Ode to Cut Scenes

God of War. Final Fantasy. Metal Gear Solid. Shadow of the Colossus. Resident Evil. Awesome games that have a common thread: they all have somewhat lengthy, pre-rendered cut scenes. While many people seem to hate them, I am in the minority that do not. Stephen Totilo on the MTV Multiplayer Blog, questions the following long standing belief:

Years ago — before it was in vogue to hate health bars and boss battles — it was cool to complain about cut-scenes. The flashy, melodramatic movies that appeared between chapters of game play undermined games by interrupting interactivity. They misrepresented the graphics in the games they were in. They told bad stories. They needed to be skipped, and, wouldn’t you know that the worst kind of cut-scene was one that an A or X button couldn’t eradicate in one tap.

So that's where the majority is coming from. But I have always felt that a really well executed cut scene was a reward at the end of that level I just completed. And these rewards just get better and better as the game crescendos up to a final climatic cut scene, gushing an orgasmic finale to an exquisite gaming experience.

My favorite example of this if God of War. Throughout the game the back story is beautifully told through artistic and stylized cut scenes that become available to watch in succession after completing the game, as if it were a movie. And it's a gorgeous movie at that, rivaling any animated movie not made by Pixar. I think God of War II lost the plot a bit in this department but still was quite impressive.

Stephen makes another great point, many of the greatest moments in gaming history have taken place in cut scenes. In addition to his great examples, there is Aeris's death in Final Fantasy VII and the Cyborg Ninja's hallway rampage in Metal Gear Solid. These are all pivotal moments that should not have been missed.

Moving forward, it is clear that developers are adopting a more interactive approach to cut scenes, like in Resident Evil 4. Also, as real time graphics rapidly approach what can be achieved in a pre-rendered scene, the lines will continue to blur, like in Bioshock or Heavenly Sword.

If there is one thing that games have yet to truly achieve on a regular basis is great story telling. Vivid cut scenes can fill that gap and, I for one, look forward to them. So, in the meantime, bring on the popcorn and watch some well earned cut scenes.