then you could fire a missile. I heard the weapon itself was sometimes buggy for some people. I had no problems with it myself tough.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Dark Knight on August 18, 2009, 06:43:27 am
Very buggy for me. It would freeze up halfway through acquiring the lock and then i'd have to switch weapons in and out to get it to start again, by which point u didn't have enough time to kill it before you get blown up. It made the ending so frustrating for me it spoiled a lot of my enjoyment. Doesn't stop me playing the first half tho. Just isn't much fun when the aliens turn up although the Zero-G section is a very pleasant surprise.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: MR_T3D on August 18, 2009, 08:08:27 am
nothing can beat Minesweepers ending.

srysly, the
Spoiler:
yellow dude puts on sunglasses

Turn sound on and hear some weird sound play when he does that. ;)
they friging removed hime form the vista version :mad:
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Deepstar on August 18, 2009, 08:28:03 am
Best Game Endings:

Wing Commander III: Hearth of the Tiger (Kilrah exploded, woah!)
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (Tolwyn hanging in jail :D)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (it blows me off, back to the beginning, i liked it)
Portal (i give you a cake)
Day of the Tentacle


The Worst Game Endings:
Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance (the complete last act with the death star II hasn't to do anything with the main story of the game)
Command & Conquer 3 - Tiberium Wars (a cliffhanger in a C&C Game? WTF!)
Monkey Island 2 - LeChucks Revenge (i hate it! Guybrush and LeChuck as children in a Theme Park.)
StarLancer (there wasn't a real ending after all, it was a simple video debriefing, like in most fan-made FreeSpace Campaings)
FreeLancer (you saved the universe and now please leave us alone)


Just my two cents :)
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: BloodEagle on August 18, 2009, 11:24:00 am
Good ending: Fallout, with that special ability. You know the one I'm talking about.  ;7
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 18, 2009, 12:34:03 pm
No I don't. . . Fallout 1 had a much better ending.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: BloodEagle on August 18, 2009, 01:33:17 pm
You know, THAT (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Bloody_Mess) trait.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 18, 2009, 02:18:36 pm
You know, THAT (http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Bloody_Mess) trait.

Oh, i always have that on any of the games...
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: headdie on August 18, 2009, 07:12:45 pm
Speaking of minesweeper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs)

Cool. :)

I've never managed to get the timer to hit 999, even on the Expert board.

Hollywood blockbuster anyone?
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: The E on August 18, 2009, 07:29:35 pm
Done (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs). Next?
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Stormkeeper on August 18, 2009, 09:04:25 pm
I can't really think of any bad ones ... Though I do agree the original FO3 ending made me cringe. Didn't help that I was saving exploring till after I finished the main quest.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Titan on August 19, 2009, 08:34:39 am
Done (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs). Next?

That was my only contribution to my school- I showed it to everyone one day before school started. Within a week, people were quoting it left and right. Though only my friends cared that I'd found it.

Incidentely, I got it off HLP.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TESLA on August 19, 2009, 07:08:42 pm
Done (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs). Next?


Holy frak, i never saw that before!!! Brilliant!!!
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: BloodEagle on August 19, 2009, 07:27:52 pm
Done (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs). Next?


Holy frak, i never saw that before!!! Brilliant!!!

Really? I must have linked to it at least a dozen times in the last year....

If you liked that, you might enjoy this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZo6np1jZ0A) as well.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TESLA on August 19, 2009, 07:33:08 pm
Done (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs). Next?


Holy frak, i never saw that before!!! Brilliant!!!

Really? I must have linked to it at least a dozen times in the last year....

If you liked that, you might enjoy this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZo6np1jZ0A) as well.

Thats pretty cool too!

For some reason, it reminds me of that new movie 'Astroboy' coming out soon
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: The E on August 20, 2009, 06:38:43 am
While we're at it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_1KlWFJyA
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: TESLA on August 20, 2009, 09:32:31 am
While we're at it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_1KlWFJyA

you know, parts of that, could actually make a decent film!
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Leeko on August 20, 2009, 09:48:51 am
On HL2:
ALL of the vortigaunts are "all knowing". No one bothers to talk to any of them except the one with the cough in that little cave because he's hidden and special and whatnot. I think HL2 and the episodes had good cliffhangers.

Other Good endings:
Starcraft (it set up conflicts to be resolved in SC2 and leaves everyone ravaged enough for SC2 taking place several years later to be viable)
Spoiler:
I did dislike Fenix getting killed however... he was my favorite character... :(
Halo: Combat Evolved
Spoiler:
The warthog race was fun, and a great change of playstyle from "shoot everything that moves." But also because it managed to resolve all the conflicts while still setting up sequels. I guess blowing up every setting the game had all at once is a good design choice.

However, Halo 2 had a very, very BAD cliffhanger. My internal monologue: "Yeah! Let's finish this fight! Cool forerunner ship time! ... Okay, I'm ready to play the last level now... I get to play as Chief one last time right? ... WHAT. NO." *throws controller through television*

Other terribad endings:
Fallout 3 (everyone's favorite)
Fable 2
Spoiler:
You're a tool the whole time. Theresa, at the end, basically says "You have what you want, but the spire is mine, STFU and GTFO." No closure of any kind, except for Lucien's death which is really unsatisfying. They made Reaver kill him if you take too long. :mad:
Earthsiege/Starsiege games
Spoiler:
Prometheus ALWAYS gets away. Even at the end of Starsiege, when you blow up his physical form, his "children" escape with pieces of him. Though I do have a certain fascination with cybrids, a part of me wishes <First-Thought, Giver-of-Will> would die\\deactivate. He's been torturing\\attacking\\killing the human//animals for a bit too long.
But it is a damned shame we never got a sequel. RIP Starsiege 2845.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: deathfun on August 20, 2009, 10:19:40 pm
Quote
Fallout 3 (everyone's favorite)

I was disappointed, but it was by no means bad (in my opinion)
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Javito1986 on August 20, 2009, 10:43:48 pm
Kudos to the mention of The Witcher. What a fantastic game.

The ending is pitch perfect. It rips your heart out but does so with such a revelation so subtle that it takes a minute or two to even register in your mind.
Spoiler:
Finding Alvin's medallion, realizing that the Grand Master WAS Alvin and that he'd gone back in time and suddenly everything that's happened and things that the GM have said make perfect sense... and you just killed Alvin. Oh that was a great moment!
.

Fallout 3's ending stunk, but Fallout 1 had a fantastic ending. Especially if you decided to make use of your gun. You all know what I mean I'm sure.

My favorite ending to any game is probably Final Fantasy IX. But I'm just a damn softy at heart, that's the truth of it. FF6's ending is a very close second in terms of Final Fantasy ending. 10's is up there too, assuming we all forget that X-2 was ever made.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: deathfun on August 21, 2009, 04:19:29 am
Upon reading that spoiler... that reminded me of another game because the ending was also quite similar

Spoiler:
Infamous



Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Bilal18 on August 22, 2009, 01:27:57 pm
For those not sure about the HL story, read this site, clears up alot: http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/timeline.htm
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Stormkeeper on August 23, 2009, 06:13:46 pm
Oh, I remember a few.

Starsiege, but it's been mentioned above.
Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising.
Spoiler:
You smash down the Cabal, blow the hell out of their aliens, then it turns out they're building some massive doomsday weapon and the only way to stop it is to ram the Antaeus into it. :( I got really upset because I got very much attached to that little carrier/cruiser.

Good ones, a new one came to my mind.
Red Alert, Soviet ending.
Spoiler:
You smash England, then Stalin congratulates you, then he gets shot in the back, the woman takes over, then she gets shot in the back and lo and behold, THE MESSIAH KANE appears and tells you that a new age has begun. PEACE THROUGH POWAH!
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Snail on August 24, 2009, 11:06:25 am
People will probably kill me for this but I didn't like Halo 3's ending any more than Halo 2's.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: bahijal74 on August 24, 2009, 11:18:14 am
People will probably kill me for this but I didn't like Halo 3's ending any more than Halo 2's.
Nope but this will probably get ME killed
Bad ending:
Mass effect....
I mean the game has a lot of potential but come on...a little more bang for the buck please..everything else showed promise but the way that ending just...oi..so...dull... not even a cliff hanger even though it was known it was a trilogy..nothing...(and ye I know the books are the explanation for yeah yeah i know!)
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Ransom on August 24, 2009, 11:30:40 am
Really? What was wrong with it? I found the whole ending sequence on the Citadel to be the highlight of the game.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: General Battuta on August 24, 2009, 11:31:52 am
Aye, me too. The game's narrative had its problems, but the climax wasn't amongst them.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: bahijal74 on August 24, 2009, 11:38:08 am
Really? What was wrong with it? I found the whole ending sequence on the Citadel to be the highlight of the game.
for me the game was a bit short but i mean its a great game but i mean...eh..just felt..a bit lacking..i mean its not the worst ending but..for me i felt i wnated more..im sure that feeling though shall be what mass effect 2 is for after all..who knows
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Ransom on August 24, 2009, 11:50:56 am
I'm not sure I see how length is a factor for judging the quality of a narrative, but oh well.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: bahijal74 on August 24, 2009, 11:54:19 am
I'm not sure I see how length is a factor for judging the quality of a narrative, but oh well.
Oh i just menat the ending..felt too short i guess...its just me though lol
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Vidmaster on August 24, 2009, 02:20:26 pm
I'm not sure I see how length is a factor for judging the quality of a narrative, but oh well.

Finally, a smart man has arrived.   I remember our previous discussions  :)
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: BloodEagle on August 24, 2009, 02:41:03 pm
I'm not sure I see how length is a factor for judging the quality of a narrative, but oh well.
Oh i just menat the ending..felt too short i guess...its just me though lol

That's probably because most of the game was filler. You just weren't ready for some actual condensed plot. :P
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Scotty on August 24, 2009, 03:46:17 pm
Plot comes the minute you get to Virmire.  Provided you get there last.  Otherwise it goes "Awesome action" to "bleh" in about ten seconds.  But if you go to Virmire last, you have about an hour and a half to two hours of pretty awesome plot.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Stormkeeper on August 24, 2009, 06:47:40 pm
Plot comes the minute you get to Virmire.  Provided you get there last.  Otherwise it goes "Awesome action" to "bleh" in about ten seconds.  But if you go to Virmire last, you have about an hour and a half to two hours of pretty awesome plot.
I was gonna play Mass Effect now yous spoilz it for me. :(
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Scotty on August 24, 2009, 07:05:32 pm
I didn't ruin a blasted thing.  I was advising you on where to go last for best awesome plot.  Notice I didn't tell you anything at all about what actually happens on that planet.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: General Battuta on August 24, 2009, 08:28:46 pm
I advise doing Virmire last - do as many main quests as possible first. That way the good stuff is saved for the end.

Noveria, Feros, and Artemis Tau are still pretty decent all in all, though.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Stormkeeper on August 25, 2009, 01:08:00 am
I didn't ruin a blasted thing.  I was advising you on where to go last for best awesome plot.  Notice I didn't tell you anything at all about what actually happens on that planet.
Notice the crappy spelling I used in that line. I suppose I should really stop sarcasm over the internet, but habits die hard.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Ziame on August 25, 2009, 03:39:45 am
The best ending ever for me is in Homeworld: Cataclysm
Spoiler:
they shall be known as Beast-Slayers
too bad it doesn't get referenced in HW2 :(

The worst ending ever is in Fallen Haven. You win. You get a medal. OMG! The gameplay is still decent though
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Akalabeth Angel on August 25, 2009, 05:07:02 am
For those not sure about the HL story, read this site, clears up alot: http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/timeline.htm

Thanks but I shouldn't need to read a fanboy website to know the story that should've been presented to me in-game
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: General Battuta on August 25, 2009, 09:38:34 am
You have to actively look to find the clues of the Half-Life story. Everything on that site is in-game.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Sushi on August 25, 2009, 10:42:07 am
You have to actively look to find the clues of the Half-Life story. Everything on that site is in-game.

Which is part of the draw of the Half-Life method of storytelling. It's subtle, and you have to watch everything carefully to get the whole story. Some love it (me), some can't stand it (Angel).
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: BloodEagle on August 25, 2009, 12:02:51 pm
I'm not sure I see how length is a factor for judging the quality of a narrative, but oh well.
Oh i just menat the ending..felt too short i guess...its just me though lol

That's probably because most of the game was filler. You just weren't ready for some actual condensed plot. :P

Okay, I just realized something.

You're not talking about HL2. My bad.

--
You have to actively look to find the clues of the Half-Life story. Everything on that site is in-game.

Which is part of the draw of the Half-Life method of storytelling. It's subtle, and you have to watch everything carefully to get the whole story. Some love it (me), some can't stand it (Angel).

It's not just carefully watching. You have to do it quickly, as well. Particularly whenever the G-man shows up (at least a dozen times throughout the game), because, if you're not fast enough with the zoom button, you probably won't even realize that he was there.

Personally, any game that's that long really shouldn't have a subtle story. I've replayed it one time, and I made sure that I had an entire week off before even starting.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Mongoose on August 25, 2009, 12:49:22 pm
I'm currently playing through HL2 for the first time without ever having played the original game, and I've been completely engaged from the start until now, so maybe it is just a case of personal tastes.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: CP5670 on August 25, 2009, 03:24:57 pm
I thought HL2 was a lousy game. The "story" essentially consists of four or five cutscenes, and is simplistic and lacking in details even if you do manage to pick it up (compare it to something like FS2 or Deus Ex). As for the actual game, 90% of it involves running through a linear assault course made up of hundreds of sewers and destroyed houses. :p This crappy level design is my biggest problem with it, as it gives the player no incentive to explore and makes the game a chore to go through.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Mongoose on August 25, 2009, 08:44:16 pm
I thought HL2 was a lousy game. The "story" essentially consists of four or five cutscenes, and is simplistic and lacking in details even if you do manage to pick it up (compare it to something like FS2 or Deus Ex). As for the actual game, 90% of it involves running through a linear assault course made up of hundreds of sewers and destroyed houses. :p This crappy level design is my biggest problem with it, as it gives the player no incentive to explore and makes the game a chore to go through.
I'm of the exact opposite opinion, actually.  I find games with multiple alternate pathways to be far more of a chore than strictly linear ones, since I wind up wasting a great deal of time scouting out every single one and figuring out which way I should actually be going.  Just playing through the first several minutes' worth of Deus Ex made me feel like it's probably not something I'd enjoy all that much.  In contrast, if you give me a set path to traverse and a crap-load of enemies along it to blow through, as HL2 did, I'm as happy as a clam.

As for HL2's story, as you said, the direct narrative didn't comprise a whole lot of the playing time, but the general unfolding atmosphere and dropping of little tidbits in multiple locations was what did it for me.  I enjoyed the sensation of being cast into a world which I didn't really understand all that well until relatively late in the game, which was magnified by the fact that I'd never actually played the original Half-Life.  You gradually receive this greater and greater picture of an authoritarian dystopia run by a man who's basically lying through his teeth to the populace, and areas like Ravenholm (*shudder*) and the coast drive present an even broader picture of a world that's been shot to hell due to what happened in the original game.  And you're just one lone physicist armed with a crowbar, being bounced around from resistance cell to resistance cell, gradually realizing that you're seen as almost a messianic figure by humanity.  For me, the relative sparsity of direct narrative progression was more than made up for by the evolving worldview that the actual game environments and their details continuously built upon.  Valve really are masters at their craft.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: CP5670 on August 25, 2009, 10:05:41 pm
Quote
I'm of the exact opposite opinion, actually.  I find games with multiple alternate pathways to be far more of a chore than strictly linear ones, since I wind up wasting a great deal of time scouting out every single one and figuring out which way I should actually be going.

I do this too, but I love doing it. I want to feel like I can explore freely in different directions, just like real life. What I don't like is for the game world to feel like a big assault course that was set up solely for me to go through. Although even among strictly linear games, I can think of far better ones.

Quote
As for HL2's story, as you said, the direct narrative didn't comprise a whole lot of the playing time, but the general unfolding atmosphere and dropping of little tidbits in multiple locations was what did it for me.  I enjoyed the sensation of being cast into a world which I didn't really understand all that well until relatively late in the game, which was magnified by the fact that I'd never actually played the original Half-Life.  You gradually receive this greater and greater picture of an authoritarian dystopia run by a man who's basically lying through his teeth to the populace, and areas like Ravenholm (*shudder*) and the coast drive present an even broader picture of a world that's been shot to hell due to what happened in the original game.  And you're just one lone physicist armed with a crowbar, being bounced around from resistance cell to resistance cell, gradually realizing that you're seen as almost a messianic figure by humanity.  For me, the relative sparsity of direct narrative progression was more than made up for by the evolving worldview that the actual game environments and their details continuously built upon.  Valve really are masters at their craft.

I'm not sure where this "unfolding of atmosphere" comes from, given that, as I said, most of the game takes place in sewers and destroyed houses with poor level detail even for the game's time.

I figured out the main premise with the story eventually, but I didn't actually care about it by that point because the story was so sparsely detailed. It was like trying to find a story in Doom 1. You can uncover something there if you use your imagination a bit, but there is no reason to care because nothing in the story is well developed. You're the savior of humanity in half the games out there.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Akalabeth Angel on August 26, 2009, 01:28:29 am
You have to actively look to find the clues of the Half-Life story. Everything on that site is in-game.

Which is part of the draw of the Half-Life method of storytelling. It's subtle, and you have to watch everything carefully to get the whole story. Some love it (me), some can't stand it (Angel).

Thing is, someone mentioned talking to the . . . zap guy on the boat. But why would I do that??? Don't I have **** to do? places to go?? I shouldn't have to intentionally break the flow of the game just to learn information I should already know. For example, at the start of the game, in the train station, okay people sitting around, I'll go talk to them. Later on, I'm running the gauntlet, the police are after me, there's no time for chit chat. So why as Freeman, would I take 10 minutes to talk to the guy on the boat when time is of the essence??

It's like at the end of episode 2, there's some guy giving instructions in the resistance. And it's got some pretty funny dialogue, but if I'd followed the chick's instructions and hurried to see whoever I wouldn't have ever heard that.

If the case is "okay freeman, let's rest here a while" then okay, I'll explore the place, chat up the ladies. But if it's "let's go freeman, you've got to get moving" then I shouldn't be exploring or talking to anyone I should go from A to B and that's it.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: BS403 on August 26, 2009, 02:51:14 pm
Quote
I'm of the exact opposite opinion, actually.  I find games with multiple alternate pathways to be far more of a chore than strictly linear ones, since I wind up wasting a great deal of time scouting out every single one and figuring out which way I should actually be going.

I do this too, but I love doing it. I want to feel like I can explore freely in different directions, just like real life. What I don't like is for the game world to feel like a big assault course that was set up solely for me to go through. Although even among strictly linear games, I can think of far better ones.

Quote
As for HL2's story, as you said, the direct narrative didn't comprise a whole lot of the playing time, but the general unfolding atmosphere and dropping of little tidbits in multiple locations was what did it for me.  I enjoyed the sensation of being cast into a world which I didn't really understand all that well until relatively late in the game, which was magnified by the fact that I'd never actually played the original Half-Life.  You gradually receive this greater and greater picture of an authoritarian dystopia run by a man who's basically lying through his teeth to the populace, and areas like Ravenholm (*shudder*) and the coast drive present an even broader picture of a world that's been shot to hell due to what happened in the original game.  And you're just one lone physicist armed with a crowbar, being bounced around from resistance cell to resistance cell, gradually realizing that you're seen as almost a messianic figure by humanity.  For me, the relative sparsity of direct narrative progression was more than made up for by the evolving worldview that the actual game environments and their details continuously built upon.  Valve really are masters at their craft.

I'm not sure where this "unfolding of atmosphere" comes from, given that, as I said, most of the game takes place in sewers and destroyed houses with poor level detail even for the game's time.

I figured out the main premise with the story eventually, but I didn't actually care about it by that point because the story was so sparsely detailed. It was like trying to find a story in Doom 1. You can uncover something there if you use your imagination a bit, but there is no reason to care because nothing in the story is well developed. You're the savior of humanity in half the games out there.

I definitely need to agree with CP here.  I found the first sewers to be very repetitive, and I never really knew what I was supposed to be doing.
Ex. Run!
... where?
...
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 26, 2009, 02:59:56 pm
I like the three way ending choice at the end of I-War..........  COMMONWEALTH VICTORY!
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Mongoose on August 26, 2009, 03:16:30 pm
I'm not sure where this "unfolding of atmosphere" comes from, given that, as I said, most of the game takes place in sewers and destroyed houses with poor level detail even for the game's time.
"Poor detail"?  Really?  I know I'm at least four or five years behind the curve technologically, but as I played through the game, a lot of what I saw was impressing me even by what I understand to be today's standards.  It's true that the Source Engine back then didn't support some of the newer, more advanced graphical effects, but I found the sheer amount of everyday physical objects scattered throughout the appropriate environments to be almost staggering at times. You'd walk into an abandoned house and see all of the little accouterments that you'd expect to. And thanks to the still-ridiculously-awesome physics implementation and the gravity gun, there was all kinds of goofy stuff you could do with them.  Not to mention the facial-expressions feature that Valve implemented, which as far as I can tell was just about unprecedented at the time.

Thing is, someone mentioned talking to the . . . zap guy on the boat. But why would I do that??? Don't I have **** to do? places to go?? I shouldn't have to intentionally break the flow of the game just to learn information I should already know. For example, at the start of the game, in the train station, okay people sitting around, I'll go talk to them. Later on, I'm running the gauntlet, the police are after me, there's no time for chit chat. So why as Freeman, would I take 10 minutes to talk to the guy on the boat when time is of the essence??
Isn't the golden rule of gaming to hit up every NPC possible, no matter what you're "supposed" to be doing at the moment?  Or is that just me? :p

I definitely need to agree with CP here.  I found the first sewers to be very repetitive, and I never really knew what I was supposed to be doing.
Ex. Run!
... where?
...
See, I feel like the repetition worked for those segments.  This wasn't something like the original Halo, which seemed to prescribe to the design philosophy of, "Hey, let's re-use this same room in this big alien structure twenty times, because it's alien."  Sewers are...well...sewers; they're not going to be ridiculously varied in appearance just for the hell of it.  At that point in the game, you had just been cast off on your own, forced to fight your way through to another (seemingly) safe haven.  Having to blunder your way through the sewer's twists and turns kind of reinforced that in-character emotion for me.

I do understand that the game might not have worked for some people, but it did work even better than I could have hoped for me.  And given the amount of mid-90s scores that it received at the time and the lasting praise it's garnered, it obviously worked extremely well for a whole bunch of other people too.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Scotty on August 26, 2009, 03:43:58 pm
Quote
Isn't the golden rule of gaming to hit up every NPC possible, no matter what you're "supposed" to be doing at the moment?  Or is that just me?


As long as there isn't an active time limit, yes.  And sometimes even then.  Oh, and I lump "scour every square inch of mapspace" and "hit up every NPC possible" into the "find everything everywhere" section of gaming.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Ghostavo on August 26, 2009, 05:12:40 pm
To me Half-Life 2 is kind of a comical FPS.

You are a mute PhD holder who is the messiah of the resistance, everyone assumes things for you and sends you on ridiculous assignments since you can't speak, the evil doers trip over themselves trying to stop you while everyone else sheers for you and you basically have incredible luck with the mapping of the terrain. The game even lampshades this when Dr. Breen is complaining about why his forces can't stop you!

It's like someone took Mr. Bean and made an FPS about saving the world!
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: CP5670 on August 26, 2009, 06:24:25 pm
Quote
"Poor detail"?  Really?  I know I'm at least four or five years behind the curve technologically, but as I played through the game, a lot of what I saw was impressing me even by what I understand to be today's standards.  It's true that the Source Engine back then didn't support some of the newer, more advanced graphical effects, but I found the sheer amount of everyday physical objects scattered throughout the appropriate environments to be almost staggering at times. You'd walk into an abandoned house and see all of the little accouterments that you'd expect to. And thanks to the still-ridiculously-awesome physics implementation and the gravity gun, there was all kinds of goofy stuff you could do with them.  Not to mention the facial-expressions feature that Valve implemented, which as far as I can tell was just about unprecedented at the time.

I think you need to play more FPSs. :p HL2's level detail would have been good in 2000, but was very poor for 2004. There was almost nothing in most of the sewers and houses except for a couple of odd pans or planks lying around. I did like how you could pick up the objects, but there were very few of them in the first place. The textures and environments were horribly repetitive as well.

The Splinter Cell games had set the gold standard with map detail back then, and Far Cry and Doom 3 were pretty good as well. HL2 doesn't even compare, leaving aside the cutscene levels which were a lot better. Fallout 3 is a newer game, but it has a similar post-apocalyptic setting as HL2 but with much more detail.

The physics was the standard Havok engine seen in countless other games and had the same crazy glitches. DX:IW used it too, although it was buggier there. The facial expressions were indeed very good for their time though.

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To me Half-Life 2 is kind of a comical FPS.

You are a mute PhD holder who is the messiah of the resistance, everyone assumes things for you and sends you on ridiculous assignments since you can't speak, the evil doers trip over themselves trying to stop you while everyone else sheers for you and you basically have incredible luck with the mapping of the terrain. The game even lampshades this when Dr. Breen is complaining about why his forces can't stop you!

It's like someone took Mr. Bean and made an FPS about saving the world!

The best aspect of HL2 was the unique jumping mechanics. This was actually my favorite part of the game. Unlike most games, you built up speed when bunny hopping and could zoom across the levels after some practice. It made no sense, but actually made running around a lot of fun (although the novelty eventually wore off).
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Akalabeth Angel on August 26, 2009, 10:44:39 pm
"Poor detail"?  Really?  I know I'm at least four or five years behind the curve technologically, but as I played through the game, a lot of what I saw was impressing me even by what I understand to be today's standards.  It's true that the Source Engine back then didn't support some of the newer, more advanced graphical effects, but I found the sheer amount of everyday physical objects scattered throughout the appropriate environments to be almost staggering at times. You'd walk into an abandoned house and see all of the little accouterments that you'd expect to. And thanks to the still-ridiculously-awesome physics implementation and the gravity gun, there was all kinds of goofy stuff you could do with them.  Not to mention the facial-expressions feature that Valve implemented, which as far as I can tell was just about unprecedented at the time.

The household objects I found actually rather comical. I didn't notice them for the most part, until I got to Ravenholm. And then suddenly it's a town where every house stocks table saw blades and propane tanks. A little comical if you ask me. I suppose it's my chance to play with the gravity gun but when it's so obviously forced it takes me out of the moment.

HL2's NPC acting is the best I've seen in an FPS. I'll say that much. Though PREY had better dialogue . . .
<guy walks into a room, bunch of security robots fly up a tube to an area up ahead>
<guy enters the new room>
"More robots? God damn I hate these ****ing robots" hahahaha. Awesome. I got to play through that again.

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Isn't the golden rule of gaming to hit up every NPC possible, no matter what you're "supposed" to be doing at the moment?  Or is that just me? :p

Hmmn, I guess I'm one who doesn't follow the golden rule. I try to play as the circumstances dictate. When I'm just walking around the town I hit everyone up, but later on when the action is fast and furious I don't have time.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: NGTM-1R on August 26, 2009, 10:52:10 pm
Isn't the golden rule of gaming to hit up every NPC possible, no matter what you're "supposed" to be doing at the moment?  Or is that just me? :p

HL2 is not an RPG.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Mongoose on August 27, 2009, 12:04:01 am
No one said it had to be.  I do the same thing in any game I happen to be playing through.  Hell, one of the greatest joys of Psychonauts was just standing there and listening to a few campers have a ten-minute conversation without looping.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on August 27, 2009, 03:44:47 am
The two endings of Max Payne 2 are pretty good in my opinion, but I find that the Dead on Arrival ending was meant to appease players in the sense of "Okay, you played this hard game on the highest difficulty, so we'll let Mona live."
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Stormkeeper on August 27, 2009, 08:36:09 am
This seems to have turned into a ... mild discussion ... about HL2 and its environments.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Titan on August 27, 2009, 11:13:43 am
Yeah...
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: BloodEagle on August 27, 2009, 12:48:04 pm
Spoiler:
The two endings of Max Payne 2 are pretty good in my opinion, but I find that the Dead on Arrival ending was meant to appease players in the sense of "Okay, you played this hard game on the highest difficulty, so we'll let Mona live."

I'm so glad that I've played Max Payne 2.

....

Wait a second.  :ick:
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Roanoke on August 27, 2009, 03:15:14 pm
Metroid Prime2 Echos. I pretty much hated all of that one though.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Scotty on August 27, 2009, 05:27:04 pm
Metroid Prime (original) had a pretty decent one.  Though that game is pretty remarkable to me for having no dialogue whatsoever aside from "Evacuate!  Evacuate!" at the very beginning (and random 'ouch' sounds).
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: blackhole on August 27, 2009, 06:55:49 pm
Metroid Prime (original) had a pretty decent one.  Though that game is pretty remarkable to me for having no dialogue whatsoever aside from "Evacuate!  Evacuate!" at the very beginning (and random 'ouch' sounds).

Metroid Prime is one of the best games ever made. Period.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Colonol Dekker on August 27, 2009, 07:00:14 pm
Metroid Prime (original) had a pretty decent one.  Though that game is pretty remarkable to me for having no dialogue whatsoever aside from "Evacuate!  Evacuate!" at the very beginning (and random 'ouch' sounds).

SUPER Metroid Prime is one of the best games ever made. Period.


 :pimp: :yes:
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: blackhole on August 27, 2009, 08:42:35 pm
Metroid Prime (original) had a pretty decent one.  Though that game is pretty remarkable to me for having no dialogue whatsoever aside from "Evacuate!  Evacuate!" at the very beginning (and random 'ouch' sounds).

SUPER Metroid Prime is one of the best games ever made. Period.


 :pimp: :yes:

Super Metroid was good, yes, but to my personal taste, I had so much more fun with Metroid Prime.

Super Metroid had the better ending though. EAT HYPER BEAM, BIOTCH.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Scotty on August 27, 2009, 08:46:56 pm
Metroid Prime had more of a horror-game feel to it.  I loved it, considering I was something like 9 when I played it and it was the scariest game I had played up to that point.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Sarafan on August 28, 2009, 01:14:47 am
I like the three way ending choice at the end of I-War..........  COMMONWEALTH VICTORY!

Seconded, it was a shame IWAR2 couldnt even get close to that storywise. I'll throw Fallout 2 for a great ending, mostly because you can decide what happens to the places you have gone and its not just a choice between a automatic good ending or automatic bad ending like so many RPGs do these days.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: mxlm on August 28, 2009, 02:01:23 am
I had no idea there was an alternate ending in Max Payne 2. Huh.
Title: Re: Best and Worst Game Endings
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on August 28, 2009, 12:37:33 pm
I had no idea there was an alternate ending in Max Payne 2. Huh.

Spoiler:
Mona does not die on "Dead on Arrival" difficulty.