Best single mission in a game

[Anthony Corrigan]

What is the single best and most unexpected mission you have ever played

for me its the weed burning mission in far cry, already had a flame thrower but I actually didn't use it and then all of a sudden the plot gives it to you, tells you "go burn this guys weed plantation and THEN it starts playing that song OMG and the commentary if your using the flame thrower

was hoping to find a better video than this with less talking but it will do

 

[BrotherRool]

I feel like I'm forgetting about a lot of great levels, but I adore the first mission against camouflaged enemies in Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker.

There's something really cool about taking a stealth game and saying, okay you've got to stay hidden, but now your enemies are too.

Stalking through a jungle, crawling through shrubbery, ducking behind trees, scanning absolutely anywhere for a sign of the enemy, and then you might catch a glimpse of an oddly shaped bush, so you circle round it aiming to sneak up behind him, but a gun to his back and then... attach him to a giant balloon and yank him up to a helicopter. Because Peace Walker is all about steathily creeping through enemy encampments whilst silently kidnapping your enemies with balloons, helicopters and loud yoink's, because you know, Kojima.

... but anyway circling round the bush, getting ready to draw your gun. And then suddenly a sniper you missed lying in the bushes shoots you in the back. The best part about the mission is the enemy aren't hidden by any BS invisibility system or anything. They're wearing camouflage clothes and positioning themselves well in the landscape and it really works. You can stare at a patch of grass and suddenly realise you're looking straight into someones face. It's really impressive, you barely ever see examples of effective camouflage in films or TV, but here it works. It breaks up their lines and blends them into the shapes behind them.

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For a change of pace, my other favourite level is the Brothel for Slaking Intellectual Lusts in Planescape. First of all, it's a brothel where people go to satiate their lust for intelligent conversation, or interesting stories or a challenging game of chess etc. That's already cool by itself. But most of all it's an hour of running from person to person, uncovering more about who they are, revealing information and then running to another person to use that information to reveal another bit of information... Learning about the building, about the personalities within, and about the world in general. XP dinging up based purely on conversations and the good question of 'who is the tenth student?'

 

[skywolfblue]

Welcome to the Machine [http://www.wowhead.com/quest=28096#comments] from World of Warcraft

I haven't had the chance to actually do that quest myself, since I quit WoW before Cata came out, but I saw a youtube of it and instantly loved it.

Blizzard has it's moments of brilliance sometimes.

Turning the Player into a quest-giver? And then sending some hilariously true-to-life stereotypical examples of the WoW playerbase at them? BRILLIANT!

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I can't remember the name of the mission but it's for the Dark Brotherhood. Basically, you are put into a mansion with an assortment of other people who think they're a part of a contest. Everyone believes that a large sum of gold is hidden in the manor and the one who finds it wins not only the gold but the key to the house. The twist however, is that there is no gold and you are charged with the task of killing everybody else in the mansion.

The people in the mansion with you are an old woman, a former blade, a huge-ass nord and, two other people who I don't remember too well. You're told to kill everyone without the others finding out and if your charismatic enough and good at bullshitting, you don't even have to kill everyone yourself! It basically gets to the point where you and 2 others remain...depending on who you are nicer two, they will vow to help you kill the murderer...so of course, I wait until the old woman and the huge ass nord are left over and convince Ingvar that Granny Goodness has been killing everyone off. I laugh when he kills the old bitty with a single stroke then murder him head-on.

 

[josemlopes]

I think I have some;

Timesplitters 2: Siberia

The first level and what a level it is, I'll let this video explain it


Halo: Combat Evolved: The Maw

The last level where you must race time with a kickass soundtrack, it was so good that Halo 3 basicly did the same for the last level.

Although this game has plenty of fucking awesome levels like the Silent Cartographer

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: All Ghillied Up

This mission made almost every other game have a sniper mission from then on, the feeling that the player was way deep in enemy lines was amazing.

Duke Nukem 3D: Hollywood Holocaust

There is so much cool shit in this level, and even though it isnt exactly a realistic example of what a theater looks like it does feel like an actual place with light switches, bathrooms, projection room, etc... its a blast to roam around that place blowing up aliens.

 

[DRTJR]

Wellspring of truth in Fire Emblem Awakening. You fight your own army.

 

[AntiChri5]

Fable 3 is a terrible game, but there are two quests in it that really stand out.

First, comedy. THE RPG LEVEL. The questing hero (you) agrees to help a group of robed "wizards" who give you an orb that shrinks you to the size of a tabletop miniature. Then you go into their tabletop RPG and save the princess from te evil baron by using the Sword of Baron Slaying + 3. It's worth mentioning that they are both cardboard cut outs voiced by the "wizards". All throughout the quest they chat and bicker about RPG conventions and the like. You can even look up at them as they play. It's hilarious.

Second is the dark cave before you became king/queen. After an entire game of bright and colourful tongue in cheek sillyness, you enter a dark cave with your best friend and mentor Sir Walter. You stumble across an ancient evil, which torments you both with an army of shadow demon things. It focuses on Walter, and in the space of a few minutes torments and mind rapes the career soldier badass to the point where he is a quivering wreck. Then it tears out his eyes and eats his soul.

This is a game where the primary form of communication between the PC and other characters is farting.

 

[madwarper]

"Single mission"? Can't I take the Investigator's Badge quest chain in Everquest? Granted, actual quests were always pretty rare, but this one had good elements of mob stomping and puzzle elements. Plus, the reward was a nice little necklace that gave you See Invisible.

Else, Whodunit from Oblivion. Getting locked into a house and murdering them one by one without them being any the wiser.

 

[windlenot]

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: All Ghillied Up

This mission made almost every other game have a sniper mission from then on, the feeling that the player was way deep in enemy lines was amazing.

OH GOD YES THIS. I love this mission so much. It blew my mind the first time I played it and is one of the few missions I ever replay.

OT: Fallout 3: Tranquility Lane

I know KevinHe92 mentioned it above, and sorry for not simply quoting, but yes, that mission is amazing and I love it. It was incredibly fun and startlingly sinister.

 

[Flatfrog]

These aren't 'missions' so much as levels, but there's not a hard line between the two so what the hell.
In the first Tomb Raider, I'll never forget the experience of the third level, when I climbed over the rocks and found the hidden valley with the dinosaurs. It was simply awe-inspiring, and it was the moment when the game suddenly lifted into a new level.

In terms of level design, I always like levels where you have to go back over your tracks to discover something new. Where you change the content of the level in some way. In the same Tomb Raider level, for example, a lot of it revolved around diverting water from one area to another to enable access to new areas. Similarly, I remember playing Duke Nukem and there was a level where you found a booth with a button that demolished a building, revealing a broken sewer hatch that gave you access to the next section.

I realise all these things are quite tame these days, but they really struck me as brilliant at the time.

 

[IronMit]

Hitman 1/3 - The hotel mission

Hitman bloodmoney - The hotel/casino mission

Redalert 2 - Soviets against Yuri

Goldeneye - Facility

Fallout 3 - Reilly's rangers - you needed to unlock the mission with speech or medicine. cool story. good epic ending. prize

Fallout NV- I'm not sure but I remember an invisible blue/purple super mutant that lead to blasting gouls into space in a shuttle

Both fallout missions were sidequests that were a bit off the beaten track

 

[Juk3n]

Three Words.

All Ghillied Up.

 

[GundamSentinel]

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: All Ghillied Up

This mission made almost every other game have a sniper mission from then on, the feeling that the player was way deep in enemy lines was amazing.

Another vote for this. This is how a sniper mission is done and this is how exciting Call of Duty can be at the best of times.

 

[Spartan448]

The original Halo: Combat Evolved Warthog Run. Especially on Legendary, it probably ties for the games iconicism with The Library. Unlike in Halo 3's Warthog Run or the Ghost Run in Halo 4, where things are only sort of timed, and where stuff won't trigger if you just sit there for a while or chase after a particular easter egg, in Combat Evolved, you had to make sure you were a good minute or so ahead of the clock to be able to afford to chase easter eggs. Not to mention that clock. Even though it disappears, it is still running when Foehammer gets shot down (One of the saddest moments of the game, as it's when you realize that you're going to have to leave the rest of the surviving crew of the Pillar of Autumn to die out in deep space). And that clock, combined with the actually pretty challenging level design, is what makes it one of the best moments in gaming.

 

[FEichinger]

Fallout NV- I'm not sure but I remember an invisible blue/purple super mutant that lead to blasting gouls into space in a shuttle

Both fallout missions were sidequests that were a bit off the beaten track

I'm fairly certain the Fallout NV quest is pretty "main" a quest - you get it in Novac after talking to the sniper about the checkered arse. He only gives you the information if you take care of the ghouls in the rocket factory. (Granted, you can skip it)

That said, I, too, love Whodunit in Oblivion and Come Fly With Me in FNV.

 

[carpathic]

I can't believe nothing from Mass Effect showed up on here.

But my favourite mission was near the end of ME3 where you go around and talk with all your friends. It made me feel pretty emotional - it was nearly maudlin, but not and the chance to say goodbye after pouring hundreds of hours into that series really helped bring some closure.

ME2 had some good missions - Moridin's loyalty quest sticks out for me.

ME1 the entire fucking game was awesome...even exploring the empty planets I loved.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

the dark cave before you became king/queen. After an entire game of bright and colourful tongue in cheek sillyness, you enter a dark cave with your best friend and mentor Sir Walter. You stumble across an ancient evil, which torments you both with an army of shadow demon things. It focuses on Walter, and in the space of a few minutes torments and mind rapes the career soldier badass to the point where he is a quivering wreck. Then it tears out his eyes and eats his soul.

This is a game where the primary form of communication between the PC and other characters is farting.

I'm honestly surprised this isn't more talked about. This was probably the most legitimately unnerving moment in any game I've played, mainly because the individual in danger is not the player character, who for all intents and purposes might as well be invincible until the ending of the game plot-wise.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Modern Warfare 2. DC Burning Helicopter Ride.
So, after intense land fighting you get on the chopper and then THAT music starts. GOD THAT MUSIC. Mission itself is just so freaking intense and epic. "Pull that trigger till they don't get up"
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[SuperFrankieLampard]

On 007 Nightfire- Double Cross, Night Shift and Chain Reaction are my holy trinity of missions. Love everything about them.