610°

Top 5 Game Beginnings

"I would say top five game intros, but that’s a bit too limiting. This encompasses not just the intro cutscenes, but also the initial gameplay and concepts introduced in a game. A good intro sequence doesn’t necessarily mean a good game, but it does mean that the developers took their time to build the foundation for something great." Explosion.com

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Ranma14316d ago

Start of FF10 was awesome.

My favourite game of all time, and my first FF and the last FF to have an epic story

maximus19854316d ago

well said, the intro was great for not being traditional. i also agree its the last epic ff.

victorGma214316d ago

Mass Effect 2 had an epic one.

Blastoise4316d ago

I still think of Final fantasy XII as the last epic one. Even if it was different to the others, it was still a beast of a game.

PoSTedUP4315d ago (Edited 4315d ago )

uncharted2 was one of the most epic. FF12 is in my top 5 that one was sick. and you cant forget about MGS1 and MGS4 thoes intros were so epic they brought me chills. (mgs1 was just a masterpiece front to back)

slayorofgods4315d ago

I still remember how blown away I was with the CGI when playing FFX for the first time. Of course they used a trick of making the cgi run off of dvd format instead of just using the system gpu, but the result was something we never really seen before and made the game look well ahead of it's time when it was released.

The Great Melon4315d ago

I was late to the Metal Gear Solid series, but I still fully enjoyed MGS 1 even though I played it during this generation from the original PS1 disc.

pixelsword4315d ago

Rock of Ages.

Cracked me up.

Knushwood Butt4315d ago

Seen as I just watched it again the other night, MGS2's tanker opening is awesome too.

NukaCola4315d ago

I think the shear amazement of the ES/FO series always brings something gorgeous. Those first steps into their massive worlds always blow me away.

I think I got to give a huge shout out to Bioshock. That intro is untouchable. The way it brought you into the world of Rapture was unbelievable and no one could ever forget that.

PoSTedUP4315d ago

@ the great melon

nice!!!

Nevers4315d ago

NES - Ninja Gaiden (1988)

This was the first opening "CS" I remember seeing. It's still one of the best openings, imHo.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 4315d ago
bwazy4316d ago

It's what got me into Metal :P

nevercloser074316d ago

Agreed. When is the remake coming out?

cozeh4316d ago

If only you started out from 7-9. Now that was epicness. :D

C_Menz4315d ago

Agreed. The beginning "act" really brought you into the FFX world and made you both care and wonder about the characters/setting.

The Great Melon4315d ago (Edited 4315d ago )

FFX was the game that ultimately converted me from a Nintendo fanboy to a Playstation lover. I realized that I had been missing out on so many amazing games by keeping that artifical allegiance. FFX had the power to convert fanboys.

Y_51504315d ago

The people disagreeing with you might of thought you were talking about Gears of War 3! -_-

-Superman-4315d ago

I liked Stalker. You wake up, going outside and boom, big world, and when you playing first time, then you dont know where to go, what to do, but you will look houses and people beucasue its all so interesting, kinda like Fallout 3.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4315d ago
moredekai4316d ago

I'm gonna have to say replace oblivion with witcher 2, it is a great beginning, has so many different ways to unfold the rest of the game, like aryan lavalette's side, or louisa's side. You can also escape the prison in so many ways, that also effect the way the game goes. Honorable mention for me would be mass effect 2, it was unforgettable.

Spydiggity4316d ago

that opening cut scene on the boat in witcher 2 is one of the best ever.

snipes1014316d ago

All of his choices are justified quite well, but I do think Bioshock could have gone on there over, say, Fallout 3 or MGS4.

Philoctetes4316d ago

Yep. Bioshock is the first game that springs to mind when you mention "great beginnings." Just stellar.

OhMyGandhi4315d ago

totally agree. bioshock's opening was brilliant. I love the whole "you have no choice but to go there" setup, and when lights go on, and the big commentary by Andrew Ryan...just brilliant.

joab7774315d ago

Leaving the vault in fallout was amazing. But Bioshock deserves to b there for sure. And uncharted 2 was damn good too.

PooEgg4315d ago

I agree, his list was good, but I would have replaced Kingdom Hearts or MGS4 with Bioshock. I do think the Fallout 3 beginning was good enough to be on the list though.

Actually, this could have easily been a top 10 list, since I can think of a number of other games that have very good beginnings.

goldwyncq4316d ago

The beginning of Uncharted 2 is without doubt, one of the best opening scenes of all time.

dragon_rocks4316d ago

These are also good ones:

* God of War
* God of War 3
* Bioshock
* Uncharted 2
* Darksiders

guitarded774316d ago

God of War 3 was F'n epic in the opening. Overall, I like your list better than the author's.

scrambles4316d ago

Bioshock's beginning is god tier.

peowpeow4315d ago

Good list. Only personally I liked Mass Effect 2's in addition to those. SHEPARD

Irishguy954315d ago

Yeah, having your ship blown out of the...vacuum and shepard getting taken out of it was good. Good imagery as well
http://www.gamezenith.com/w...

God of war 3 gets my vote though

Show all comments (103)
120°

Looking Back At 2008, An Unbelievably Incredible Year Of Video Game Releases

Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."

ChasterMies25m ago

Some of these low paid video game “news” writers weren’t born before 2007.

CrimsonWing6911h ago

I don’t think anything can compare to 2023

lucasnooker11h ago

1998 - the best year in gaming! Metal gear solid, crash bandicoot 3, medievil, half life, ocarina of time, thief, tenchu, resident evil 2, Spyro, tomb raider 3, oddworld abes exodus, banjo kazooie.

It was a different breed of a gaming era. You’ll never understand what it was like back then. The aura of gaming, it was different!

KyRo11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

I second this. Gaming was a lot more varied and fun than it is today. I'm 35 so getting on compared to some here but I got to see all the changes from NES up to now but I've never felt so disappointed in any generation than I have this current gen. I was expecting more from this generation rather than prettier versions of games that came before it. Game mechanics have become so refined that alot of games feel the same and has done for a while now.

Maybe it's time to have a break for a while. I love gaming but I don't feel I get much fun in the traditional sense out of it anymore.

CrimsonWing6910h ago(Edited 10h ago)

Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Abe’s Exodus, and Ocarina of Time are the only things from that list that I liked.

Here’s the 2023 game releases that I personally liked… and big releases that I didn’t care for:

- Dead Space Remake
- Wo Long Dynatsy
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Diablo 4
- Fire Emblem Engage
- Hogwarts Legcay
- Street Fighter 6
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Like a Dragon: Ishin
- Octopath Traveler 2
- Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters
- Final Fanatsy XVI (actually ended up not liking this, but it was still a big deal release)
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
- Lies of P
- Mortal Kombat 1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Starfield (Ended up hating this one, but big release)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (I’m an old-school Zelda fan, but didn’t really enjoy this game)
- Alan Wake 2

I mean, honestly I’ve never seen a year of major IP releases like that, ever.

Profchaos7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

Isn't it just a generational thing realistically.

I've been gaming since way back and I some of my favourite games go as far back as the late 80s for me each generation has a year or two of game changing releases one after another before an inevitable dry spell.

I kind of agree gaming had a different feel games hit different because we didn't have the internet nothing got spoiled and you really had to put in the effort to beat a puzzle which could set entire groups of people looking for a solution. But most importantly games were experimental and not as cookie cutter as today even basics like controls were not universal today r2 is shoot l2 is ads garunteed you can't deviate from that in a shooter back then it could of been square, R1 or R1 and circle nothing was standard.

But as time moves on a new generation picks up their controller they are going to be interested in different things that PS1 demo disc with the t Rex blew our primitive 16 bit brains back on launch but to kids today it's laughable.
The new gen of kids coming into to hobby seem to value different things to us there seems to be a huge focus on online play, streamers, gaming personalities, and social experiences, convience of digital downloads. To me I value none of that but that's ok like my parents not liking the band's I would listen to its just the natural cycle.

80°

Now is the Best Time to Get This Incredible RPG Bundle on Steam

If you are looking for an awesome RPG, look no further. Steam is offering a significant discount on its Fallout Franchise Bundle.

SimpleSlave1d 2h ago

"You can get all Fallout games in a bundle at a significant 20% discount on Steam. Individually, all these games add up to $244.91. With the discount, you can get them all for $195.91. That is $49 less than the original price. Quite a significant discount for such a popular franchise."

😊 😂 🤣 😐 - But why?

Just wait for a sale and get most if not all of it for a fraction of that price.

20% off...lol

Tacoboto1d 1h ago

The games were just on a real sale over the last week or two for the show promotion. Fallout 4 was $10, 3 was $5, NV was cheap as heck too.

So what the heck is this

Inverno1d 1h ago

The original games have been given out for free by Amazon for GOG and Epic, 76 is free now on Amazon if you have prime, Epic has also given out new Vegas for free and 4 has gone down to pretty cheap prices. 194 bucks is a total ripoff when you can get these games individually for less. Don't forget cd keys might sell em for a dollar less at times too. Come on man, us cheapskates won't touch anything near or above 100 lolz

isarai1d 1h ago

Bro that's a ridiculous ripoff are you kidding me? 🤣

150°

Fallout 3's Reveal Led To Death Threats And Bethesda's First Security Guard

The artist behind Fallout 4’s Deathclaw reveals just how bad things got back when Bethesda took over the series

anast2d ago

People are stupid I get it. No one should feel unsafe,

But I think they need to talk about why they cut so many corners during the development process and why none of their games ever look current. And why they think all of this is okay while they charge full price.

LucasRuinedChildhood2d ago

As much as Bethesda deserve criticism, that's not really relevant to the reveal of Fallout 3 in 2007.

VenomUK2d ago

The default angle Kotaku always go for is to highlight the worst in gaming.

I would’ve focused on the creative.

anast1d 8h ago

The game went downhill at Fallout 3's release. This is when they started to cut corners.

gold_drake2d ago

there is no "but". the hell lol
you dont send death threats, period.

anast1d 7h ago

Usually, you have good comments but this isn't one of them. It just rides the mob. We can do both condemn the actions and not let them use it for other things.

I can say I received a death threat and everyone needs to shut up. People are not honest and will use horrible things to their advantage.

Armaggedon1d 20h ago

Not all games “look” current.

anast1d 7h ago

Their games always look like the gen before it.

Armaggedon22h ago

Yeah, but thats not the result of laziness, incompetence, or a bad engine. Thats what happens with their type of open world games. Its hard for people to find a point of comparison because no one makes games like Bethesda does.

gold_drake1d 1h ago

mh ok thanks, i still think ur wrong in this mate.

anast1d ago

No problem. I'm not here to convince you. I'm only stating an actuality. What your words do if we look at them like events.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 22h ago