so after playing portal 2 i came to a realization that it had the best writing i've ever had the pleasure to listen to in terms of the dialogue of its speakers and voice acting. not to mention there's no more than 3 people speaking throughout the entire game (i.e. Cave Johnson, GLaDOS and wheatley) i'm sure i'm not the only one when i say i would literally stop what i was doing in portal 2 and just listen to the brilliant words that were being spoken especially the ones where Wheatley encourages you to "kill" yourself and Cave's memorable quotes. so portal 2 stands still as best writing in a game ever and best voice acting. if you think differently post below what you think has better writing/voice acting than portal 2

What about Metal Gear Solid 4?

I agree that it was very good writing, it is both humorous and clever.

However, may I suggest punctuating your sentences, using capital letters and including paragraphs in future posts.

I think I agree. I was going to say it's a new benchmark for this stuff in my blog earlier, but I thought that was maybe overdoing it.

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

Since I feel video game writing in general is pretty abysmal, I would have to agree.

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

Soul Reaver series, son.

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

The writing is certainly good but its the voice work that puts it up on a higher level then every other game out there.  Stephen Merchant is just so fucking good.

" Since I feel video game writing in general is pretty abysmal, I would have to agree. "

" The writing is certainly good but its the voice work that puts it up on a higher level then every other game out there.  Stephen Merchant is just so fucking good. "

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

I feel like I'm in a minority on this one. I like the game but I didnt feel the writing was what made Portal 2 good.

As someone else said a lot of it had to do with the voice work but a large portion of it for me just felt like moving from one puzzle to the next. Honestly I felt the first portal had better writing, but again I know I am probably in a minority on that.

" @KaosAngel said:

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

A lot of people are probably going to disagree with you, but not me.The entire Metal Gear Solid franchise in general has great writing. "

Bioshock.

No I disagree

Though I do like it alot

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @KaosAngel said:

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

A lot of people are probably going to disagree with you, but not me.The entire Metal Gear Solid franchise in general has great writing. "

how about no? the dialogue is so fucking dumbbut yeah I'd agree with the OP, Nier is certainly up there but I dunno if it beats portal 2. "

" @Laketown said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @KaosAngel said:

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

A lot of people are probably going to disagree with you, but not me.The entire Metal Gear Solid franchise in general has great writing. "

how about no? the dialogue is so fucking dumbbut yeah I'd agree with the OP, Nier is certainly up there but I dunno if it beats portal 2. "

Name one line of dialogue that isn't meant to be an inside joke for MGS fans that's dumb.    The voice acting is still beyond what most games even do, hell...most games don't even reach half the quality of MGS voice acting. "

gta san andreas writing is above and beyond any other game ever

" @Laketown said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @KaosAngel said:

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

A lot of people are probably going to disagree with you, but not me.The entire Metal Gear Solid franchise in general has great writing. "

how about no? the dialogue is so fucking dumbbut yeah I'd agree with the OP, Nier is certainly up there but I dunno if it beats portal 2. "

Name one line of dialogue that isn't meant to be an inside joke for MGS fans that's dumb.    The voice acting is still beyond what most games even do, hell...most games don't even reach half the quality of MGS voice acting. "

" @Laketown said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @KaosAngel said:

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

A lot of people are probably going to disagree with you, but not me.The entire Metal Gear Solid franchise in general has great writing. "

how about no? the dialogue is so fucking dumbbut yeah I'd agree with the OP, Nier is certainly up there but I dunno if it beats portal 2. "

Name one line of dialogue that isn't meant to be an inside joke for MGS fans that's dumb.    The voice acting is still beyond what most games even do, hell...most games don't even reach half the quality of MGS voice acting. "

" @KaosAngel said:

" @Laketown said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @KaosAngel said:

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

A lot of people are probably going to disagree with you, but not me.The entire Metal Gear Solid franchise in general has great writing. "

how about no? the dialogue is so fucking dumbbut yeah I'd agree with the OP, Nier is certainly up there but I dunno if it beats portal 2. "

Name one line of dialogue that isn't meant to be an inside joke for MGS fans that's dumb.    The voice acting is still beyond what most games even do, hell...most games don't even reach half the quality of MGS voice acting. "

I don't have a problem with the writing Metal Gear Solid. I think it's fantastic. I just hate the ham-handed delivery of all the voice actors. It's way too over the top for my taste. "

Nah, I think Alan Wake has the best writing. Or Max Payne.

" @Toms115: No dude, if you really played it, MGS4 is still beyond what most writing does in games.  I'm not even counting the entire MGS series, just MGS4...no game has come close yet and that game is flippin' 4 years old now.  Voice Acting?  Still the best.  Cinematics?  Still top class.  People say Portal 2 is groundbreaking but it does nothing outside what people have been doing for years.Hell, Kingdom Hearts II had just as strong writing. "

also, to actually contribute to the original post: yes, portal 2 had some fantastic writing. it's certainly one of the best written games that i have played.

It was pretty awesome yeah, I think Wheatley is one of my favourite characters. :)

Was I the only one who thought Wheatly talked WAY too much and got annoying?

Planescape Torment

*Leaves thread with pimp cane*

Yeah no.

I'm not very far in but yeah, the dialogue is incredible.

I... actually think it does.

I just realised that. Thanks, I guess.

It has great writing, and it has great voice acting.
It does not have the best writing, or voice acting, in a videogame.
Play more games.

The dialogue is quite clever and the voice talent is excellent, yes. But I feel that Mass Effect is currently the series with the best writing.

It has some of the best voice acting in video games, but while the writing was above average, I would definitely not call it brilliant (much less "the best"). The list of games with better writing can be made long: The Secret of Monkey Island, Beyond a Steel Sky, Half-Life 2, The Darkness, Bioshock, the Prince of Persia reboot, Brütal Legend, Mass Effect et cetera.

When it comes to writing I favour some of the older PC RPGs, Baldur's Gate especially (go for the eyes, Boo!)
as for spoken dialogue and voice acting I'd put Portal up with my other favorites;
Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect and .. wow Bioware all over.

" @KaosAngel said:

" @Laketown said:

" @FancySoapsMan said:

" @KaosAngel said:

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

A lot of people are probably going to disagree with you, but not me.The entire Metal Gear Solid franchise in general has great writing. "

how about no? the dialogue is so fucking dumbbut yeah I'd agree with the OP, Nier is certainly up there but I dunno if it beats portal 2. "

Name one line of dialogue that isn't meant to be an inside joke for MGS fans that's dumb.    The voice acting is still beyond what most games even do, hell...most games don't even reach half the quality of MGS voice acting. "

Let me preface this by saying that I absolutely love ever MGS game, and MGS4 may be my favorite game of all time, so I'm only playing devil's advocate here.


That being said, Ocelot making finger-guns and yelling "BANG" to bring down helicopters is some dumb shit. "

"Bioshock."

People have forgotten Red Dead Redemption already? Anyway, I found Portal 2's narrative weaker than even the first Portal's, because it is (a) obvious (b)  an exceedingly conventional narrative arc reminiscent of a Pixar film but too reliant on forced humour and overused British verbal quirks at the expense of exposition, character, and setting and (c) the lulzy characters, which might appeal to some, but get grating after a while. It starts to feel a bit like a one-joke pony: while the humour is fine, there are much more interesting things about Aperture Science that could've been explored. The history of Aperture Science was the best part of Portal 2 and it didn't get the full attention it deserved.

The first game had brilliant, menacing, and subtle double-speak as well as leaving much to the imagination in letting the player infer meaning from the environment and various clues. I don't see why they had to stray so far from the surrealist minimalism of the first game when it was such a success. It might be because they felt that they couldn't repeat the same trick twice, or that a more explicit narrative would be more appealing to the audience? Although I agree the writing in Portal 2 is far above the average, and I enjoyed it to some extent, it makes me sad to see it declared the best-written game ever because of one particularly decent voiceover performance or some funny jokes (?). Maybe best written game in the first couple of months of 2011, but I'm not even sure about that as I haven't played enough games released in 2011 to judge.

" It has some of the best voice acting in video games, but while the writing was above average, I would definitely not call it brilliant (much less "the best"). The list of games with better writing can be made long: The Secret of Monkey Island, Beyond a Steel Sky, Half-Life 2, The Darkness, Bioshock, the Prince of Persia reboot, Brütal Legend, Mass Effect et cetera. "

" @EuanDewar said:

" The writing is certainly good but its the voice work that puts it up on a higher level then every other game out there.  Stephen Merchant is just so fucking good. "

agree. "

" @Icemael said:

" It has some of the best voice acting in video games, but while the writing was above average, I would definitely not call it brilliant (much less "the best"). The list of games with better writing can be made long: The Secret of Monkey Island, Beyond a Steel Sky, Half-Life 2, The Darkness, Bioshock, the Prince of Persia reboot, Brütal Legend, Mass Effect et cetera. "

mass effect? really? "

It's really good, but I don't think it beats Deadly Premonition.

" @KaosAngel said:

" What about Metal Gear Solid 4? "

Shitstorm engage.

As for Portal 2, it had great writing, but I wouldn't say it's the best I've seen. Now, the voice acting might be some of the best I've heard.

"

No.

The writing in Portal 2 is pretty fucking incredible.