Top 10 most bizarre gaming plotlines

Written by Ryan Garside

August 7, 2006 | 13:53

Tags: #bizarre #dead-or-alive #indigo-prophecy #katamari-damacy #plot #shenmue #top-10

Companies: #game

4: Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge

Monkey Island - the name says a lot - is about as quirky as it comes. The point and click, pirate adventure came a long time before Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow and was far more humorous. I could have chosen any of the series to go in the list but I have settled on the second game, in my opinion the funniest and the best.

You play as Guybrush, the intrepid hero, fresh from his success in the original game against LeChuck. You set off this time in search of a buried treasure known as ‘Big Whoop’. However, on Guybrush's quest to find the treasure he encounters LeChuck’s old henchman Largo. Largo steals the beard of LeChuck, which Guybrush had saved for some reason, only for Guybrush to be told by a Voodoo lady that the only way to now beat LeChuck is by discovering the buried treasure. Confused? Good.

Top 10 most bizarre gaming plotlines Monkey Island Top 10 most bizarre gaming plotlines Monkey Island
The pace doesn’t slacken for a second and after a quick trip to Island Dinky, and a fall down a big hole, Guybrush encounters his nemesis LeChuck. It is here, in a Star Wars-esque moment LeChuck reveals that he is in fact Guybrush's brother, and a quick fight later both men fall unconscious. They wake up as children in an amusement park with their parents telling them they were worried. The amusement park is called ‘Big Whoop’ and the game leaves us wondering whether the events really occurred or whether it was all part of two brothers dreams. A brilliantly zany plot that represented a gold age for both Lucasarts and the point and click.


3: Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy

The award for ultimate crazy-plot deviations, possibly including movies and books, has to go to this game. The only reason it isn’t number one is the fact that, for the majority of it, not only is it perfectly sane, it’s actually really good storytelling. Gritty New York murder investigation, in 24 CSI style, where multiple events occur at the same time, all set in a backdrop of a winter blizzard - it really does work. It’s made with the point and click genre firmly in mind but with arcade action thrown in to spice things up.

You start out with one of your characters (you play three through the game) performing a trance like stabbing in a grimy New York toilet. The plot continues along at a gripping pace until suddenly, from out of nowhere, your house starts attacking you, you get Matrix-like powers and have to karate kick your way through furniture and kitchen utensils. Before you know it your Joe Bloggs character is beating up policemen, jumping over busses and landing on moving trains, however you remain none the wiser as to why this is going on. It just is.

Top 10 most bizarre gaming plotlines Monkey Island Top 10 most bizarre gaming plotlines Monkey Island
This all pales in comparison with the real bombshell of the game. As you near the end not only does your character die and get brought back to life as some kind of zombie but you also take part in a flying battle with some kind of mystical god. On top of that a robot is chucked in that has come to take over the world. It’s all completely bizarre and totally out of line with the story. Apparently though, one of the co-designers of the game, David Cage, recognised that the ending of the game was a bit mental but attributed it to the fact that so much work had gone into the first two thirds they couldn't see it through. Bit of a lame excuse but at least he’s bothered to excuse it – much better than most game developers.
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