Video Game Pricing - An Exercize in Relativity

So certain people (IGN comments thread people, so that should pretty much sum up this post) were whining about the recently discovered length of MGS: Ground Zeroes, claiming it to be a ripoff.

Story from IGN

I thought I'd give my thoughts on the issue.

Character Presentation - A Story Is Only Good If It's Told

Better hide this...

I know a great story that strikes a deep emotional chord and really changes people's perspective on life.

...

Oh, you'd like to know what it is?  Well, it's really great and I'm sure you would enjoy it.

Mods of Note - Graphical Renovations

I don't know about you, but the left picture is where it's at.

Graphical Quality enthusiasts, like myself, may occasionally find it hard to get back into their favorite games due to bad aging on the visual level (I.E.  Oh my word, was that mass of polygons supposed to be a face?).  The weird part is that we remember them looking better.

Well, if you are part of the PC gaming master race, they can look better!  It may double/triple/quadruple the size of the original game files, but Max Payne 3 is over 30 gigs at base, so I don't think increasing the file size of Morrowind by a few gigs will matter much on modern hard drives.

Here are a few update mods I have found to be quite useful.

Morrowind Overhaul at Ornitocopter.net - This is the one highlighted in the above picture.  Less of one single mod and more of a compilation of some of the best visual/audio/gameplay mods available in one easy to install package.  The best part is that it is packaged with a tool for managing which mods are active so one may adjust for computer power/taste.

Mass Effect Texture Enhancement/Improvement - This one is a bit... massive and a bit of a hassle to download, but easy to install (unless you're bad at choosing proper directories).  Been taking this one for a spin and I'm quite impressed, though some of the armor textures have a weird visual distortion.  Nothing major (I kinda like it), but may put off some.

Any ENB series mod by Boris Vorontsov - This one can be difficult to get working by sheer number of options for some games, and a lack of options for other games.  Thus far I've found it best for games like Skyrim and Fallout 3/New Vegas and good presets with more in depth explanations can be found with the preset.  I get my presets from Nexus mods.
Skyrim/NewVegas
(unfortunately, can't get a good link to a list of presets on the site due to the search engine design)

Story Telling In Video Games - Linearity & Progression

I was watching an interview with Richard Garriott when, at one point along the dialogue, the subject of linearity was brought up.  The interviewer expressed interesting opinions on the matter (this was far from what is often considered a "professional" interview):

• All stories are linear
• The non-linear structure of open-world games (Skyrim, Just Cause 2, etc.) causes their stories to become unfocused, losing the sense of urgency that keeps the player engaged.

While an artist of the avant-garde variety may try to prove otherwise, it is quite simple to agree with the first point.  We all experience stories as a linear progression of events with respect to the passage of time (which we have, unfortunately, not been able to manipulate), even if it is told out of order.  Thus we can start to see how the second point begins to hold weight.  But surely a non-linear game is a good thing?  After all, Player agency, and thus choice, is what separates the medium from other arts.

The conflict I see here is that, from initial appearances, it would seem that in order to have a focused and engaging story, one would need to limit player choice, but a fun game relies on having choice available, even if it's just "fail or succeed." (That is, of course, up for discussion, but that's another post).  This choice is why open-world games have exploded in popularity.

So can a game have a good story without heavily limiting player choice?