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Seriously? i remeber whne games were hours on end. Today it is either to short i am left yearning for more or to long i just end up looking up the plot. I got reach yesterday. clear the first 3 levlas in 3 or less hours. Now im am at lvl 8. and i think it end at lvl 10. Why does it seem story is taking a backseat to Multiplayer?

Because you're playing FPS games

Honestly, it's because multiplayer gameplay is so much less predictable and way more interesting than a single player campaign. Most people don't even play the single player campaign/story mode and skip straight to the multiplayer - especially in FPS games.

If you do want a long, epic storyline, you really have to look into RPGs. They're about the only genre out there that provides a good single player experience that's long-lasting. Heck, Lost Odyssey is an Xbox 360 game on four full discs of content.

Try DDO, it has whole strings of quests that build on each other. Seriously, I lose track of time completely when I'm playing it.

But is it as good as WoW? XD

I do like Rpgs like DA:O and i still have ff13 to finish. I just suck at them. i have to turn the setting down at the last boss fights. But i still wonder why does story have to take a backseat to the same generic fps sometimes.

Yeah. Multiplayer has been given a more prominient roll in gaming. Most traditionally single player games are still about as long as they used to be, but there is a noticeable shortening in FPS single players which does disappoint.

I'd like to see more FPS games with strong story lines like Bioshock. Coop is becoming more common in games though and I do greatly enjoy good coop offerings like Horde Mode or Firefight.

old games like Morrowind were epic long games I sure do miss them. And back then they didn't have quick travel

Meh Most of my final fantasy saves have over 70 hours played on them before i even beat the final boss. Then you still have plenty of stuff you need to do afterwards.

These days you would be hard pressed to find that many lengthy single player modern game that isn't an RPG. Most of the gaming market I believe is making a switch towards more Multiplayer focus in their games, so these days single player is kind of taking a backseat.

This is another argument that I can't bring myself to understand.

Before three dimensions hit the market, you were lucky to get more than an hour of constant gameplay out of something, and the only form of 'replay value' was the fact that you had to start over from the beginning once you had lost enough lives.

There are plenty of lengthy games in the current generation, you're just looking in all of the wrong genres (or ignoring them for the sake of the argument). If length is all you look for in a game, and not a well-written and incredibly paced storyline, then you still have plenty of options. Games must be built around their intended length from the ground up; If you gave someone a pure first-person shooter that lasted 80 hours, they'd probably put it down after 6-10, because at that point the game would become entirely too convoluted and pointless. A focus on multiplayer is not necessarily a bad thing, as it can benefit the style of game very well. If you don't like multiplayer, then don't play the style of game you know will have a multiplayer focus. It's that simple.

The vast majority of my current-gen videogame library is full of games that I've gotten at least 30 hours of gameplay out of, and in some rare cases, upwards of 300. To be fair, I like sandbox games and RPG-hybrids a lot, simply because they offer you so much in their design alone and give you a sense of accomplishment. You don't understand how fething amazing a scenario writing team has to be to push a game past 10 hours (five times the length of your average movie) without some sort of leveling system or similar gimmick.

What's a really good RPG to pick up, while we're on the subject?

FF13 was very "meh" to me... I'd love to find one that would really draw me in.

Monster Rain wrote:What's a really good RPG to pick up, while we're on the subject?

FF13 was very "meh" to me... I'd love to find one that would really draw me in.

Go for Oblivion. It took me 100+ hours to complete. There is WAY to much to do in that game.

chowderhead13 wrote:

Monster Rain wrote:What's a really good RPG to pick up, while we're on the subject?

FF13 was very "meh" to me... I'd love to find one that would really draw me in.

Go for Oblivion. It took me 100+ hours to complete. There is WAY to much to do in that game.

Be careful of giant fething Mudcrabs, though. Those are the devil.

Monster Rain wrote:What's a really good RPG to pick up, while we're on the subject?

FF13 was very "meh" to me... I'd love to find one that would really draw me in.

As long as you don't care about modern-day graphics, you might look into the older Final Fantasy games. Personally, I found VII to be epic at times (although you might have to get past the graphics quite a bit - they are, well, not the greatest to put it mildly). Plus, it has all kinds of content beyond the main storyline - extra characters to find, mini-games abound, secret bosses, ultimate weapons...

You might also look into the Kingdom Hearts series of games. Even if it is Disney, the story is pure Final Fantasy, with real tearjerking moments, epic fights, and a huge amount of things to do even after the game ends. And they really only get better as the games go on, though to be honest Chain of Memories wasn't that great, and you'll get bored fast of the combat in 358/2 Days.

Monster Rain wrote:What's a really good RPG to pick up, while we're on the subject?

FF13 was very "meh" to me... I'd love to find one that would really draw me in.

Someone already said Oblivion. I'll go ahead and throw Fallout 3 out there, as it's almost as long, and the mechanics are even more fun. Not to mention that the world is a whole lot less generic than Tamriel. If you own a PSP, definitely pick up both Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Dissidia: Final Fantasy. Peace Walker is what would happen if Metal Gear Solid merged with an epic RPG. Damage is numbered, weapon levels go up, you level up your soldiers and gain new weapons and items by managing your base of operations, you send your soldiers into automated classic-style RPG standoffs against enemy insurgency, and there are a ton of extra missions and challenges to complete, all of which can be completed with up to three friends. These are just a few of the awesome features of Peace Walker, and it's totally worth buying a PSP just to own this game. I've put somewhere around 80 hours into it and I'm not even finished with the main storyline.

Dissidia's storyline isn't anything to write home about, but the gameplay is so unique and the content is so vast that the storyline is easy to overlook. A lot of people label this a fighting game, but that's a total misconception. It's a one-on-one action RPG. It's very difficult to explain the system in detail, but suffice to say that I've put over 300 hours into it since I got it a little over a year ago. While we're on the subject of the PSP, it's probably the system to go for if you like RPGs. They polished up Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP and released it in '07 (which is easily the best Strategy RPG ever devised), they've rereleased Disgaea 1 and 2 on the PSP (which are both hundreds of hours long), They're releasing Parasite Eve 3 (The Third Birthday) for the PSP soon (which is an awesome blend of RPG and survival-horror, if you've never played PE), as well as a new spinoff of Final Fantasy XIII. There's Phantasy Star Portable 1 & 2, which are great if you like item collection type RPGs, Persona 1, 3, and (soon to be) 4 (which are all extremely long JRPGs with unique mechanics), Valkyria Chronicles 2(which is a blend of Strategy RPG/Third Person Shooter; needless to say, it's awesome), etc. Don't forget all of the classic PlayStation RPGs that are for sale on the PSN. I suggest you look into the PSP for hundreds of hours of RPG enjoyment.

Fallout 3 and Oblivion. Those games are LOOONG if you stick with them. I have been playing Fallout 3 on the same file for like 2 and a half years(not nonstop, thankfully), and I still haven't completed everything. And Oblivion I just started.

I'll check them out!

Thanks!

Fallout 3 has been good for several dozen hours for me. Just make sure you explore like you're supposed to and not focused on pounding out the main quest.

I've gotten quite a bit of playtime from GTA4 as well.

I think a lot of it is how you choose to play a game. Most of them seem to have a "Finish right away" path as well as a "Meandering and messing around" path.

I'd also suggest Red Dead Redemption. Fun combat, decent story, moderately likable characters and literally oodles (I never get to use that word, I wonder why? It's such a fun word to say. Oodles. Oodles, oodles, oodles, oodles, oodles, oodles, oodles. Oooooooodles...oodles. Anyways, where was I?) of things to do in the Old West. Just watch out for wolf packs if you're on foot. Those buggers always seem to have one more wolf than I counted, waiting until I'm out of dead eye and reloading to pounce...

Long games tend to have a lot of tedious parts to them. Long distance to run from A to B. Annoying "collect 100 rats" type quests. Skills and leveling up characters with tedious grinding of some sort.

I think these days, company's are trying to squeeze in as much quality overall for their game, even if its only about 8 hours of play. It sure beats what I said above.

Personally I like a game that has some randomness and replay-ability about it. For example, GTA4 you could just run around a city with cops chasing you. I could do this for hours. All it is is a big city + cops + you shooting them = repeat. Fun and simple.

Oh hey, it's this bs thread again. Here, i'll just post a video of a flagship "old" game being beaten in 13 minutes and be on my way.

Nobodys posted the Morrowind in 11 minutes video yet?

I think it was 11 anyway.

ShumaGorath wrote:
Oh hey, it's this bs thread again. Here, i'll just post a video of a flagship "old" game being beaten in 13 minutes and be on my way.

del'Vhar wrote:Nobodys posted the Morrowind in 11 minutes video yet?

I think it was 11 anyway.

Since both of those players played it to beat the game as quick is possible of course your gonna end up with a short playtime, would thats be the OP's aim??? Obviosly not if he wants a game that takes ages to complete.

There is a difference between a long game, and a huge game. ME2 was "long" due to the different difficulty modes, and huge amount of achievements to gain that needed seperate playthroughs.

Ff 7 to 9 were "huge", massive game worlds with a large amount of content to spend silly amounts of time on if you wanted.

Huge games are pretty much dead unless you are looking at an MMO, because the production time makes them nearly impossible to make. ff13 was a 30 hour long corridor for a reason, because trying to remake the vastness of the games before it would have left it in production for an insane amount of time due to the graphics, so much so that by the time it would be released, the graphics would be dated regardless :(

Untill production time for current gen graphics takes a massive jump in speed, you won't see huge games anymore. You will see shorter games that have quirks such as reasons for repeated playthroughs (unlocks/achievements)

There is a difference between a long game, and a huge game. ME2 was "long" due to the different difficulty modes, and huge amount of achievements to gain that needed seperate playthroughs.

Ff 7 to 9 were "huge", massive game worlds with a large amount of content to spend silly amounts of time on if you wanted.

Hilariously visible bias detected. ME2 had just as much to "do" as FF7-9.

You would be hardpressed to fit all the sidemissions + upgrades in me 2 into 100 hours gametime (unless on insanity and you die constantly D: ). To get all the content, you have to replay it to try different specs or dialogue/ good-bad choice options, which was my point in saying it is a different type of big game to the the 90's ff's

Having to replay to actually see everything is where games seem to be going nowadays content wise, instead of the initial playthrough having the option to be literally 100 hours + off side quests games etc. It achieves the same thing, you play them for a long time, but replaying being so important to see all the content is a sneakier way to keep you playing then making the initial playthough huge.

If you want a game that lasts long then buy anything from tri-ace or square enix.
All of which follow the same final fantasy route, with similar looking characters, but all have atleast 200+ hours in total, with atleast 50 of those just to fet through the game.


Also, since FF7-9 was allready brought up, gotta say that 8 is by far the best

There is a quest in Oblivion were you have to collect 100(or maybe 500. I forget) Tongs and Calipers to help some nutcase make a flying boat (He uses them to keep the water up). That quest alone took longer than completing every guild, the Main quest, Knights of the Nine, Shivering Isles main storyline, every dungeon I came across prior to starting this quest, and every other quest I came across before doing this quest without using Fast travel for the whole game. Another really freaking long quest is the one for the Museum of Oddities. both being in Shivering Isles.

Ill second oblivion for its time span, it is however drawn out alot at times, making it a tad boring.
DLC's are worth it though.


Failing that, grab fallout 3

If people disagree with the points being argued, then that's fine and they are welcome to debate the points raised, but there's no need to spam the thread just because one is bored or disinterested in the topic. ta.