[LinXitoW]

...they're the only games now-a-days that provide the story and atmosphere i crave.
I post this here, because i figure that you guys prefer exactly those qualities in games as well and therefore can "feel my pain" and give me good advice.
I post this in the "General" section, because the type/genre of game is secondary to aforementioned criteria. Case in point: I absolutely HATE point and click with a passion, yet i often have to revert to those kinds of games because Call of Duty 500 cookie cutter game doesnt cut it for me.

To get concrete, these are my favorite games of which im looking to get recommendations for more:
-Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy: The atmosphere, oh my god, the atmosphere! I actually felt guilty once when i killed my character by mixing alcohol with medicine. The story(even though it takes a bit of a dive towards the end) is very engaging. The puzzles are confined to small areas, which makes them much more humane.
-Heavy Rain: Only watched a Lets Play, but it seems just as awesome as Fahrenheit.
-Dreamfall/TLJ: Again, the story was great. I preferred Dreamfall simply because the awkward fighting and sneaking was easier to ignore than the point and clicking in the first one. Really hoping for a sequel. Why does the clock go backwards?
-One Call of Duty: The atmosphere of the first COD you play is great. After that, they all get very boring.
-Fable 1: The atmosphere is that of an ideal fantasy world and the more linear game design makes for a more intense experience. The story is forgettable.

I come to you hoping you might be able to point me to my next favorite game.
Thanks if you've had the patience to read this far^^.

[Axelfish]

Token rec, but what the hell.
Hardly anyone dislikes Grim Fandango, so I'll recommend it.
If you don't have the patience to play it, just watch a detailed walkthrough on Youtube. The game has got a great story, charming and well-acted characters and excellent witty writing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXzyB0nMCQ0

The first three minutes of this walkthrough are the game's intro movie.

[Ledz]

Did you play Batman Arkham Asylum?

it's one of the most atmospheric, story driven games, and a real gaming gem.

and it's got no points and no clicks to be seen anywhere

[Hammerite]

Deus Ex is one of the most detailed, atmospheric games ever made, with a great storyline too. The second one gets a lot of flak, but it's also worth checking out (not as good as the first).

Also, the Silent Hill series - particularly 2 and 4 - are brilliant if you like psychological horror / a David Lynch-esque atmosphere.

[DustyShinigami]

Any preference in perspective? IE: Third-person or first-person? A lot of action, or a bit...? How about...

BioShock?
Half-Life?
Half-Life 2, Episode 1 and 2?
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth?
Max Payne 1 & 2?
Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, San Andreas, and IV (as well as the other spin-offs and add-ons)?
Thief 1, 2 and 3?
The Darkness?
Condemned: Criminal Origins?
Assassin's Creed 1, 2, and Brotherhood?
L.A. Noire?
Portal 1 & 2?
Red Dead Redemption?
Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon (does help if you've played the first, but it's point n' click...)

Pretty much all these games have good stories, interesting characters, and atmosphere... Sometimes all combined!

[Oscar]

I would recommend Amnesia: The Dark Descent simply because you're clearly looking for atmosphere and this game is so bone-chilling you forget you're playing a game.

[Annoymous Broccoli]

Not many in this day and age of the money driven, dumbed down mainstream generation..

Vampire Bloodlines..very atmospheric, great characters, great fun, ok story

Mafia 1...great story, great missions

Arkham Asylum..tons of atmosphere and fantastic fun, best superhero game ever probably

Thief series...not much needs to be said..

Planescape Torment...if you want story you won't find a game with a better one.

Amnesia...as mentioned

just a few.

[Hammerite]

How did I manage to forget Thief!? It's in my name, for Chrissakes!

[Sotha]

some of my favorite games oozing with atmosphere (or what you want to call it) that's not been mentioned here are:

The Dig (point and click)
Blade Runner (point and click)
Omikron: The Nomad Soul (the first game from Quantic Dream, developers of Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain)
Penumbra
Morrowind (roleplaying-game)
SW: Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 (roleplaying-game)
Anachronox (JRPG combat sort of(it's not a JRPG, though), but great story and characters)

[Dan_Dan_91_07]

Dues Ex - The original & perhaps the new one coming out

The Metal Gear Solid series

Many RPG games - I don't play these nowadays but I loved Final Fantasy 7 & 8, 9 was amazing up in till the 3rd disc then it got a bit boring IMO, and 10 was pretty good. The first Grandia was awesome as well.

The Fallout series

The Shenmue series

L.A. Noire

[Enter the Story]

Writing a decent story as a game is not easy. I know - I just re-read the reviews for my second game (owch! don't they know I have feelings? )

I think the problem is that a good story usually means something that would work in the real world. Game mechanics usually don't: you don't solve real life problems by shooting people or solving logic puzzles.

I base my games on classic novels, but it's so much easier to just do a casual game or platformer and concentrate on graphics. It takes me six months to do even a simple game, and it took me five games to get it right. Most indie developers (e.g. on indiegamer) would expect to produce a good platformer or puzzle game every two months.

[LinXitoW]

i knew this was the right place to come to^^.

My memory is terrible. Some of those games i already played, but forgot. I really need to make a list...

Anyway, i played Grim Fandango. Loved the quirky humour and "feel". The ending didnt feel too satisfying. In retrospective, i should've just watched a Lets Play.

Arkham Asylum was very awesome. I've never seen villians displayed so believably. I almost felt sorry for them. Poor Harley^^.

Deus Ex corrupted my savegame a long time ago, so we had a falling out. Guess ill have to restart that.

Silent Hill i've heard a lot about, but played one. Guess its worth checking out.

Everything Valve has been played through.

Damn Windows screwed me over by crashing and having to reinstall. Thief 3, Max Payne 2, BioShock savegames, just gone in the digital wind.

Looks like i'll have to rent a console and escape the daylight for a few weeks to play Red Dead Redemption, LA Noire and Heavy Rain.

All the responses are pretty interesting, i'll have to take a look at it all. One minor critique might be, that they're all very open gameplay-wise and take a while. Maybe any games of that calibre that take maybe max 10 hours?

It's sad to see that 90% of your recommendations are older games. What has become of games? I could blame it on the COD generation, but then again, doesnt every generation hate what the next one loves?

[millenia]

Shenmue series would be excellent for you but can be hard to come by (Dreamcast). I think one of them was released to Xbox (not 360 but the old one).

From point and clicks I always have to recommend my favourite Discworld Noir which is quirky and fun - with the best and most logical puzzles in any adventure ever - while provides a grand story. I would compare it to Grim Fandango, where personally I favour Discworld Noir but can understand why many people do the opposite.

Fables and L.A. Noire I would recommend even though I haven't had the time to really play them (I've dabbled with Fable I & II).
Also Silent Hills and Amnesia are good I bet, I am interested in them but they are too scary for me to actually play them .

RPGs like Witcher or Fallout? Anachronox seemed very interesting but the combat was so slooooooow that I just couldn't cope with it. (Using a pot meant looking the character throwing it up in the air and then looking at air for 10 seconds before the camera slowly gets back to the fight...) And personally I love JRPGS like Final Fantasy series or Lost Odyssey. Or Breath of Fire, Grandia and Shin Megami Tensei series.

I'd love if they made some single player RPGs with WoW control scheme. It's so easy to learn, responds beautifully and works well for all kinds of classes in and out of combat.

[Weare6]

Originally Posted by Ledz

Did you play Batman Arkham Asylum?

it's one of the most atmospheric, story driven games, and a real gaming gem.

and it's got no points and no clicks to be seen anywhere

Yep! Great game. Just finished it on the weekend. Really enjoyed it but
I thought I collected everything and solved most of the Riddles yet I
only got like 73%..... oh well just means I will have another crack at it.
Awesome game!

[DustyShinigami]

Originally Posted by Weare6

Yep! Great game. Just finished it on the weekend. Really enjoyed it but
I thought I collected everything and solved most of the Riddles yet I
only got like 73%..... oh well just means I will have another crack at it.
Awesome game!

There will be plenty more riddles and puzzles in Arkham City; some of them involve saving civilians from deadly traps.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by LinXitoW

...they're the only games now-a-days that provide the story and atmosphere i crave.

I agree, to some extent. Remember that traditional adventure game elements have been constantly absorbed into many of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful games of the past decade or so. You don't need to be a conservative adventure game to offer the sweet fixin's of an adventure experience.

I post this in the "General" section, because the type/genre of game is secondary to aforementioned criteria. Case in point: I absolutely HATE point and click with a passion, yet i often have to revert to those kinds of games because Call of Duty 500 cookie cutter game doesnt cut it for me.

Why do you hate point-&-click? Is it because you're sick of the hotspot hunting and the strange ways of working inventory items and objects?

[Enter the Story]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

traditional adventure game elements have been constantly absorbed into many of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful games of the past decade or so

Like the absence of fighting or timed elements? It seems to me that most of these big games come with a lot of overhead. Would buying, say, Knights of the Old Republic and avoiding any conflict or timed puzzles, really work?

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Enter the Story

Like the absence of fighting or timed elements? It seems to me that most of these big games come with a lot of overhead. Would buying, say, Knights of the Old Republic and avoiding any conflict or timed puzzles, really work?

There's more to adventure games than puzzle solving and a very, very slow pace. There's also exploration, environmental interaction, story, and that sense of discovery. I personally never treat the adventure game as some kind of sacred cow and snub any other kind of game just because it's not an adventure game. In fact, I love it when genres merge to form a different kind of game.

Whether it's a simple, low budget side scroller with a memorable story and character, or a huge budget period piece like L.A. Noire or fantasy like Dragon Age, we should no longer look down on other games just because they're not point-&-click or only feature puzzles and no action sequences. If they're good games for me they're good games for me to play.

[Enter the Story]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

we should no longer look down on other games

I admire them tremendously, I just can't play them. I'm no good at timed stuff and find repetition frustrating. I'm a huge fan of old LucasArts games, but I never finished Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade because I couldn't get past the boxing section.

(I later discovered that there are other ways to get round that stage, but by that point the time I'd invested with no reward meant I'd lost interest.)

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Enter the Story

I admire them tremendously, I just can't play them. I'm no good at timed stuff and find repetition frustrating. I'm a huge fan of old LucasArts games, but I never finished Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade because I couldn't get past the boxing section.

(I later discovered that there are other ways to get round that stage, but by that point the time I'd invested with no reward meant I'd lost interest.)

I remember being an ace playing first person shooters on PC and thinking, I could never switch to console versions, it's far too hard. Then LO AND BEHOLD, I acquired an XBox 360, got Half-Life 2, and sat down and made myself get better. And I got better. I've since played other FPSs on consoles and played them well.

I had what you perhaps didn't cultivate - patience and determination. And maybe good reflexes.

Unless they actually have specific physical limitations, there are so many games out there that some people would seriously enjoy and have great fun experiencing if they only actually stepped out of their comfort zone for a bit and gave them a chance. You would probably fall in love with Uncharted and Uncharted 2 for the freewheeling story and lovable characters and beautiful, absolutely beautiful locations (Nepal, Borneo, Istanbul...).