In most forms of entertainment, romance is a key part of the story. Even horror movies tend to have some sort of hidden or not so hidden romance tucked away in the film. Video games tend to escape this in many cases, as the storytelling in video games has not evolved as well as some of the other mediums. After all, it’s a pretty new way for people to tell stories, so it has not had much time to mature.

That being said, there are some examples of video games with romance done right. I am not talking about the weird relationship where Mario seems to constantly allow Princess Peach to get kidnapped so he can rescue her. No, I am talking about genuine romance that actually feels like true love blooming. Romance goes a long way towards humanizing a fictional character, and when it’s done right in a game, it can really take a character to the next level.

SPOILER ALERT: Some of these will contain spoilers, as I might have to talk about how the romances develop throughout a game, which could ruin the ending if you haven’t played it. Consider yourself warned.

Uncharted Series

Uncharted, a franchise known for its ultra-manly violence, actually has one of the best romances going with Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher. The slow development between these two feels truly genuine, and all the way through the series, it feels like something you would expect to see in a movie with a big budget.

Part of what makes the romance in Uncharted work so well is that the characters run into problems throughout the game that, even though they are taking place during a crazy unrealistic treasure hunt, feel like something that could actually happen between two lovers. Another great thing about the love between the two is that it is always there, but Naughty Dog does not throw it in your face at every turn, so it actually feels quite subtle.

Red Dead Redemption

In my most humble opinion, I think the story in this game is among the best ever told in the land of video games. The love between John Marston and Abigail Marston, the main character and his mostly off-screen wife, adds a great deal to the story. John has ample opportunity to be unfaithful to his wife, but being the genuinely good person and loving husband that he is, he ultimately passes.

At the end of Red Dead Redemption, the player even takes part in a small section featuring no action, and just John and his wife living out their happiness together. It’s very interesting from a gameplay perspective, but it also adds a lot to the story. The ultimate ending of the game sees John making a huge sacrifice for his wife and family, and while I did give a spoiler warning at the beginning of the article, I am going to let you find out for yourself just what that is.

Persona 4

Persona 4, which is one of my favorite Japanese role-playing games, features one of the best romance and dating aspects you will ever find in a game. The player can court and go after a number of other characters in the game, and blossoming romance feels extremely genuine. Because the game is so long, the budding romances are given plenty of time to come to reality. When you finally make the move and take one of your relationships to the next level, it feels a lot like real life.

Personally, I ended up going after Yukiko in P4, but each of the characters has their own quirks that might attract gamers to go for them. On top of the enjoyable romance from a story perspective, reaching the highest relationship level with another character actually offers benefits in battle, which is something you don’t see too often.

Mass Effect

Like Persona, the Mass Effect series doesn’t force a certain romance upon players. Instead players can choose who they wish to pursue, and this feels much more like the real world. Of course, Persona is a little more sweet in its relationships than Mass Effect, but that’s because it features first love and high school students. Still, even if the ultimate goal is getting someone to sleep with you, the process of learning about the characters and ultimately hooking up is quite entertaining.

In Mass Effect, relationships with other members of the crew can lead to drama, which is also something very authentic to the real world. Issues like jealousy can come up from other parts of the crew, which adds a lot of entertainment to the story. While not perfect, Mass Effect definitely does a great job of portraying romance in an authentic way.

Conclusion

Who says video games can’t do authentic love? It’s not easy, and many games screw it up, but it most certainly is possible, and these games prove just that!

What video game romances do you think are the best? Hit the comments below and let us know.

The next-gen video game consoles are almost here, with both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 due to be released before the end of 2013. We’ve taken a first look at both consoles, with Matt explaining why he’s firmly in the Xbox One camp, and myself explaining why I’m firmly in the PS4 camp. But to be honest, both deserve a place underneath your television.

A new generation of consoles obviously brings better visuals with it, but graphics aren’t everything. While previous console generations relied rather heavily on improvements to how the games looked, this one is set to value a wide variety of other features above pure aesthetic appeal.

What follows is a list of five key features the next-gen consoles are set to bring with them, all of which are likely to have you salivating at the prospect of obtaining one or both of the previously mentioned machines.

Video Streaming

While non-gamers will no doubt wonder why on earth anyone would watch someone else play a video game, it happens, and with increasing frequency. Gameplay videos are watched by millions of people on YouTube, and live streaming footage of people playing games can be viewed on the likes of Twitch.tv and other sites.

The next-gen consoles are catering to this demand, with both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 constantly recording gameplay in the background. The Xbox One will reportedly save the last five minutes of footage, while the PS4 will save the last 15 minutes. This means that if something awesome happens within the game, you’ll be able to share it with other like-minded individuals in an instant.

Social Networking

This brings us neatly onto social networking, which is going to be built into both next-gen consoles. The PS3 and Xbox 360 already have some social features, including chat functionality and Trophies/Achievements, but these are going to look petty and underwhelming in the face of what’s to come.

We don’t quite yet know all of the details, but it looks clear from what we have seen so far that both consoles will let you plug into various online social networks in a big way. This will make it easier to connect with your fellow gamers online, meaning multiplayer matchmaking will be easier than ever.

Multiplayer Madness

Speaking of online multiplayer, this is one area which both console manufacturers (and the game developers who support the consoles) are keen to improve. After all, a good multiplayer experience can mean the difference between a mediocre review score and a near-perfect 9/10 (that some people will disagree with).

The processing power of the next-gen consoles will make multiplayer matches more epic than ever before. Rather than having dozens of people in a single match we’ll see hundreds (or even thousands) competing in the same environment and on the same server. And if the developers do their job properly, bugs and glitching should be reduced as well.

Improved AI

It doesn’t seem to matter how powerful games consoles become, how good the visuals look, or even how moving the storylines are, the AI of NPCs is often shockingly poor. Take The Last Of Us, for example, which has everything going for it apart from some woeful AI from the people travelling with your character.

Perhaps I’m being overly optimistic here but I can’t help feeling there will be significant improvements made to the AI in next-gen titles. The developers can no longer blame a lack of resources, so if an Xbox One or PS4 title does feature poor AI it will be as a result of programming inadequacies.

Epic Scale

Last but not least is a feature that could be argued comes under the general heading of “visuals.” But I think it stands out on its own, disconnected from the unimportant graphical improvements the next-gen will bring. I am talking about scale, a small (rather ironically) part of any game which actually has a big bearing on how a game makes you feel.

Some PS3 and Xbox 360 games have been able to show off large environments and give the player an impressive sense of scale, but these games are few and far between, and include moments picked out to show off a setpiece rather than sweeping, ever-present portions of the games. The next-gen, however, should allow a sense of scale to shine through unhindered in every single game.

Conclusions

As someone whose desire for better visuals has waned over the years, these features are the real reasons I’m now psyched at the prospect of playing next-gen titles on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. After all, some of my favorite gaming experiences in recent years have come from playing games which value everything else above mere graphics.

Are any of the features listed here enough to get you excited about the next generation consoles? Are any of them — particularly the video sharing and social networking aspects — actually turning you off from making the leap to the new hardware? What other key features are you hoping the next generation of games consoles bring with them? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.