Memorable Beginnings

[Ubiquitous]

The thing I like about MI3 is that the cell-shaded cartoon style is the PERFECT format for these adventure games with a comedy element. Back then in 1997 the graphics seemed so much better than anything else out there.

Incidentally, I believe the YouTube MI intro that you posted is from the PC demo (but I could be wrong).

If you look at the game (MI3) now the graphics a little rough around the edges (literally). Imagine, though, if you were to make Monkey Island 5 for a modern PC and put it onto a DVD — you could do full-on 1280x1024 cell-shaded graphics that would look so crisp. It would be incredible. And the best part is that it makes the game timeless. Disney movies from the 1950s still look good, but Monkey Island 4 (which for some, inexplicable reason went for 3D graphics) is only a few years old and it already looks terrible. I guess we'll never see another MI game though (sigh) [/rant]

 

[Phryxus]

Been reading these and I agree with most of them (apart from Quake 2, which I can't judge because I never played it ) but I feel that Fahrenheit (yes, i know, here I go again) deserves some love for a great beginning.

Fahrenheit is the only game that i've played that offered a really, really interesting hook, something more than being an uber-soldat or lycra wearing meat puppet - you've just murdered someone and you need to get out, get away from wherever you are. That in itself is a fairly interesting premise, but couple that with the fact that afterwards you get to play the police officers investigating the scene and it becomes much more interesting. Did you sit back down and calmly eat your meal in the diner, or just cheese it out the back door and hope no-one notices? Depending on your decisions, the evidence that's lying about is different and/or more substantial, influencing the later events (albeit only slightly, really) and throwing up some puzzles along the way, such as actually trying to identify yourself from witnesses and make connections. Of course, it also gives you one big mystery - why in the world did my guy just do the robot and plunge a knife in that man's chest? If you don't play on, you'll never know!

Unfortunately, it gets a bit nuts at the end, with it all moving away from just a multi-perspective murder mystery and going absolutely mental, but for a truly random beginning It's great and certainly made me go right to the end. I also have to say that Piacular is absolutely right when he talks about GR:AW's super-duper pyrotechnics. If you don't believe me, grab a grenade and throw it at a car - you'll be roasting marshmallows for weeks!

 

[elDiablo]

...I feel that Fahrenheit (yes, i know, here I go again) deserves some love for a great beginning.

[...]

Unfortunately, it gets a bit nuts at the end...

Those are my exact feels of the game To start with, it's absolutely great, I love it, and then out of nowhere, BOOM, and the whole story changes. Like the bit about

Spoiler

AI's

where did that come from?!

 

[Gopha]

Metal gear solid

The best game ive ever played!

 

[Pestcontrol]

Dune2 was the first game that really grabbed me, some 12 years ago. It also had the most beautiful intro for it's day, especially with the spoken voice, the way the "dune2" title logo came down, oh, memories.

Being the precursor to the C&C and RA series it had already set the standard in a way, but i find it hard to compare them.