Hmm, particularly strong emotions?
Well the most recent would be the ending to Portal 2, which all I'll say is the Achievement description was pretty much exactly what I was thinking, "Did... did that just happen?" Followed by the immense sense of relief and accomplishment as you finally head out of the lab, it was like I had actually just accomplished a life goal, that no matter what becomes of the Portal series, I saved the one part of it that mattered, and for that, I am awesome... Just like the other several million who did the same thing.
And for one I always come back to, simply because it was so memorable for being so absolutely unexpected, and the moment I realized that I was definitely meant to be a Bioware Fanboy, was the "Joker" section of Mass Effect 2, and the part right afterwards. That short little interlude really shook me, because for both games up until that point, your ship symbolized safety, the Normandy was Home, and it's crew, most of them nameless entities who don't even get name tags, were my family. Seeing the chaos of the invasion of the Normandy, and playing as Joker, who can't just grab a gun and blast everything in his path to kicking ass, really drove home the feeling of wrongness, like my entire world was being flipped upside down.
And on the same token, afterwards, wandering the empty decks, it really drove home how much Bioware, through just the subtlest little things, like someone giving your cook a hard time about his cooking, to the crewmen talking about themselves about their fears and desires, really made the ship feel alive, and it had been so subtle, that until that life was forcibly removed, I'd never realized how much I cared. It actually pumped me up for the finale, and made the stakes a lot more personal than just saving a faceless, nameless, and thankless galaxy, I was now in this fight for my new family.
Short version, It may be sappy, but that little unintentional moment stands out as the most emotional, poignant moment I've ever had in a video game, and little moments like that are what keep me coming back to this hobby.
Well the most recent would be the ending to Portal 2, which all I'll say is the Achievement description was pretty much exactly what I was thinking, "Did... did that just happen?" Followed by the immense sense of relief and accomplishment as you finally head out of the lab, it was like I had actually just accomplished a life goal, that no matter what becomes of the Portal series, I saved the one part of it that mattered, and for that, I am awesome... Just like the other several million who did the same thing.
And for one I always come back to, simply because it was so memorable for being so absolutely unexpected, and the moment I realized that I was definitely meant to be a Bioware Fanboy, was the "Joker" section of Mass Effect 2, and the part right afterwards. That short little interlude really shook me, because for both games up until that point, your ship symbolized safety, the Normandy was Home, and it's crew, most of them nameless entities who don't even get name tags, were my family. Seeing the chaos of the invasion of the Normandy, and playing as Joker, who can't just grab a gun and blast everything in his path to kicking ass, really drove home the feeling of wrongness, like my entire world was being flipped upside down.
And on the same token, afterwards, wandering the empty decks, it really drove home how much Bioware, through just the subtlest little things, like someone giving your cook a hard time about his cooking, to the crewmen talking about themselves about their fears and desires, really made the ship feel alive, and it had been so subtle, that until that life was forcibly removed, I'd never realized how much I cared. It actually pumped me up for the finale, and made the stakes a lot more personal than just saving a faceless, nameless, and thankless galaxy, I was now in this fight for my new family.
Short version, It may be sappy, but that little unintentional moment stands out as the most emotional, poignant moment I've ever had in a video game, and little moments like that are what keep me coming back to this hobby.