I've been trying to due some heavy research in to some old games that are all over fantastic (but especially have great writing).

So far I've found, but not decided on:

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father
Baulder's Gate II
Planetscape: Torment
Morrowind
The Longest Journey
Half-Life 1 & 2

Any one can tell me personally why they would recommend these games (or any other). I obviously can't buy them all right now so I'm just looking for a couple to purchase. Thanks!

Planescape (no T in there) Torment has a very unique setting and great writing. Which is good, because it has tons of it, and the combat isn't that great (Luckily you can talk your way out of combat quite often.). The dialogue basically *is* the game. If you're specifically looking for good writing, I'd definitely go with that.

The Baldur's Gate series has better combat and while the story is good I don't think it's anywhere near as deep as Torment's. It's more combat orientated.

Morrowind has a nice story and an interesting world to explore but overall I don't think the writing itself is 'great'. It's a great game, a lot of fun to explore and the lore and setting adds a lot to it, but as you're specifically looking for great writing that wouldn't be my first choice.

Half Life's presentation of the story is interesting because (especially the first game at that time) was really innovative in that it didn't have cutscenes or dialogue boxes that paused the game or took control away from the player. It's more the presentation of it all than the writing itself that makes it stand out from other FPS games at the time.

The Longest Journey is a very nice adventure game. Lots of interesting characters, a good female protagonist, funny writing at times, and an interesting world, or 2 worlds I should say. The first game stands perfectly well on its own and has a proper ending. If you're going to play it, I'd play just the original. The sequel Dreamfall is a pretty good game but it's not quite as good as the original, and it has a horrible cliffhanger ending that has yet to be resolved.

Overall I'd start out with Planescape Torment.

Story wise, Planescape: Torment and The Longest Journey are both incredibly good. I'd recommend The Longest Journey over Planescape personally though, as it was very difficult for me to get through Planescape. The Longest Journey and its sequel Dreamfall: The Longest Journey are two of my favorite PC games for their story.

Torment is definitely tough to get through.

Is it tough to get through because it's hard or can get tedious?

It's mostly because it's a lot of reading and the game doesn't give a lot of directions. At the start you have to find a person somewhere in the city, and you don't know where he is or who might know. So you have to talk to random people, which can be a little confusing. It's a bit of an information overload at times. Still, it's not like there's just 1 person in the city who knows, but it might take a while.

Wow. It sounds amazing actually, lol. Like reading a book or an interactive movie. I think that'll be my first purchase.

Pretty much like a book yeah. The dialogue is even more than just what the person is saying, it often even includes descriptions of what they're doing or look like. http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/Torment/ilovecandy.jpg.

This is wonderful! Exactly what I was looking for! The reason I'm looking particularly at writing is because I'm currently taking a creative writing class (and I plan on one day writing a masterpiece ) and I of course have been looking at classics like Joyce and Conrad, but I thought I might turn my hobby (video-gaming) into a learning lesson as well. And this piece has greatly impressed me.

EDIT: Also what do you think about Icewind Dale and Braid?

It's very much like an interactive book, and dialogue is really the focus of the game. It's more than just talking. There is often problem solving and puzzles built into the dialogue.

In gameplay terms, there are certainly much better games out there, but as a piece of interactive fiction, Planescape: Torment is the best I've ever experienced.

Fallout 1.

Baldurs Gate II is highly recommendable, imo, but don't miss BGI. The story is as good as II, the gameworld is much more open and you have more charaters to choose between, when making your party.