and the Winner for best Videogame story in 2000 is.....

according to Gamespot that is, and I\'m not really surprised cause I thought the story was pretty darn good myself.

The Summoner



http://www.zdnet.com/gamespot/features/video/bestof_2000/p2_05.html

Best Game Story

Winner: Summoner
Platform: PlayStation 2
Developer: Volition
Publisher: THQ
Release Date: October 26, 2000

Established PC developer Volition\'s first entry into the console market was the first North American RPG for the PlayStation 2. Volition had high ambitions with Summoner, and although the game falls short of our expectations, it challenges the stereotypes of the genre with several innovative and original elements. But Summoner\'s greatest asset is its story.

Summoner tells a compelling story about several characters uniting against a common foe and trying to make sense of their lives in the process. But more importantly, the game applies a traditional Hollywood formula to the writing - the story is divided into acts, and several catastrophic events make for plenty of cliffhangers. As the story progresses, the characters you thought you knew so well surprise you as they mature. And though the game is titled Summoner, the story is about several different personalities, not just the party leader. The game forces you to explore each character, and it even takes certain characters away from you to keep you from getting too attached to one personality.

The writing team at Volition created an immense world and even went so far as to create an involved history of the game\'s world. The land of Medevah hosts a whole pantheon of gods, and it boasts a complex mythology that comes into play during the game. There are several different races in Summoner, and each one is a descendant from the game\'s host of gods. Though it\'s difficult to swallow at first, once you\'ve learned the game\'s mythology, every little part of the game starts to make perfect sense.

Indeed, everything has a purpose in Summoner, and minor characters and side quests can often have a major impact on the overall storyline later. Each of the NPCs, no matter how trivial, has a story. These stories often intertwine with other storylines to tell bigger and better tales. No one simply exists in the world of Summoner - each character was put in the game for a reason.

Summoner won the Best Story award because the game ties all of these ends together so beautifully. Because in Summoner, the gameplay is simply the by-product of telling the game\'s rich story instead of the story being a by-product of the gameplay. Summoner has several shortcomings, but the story is not one of them. Told through powerful in-game cinematics, backed with haunting music and solid voice acting, Summoner\'s story makes up for the game\'s flaws.

Interesting...I personally, not having played Summoner, would have chosen Vagrant Story.

Now, best videogame story of all time, in my oppinion, would have to goto Xenogears.

Summoner does sound quite involving though...

who were the runner ups?

I haven\'t played summoner but now I think I have to. My vote would have gone to Shenmue.

I dont know..I hear the dragon Warrior series has a very compelling story.  I think number 7 is going to be released in the states.  Not just in japan

Originally posted by Sublimesjg
who were the runner ups?

Incredible Crisis (PlayStation)
Chrono Cross (PlayStation)
Vagrant Story (PlayStation)
StarCraft 64 (Nintendo 64)

Originally posted by IcebergSlim
I haven\'t played summoner but now I think I have to. My vote would have gone to Shenmue.

http://www.zdnet.com/gamespot/features/video/bestof_2000/p5_01.html

Believe it or not Shenmue was voted the most dissapointing game, but got an award for best Graphics (technical), and nominations for Graphics (artistic), Best Sound (SSX won best Sound),  and Best Adventure game.

Dailyradar, Next Gen, Gamefan Online, etc hailed Shenmue as one of the greatest games ever but Gamespot, the Gamefan mag, and others claimed that the game moved to slowly for their tastes.

I certanly enyoyed the title, i think i like games where you dont have to be fighting or killing things all the time but there are ppl out there that like constant ACTION in their games so i can understand why Shenmue and it\'s slow detective vibe dissapointed a whole bunch of ppl expecting a Virtua Fighter Rpg!

Hate it or Love it, Shenmue is certanly the most important ground breaking title of 2000.  

Astro :cool:

Yea i thought that Chrono Cross had a great story with a lot of twists that really made the story shine and i loved how they found ways to make the previous title mix in with it.

Although i am a big Chrono Trigger fan so my decision is a little biased.

Oh well no matter how u look at it is a great game and story

Isn\'t that the game where all you do is play videogames, and you are the middle aged old man? The demo rocked, but I don\'t see a story.......

Year 2000 best story Summoner?

Then I think it\'s worth a buy after all. I don\'t mind graphics and bad camera angles. The story means a lot...

But if the gameplay 5uck5 too much then I\'ll decide otherwise...

Originally posted by Joyda
Year 2000 best story Summoner?

Then I think it\'s worth a buy after all. I don\'t mind graphics and bad camera angles. The story means a lot...

But if the gameplay 5uck5 too much then I\'ll decide otherwise...

I liked the gameplay, it was a glorified Vagrant Story style of play.

 Just the framerate drops, and the bad camera angles in big cities like Lanelle, The game did freeze on me once, and there are reports of some other minor bugs but none of those affected me at all.. Other wise it was worthy of play IMO

Originally posted by ddaryl

Originally posted by Joyda
Year 2000 best story Summoner?

Then I think it\'s worth a buy after all. I don\'t mind graphics and bad camera angles. The story means a lot...

But if the gameplay 5uck5 too much then I\'ll decide otherwise...

I liked the gameplay, it was a glorified Vagrant Story style of play.

 Just the framerate drops, and the bad camera angles in big cities like Lanelle, The game did freeze on me once, and there are reports of some other minor bugs but none of those affected me at all.. Other wise it was worthy of play IMO [/B]

Ok; I will at least rent it to see if it\'s worth a buy. But I was thinking to get RPG -game and it\'s either Summoner or FFIX. I want a game that lasts and I think Summoner is large as well

-just that game-stores don\'t rent PS2 games yet here