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What are the best story-driven PC games set in a grounded, contemporary world?

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Apr 17, 2018

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5 Games Considered

Best story-driven PC games set in a grounded, contemporary world	Price	Genre	Platforms
-- Tomb Raider (2013)	$19.99	Third-Person Shooter, Action-Adventure	Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, macOS
-- Grand Theft Auto V	$59.99	Action-Adventure	-
-- Far Cry 4	-	FPS	PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Windows
-- Rise of the Tomb Raider	$59.99	-	-
-- Quantum Break	$59.99	-	-

Tomb Raider (2013)

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Top Pro

Lara Croft's origin story feels authentic

This reboot of Tomb Raider tells a thoughtful, personal story of how Lara Croft became a seasoned explorer. She's wide-eyed and curious at the beginning of the game, growing into a more confident character as the plot progresses. Once she is left to fend for herself on the island she's stranded on, you see her fear and vulnerability over the unknown, and in how she struggles to learn how to hunt and survive. Each of her accomplishments are memorable because of how hard she fights to reach her goals. By the end, you have a full story of how and why Lara transforms into the iconic character many know her as from the previous games. See More

Top Con

Not enough tombs to explore

It's odd that this is a reboot of Tomb Raider without the tombs. There are a handful of tombs here and there, but you won't find the amount that you may expect, especially if you're a fan of the series. The game mostly focuses on the combat and parkour segments without giving you the chance to go raid tombs for unique treasure. More tombs with puzzles to solve would have been nice as a side activity to break up the regular gameplay from story missions. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Third-Person Shooter, Action-Adventure

Top Pro

Exciting third-person shooting combat

The combat in Tomb Raider works really well and feels great, challenging you to stay active. You start off with only a bow and arrow, gradually working your way up to guns and bigger weapons like rocket launchers. Shooting with guns or arrows feels satisfying with plenty of feedback, especially the hard kick from the game's many different shotguns. The enemy AI is aggressive without feeling cheap, keeping you moving from place to place as you take down everyone in your path. When an enemy gets too close, you can use whatever Lara's holding in her hand, like her gun or an arrow for a bloody, cinematic finishing move. Combat is fast-paced and fun, constantly keeping you on your toes. See More

Top Con

Generic and predictable finale

The way that the story concludes is disappointing because you can see it coming from a mile away. Throughout the game, you learn a lot about the cool history of the island you're stranded on as you fight for a way to escape and get back to civilization. You might think that the ending lives up to all the historical intrigue in a creative way. Sadly, the finale goes about the way you'd expect it without doing anything new. It's boring and cliche, feeling a lot like a lost opportunity to do something different and unique. See More

Top Pro

Stealth sections shine

Instead of going in guns blazing during combat, you can take a strategic, stealthy approach. You have plenty of opportunities to quietly take out bad guys if that's what you'd rather do. You can either rack up carefully-aimed headshots with your bow and arrow, or sneak up behind enemies and choke them out one at a time. Silently traversing tight quarters all while taking everyone out unseen is quite enjoyable. See More

Top Con

Excessive violence and gore

There are times when the violence is way too over-the-top. During cutscenes when Lara gets injured such as by falling and getting brutally impaled, the blood and gore can be extremely uncomfortable. To make it all worse, Lara's screams of pain are bloodcurdling and visceral, really making you feel for her. Even if you're used to violence in games, some of the scenes in Tomb Raider might be difficult to watch. See More

Top Pro

Great cinematic cutscenes

Beyond Lara's personal story, the overall presentation of the plot is gripping in how cinematic it is. Some of the set pieces are wild, like Lara falling from impossible heights into the sea at the start of the game and managing to survive. The way she thinks herself out of tough situations is also impressive, such as with the way the camera follows her with closeups as she wriggles her way out of traps or takes down enemies who seemingly have the upper hand over her. The direction and acting are similar to those in action movies, telling a grand and intense story. See More

Top Con

No dedicated servers for multiplayer

The multiplayer is peer-to-peer where your connection depends on the quality of one of the people in the lobby, who is the host. This means that you have to deal with lag, rubberbanding, and frequent disconnects when the host's connection is bad. Having dedicated servers could have drastically reduced this problem. See More

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Grand Theft Auto V

Top Pro

Great story wrapped around in biting and relevant social commentary

Grand Theft Auto V is a smart, comical but biting social commentary on contemporary relevant matters. It satirizes almost anything that has to do with the current pop culture. Millennials, celebrities, the right, the left, the middle class, the upper class, the media and even the video game industry itself. The story and the world in which it takes place are fictional, but the social commentary and the problems it raises and things it satirizes are real -- corruption, greed, hypocrisy, the abuse of power -- are all real and relevant in today's world. See More

Top Con

Forced Rockstar Social Club online registration DRM scheme

Rockstar Social Club is a forced online registration and DRM platform that will not allow one to play the game without first logging in to it. No internet connection, no play. Forget the password to the account three times, get locked out. All hindrances to paying customers that in no way will stop the piracy of this title or effect pirates in any way shape or form. See More

Specs

Genre:Action-Adventure

Top Pro

Freedom to explore almost anything

Besides providing players with a huge open world, Grand Theft Auto V also gives them the ability and freedom to explore every corner of the map available to them with any vehicle available to them in the game. See More

Top Pro

Massive scope

The world of Grand Theft Auto V is extraordinarily massive and filled with details. For example, you can be working to complete a mission which may involve flying a plane, fighting the crew of that plane, crashing it, and finally parachuting out of it only to find an off-road buggy landing. This, in turn may lead you to explore the mountains and wilderness around San Andreas and come across backpackers who will probably be slightly annoyed at you. But this does not even come close to describing the massive scope that GTA V has. It feels like a living world where anything can happen. See More

Top Pro

Improved graphics over every other version

The PC version of GTA V is the optimal experience when it comes to graphic quality. Improved lighting and antialiasing make a big difference over the games XBox One and PS4 counterparts. See More

Top Pro

Well optimized

There were many reservations as to how well Rockstar was going to optimize the game for PC, as some of their past games had a lot of trouble in this area. Luckily it looks as though the game has been optimized quite well with the specs being quite reasonable in order to achieve 60FPS in 1080p on the best settings. See More

Top Pro

Game saves can be imported from console versions

Players that have game saves on their console versions can import the save to the PC version, this way they will not have to start the game over from scratch to enjoy it on PC. Rockstar has a support page specifically to transfer the saves. See More

Far Cry 4

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Top Pro

Options in play due to creativity

There are so many ways to tackle a situation that makes this game what it is. In one instance you could lure an animal towards enemies in order to kill them, or in another you could run everyone over with a truck. Even better is that explosives can be attached to things, even vehicles, so you can even send the vehicle towards a crowd and blow it up from a distance. Basically you are free to choose how you want to approach just about every situation in the game and those that feel like playing around have the chance to get really creative, which is half the fun. See More

Top Con

Environment feels too familiar

While Farcry 1-3 all had different locales that had their own styles, 4 looks much like 3 and is not that much of a departure. For those looking for a different experience it is not going to be found in 4 sadly. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Adventure aspects add to what would be a stale FPS

Being able to scale cliffs, hunt and trap animals, and use ones environment as a weapon against enemies adds to the basics of first person shooting making for a fun adventure game on top of a slick FPS. See More

Rise of the Tomb Raider

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Top Pro

Jaw dropping graphics

While the first game in the reboot was phenominal in the graphics department, Rise of the Tomb Raider takes a step beyond that with some of the best graphics in a game out there currently. Simple things like the snow moving as you step into it or how Lara's hair moves in the wind add polish that many games do not bother with. The character models and animations are also phenomenal, creating a movie like experience all their own as every move in the game is convincingly real. See More

Top Con

Very linear

Much of the game pushes the player into only one direction, forward, but often forward has some trap to fall into or a skill that has to be used otherwise you can not progress. It does lend well to the design of being a large scale interactive movie, but for those that like a bit of free roaming and multiple ways to solve a problem will be left really wanting. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Puzzles often use the whole stage

The puzzles in the game (though there are less of them over previous titles) often use the whole stage as one big interactive puzzle. Often Lara will have to traverse high and low in a stage in order to unlock hidden areas or just to advance to the next large set piece. As the game progresses the player can unlock new abilities that will also allow going back to solve yet unsolved puzzles. Things like being able to reach new heights through new climbing abilities will give access to areas that have items that can be interacted with, such as breaking an ice barrier or using some hidden away pulley system, which in turn could reveal a new area or item. See More

Top Con

Uneven difficulty spikes late game

During the later half of the game there will be some firefights that will seem a bit difficult and unbalanced, while not something impossible to beat, they may cause some frustration. See More

Top Pro

PC is best looking version

Luckily the port has been done well and is not dumbed down for consoles as the graphics (for those that have the proper hardware) look really good and are quite a step up from consoles overall. See More

Top Con

Overused and overly familiar plot

The gist of the plot is that Lara is searching for the key to eternal life. This plot has been used in the third Indiana Jones movie as well as Uncharted's third game. Being that this game resembles both of those franchises it does seem a bit lazy to see such a similar plot being used. While the story does contain its own original characters and surrounding plots, the main plot point still seems way too similar for such a high profile franchise. See More

Top Pro

Replayability through unlockables

Once a level is competed, the player can go back to then try to complete unfinished or new objectives, many of which will unlock new outfits or other items. This incentivizes the player to play again and again for those that want to find every item that can be found and complete each and every objective, some of which that can be quite tough. See More

Top Con

Focuses on action over puzzle solving

The original games in the series ha many puzzle solving elements, sadly they are less of a focus in the reboots as the game now focuses more on action such as constant firefights with enemies. it would have been nice to see more puzzles in the game overall. See More

Top Pro

Tons to explore

Each level is large and almost open world like, so there is quite a lot to see and do in each. The player can be rewarded for exploring as there may be hidden items or weapons all around, as well as good views. With so much to see and collect, there is no real reason to not take ones time to explore everything each level has to offer as it will often pay off. See More

Top Con

Stealth seems pointless

While there are stealth takedowns in the game and many areas allow for stealth, there is no real incentive to be stealthy while traversing each level as Lara is a very competent fighter, which is now expanded upon by weapons that can be built. So yes you can accomplish many section with stealth, there is nothing pushing the player in the game to do so as there is never a point where Lara will be out manned or out gunned. See More

Top Pro

Built weapons add to the complexity of gunplay

The player can now build their own weapons such as nail bombs or special ammo. This greatly expands on the type of weapons that can be used during a gunfight (of which there are many), which allows the user to change up their styles of attack in the game. See More

Top Con

Flakey keyboard and mouse controls

It is recommended to play the game with a controller as there are some instances of poor keyboard controls where the character will not go exactly where she is being directed to go. This can cause issue with completing tasks as well as just frustrate overall. See More

Quantum Break

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Top Con

Awful performance

The game has serious issues running smoothly on PC. The framerate is capped at 50fps no matter what equipment is used. Being that monitors are normally 60hz or more, this means the framerate can not even reach the refresh rate of any monitor available for PC. Though there is a 30fps cap available in the settings (which ideally should allow the game to run smooth, though at a low frame rate), it does not work properly and results in a jerky framerate. See More

Top Pro

Real time destruction

Each stage in the game allows for real time destruction, either done by you or your enemies. This makes for shifting elements in each stage due to enemies being able to destroy your hiding spots. This way the player can't just camp in one spot in order to kill everyone to then advance forward, it forces the player to stay on their toes, which is welcome for those interested in constantly adjusting how they play. See More

Top Con

Really short

The game is at max 10 hours, and that is including the 4 live action TV segments of the game. While the mashup of these elements can be appreciated, to see the game beaten in such a short time for a $60 game is disappointing. See More

Top Pro

High production to TV segments

The TV segments of the game are really high in production value as they rival any top show on the big networks or streaming services. On top of this the story contained within them offer some great incites as to the motives of the bad guys and heroes alike. All this adds up to a level of polish not seen in many games. See More

Top Con

Poorly implemented action sequences

There are sections of the game that require a bit of platforming, sadly these sections are pretty linear, which break the immersion of the game tanks to areas where you just walk against walls instead o being able to climb. It seems like these segments could have been designed better, to at least give the impression that they are less linear than they actually are. See More

Top Pro

Real actors are used in an interesting way

During gameplay the character models in the game are made to resemble their real world counterparts, using their voices and mocapped animations. What is even more interesting is that the game will have live action plot TV episodes staring these actors in between gameplay segments of the game. these TV episodes will differ in play depending on what the player is choosing to do in the game. While not the first time to base characters off of real actors, the TV episodes will definitely flesh out the game into even more of an interactive story than previous games out there. Which makes for an original experience. See More

Top Con

Shooting and cover mechanics could be better

The cover mechanic in the game is dynamic in that you walk up to somewhere were you can cover, and you auto cover. While this itself is not that bad, the shooting mechanics once you are under cover are poor in that you can't shoot at all while under cover (there isn't even any blind fire with guns). You will have to stand up in order to shoot, which leaves yourself vulnerable. Other games have done this system better and it would have been nice to see as much polish put into the gun-play as it was into the story of the game. See More

Top Pro

Replayability through branching paths

For those that would like to see all outcomes of the game and all live action story elements, the game will have to be played through again, making different choices than the first playthrough. This adds replayability to the game for those that would like to see everything the game has to offer. See More

Top Con

TV episodes are streamed online

The TV segments of the game are no on ones hard drive or disk, they are streamed from the game developers server, meaning those with a poor connection may see stutter and dropped frames in the video. This makes for a poor experience for some and it would have been nice to see them as local file, but of course the storage requirements for the game would have been a lot higher due to the size of the HD video. See More

Top Pro

Choices affect gameplay

Depending on what choices a player makes in the game the story will adjust to reflect them. This is often done in many games (such as one made by Telltale Games) but for Quantum Break there are TV episodes that will also play depending on what choices are made, making for a very interactive and deep story through professional acting. See More

Top Con

TV episodes may interrupt flow of gameplay

20-40 minute TV episodes take place in between gameplay and may interrupt the flow of the game for some who want to just experience the gameplay over story. The videos can at least be skipped, but then the player will be missing important elements of the games story. See More

Top Pro

Interesting time manipulation mechanic

An iteration on bullet time (something this developer is familiar with as they also created Max Payne) the game allows for time manipulation in that the user can slow down or stop time in order to solve puzzles as well as get the upper hand in battles. It is a pivotal mechanic in the game and as such looks to be very well done. See More

Top Con

Gameplay progression is not balanced

The first half of the game sees the player unlock all of the main characters special powers, meaning the second half of the game gives little to work towards other than finishing the game and defeating the bad people. It would have been nice to see elements of gameplay still being unlocked in the second half of the game, as there is no little incentive to finish other than a bit of closure. See More

Top Con

Main story is a bit cliché

The basic premise of the story in the game sees the main character in a catastrophic accident, which gives him special powers. There is definitely nothing new about this story element and it would have been nice to see something new or fresh as to why the games story develops as it does. See More

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