[PC] PC Games with Exceptionally Good Stories and Music.

I'm looking for a PC game with a great story and soundtrack to match. Genre doesn't matter as long as its playable. Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (Originally for X-Box) was an amazing game and I'm looking for something similar. It had a Sci-Fi/Fantasy hybrid setting which I really enjoyed. One moment you were in a medieval village oppressed by a foreign government. The next you were in another world where a major software corporation wanted to control the population through virtual reality. Generally I'm looking for a linear PC games where the main character has their own history and isn't a silent protagonist created by the player (ie: Oblivion, KOTOR, etc.) Anything that will keep me on the edge and wondering what will happen next is good.

Post your recommendations please.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, Half Life 2's getting a good plot to it lately, especially with Episode 1 and 2 out. If you're willing to spend a little extra moolah, it'll be worth it (and it should run on a relatively poor computer; I was able to get away with 800x600 with medium-ish settings on a Pentium 4 2.2 with 768MB of RAM and a PCI GeForce MX440 on HL2, although I've since upgraded my computer, so I don't know for sure about how it'll handle episode 1 and 2). Besides, if you get the Orange Box you get Portal as well, which doesn't have much of a plot but is still an excellent game with even better humor in it.

Anyway, aside from that, you could try out... say, Max Payne. I haven't played it myself, but I've heard it's good and it has a half-decent plot.

How ya doing, buddy?

You said genre didn't matter, so I'll just recommend the PC game with the best story and dialogue ever written:

Planescape Torment (warning: possible spoilers)

Great music, too. The whole soundtrack's up for download here:

Planescape-Torment.Org

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Grim Fandango is a great game

I also liked Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in the US)

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The Neverhood Chronicles. Excellent, sometimes goofy music, an exceptionally good plot, fun, and very interesting visually.

Also, I second Grim Fandango. Truly one of the last great adventure games made.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Jujubee

I'm looking for a PC game with a great story and soundtrack to match. Genre doesn't matter as long as its playable.

Considering you have an Aegis avatar I'm going to assume you enjoy Persona 3, and so, I recommend Ever17. It's a fantastic visual novel which was originally released on the Dreamcast back in 2001, but Hirameki translated and published the English version for PC. I'd highly recommend taking a look at it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Anachronox. It's pretty mediocre from the RPG standpoint, battles are really generic, upgrading weapons seems like an idea put in last minute, and it's pretty much just lame (battles play like a standard japanese console RPG). However! The writing in the game is spectacular. The game had me actually laughing out loud during plenty of scenes, and, at least it's a third person viewpoint so it doesn't quite feel like every other RPG out there (well, back when it was made, at least).

And the protagonist's name is Sly Boots. How can you beat that?

FELIPE NO

I second Planescape. I recently replayed the game and was completely knocked out by the writing. It's not a particularly long game (nor difficult) but it's probably one of the best-written games out there (with mounds and mounds of text).

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Thanks for all the good suggestions everyone. By now, I've acquired most of the games mentioned and they all look promising. Grim Fandango will be the first I play since its the most unique. Unfortunately, its the only game thats being unstable.. It's randomly crashing even after I installed the newest patch and tried running in compatibility mode. Have any of you guys managed to play this game on a modern PC? From what I read it seems like my system is overpowering the game by processing it too fast.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, there are emulators that could probably run it. I know that they made some for the old SCUMM games of the early 90's, I would be surprised if they didn't have those for games like Grim Fandago.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I had no problems running Grim Fandango on my system. Of course, I hated the control system so much that I stopped playing the game after about an hour...

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I also have had problems running GF. Sometimes it will crash out of the blue in certain areas, and compatibility mode actually makes it run more slowly.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Planescape: Torment, as already mentioned, has the best story and setting ever committed to game. You are an immortal who has lived many lives, his sense of identity deteriorating with each death. The quest you are set is to end this cycle by picking up traces and clues left by former incarnations of yourself, to find out once and for all who you are and how you came to be this way.

And the setting - a hub world set at the centre of a universe divided into various planes. It's the kind of game where a highlight is spending an hour talking and philosophising with bar patrons about the constitution and metaphysics of the game universe.

Deus Ex is on its heels for having one of the best and most involving storylines in a game. It's a cyber punk affair, set in the not too distant future. If you're interested in things like conspiracies, one world orders, human genetic manipulation - those kind of themes - then it would be right up your street. Saying nothing of the fantastic character interaction and gameplay (FPS/RPG), and immersive atmosphere.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Planescape: Torment. After you play that, come back for more suggestions. I can't vouch for Grim Fandango but that seems like a good bet also.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Plenty of old Scumm games (and similar) are great in both areas.

I recommend the Monkey Island games and Beneath A Steel Sky.

FELIPE NO

Definitely try out Deus Ex. Great story with a few nice twists to it. It's a first person shooter, but you get a lot of choices throughout the entire game. You can go in guns blazing, take the stealth approach, completely ignore enemies. It's sweet.

Just stay away from the sequel. I personally like to pretend there was never a sequel.

And, if you finished Deus Ex, try and see if you can get System Shock 2. The gameplay is pretty similiar to deus ex. Story is great as well, but I can't say too much about it without spoiling it. Basically you awake on this giant spaceship, all alone, everyone else is dead, and you are wondering what the fuck happend. You slowly discover what happend through PDA emails, and a few surviving characters.

Just a headsup, the games are like pff 7 years old or something? so you might have trouble running them, this applies especially to System Shock 2, but there were several fanmade patches that made them run on XP. No idea how it works on vista, but I would assume there's one such patch too.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Bad Mojo, The Dig, Full Throttle, Blade Runner, and Beyond Good & Evil seem to fit the criteria you're looking for. Basically, though, I think you're best off just looking through libraries of classic point and click adventures. (www.the-underdogs.info might be a place to check out, if you haven't already.)

Also, seconding the mention for Max Payne, 1 & 2, and Fahrenheit (known in the U.S. as Indigo Prophecy). Fantastic titles, all.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Deus Ex
You have to play this game, period. It's a masterpiece, the soundtrack is unlike anything I've ever heard before. It never gets old.

Homeworld, Homeworld 2
Really hard gameplay, but compelling stories in both games. I suggest you check out the second game, but both games have amazing scores.

American McGee's Alice
This game was really hard to appreciate at first, but having listened to the soundtrack a couple of times over, I took my time and played through the game. I didn't regret it at all, the story is outstanding!

Chaser
A rather unknown game to most people, I think. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing, story is a little difficult, but intriguing, game looks really good overall and provides plenty hours of gameplay.

Hitman Contracts
Not much to be said here - it's 47, you know. And Jesper Kyd. You do the maths.

Fallout 1 & 2
Okay okay, the two best RPG games ever, combined with 2 great scores by Mark Morgan. This.. does not disappoint, so try check those out!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

You should definitely give Elite 3 (Frontier: First Encounters) a go, use it in conjunction with JJFFE to run it in XP. As a bonus it makes the game virtually bug-free and unlocks some hidden missions. The game however might be too challenging but don't give up, eventually you will notice a great story that gradually develops as you pass time. I really like the music, it sets the mood for space and exploration perfectly but this only counts for the original scores.

Also obey the guy posting above me, it is a great selection of must-plays. Currently replaying Deus Ex on realistic for the gazillionth time, I never grow tired from this game. The incredible attention to detail never fails to impress me over and over again + Alexander Brandon is god when it comes to tracker music. Hopefully, Deus Ex 3 will make us forget about the puke that is Invisible War.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I would recommend the Broken Sword games (also known as Circle of Blood).
I've only played the first 2, but they had pretty interesting stories and were quite funny at some parts.
The voice acting is also very good, probably some of the best I've heard.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It sounds like you're just really just asking for more adventure games. In that case, Syberia comes to mind as one that might interest you. The new Sam & Max episodes don't have the best story, but are pretty hilarious regardless.

And you can't forget the classics, like Myst and its sequels. The backstory is ridiculously deep, and the music can be quite captivating at times. I hear the Myst novels are worth reading as well.

I was speaking idiomatically.

If you don't mind buying, or already own Neverwinter Nights 2, there's no reason you shouldn't be getting Mask of the Betrayer. I don't even care if you don't have money. Steal it. It's the best RPG in since forever, and the soundtrack is pretty good too I guess.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Xellos

And, if you finished Deus Ex, try and see if you can get System Shock 2. The gameplay is pretty similiar to deus ex.

I just have to say that everytime I read something that implies ignorance (not an insult) to the fact that System Shock 2 predates Deus Ex, I get gamer butt hurt like nobody's business. BLAH. I want to fill in the description gap. So... The best way I can describe System Shock 2 is to say that if you've played Bioshock, then you've basically played an updated System Shock 2 with slightly less annoying bullshit and less RPG type features.

It's a dystopian game that deals with tragedy and good ideas gone wrong. First Person, but not much of a shooter (stats play more into things than actual shooter mechanics as far as I can remember). The soundtrack would appeal to people with a techno saavy or at least a very big weakspot for it. It's a game that lacks some polish but has brilliant ideas and is a must play in spite of things.

FELIPE NO

Well, I just beat Indigo Prophecy the other night. That game was sweet, extremely short but sweet. Minus the blatant Matrix rip Kung Fu scenes and instant love interest/plot twist near the ending. I'm working on obtaining the other games you guys mentioned. So far I have thse games installed:

Beyond Good and Evil
Fahrenheit
Grim Fandango, but its still broken..
Planescape Torment
Deus Ex, forgot all about this game, I remember downloading the demo on dial up lol
---
Fable: The Lost Chapters
The Longest Journey
Half Life 2
Tomb Raider Legend
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
Sims 2 with all expansions
World of Warcraft [vomit]
Age of Armor

I'm running out of harddrive space. lol >_>

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Can't vouch for most of the games here myself, though I've heard great things about them. I'd add MGS1 on a PSX emulator, if you haven't already played it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.