Has there ever been a heavily-scripted game that was not very good?

[Kromis]

After playing Uncharted 2, I think it's safe to say that games that are heavily-scripted tend to do pretty well. Well, the only other game (franchise) that I know is heavily-scripted is Call of Duty.

So...can anyone name any more?

[To clarify what I mean by "heavily-scripted", I'm referring to games that have a lot of special scenarios play out when the player reaches that part in the game]

 

[zerocool84]

You must have not played a lot of games. Tons of heavily scripted games throughout the years have been crap. Most games are heavily scripted.

 

[Dumac]

Most games are scripted, and most games are crap, so the answer to your question is yes.

I thought most people preferred interesting AI in shooters.

 

[Kromis]

You must have not played a lot of games. Tons of heavily scripted games throughout the years have been crap. Most games are heavily scripted.

Well, I must admit, I play a lot of RPGs and not a lot of FPS or other genres 🙂

Half-Life 2 is probably my favorite FPS.

 

[Kromis]

Most games are scripted, and most games are crap, so the answer to your question is yes.

I thought most people preferred interesting AI in shooters.

Perhaps I should be clearer with what I mean.

I'm talking about games that are littered with insane amount of set pieces throughout.

Like in Uncharted 2, the game has a TON of pretty cool moments that factor into the presentation. One part that I did not particularly like was when Drake and Tenzin go into the mountain and they keep interacting with each other. Another part I did not like was when in the village with the tank trying to kill you and when you try to shimmy on the side of the village, the tank (for whatever reason) crashes through a wall above you and almost falls down the mountainside.

Maybe zerocool is right, maybe I don't play a lot of games.

 

[Schadenfreude]

A lot of games may have a lot of events chucked into them. Are they necessarily cool? Not really.

 

[zerocool84]

Perhaps I should be clearer with what I mean.

I'm talking about games that are littered with insane amount of set pieces throughout.

Like in Uncharted 2, the game has a TON of pretty cool moments that factor into the presentation. One part that I did not particularly like was when Drake and Tenzin go into the mountain and they keep interacting with each other. Another part I did not like was when in the village with the tank trying to kill you and when you try to shimmy on the side of the village, the tank (for whatever reason) crashes through a wall above you and almost falls down the mountainside.

Maybe zerocool is right, maybe I don't play a lot of games.

You keep referencing Uncharted 2 which is not like a lot of games. It's a very good game. Most games are not very good and majority of games are scripted.

 

[Kromis]

You keep referencing Uncharted 2 which is not like a lot of games. It's a very good game. Most games are not very good and majority of games are scripted.

Yeah, I'm sorry. Uncharted 2 just so good 🙂

 

[artemicion]

In terms of scripted vs. open-ended games, I think there's definitely a movement in the industry toward scripted games. Scripted games give developers more control of the pacing of the game. It probably also makes AI scripting easier as devs can code enemies to react in specific ways given the environment, as opposed to writing generalized AI scripts.

I can't remember the last time I played a really good open-ended game. I thought Fable 2 was pretty bad. Fallout 3 was pretty good but even then the best parts are the quests with the scripted enemy encounters. Same with GTA 4. I spent less time running around aimlessly and more time doing quests, which are of the heavily scripted, one path to complete, variety. Like the quest where you rob the bank. All the police officers spawn at pretty much the same spot and the quest plays out pretty much the same across 1000 playthroughs.

In fact, in my favorite game of the past couple years, Super Mario Galaxy, you can see a distinct departure from creating a single massive level where you aimlessly run around and explore (Mario 64), to an approach where they design more "on rails" type levels where the game is broken down into small discrete "quests".

 

[tviceman]

I thought Call of Juarez wasn't good, and it was heavily scripted.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

Like anything it all depends on how it's implemented. COD4 and MW2 are heavily scripted, but it works because it draws you in the cinematic aspect of the experience. The MW2 campaign has so many "HOLY SH!T" moments it's ridiculous (the story's ridiculous too, but that's besides the point).

I think the point about AI is a good one though. I will be entirely honest and admit that the last time I remember being REALLY impressed and struck by a game's computer AI was the original Half-Life. I remember the part where you first break to the surface near all the cargo hangers and the Marines first start air assaulting down to kill you. The way they flank and try to funnel you, or throw grenades into your hiding spots when you take cover, was just outstanding to the point that as a 14-year old kid at the time I noticed, "Wow, these guys are GOOD."

Sadly, I haven't really been impressed like that since. I recall the AI in Gears of War 2 being all right, and the Halo series on Legendary is pretty decent. But there definitely seems to be less focus on realistic AI these days. Graphics engines make leaps and bounds, but rather than make engaging, realistic AI, developers just seem to make the computer miss less at higher difficulties.

 

[sanzen07]

This thread makes no sense. Being scripted has nothing to do with a game being good or not. There are some false correlations being made in here.

 

[Kromis]

This thread makes no sense. Being scripted has nothing to do with a game being good or not. There are some false correlations being made in here.

Yeah, it doesn't. I have no idea what I want to say anything so let's keep this thread dead 🙂