Your favorite game: The moment you fell in love with it

[MiracleOfSound]

Think of your favorite game of all time, and think about the moment you realised it had captured you in such a way as to stand out above all the others you've ever played.

Was it during a first playthrough? Second? Or was it as you played other games or daydreamed about it?

I'll start us off:

The journey to Rivet City in Fallout 3.

It felt like such an epic trek across the outskirts of the DC Ruins, getting to take in the haunting beauty of the wastes to the West and the gorgeous ruined architecture to the East, discovering the Nuka Cola Plant and Red Racer Factory on the way, getting my ass kicked by Raiders and just scraping enough Stimpacks and ammo to get by.

Then the payoff... seeing Rivet City for the first time by night, its red lights sparkling out through the massive metal shell. I knew I'd fallen in love!

Do share your moments.

 

[Canadish]

Shadow of the Colossus, Final Collosi.
Sat there looking up at the thing. The wind. The Rain.
Wander was utterly alone, losing even his horse on his mad quest.
And I noticed that not only had all his clothes been torn and dirtied, but his hair to had gone black from both grime and the corruption of the collosi. He wasnt even standing properly.
And I had to take this shell of a teenager and beat a goddamn fireball wielding mountain man.
That there was such a tragic moment, and it wasnt even some cutscene. Such a damn awesome game, nothing else has ever given me that gut wrenching "penny dropping" moment.

 

[GundamSentinel]

Shadow of the Colossus, Final Collosi.
Sat there looking up at the thing. The wind. The Rain.
Wander was utterly alone, losing even his horse on his mad quest.
And I noticed that not only had all his clothes been torn and dirtied, but his hair to had gone black from both grime and the corruption of the collosi. He wasnt even standing properly.
And I had to take this shell of a teenager and beat a goddamn fireball wielding mountain man.
That there was such a tragic moment, and it wasnt even some cutscene. Such a damn awesome game, nothing else has ever given me that gut wrenching "penny dropping" moment.

Same game, but for me it was the fifth Colossus (the first flying one). The silent lake, the music, that giant bird just sitting there watching your every move. Quite unnerving and yet so beautiful at the same time.

After that, it just got better, but this one really got me hooked.

 

[PurpleLeafRave]

Oblivion. I'd just joined the Dark Brotherhood.
I just felt like the ultimate badass in my sneaky clothing, killing people without consequences.

Then there were the twists and turns in the Brotherhood stroyline.
I fell in love with the game after that and the randomnes of some of my encounters. I felt like I could play it forever.
And then after a while, I stepped through a portal to the Shivering Isles...and it was magical!
Cheese for everyone!

 

[NeedAUserName]

Red Dead Redemption. The moment I went over the first ridge, and saw the awe inspiring beauty of the landscape. Then every time I went over a ridge after that. And again on my first time to Mexico. Graphics aren't particularly important to me normally, but that game was just amazing.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Then there were the twists and turns in the Brotherhood stroyline.

That was some hard going... I was genuinely upset at the end. And my god, the things they did to poor

Spoiler

Lucien

were horrifying!

Shadow of the Colossus, Final Collosi.
.

That was a stunning moment for sure. I found the actual boss rather frustrating to kill, good thing it looked so amazing.

My personal fave moment in that game was the flying Collossus in the desert. To me it seemed like the most tragic one to kill as it didn't even attack you in defense. And the music was amazing in that scene.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Red Dead Redemption. The moment I went over the first ridge, and saw the awe inspiring beauty of the landscape. Then every time I went over a ridge after that. And again on my first time to Mexico. Graphics aren't particularly important to me normally, but that game was just amazing.

Sure was. Best looking game out there along with Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

My damn game bugged out when I got to Mexico and I didn't get any Jose Gonzales music. I seem to have missed one of the greatest scenes in gaming history.

 

[Super Toast]

Psychonauts. The moment I entered Boyd's mind, I knew I was playing the greatest game in history.

 

[northeast rower]

ARGH, DAMMIT, another thread making me choose my favorite game! Oh God, here goes... I'm going to have to wing it:

Bioshock. Fort Frolic. I loved the game before I got here, but Fort Frolic guaranteed this game a place in the pantheon of classics. I recall my most memorable moments in that area: Cohen's oddly charismatic character, turning around after hacking a safe and seeing about five statues that hadn't been there before just... standing there (hint: they weren't statues), gaining access to the crossbow, and that moment in the ice tunnel: "I can seeeee your breeeeeath...". I loved that game, but every time I get to the amazing trio of Arcadia/Fort Frolic/Hephaestus, I just can't get over how much I love those areas.

Close second: Halo Reach's "Long Night of Solace" level. From the beginning beach landing to that last conversation with Jorge... I just couldn't believe how much Halo had matured since I first played Combat Evolved.

Close third: Unlocking IED's in Far Cry 2. I did that and immediatly accepted a convoy mission from the Arms Dealer. I planted one, found a grassy hill to stand on, and sniped both guard jeeps from afar. The truck tried to force its way past them and I blew it off the side of a bridge. My jaw dropped.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Modern Warfare 2 and the roof chase.

The Favela levels before that were not particularly good, but that exact moment just got to me.

That is when I understood it was the best game of 2009.

Then, the Gulag scene which references my favorite movie - this is when I understood it was my favorite game of all-time.

 

[NeedAUserName]

Red Dead Redemption. The moment I went over the first ridge, and saw the awe inspiring beauty of the landscape. Then every time I went over a ridge after that. And again on my first time to Mexico. Graphics aren't particularly important to me normally, but that game was just amazing.

Sure was. Best looking game out there along with Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

My damn game bugged out when I got to Mexico and I didn't get any Jose Gonzales music. I seem to have missed one of the greatest scenes in gaming history.

Replay that game right now, and make damn sure you get the music, its well worth the effort.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Red Dead Redemption. The moment I went over the first ridge, and saw the awe inspiring beauty of the landscape. Then every time I went over a ridge after that. And again on my first time to Mexico. Graphics aren't particularly important to me normally, but that game was just amazing.

Sure was. Best looking game out there along with Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.

My damn game bugged out when I got to Mexico and I didn't get any Jose Gonzales music. I seem to have missed one of the greatest scenes in gaming history.

There you go. I believe it's really overrated, but a good song neverthless and undoubtedly the best moment of RDR.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Modern Warfare 2 and the roof chase.

The Favela levels before that were not particularly good, but that exact moment just got to me.

That is when I understood it was the best game of 2009.

Then, the Gulag scene which references my favorite movie - this is when I understood it was my favorite game of all-time.

I loved both of those, but my ultra-amazing moment in that game was the ending - I've never hammered 'X' so hard in my life.

Replay that game right now, and make damn sure you get the music, its well worth the effort.

I've already played through it twice and lost all my save files when I transferred it to my 360 Slim. I'm too mad at it to play again.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Half-Life 2: "Rise and shine, Mr. Freeman... rise and shine."

'Twas my favorite game for a very long time, and yes that intro was perfect.

Psychonauts. The moment I entered Boyd's mind, I knew I was playing the greatest game in history.

I couldn't get into Psychonauts. tried playing it twice now and everything about it bugged me. It's a strange one, I can appreicate why people love it but it just does nothing for me.

Bioshock. Fort Frolic..

That was my favorite part of Bioshock too. At the time, the most visually impressive game I had played. That level is one big eyegasm.

Nothing in Bioshock 2 had the same awesomeness I felt.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

I loved both of those, but my ultra-amazing moment in that game was the ending - I've never hammered 'X' so hard in my life.

Huh. You know, I didn't find it to be that special... it was, after all, very similar to the first one.

But then the music kicked in and it became awesome.

 

[Popadoo]

After watching the piano explode in Bioshock, and understanding that I was the only sane person in miles and miles, I felt an amazing feeling. It just felt good.

 

[northeast rower]

That was my favorite part of Bioshock too. At the time, the most visually impressive game I had played. That level is one big eyegasm.

Nothing in Bioshock 2 had the same awesomeness I felt.

I thought that Pauper's Drop and Siren Alley were close. Nothing else was even near Bioshock levels. Hopefully Bioshock Infinite will have the same great feeling as the first.

 

[SoulIsTheGoal]

Assassin's Creed II when Ezio meets Mario. I know it's cheesy and silly but that's when I felt genuinely attached to the game. That's what made me fall in love with it, not when it became one of my favourite games, mind.