"So what if it sold horribly? It was a darn good game, so we're making sequels!!"

[A Black Falcon]

Oh, and you're both equally annoying.

Yeah, that seems to be a common sentiment in threads like these... :)

This I agree with. The game is set up on a very simple premise. In a very Pikmin, or even ICO way, the game is set up for you so you can progress through without having to worry about the story. You don't have any real-time plot twists and backstabbing, and government organisations that you're working for, which is very effective for the overall feel of the game.

However, MP does have a story to tell (rather, a back-story, but regardless..), and I think it does this in a very unique way which leaves it up to the player to discover at his/her own discretion (as we've all discussed). This means that for those of you who just want to play the game, progress, power-up and get off the planet and not have to worry about the story - this is all you have to do. But for those of us like ABF who thrive on the small details, the adventuring, the discovering the little facets of the game it's a perfect way to tell a story so that he can get more out of the game.

Does the game tell a story effectively? Well, there's really not much of a real-time story to tell, so it doesn't need to tell a story well. But it does offer more story depth than it necessarily needs to, which is what I like about it.

All this has probably already been covered and whatever, just thought I'd respond.

Yeah, I pretty much agree. The actual events of the game you are playing through have almost no story. The story doesn't tell what is happening in your journey but explains WHY things are as they are in your journey by telling about what happened before. That is definitely different from most games... where I'd differ a bit is on how much that is about what is happening in the game. Yes, the events described are not about what is happening as you play, that is true. But what they describe directly explains why things are happening as they are so it tells you why the world is as it is and what your quest is about and why you are doing it in a way that, when you think about it, really isn't that different from if they had had it like most games and had the story that you run across in the game (however you do that) be events occurring during the time frame the game covers. Most games slowly reveal the plot as you progress. This does the same, but it does it in the context of why what is going on around you is going on and why you have to do the quest you are doing, but not in the context of what you are actually doing at the moment... but really, as I said, the effect is pretty much the same, I think. Do I make any sense here?