Storytelling in Games

It's always nice to have a story line included with a game, if done well it will make the experience far more enjoyable and interesting, whereas if done poorly, it could ruin the game.
The first series of games that pop into my head is the Metal Gear Solid set. Hideo Kojima is the brains behind the incredibly complex story which continues through the each sequel, one to four. One aspect which can throw people off course is the time line. Number one isn't the earliest one, number 3 is, and i don't have a clue about the others. Personally, I feel that the trouble with complex story lines generally involves having a rather long set of cutscenes at the start, which can get frustrating when you just want to play the damn game, *looks at oblivion*. The link below can give you a better understanding of what I'm trying to say.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/99-Metal-Gear-Solid-4

On the other hand, stories can make a game far more interesting. In my experience, Diablo 2 has always kept me interested. The story, in my opinion, is clear to follow, with interesting yet short, cut scenes. For the first time in my life, i am actually more interested about how the story will continue in Diablo 3, rather than the gameplay and new features.
Some games have tried to give the option of choice, where your actions affect the story, such as Bioshock and GTA IV. The advantage of this is it gives the game a slightly better replay value. Whether it's worth it or not is another question.