Best/Favorite Intro Cinematics.

[bug_of_war]

I though Mass Effect 2's intro was horribly designed. It's literally the only time I've wanted to shut off a game and stop playing because of its intro.

REALLY? Dude, that intro sucked me so far in. Not only did I want revenge, but it showed me that I was not a gun toting invincible badass and that the enemy had vastly superior fire power and technology.

OT: Opening cinematic that really got me was probably ME3. A few minutes after the initial gameplay, you get to the ship, start to fly off, music begins to swell, you look down to see a child make it into a space shuttle...and then KABOOM!!! Reaper blows it the hell up and zoom on Shepard's face.

Oh god yeah...that got me so hard for the game that I never came down.

 

[Smolderin]

I regard Bioshock as the undisputed and nigh unassailable king of video game intros. As far as I'm concerned, no other game intro is even in the same league.


Second place goes to Half Life 2 for excellent and economical scene-setting through environment details and observation.

Mass Effect 2 gets a brief mention for that one moment where you step out into the silent vacuum of the destroyed CIC. Prototype gets a mention due to the sheer fun factor. After some embarrassingly shitty but mercifully brief video game dialogue the game throws you straight into the chaos with all your powers. The following ten minutes are the most fun in the game. Sadly, the rest of the experience never measured up.

I heartily agree with this. Considering the fact the game only uses roughly 10 seconds of actual cutscenes, and the rest is within gameplay engine, how they manage to set the mood was absolutely fantastic. A perfect intro to one of the best games ever made.

 

[ExileNZ]

Z Steel Soldiers has a pretty funny intro
SNIP

The original Z had a better intro, frankly. It was also 3D.

EDIT: Also, some of my own favourites, in no particular order (that I haven't already read, so no HalfLife2 etc):

American McGee's Alice
Ys: Origin (bought the game for that intro, still haven't even played it)
Unreal Tournament (whaddya mean which one? Unreal Tournament!)
Anything from Legacy of Kain - they're all legendary
Speedball 2 (Tournament's okay, but I actually mean the original - THAT MUSIC)
Serious Sam:1E for Xbox (the one that actually HAD an intro)
Sacred 2 (loved that music, bought the album, love it more)
Quake 2 (used to give me chills every time)
Gothic
C&C Red Alert (Hell March FTW)
System Shock 1 & 2 (hauntingly awesome music)
Syndicate and Syndicate Wars

As for campaign beginnings...
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Gothic I & II
Thief (intro and first level)
System Shock 2 (3 years of military training before you even start the game)
Jedi Outcast
Zeno Clash
Dungeon Siege II
Earth 2150
Sanitarium (that is one fucked up game)

 

[Taimaishoo]

For me, as far as intro go's, it still has to be the Burning Crusade one. Everything from the monologue, the cinematography to the music just drips epic.

Campaign intro is for Assassin's Creed 2. Teaches the player about the fundamentals of it's gameplay and "paints the picture" of what is to come. Also notice how the last thing you do just before the final cutscene springs in, is actually reach up with your hand? Makes the cutscene transition make sense. It's the small things.

 

[schtingah]

I've always loved the freelancer intro:

 

[laggyteabag]

Ive got to say, I really like the Halo 4 intro.

Spoiler: Halo 4 Intro

Honourable mentions go to:

Spoiler: Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine

Spoiler: Mass Effect 2

Spoiler: Mass Effect 3

 

[neonsword13-ops]

Valkyria Chronicles has a nice one. The music is freaking beautiful.


And let's not forget Persona 4: Golden, the game that somehow made murder happy.

 

[Gizmo1990]

-Snip-

Yeah, true. But my favourites in that series have to be KHI & II since you have the epic first few moments in the Station of Awakening.

OT:

Spoiler

It starts about a minute in, btw. Get all that cinematography in ya FMV.

Damn you beat me to it. Ok I will post my second choice.

3:10-6:30 is gameplay, so just skip that but make sure you see the end.

Spoiler

 

[Vegosiux]

Throne of Bhaal intro. What follows is just as great.

 

[Casual Shinji]

This, my friends, is how you set up a great game.

 

[GonzoGamer]

That one for Dawn of War is totally badass.

Good choice. All the Dawn of War intros are really badass.

The one that sticks out in my head is Katamari Damacy; it's just a whole truckload of WTF.

 

[Rawne1980]

Has to be the Witcher intro for me.

 

[eggy32]

My favorite definitely has to be the intro to Soul Reaver

 

[MTNK]

I love sharing these three,

Imperium Galactica 2 had some great openings for each faction and apparently is no on Ipad, impossible to get an English version of just the intro on youtube though.

Gpolice, long long opening but I still want to play THAT game, the one that actually came on the disk isn't terrible but the cut scenes were by far the best part.

Final Fantasy VI has the best opening of the Final Fantasy Games for me

Oh and someone already said Freelancer, but the longer version that was cut from the game was better than the short version they actually used.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I agree with many of the intros posted (Kingdom Hearts, Persona 4).

But I have to stand up for the one and only intro I never skipped while starting the game, not even once. The animation is top notch and so is the music ("Karma", by Bump of Chicken).

Back in the day it never failed to psych me up for a good, lengthy run of Tales of the Abyss:

 

[The Great JT]

Skies of Arcadia Legends.


Watch 'til 3:58, that's the full opening.

 

[The_Darkness]

What?! No Resident Evil 4???

"1998. I'll never forget it..."


Seriously, for me that cinematic set the tone for the rest of the camp-but-terrifying game...

Then of course, while we're at it and given my user name:


Ah... I miss the Gamecube.

 

[Buzz Killington_v1legacy]

What, no love for the original Fallout?

 

[Breywood]

What, no love for the original Fallout?

Maaaaybe you'll think of me, when you are allll alooone.

Great times.

Excellent suggestions, but I still have to go with something that almost redeems Activision. Pre-2000, and remains my favorite.

Spoiler

 

[SajuukKhar]

The intro to half-life 2 is so boss