"...and my jaw dropped." (pivotal gaming moments)
 

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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. :)

First of all, all of the above and for the same reasons.

* Unreal - it was the first FPS I played and because of this it will always have a special place in my heart. This was back in 1999 and after having played many better FPS games after that I last year tried out Unreal once more. The feeling was still there: You wake up in a prison vessel on an alien planet and soon find yourself scared shitless just because of the sounds that meet your ears. You manage to find your way out of the vessel and you take your first look at the planet you will see much of in the coming days. You are amazed by the detail of this world and the waterfalls, oh the waterfalls. :z
By today’s standards this isn't a great game, but back then it was and I because I never had seen anything similar before, it had an enormous impact on me.

* The Longest Journey - the first shift was just amazing, and when the church doors opened and revealed Arcadia in all its beauty I was stunned. That was a great moment in my gaming life. The ending was also a once in a life time experience and when the game opened the sketches to me I almost shed a tear. That was one of the most emotional moments for me in any game ever.

* Outcast - You'll have to play it to understand. The screenshots don't show the whole picture. Although Outcast used old technologies, and the graphics was somewhat dated because of this, all the worlds in Outcast were and are extraordinary beautiful. You try to to find the highest place in every world and just let your eyes absorb the candy that is Outcast.
The AI of the characters is also something that amazed me. They all have their own things to do and they'll do them if you don't disturb them. They also react to shooting very well. The friendly guys tend to duck to not get in the line of fire. The hostile guys, well, they tend to shoot back. :D Also, if you've shot someone friendly and another friendly guy sees it, he'll refuse to talk to you for some time, which was a neat trick IMO.

Nice moments, I shared similar reactions to certain single player games, like you the tram ride through the Black Mesa facility was fantastic. Especially watching it on a pair of (at the time top of the range) linked voodoo 2 cards on a pre release beta build. Earning a reputation as a Gigolo in Fallout 2. Setting foot for the first time on the desert surface of Tatooine in Knights of the old republic (damn those sun's look amazing in the blue sky against the desert surface). They're remembered moments of immersion when the sense of disbelief is successfully put aside by one or more features in the game be it glorious graphics or just interesting consequences to your actions.

They pale a little though in comparison to watershed moments I experienced online. Playing quake (with q95.exe) with fellow early internet adopters on our 14.4k modems at the isp's server (it was like ice skating), updating to quakeworld and soon after getting too caught up in the masterpiece that was the original Team Fortress, learning the classes and the best positions for each on a map, offence and defence tactics, learning to bunny hop, playing a role in a dedicated clan.

It was even more striking in Ultima Online, saving up money with a friend so we could buy ourselves a house near a local mine to make our fortunes, and then getting killed for the first time by another player. It was so violating :) I loved that game so much I volunteered to be a counselor and was one for almost 2 years, another great experience in its self being able to help others enjoy a game that meant so much to me.

Grand Theft Auto III:
The very first time you got to get into a car after the intro stops was thrilling to say the least :)

Pain Killer:
Fighting the swampthing endboss was rather difficult cause I kept forgetting to shoot the monster and kept looking at the way it looked & moved :)

System Shock 2:
Just after you wake up and ran to safety, you sneak around this computer room, and every time I play that level I get scared shitless cause of this comuter that explodes next to you :crazy:

Tron 2.0
When you walk around inside the firewall I had to keep looking at the huuuge rotating devices, awesome! And everything in the infected computers simply looks amazing :)

Max Payne 2:

After realizing that Max actually DID shoot Detective Winterson. Really gave it a little more edge, though it kind of took the wind out of it when you find out she was Vlads girl.

Call of Duty:

While not my favorite game, it definitly has its spots. The airfield when you're desperately shooting down the bomber coming at you. And the Battle of Stalingrad, ripped right out of Enemy at the Gates, my favorite level from an awesome movie.

Starcraft: Brood War:

The very end, when you realize you just helped the bad guys (or bad girl, I guess...) win.

Star Wars: KOTOR...the first time I took the elevator to the Upper City in that first level, I was in awe of the realism of the world. Ships zooming overhead...and underfoot...people walking by, the texture of the sky...awesomely beautiful.

Grim Fandango: The Bridge in, I think, Rubacava. The way the water shimmered, rippled and reflected the moonlight was just incredible to look at. I think my jaw literally did drop, lol.

Many of the levels in American McGee's Alice. They were creepy, beautiful, and I was often looking forward to seeing what was around the next corner. The "Skool Daze" level was wild just to look at, with the swirling portals, the floating building, the tentacles writhing out of portals in the sides of buildings...creepy fun!

The Rubacava transition in Grim when Manny takes over the casino sent shivers down my spine. Oh man, even thinking about it...

Also, the introduction to Full Throttle. Talk about great game intros.

I've only played the demo of Call of Duty, but one moment that really got me was the first time the game went into slow-mo low-volume slow-shutter mode. Man, that was crazy. It really has that desired war-movie effect.

The intro to Brood War, while sort of a typical sci-fi kind of thing, had an ending that was quite well-composed and really made me feel the intended disgust at the Terran command.

There are others I'm sure, including some that have already been posted, but those are some of the ones that easily come to mind.

How could I forget Call Of Duty! The first time you get to fire one of those MG42's with their insane noisemaking was awesome. I started grinning like an maniac :D It's so insanely loud it makes you hide as soon as you hear them fire near you. Even if you stand right around a corner :)

I experienced few jawdropping moments in my gaming history, I have to say...
I do feel quite excited every time I launch a new game/demo for the first time, though.

Anyway, to name a few that impressed me...
Some game on Amiga I saw when I visited a friend. It had this wonderful intro.
You saw a car arriving at some kind of lab where there was a particle accelerator or something. After that, there was some kind of accident which made the main character travel through time or something. (all very vague, but it's been a while).

The first time playing battle chess (especially the queen killing a pawn was cool)

The first time playing wolfenstein3d (the danger lurking behind each corner, every door) and other Id games like quake and quake 2, single player and multiplayer (the sounds and movements of the enemies in quake 2, and its wonderful multiplayer maps; I still play quake2 online from time to time).
I admit, I'm maybe a bit of an Id "fanboy" :P

The first time I saw the intro of Final Fantasy VII on my then brandnew PC; the train that entered the station, the camera angles, Aeris and the echo of her footsteps, the music. That game has some of the best cutscenes ever...

The first time I saw Lara Croft in action.

The first cutscene and level of nolf2: the japanese with her katana, the wonderful environment a bit later; vegetation, water, bridge...
I loved the mood of that game.

In Grim Fandango, the cutscene where

Spoiler:

Manny thinks he sees Meche, but it appears to be a scary bird and so on...

Max Payne 2 and its physics engine. I liked it more than the first game. Although not very realistic, I enjoyed the physics very much (more than in DX:IW or Painkiller)

edit: I forgot the intro of KQV: especially the fact that they zoomed in on the owl Cedric (I had a non talkie version so I didn't think he was annoying). Those were the best gfx I had seen (better than mi1, which I played at the same time), such nice colors and drawings :P
Guess I have a weakness for cutscenes which use different camera angles

I know that game! :D "Another World" was its name. That intro was amazing, for the time. The first time I saw it was also on an Amiga, my cousin's. The game itself, IMHO was also non-stop wonderment and amazement at the world you're visiting and its inhabitants. Thanks for reminding me of that one. Very worthy of the "jaw dropping" category. Especially, and I don't know if anyone else remembers this, at the begining of the game, running away from the black lion. I think I can safely say those were some of the most suspenseful and exciting moments in my gaming experience, ever, period.

-Beating Jaffar in Prince of Persia. The back and forth swordplay, ending with a sattisfactory stab (12 times)--also immensely exciting.

-Hearing the wonderful song "Ochi Charnie" (means "black eyes" in Russian and Serbian) in Syberia.

That's the one! I don't remember the title, but I remember this black lion :)

(It was called "out of this world" in the US.)

The Dig
I loved the whole game because of the atmosphere, but there were a few moments which really had an emotional impact on me, first and foremost the introduction which climaxes to the point where the sun emerges from behind the asteroid, the music reaches its thematical peak and Low states: "We have exactly one chance. We've got to do it right. Let all your prayers be with us". Time for shivers!

Grim Fandango
I agree with what has been said in this thread already. One of the defining moments in the game in my opinion was the cutscene between Year 1 and 2, where the camera tracks the cafeteria tower up to the sky, then dives down to the night, the cafeteria having turned into a casino. It somehow opened my eyes to see just how cinematic games can be at their best. It's sad that not many titles have gotten this far, as there's plenty of room for further improvement.

The first time you hear the zombies calling out for you as you hide behind some desk....the first time you get charged by a Rumbler....the log entries by one of the crew members, culminating with the final entry when he is moments away from being assimilated by The Many....chilling.

In Undying, you walk around the ruins of a monestary and see a large pool. Reflected in the pool is the monestary....in its fully restored original glory. Stunning.

Tomb Raider 2
The first time you jumped in the boat on the venice canals.

Thief: The Dark Project
The suspense as you try to steal the eye from the undead in the Return to the Haunted Cathedral.

Half Life
Shooting down the helicopter with the newly found rocket launcher whilst being stood on the cliff.

Dungeon Keeper
The first time you attract a bile demon to your dungeon.

Doom & Heretic
Everything.

Quake 2
Seeing the first boss that looks like a tank.

Of course there are a lot, but the most recent game that made my jaw drop at every turn and made me think "this is how gaming SHOULD ALWAYS be" was

http://www.videogameaddicts.net/zeldaoottitle1.jpg

Those dungeons were so well designed... yes, I was always aware I was playing a game, but ever realising how great this game was. And this is no nostalgic memory, mind you: I played the game for the first time half a year ago! Not only is it great, it stands the test of time superbly ^_^ Brilliant design simply never fades.


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Grim Fandango
My jaw dropped for the entirety of this game, but it actually unhinged on these occasions:

Spoiler:

When Manny runs down from the Casino and see's Meche, but as he gets closer 'Meche' turns around, and it's a crow.

When Lola dies.

The poisoning at the start of the game. So weird.

When Meche is going through the gates with the suitcase of Golden Tickets, and the crow flies out at her... She hits it with the suitcase and then throws it down to Manny, and Manny get's into the car with Olivia, and then she throws Sal's head into the back of the car.... and he says, "Hola Manuel!". That part was also hilarious in a completely disturbed way.

The shoot-out between Manny and Hector. Awesome.

Full Throttle

Spoiler:

The entire end sequence of events, but one moment that stands out in particular is when Ben and Ripburger crash through the windscreen, and Ripburger is hanging on the front of the truck...

Mo - "Ben!? Ben!??? Are you alive?!"

Ben - "I am, but I don't know about Ripburger..."

Mo - "I can see him. He's out cold."

And at the precise moment she says, "Out cold!" we can see Ripburger's eyes shoot open, unbeknown to our heroes.

Metal Gear Solid

Spoiler:

This entire game was awesome, but especially the part where the mindreader dude makes the PS1 controller shake... and the torture part... they just added such an interactive element to the game, they were such clever ideas....

Monkey Island 2

Tunnels!


Probably there are a whole bunch of other moments, but those stand out in particular to me.

Grand Theft Auto Vice City:

The ending cut-scene plays, after that I just drive around the city for two hours on a motorcycle, listening to my favourites on the mp3 radio channel.

I was just recently reminded of how much I was moved (I can't really say enjoyed due to the subject material) by Hitman 2. I was inspired to write down my experience of one of my favourite missions and it was hard to pick one. Perhaps its telling that the most brutal was the one I chose. All the others where either extremely clean and/or efficient kills but for some reason I really let fly on a poor Hacker.

My jaw drops too easyly... :P
-That 96Kb game that I heard about in the forum made me jaw drop like a Tex Avery toon...
I'll just reduce the list to:
-"OMG! How did I do that! Sw33t!" situation.
-"What beautiful graphics/music!"

I know it's lame, but would you rather have a extremely long and boring post? :rolleyes:

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Silent Hill

* American McGee's Alice - practically everything visual: art direction, character design, level design, weapons (all except for gameplay, which was mediocre). There was a big room in the level just before Skool Daze, where once Alice entered the checkerboard floor groaned and deconstructed itself into a giant kinetic platform puzzle; I slowly panned the camera around.....I was in heaven.

* Silent Hill - The first playable part, where Harry runs after his daughter Cheryl, and ends up in a labyrinthine alley. The air raid sirens sound, and darkness suddenly falls, with Harry striking a match for light. I thought this was one of the most perfectly orchestrated interactive cutscenes in history. I won't spoil it for yooz guyz who haven't played it yet, but when I got to the dead end: "Oh F#CK!! I have no weapons! Where the hell's the exit?!! No, No, NOO!!!!!"

I'm pretty easily pleased, so this thread is full of "Oh yeah!!! That was awesome!!!" material for me. Another World's introduction was pretty masterful with some really high-quality animation - and the game itself was just as good! The opening 'level' especially, with the big beast chasing you, was almost cinematic - you didn't just see the lion drop down in front of you as you would in a standard platformer, you saw it appear and roar in your face from your character's point of view. Little cutscenes like this were very well integrated throughout. The game was way ahead of its time - too bad it was very, very short!

Frontier on the Amiga didn't just have some 'amazing' - for the time - polygon-based 3D graphics, it had incredibly addictive gameplay and an exciting opening sequence. As a package, it kept me occupied for years - literally.

Shelling out an amount of money I wouldn't dream of today for my first 3D graphics card - I think I went temporarily insane for the first few weeks, everything looked so nice! Looking back, the 3D games I had were rubbish, but I couldn't stop playing 'em.

As for more recent games - there are still lots, but I'll nominate a few: Hardwar, set in the desolate future on Titan - the first time I fired it up after upgrading my PC and I was able to see across an entire 'crater', complete with AI spaceships buzzing about, was just "whoa". The Grim Fandango trailer: prior to the game's release I downloaded the 'basic' demo with no music, speech or sound and was a bit underwhelmed, but once I got the full-screen trailer on a coverdisc I didn't have to think twice. Most cutscenes in the game itself were completely awesome, especially the final cutscene which is probably my most-watched cutscene ever!

Oh, and the "Hola Manuel!" bit - macabre but very funny! One of the most memorable jokes - not to mention twists - in a game ever.

Finally, GTA3. The impact had dulled by the time Vice City came out, but seeing the sunset through the pouring rain while tearing around the sweeping streets was probably the culmination of most of the various "wouldn't it be great if someone made a game where..." daydreams I've had since I started playing games. ;)

And most recently, seeing how bloody huge the "ONS-Dria" map is on Unreal Tournament 2004! I looked at the map and thought my destination looked pretty nearby, so I decided it was quicker to walk than find a vehicle - yeah right! It was miles away! The level is so big that you can go for ages without meeting anybody, and it looks beautiful (very 'Mordor') to boot!

P.S. I keep trying to play Ocarina of Time, but I can't see past its age and its lack of manual camera control. Mohh. Maybe I'll try again soon...
P.P.S. Actually, based on this thread, I'll also add the following to my 'play for more than the five minutes you've managed so far, fool!' list: System Shock 2.
P.P.P.S. I'm sure that the number of lying phrases beginning with things like "finally..." and "lastly..." dotted around this post will tip you off that I've been editing it quite a bit! Sorry about that... the more I re-read this thread, the more I remember!

Deus Ex
Still the defining moment in PC gaming. Freedom I'd never seen. Pure, precise, principled - the game has it all. Defying convetional wisdom with a de facto grace, and influencing a whole generation of games, witness the obligatory stealth level in most bog standard FPS games. Truely a great moment in videogaming. By analogy, Deus Ex: Invisible War is to The Matrix: Reloaded what Deus Ex was to The Matrix; the original is still the most innovative, the most defined and free vision of the form. Yet to be toppled from the PC gaming throne.

Grim Fandango
The only game to make me cry. A slice of cinema, real life, biting humour and love. A perfectly crafted narrative, the culmination of decades of work, through an ethos refined and defined by the former great, LucasArts. With memorable characters, insane puzzles and still the most wonderfully sweet fable I've had the pleasure and honour to experience in a videogame.

Freelancer
Space. The Final Frontier. To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before. Exactly my type of game. Freeform. Responsive. Freelancer is not Elite. It brings the spirti of that giant to a third dimension, and a further generation. It is beautiful, it is operatic. It empowers the player. It's also got a gripping story, and some really fantastic battles.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Reach for the stars, for the impossible. Even if you do not reach them, you still have travelled far. Morrowind is not perfect, but so ambitious as to warrant the dropping of the jaw. The most beautifully crafted RPG to date, the game possesses character and style, and a diverse range of abilities and questions, when one includes the expansion packs. I'm still playing the game on my original character, such are the legions of factions and quests to be completed. A classic, and one for those who want to see the hours drip away.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars is a childhood dream. Computer effects and characters purged the vision. Computer games and stories have redeemed it. Standing as the best piece of Star Wars since the Timothy Zahn trilogy of books, the game is focused, professional, and wonderfully authentic. A delight to play, and a successful cross-platform development.

More to follow...

Technically, what you mean is that Invisible War is to Deus Ex what Reloaded is to The Matrix.

It is odd to find a fellow Irish person that:

1. Can type in entire sentences without resorting to Txt Talk.
2. Plays Adventure Games.

Heh, I'm going to go out on a limb here and postulate that those two points are possibly where your similarities to James end.

Oh.

Tell me about James.

Nah, I'd venture to say that you have quite a lot in common, except you're extroverted and James is pathetic. I have nothing against James nor do I have anything against pathetic people. Some of my best friends are pathetic.

Oh.

Oh well.

I guess that it's good to be extroverted.

If I recall correctly, you likened me to the unabomber or something.

What the heck? This Living Daylights song I just downloaded bought isn't The Living Daylights at all!

Your avatar reminds me, Steve, of a video clip in Encarta 95... of a frog getting caught by a frog-eating plant... it was so obvious that poor frog was pushed into that plant.

Heh, now this I've gotta hear...

I guess I'd be finding this a whole lot funnier if I knew James, right?

It's not so much funny, it's... Well, I guess when I think of you two in a room having a conversation with each other, it's more... What's the word... Okay, yeah, it's pretty funny.

I don't get it. Somebody explain it to me. Why is this funny? Is James pro-Bush? Perhaps he has some facial growth or surplus hair that I would find distracting while trying to speak to him? Perhaps you are just insanely jealous that I get to live on the same chunk of land as James, whereas you only get to live on the same chunk of land as the likes of Tim Schafer. Perhaps you secretly desire to be part of the European Union, too. Maybe James is the first in a new breed of Fundamentalist Catholic Regime. Perhaps--

Woah, thread going off topic! Here, allow me to--


Monkey Island 1

Spoiler:

The ending, with those closeups which were amazing back then, and the fireworks as LeChuck imploded romantically. So much awesomeness, crammed onto such a small disk.

As I was saying, you find this somehow funny, whereas I do not. Or at least, I probably do, but I haven't yet figured out why it is funny. I don't think it's nice of you to make fun of James if it has something to do with disfiguration. Not that I would be at all distracted by that. Now look, you've made me sound like-- never mind.

Why is it funny?

Just do a search for some of his recent threads. It's not really that funny.

Actually, randomly enough, I think so. Don't quote me on that though.

LOL.

Well that was an interesting aside. Firstly, Remixor, you are correct in your correction of my grammer - I posted after a night out and was rather tired, if not exhausted.

One
There are few Irish adventure gamers, at least few that make their presence felt on the internet, owing I feel to the somewhat solitary nature of adventure gaming. It's always a pleasure to meet another.

Two
Resource to txt speak, or its internet equivalent l33t speak, is below anyone who prides themselves on speaking English, or enjoys any form of literature. For the purposes of this point, anything from a broadsheet up constitutes literature.

Three
I resent the accusation that I am "pathetic." Further to my recent posts I pride myself on my literary works, and am experiencing a spiritual transition, quite outside the narrow confines of a literalist, conservative, and regressive doctrine known as "logic." This has not been an easy time for me, and I would appreciate your discretion therein.

Four
My percieved pretension or arrogance in written or electronic form does not translate to spoken word, nor held in conversation. There exists a duality between one's literary aspirations and inner thoughts, and one's public persona, as displayed by appearance, speech, and mannerisms.

Five
I am not "pro-Bush". Nor indeed am I "anti-Bush", as to be for or against a person is to diminish their humanity. The actions of the President are consistent with my perception of his politics, and maintain a clarity of focus and purpose that is stark contrast to what I percieve as a non-confrontationalist, indecisive and weak Democratic party, whose actions under the Clinton administration echo those of the current leadership, if only with further secrecy and compromise - peace talks with one hand, bombings with the other (Chinese embassy, Yugoslavia to name but one). A bi-party system that offers a choice of a right-centre party and a centre-right one can hardly be deemed expansive democracy or choice.

Six
I am not disfigured, at least not in any way of which the denizens of this particular forum are aware.

Btw, welcome to Adventure Gamers.

I already like Yufster.

I don't understand why anyone should be extroverted. I once was and it never did me any good. Of course, perhaps being extroverted is good if you aren't stupid. I just say "Mhhgf" to people.

Monkey Island 3

Yep, before it even had its final title. When I first saw a trailer in December 1996. I got it with a computer magazine, and I literally ran home to watch it. Several times. I think it is one of the ONLY videos I remember watching even now...

Woah there!!! hold up a sec, De Valera!

I can see why it might be a funny situation, should we come face to face some time. Don't get me wrong; I understood everything you just said. I just resort to a more straightforward way of communicating my thoughts and ideas; keep talking until something sounds right.

But it never does.

I have to phone work now, to tell them I can't come in tomorrow because my car is broken down and I have no other way to get in. Perhaps I should use James-style communication? While their heads are reeling, I can make a safe getaway, put-the-phone-down style!

Uhm,

In more on-topic news, you're probably all going to hate me, but the end of MI4 sent shivers of delight up my spine. Not because of what it was, but what it had the potential to be. The music, the voiceacting, the character designs... all had the potential to be awesome. But everything else sucked.

Hehe. I like this one. "James style communication" - a phrase is coined. I do apologise if I came across as abrasive (reading Law from 10am till now does that to you). MI4 isnt' of the same calibre as the other games, by a long shot, agreed, though it does have its moments.