Moments when I said to myself,
"This is the beauty of what it means to be a gamer" :
* Half-Life - the elegant and seamless integration of elements in Half-Life. The tram car ride through Black Mesa that opens the game for you, in effect saying
"This is the world you will be moving through to survive for the next several hours and days". The headcrab that jumps out of that pipe, effectively making me jump out of my chair. Coming across a battle between the Marines and various alien creatures and spectating before joining in.
* Thief - the dark, syrupy atmosphere of The City. The almost perverse pleasure in sneaking behind and blackjacking my very first guard. Finally figuring out, after nearly 30 minutes, how to sneak past that one guard in Cragscleft Prison (I shot a distractive arrow behind his head and crawled past as he looked the other way). The Haunted Cathedral, The Sword, The Bonehoard. Viktoria.
* Grim Fandango - the rich, vibrant world of it all. The memorable characters, falling in love with Manny's voice. The gazpacho poisoning (I couldn't stop laughing at that fucked up piano music).
* Max Payne - being floored by that opening level in the subway. I had no idea how eerily photorealistic a game could look until then. Going into Bullet Time for the very first time.
....your turn.
