Best opening sequence in a videogame

[Serinanth]

I cannot say I have an absolute favorite but a recent addition to the list is Halo 4's intro, it grabbed a hold of me really good. As a fan of the books seeing a little of the back story in the game was awesome.

And then there is Cortana, they did an incredible job with her body language and managed to convey a pretty heavy set of emotions very well. The primal parts of my brain just started screaming, "Must protect"!

 

[Bestival]

Saints Row 3 all the way, me n my best friend cooped it we were both like: "If that's the intro, how the hell is the rest of the game gonna go."
And tbh, it didn't disapoint, except that the story was a bit short.
I've forced a whole bunch of friends to play the intro, just because they wouldn't believe/understand it when I just told them how over the top it was heh.

 

[projectX42]

my honest answer would have to be bioshock but that's boring so Im going to give a shout out to operation flashpoint: red river.

its funny sets up the story and teaches history while using the term "pissing in their cornflakes" what's not to love

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

Can't decide. There are so many option to chose.

I'm glad someone posted Civ IV though, Baba Yetu is one heck of a catchy tune.
Alot of good ones were already called Half-Life, Bioshock, Saints Row 2 and both Bordlerlands all goddamn awesome intros and everyone of them will probably stick to my mind till the day i die.

But probably the two that got me the most were ME2 and Halflife 2 - though the latter was probably more stunning because of the graphic-leap it did back then.

PS: Darn, i forgot the Monkey Island Series. Whenever that intro tune plays, i'll get a chill down my spine and goosebumps all over the place.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

ME2 by a fair long shot. Was arguably the high point of the entire series. Really beautifully done, from the pacing to the music.

ME3's intro was a borderline disaster. Terrible dialogue, lots of weird synching errors, pacing all screwed up. Really set the tone for the rest of the game.

 

[Patrick Buck]

The skyrim opening?

Nah, I would say the farcry 3 opening, or the Mass effect 2 opening are pretty good.

Spoiler: ...and if you count all of the Haythem gameplay in assassin's creed 3, that bit I guess, right up until...

..you find out he's a templar. OOOH that was a good reveal.

 

[Nouw]

Spoiler: The Darkness II has a brilliant opening sequence.

It catches you up on the story so far and throws you into the action in a gruesome way.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Yeah, I don't have a whole lot new to add. Most of my favorite games also include my favorite intros.

ME2 is easily my favorite. The first time I played it I had just finished ME1 and it really shocked me. I immediately knew I was in for something special, because the game had already begun doing things I flat-out never expected. And the execution of the scene was symptomatic of the overall amazing work that the rest of the game displays. It's just a sublime beginning to a game that lives up to its promise.

It is a shame that ME3 had a lackluster opening sequence, it really seems like it was Bioware's attempt to get most of the trailer bait out of the way early. It stunk of EA's oversight, while simultaneously seeming rushed and poorly planned, probably because the people making it with any dignity left didn't like it and left it for an afterthought. ME3 is a good game bookended by executive meddling and poor planning.

Both Borderlands have fantastic intros, again, really setting the tone for the overall experience, and being really kickass in general.

SotC is also a perfect opening, and I mean perfect. It's not the one I enjoyed the most, but it is exactly the opening the game should have.

 

[PeterD23]

"Your appointment to FEMA should be finalized within the week, I've already discussed the matter with the senator."
"I take it he was agreeable?"
"He didn't really have a choice."

Deus Ex's opening really felt like this huge conspiracy was rising and it felt brilliantly unsettling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStn70Ot4r0 (I don't know how to embed links)

 

[razor343]

Telos from Knights of the Old Republic...I'm not even joking. Although it's good for a very specific reason, it gets you involved with the people of the planet. You see and live through its struggles and start caring about it.

Then...

Spoiler

Malak wrecks it to shit.

And then you have Peragus from KotoR 2. That was an absolutely incredibly exectuted failure. The rest of the game was great though.

 

[The_Scrivener]

People have been saying ME3 which I agree with, but the one that came to mind was Fallout 3. The opening slideshow is amazing and the vault levels are really immersive.

Oh I hated Fallout 3's stretched introduction. Don't get me wrong,I liked the more cinematic direction it took in comparison to Oblivion,but pacing is so slow,and being stuck in such a claustrophobic place for so much time isn't exactly ideal for an open-ended,free roaming game. Basically the starting dungeons in all Bethesda games are my worse dungeons of the games,but I generally love Bethesda games. It's just that they are large and unskippable tutorials and most Bethesda games play the same anyway,so every time a play a new Bethesda game I'm anxious to exit the first dungeon so I can finally see the world outside,and go whenever I want and do whatever I want.

Fervently disagree.

It makes that moment, that historic incredible moment, when you leave the vault door and first lay eyes on that world SOOO much more amazing.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

I'm gonna step back in time a little and say Jak 2: Renegade. It not only sets up the atmosphere of the game and city really well but manages to show how much of a badass Jak is now only using four words.

 

[Snownine]

The opening to Final Fantasy X is exciting and raises so many questions for the gamer. It makes you want to find out who these people are, what Sin is, what happened to Tidus, where was he taken? I thought it was very effective.

 

[The Nossa]

"War..... War never changes"
I think that sums up the best opening cinematic

I can't really think of many AMAZING startings of games, Halo 3 opens to a pretty good start.

 

[dimensional]

Best opening cinematic for me is easily SoulBlade

Spoiler: contains awesomeness

Absolutely blew me away back in the day and no opening cinematic has impressed me more in any game ever its just absolutely amazing the series itself wasnt great until Soul Calibur but they never got as good an intro again by a long shot.

Best opening sequence is FFVII

Spoiler: for space, if you havent seen it for some reason its worth checking out though

how it starts just looking about then pulls back to reveal Aeris the city then the title and music kick in before the camera pulls back into the train coming in and then Cloud gets off and you are in the game no black screens to break it up you are just in this was pretty impressive back in the day seamlessly blending FMV and gameplay together.

there have been a few others I have thought were pretty damn good Bioshock springs to mind but nothing has ever approached these two for me.

 

[Yotora]

The Metal Gear Solid 3 opening has to be my absolute favourite, I think it's the HALO jump that just really gets me going I dunno what it is about it, it just gets me pumped
And for some reason it's rather reminiscent of a James Bond sort of thing with the cigar and all the technical jargon, case in point "We are C.A.V.O.K (Cloud and visibility OK)" and what not ^^

 

[Tayh]

I quite liked the intro to DC Online.
Too bad the actual game was such a button-mash disaster.

 

[Darren Carrigan]

ME:2
Mortal Kombat : Armageddon, two of my top ten games also

Captcha: Prime Time...
fitting

 

[Mikejames]

Deadly Premonition starts with an FBI agent driving through a storm while simultaneously checking his laptop, discussing case evidence with someone who's potentially imaginary, and contemplating Tom and Jerry's sado-masochistic relationship over the phone.

Still one of my favorite introductions for a protagonist ever.

A bit of a predictable answer but Bioshock. It is a true example of an opening done right. It's all in game, it set's the mood and atmosphere, and is just executed quite wonderfully.

Especially if we're counting Ryan's intro video. Lovely build-up for the city.

 

[Weealzabob]

While I'm not a huge God of War fan, the starting levels of the first two games are incredibly badass.

Borderlands

I might not like the game, but the opening is pretty damn awesome

I have to hand it to Gearbox, they established the setting and characters amazingly well in such a short cutscene without any dialogue.