Let’s Get it Started: Great Beginnings to Video Games

Mike writes, "There aren't very many strong video game endings, but beginnings are equally troublesome these days. It's a real skill for a game to set a proper tone by introducing the characters, environments, abilities, and mechanics. Many are able to capture a few of these attributes, but it's a rare occasion when a video game pulls you in right off the bat and gets you engaged. Because graphical capabilities are so high these days, even smaller developers can render movie-level cutscenes. While that's all good and fine, I'm more impressed by a game starting off as a game and not just a carbon copy of ground that movies have already covered. So, let's talk about a few games that I think really nail it with their beginning levels."