City of Heroes, opening day. I could FLY! Giant skyscrapers! Invading Aliens!
I know, it doesn't seem so awe-inspiring all these years later, but it was certainly something very, very different from more swords & dragons way back then.
And I could FLY!
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
The first time I was awed by a game? The first time i popped a quarter into a Space Invaders machine back in 1977. I must have played for hours and speant about 20 bucks in change. The last time I was awed by a game? When I started playing X3: Terran Conflict recently. I'm pretty amazed by how deep this game is. Every time I think I have it figured out something new surprises me. It amazes me that this is about the 5th or 6th game in this series and I somehow missed it. Truly awesome game all the way around.
I have had many games shock and inspire me in all my years of gaming. I remember the first time I fired up FF7. It was 1997 and it had just released, I rented it from the local blockbuster and didnt return it for a month! Ended up buying it cause I couldnt stop playing it.
My first MMO was Asherons Call 2. This game to this day still amazes me, even by todays standards. The races and character classes in that game were truly unique. Though there were only 3 races, their classes were perfect fit to their racial cultures and the lore was deep.
Now for the kicker. The one game that still sends chills up and down my spine everytime I think about it. Yes you guessed it, SWG. Say what you want, if you weren't there you don't know and those that were will NEVER forget. The one game where there actually was a living and thriving social community. In its prime whether you were in the Mos Entha Cantina, the Great Lakes of Naboo, or the very unforgiving Rori. There was always people there, and lots of them. Half the time I played this game I wasnt grinding, or questing, I was socailizing. No other game has accomplished such a real living and breathing world. You could do anything at any time and it never felt like a waste, time was always well spent.
So there you have it, those of you who agree were fortunate enough to know. As to those of you who don't, I pity you for never experiencing it.
I'd have to say the last time I was truly awestruck by a game was Fallout 3, the moment you leave your home vault. Being met with the view of a ruined wasteland with numerous structures in the far distance, and realizing that they were all places that weren't just scenery, but places I could travel to and explore.
For me, the moment that defines a work's greatness comes right after I finish it. The best games/books/movie series will leave a giant, empty void when they're over. For instance, once Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who for good, it left a sinking, empty feeling within me way down you-know-where. What was I to do except reread the final book, then reread the series and re-indulge myself in the movies each night?
When games like Final Fantasy 7, 9, and 10 ended, I was extremely disappointed. Not in the endings, but in the fact that they had ended, that the incredible journey was over. In each instance I immediately replayed each game. It was always awkward to begin the story all over again with knowledge of events that were to come, but that awkwardness was far better than the alternative: playing another game, stepping away from those Final Fantasy worlds. That would have been unbearable.
Chrono Trigger, FF Tactics, and to an extent, FF8 each gave me similar sensations.
WoW really had me immersed for a little while back in vanilla and the BC days.
The only modern game to provide me with an experience comparable to those of early FF days is Mass Effect 2. Objectively, I would call ME2 the greatest, most complete game I've ever played, although FF7 and 9 will forever be my favorites for nostalgic reasons.
In the realm of the written word, the only 2 book series that have "awed" me in the manner I have hitherto described have been Harry Potter and Wheel of Time, the latter much moreso than the former. It's terribly difficult for me to read any other piece of fiction while absored in Robert Jordan's world.
The only single movie to give me such a feeling has been Avatar, though Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings did as well in conjunction with their literary counterparts.
Maybe not so much awe as "Aaaaahhhh!" Fatal Frame 2 was perhaps the only video game that scared the bajeebeeze outta me. Mind you I played it in the dark with the sound turned up. There were some houses in the village that I just dreaded going into. Pins n needles all the way through the game. FF1 was pretty good too.
I tried getting into FF3 but by then the concept was getting stale. Can't think of any game I've played since that's scared me as much.
Maybe not so much awe as "Aaaaahhhh!" Fatal Frame 2 was perhaps the only video game that scared the bajeebeeze outta me. Mind you I played it in the dark with the soudn turned up. There were some houses in the village that I just dreaded going into. Pins n needles all the way through the game. FF1 was pretty good too.
I tried getting into FF3 but by the then the concept was getting stale. Can't think of any game I've played since that's scared me as much.
Dude fatal frame is awesome but nothing and i mean nothing is as terrifying as Amnesia...
I can not play that game for longer than 15 minutes at a time. its that fucking terrifying...
Probably Dragon Age Origins.. played as a scrappy dwarf rogue commoner, got really attached to her then the ending I got sealed it. Actually pulled a few tears.. lol
My last real "wow!" reaction was in SWG back in june 2003, first time logging in. I choosed Mos Eisley as my start point and when loading into the game it was night and really dark. To get a better view I took aim on a huge cliff(North-east of the city) overlooking the city and made my way over there. I was scared as hell in the dark when leaving the city borders, because it was full of critters lurking there, but I noticed the critters was almost more scared of me, they run away and hide when I got too close (I think they removed that AI in the later versions of SWG).
Anyway, after taking my time running up the hill and standing on the cliff, turning around, dawn brakes and the light and colors return to Tatooine. It´s was like a explosion in the brain, from all darkness and shadows to absolute beauty. It felt almost like a religous moment as the music from the movies played in the background. I still get the goose bumps all these years later writing this.
I played SWG from 2003 to 2006 and had hundreds of those moments, when you though you had seen it all you run into another one of them. I had played both UO and EQ before SWG(and had my share of "wow!" moments in them too) but never have I felt more "home" in a game than in SWG. Just sitting on the doorstep to my small house, preparing for a trip... crafting some traps and a tent, looking at all that sand and creatures, just absorbing the beauty. Knowing it was a 30-45 minutes dangerous journey(before mounts and speeders) to nearest major city, sitting there and just feeling safe at my house, my own little piece of land in the HUGE galaxy. Knowing there where a lot of people running around the planet living their own saga. Amazing! *goosebumps*
Latest singleplayer games is Masseffect 1&2. The ending in the second part gave me goose bumps.
First console game I was in awe of: Legacy of Kain. It was on the original playstation. It was the first time I played a game with cut scenes. It was dark, gritty and gothic.
First PC game I was in awe of: Hitman 47. I was amazed by the game play and all of the missions had different ways to complete your goals. You could really get creative on how you wanted to take on the missions.
First MMO I was in awe of: Everquest. I had just moved on from UO. At the time, I was amazed at the graphics and exploring the world. It was just the core world at the time; no expansions were out yet.
It's not about fighting, it's about balance. It's not about enlightenment, it's about balance. It's not about balance.
The first Mass Effect game, which I played on xbox, but wish I bought it on PC from the begining. I was inspired and started working on fan arts of different characters, places, weapons, vehichles... you name it. Played this over 20 times through, and managed to get almost every acheivement in 2 playthroughs. (only the length ones were left after that) I could not put it down.
Now saying this, ME1 got me so hyped that I was biting my bottom lip everytime I thought about playing ME2, which was a lot of the time. Probably too much hype, which is why I was so dissapointed. ME2 did not feel inspiring to me, gameplay wise I was left heartbroken and with a very sore lip - this made me even more bitter.
I have barley even looked at ME3.
Put through the personal paces of my crippled fingers.
Just recently when I played the Gabriel Knight games for the first time. Was bored one night and decided to buy them over at GOG.com. What really struck me was the fantastic writing, voice acting and memorable characters. I found the stories to be brilliant. Especially that of the second one. I had no clue I would become so captivated by the series.
For me it has to be those moments (unfortunately quite hard to come by) in EVE when you had just entered a synch'd warp with 15-30 of your fellow pilots. Orders fully issued in VENT, roles assigned, first targets called due to good scouting. Easing out of warp and landing on the enemy fleet (perfectly placed) and starting the battle! Can honestly say nothing in gaming quite compares to a well executed 5-30 ship v. 5-30 ship EVE fight with good and coordinated teammates.
THE biggest moment ever for me was the first 5 minutes in everquest 1 in 1999. Walking out of the city of Felwithe and seeing all the people running about and realizing they were all real players. Ventured a bit into the darkness and saw a group of 4 or 5 players all sitting in a circle resting/casting/buffing and starting combat and realizing this was an actual adventure group. I knew instantly that I was completely hooked and that all those years of pen and paper/single player rpg's had finally lead to this moment. It would be two years before i began to emerge from my addiction that started that night!
A few honorable mentions-the early days of SWG-Tatooine, full cantina's.
Seeing RIFTS in Rift and how epic some of the zone events can be-completely transforming the look and feel of a zone.
First fights against Vox/Nagafen (first MMO raids-circa early 1999). First fights in the dungeon where the Sleeper was.
Many many many landscape/scenery views in LOTRO. The Shire-is probably the most perfectly constructed and executed newbie zone in all of MMO gaming in my opinion. PERFET introduction to LOTRO, to the world-amazingly immersive.
The last game I played that awed me would have to be Civilization 5.That game is so addicting.Before that Mass Effect 2.Currently playing the witcher 2, and although I wouldn't say I am in awe of it, it is a great game.Also, I was in awe of Final Fantasy 14...............in awe of how terrible it was.
My first true time was on final fantasy 6 and 9 tbh, they both filled me with this great feeling of adventure and all my friends were on them, so we had like a competition going to see how long it would take to complete them :P
When it happened in an mmorpg it was definatly guild wars, yet again all my mates on it, all little noobs thinking 1k was so rare to get, and being in a guild with our own cape looking like gangsters, it was a laugh and most probably the start of my mmorpg love.
Comments
Last game I was awed by was this.
City of Heroes, opening day. I could FLY! Giant skyscrapers! Invading Aliens!
I know, it doesn't seem so awe-inspiring all these years later, but it was certainly something very, very different from more swords & dragons way back then.
And I could FLY!
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Not an MMO but by the Witcher 2. The game has a great storyline and the graphics at full tilt are truly awe inspiring.
Mass Effect.
The entire experience was amazing.
First time I ever considered a video game as a work of Art.
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
Chrono Trigger.
Mass Effect.
Guild Wars 2 Youtube Croatian Maniacs
My Guild Wars titles
The first time I was awed by a game? The first time i popped a quarter into a Space Invaders machine back in 1977. I must have played for hours and speant about 20 bucks in change. The last time I was awed by a game? When I started playing X3: Terran Conflict recently. I'm pretty amazed by how deep this game is. Every time I think I have it figured out something new surprises me. It amazes me that this is about the 5th or 6th game in this series and I somehow missed it. Truly awesome game all the way around.
Bren
while(horse==dead)
{
beat();
}
I have had many games shock and inspire me in all my years of gaming. I remember the first time I fired up FF7. It was 1997 and it had just released, I rented it from the local blockbuster and didnt return it for a month! Ended up buying it cause I couldnt stop playing it.
My first MMO was Asherons Call 2. This game to this day still amazes me, even by todays standards. The races and character classes in that game were truly unique. Though there were only 3 races, their classes were perfect fit to their racial cultures and the lore was deep.
Now for the kicker. The one game that still sends chills up and down my spine everytime I think about it. Yes you guessed it, SWG. Say what you want, if you weren't there you don't know and those that were will NEVER forget. The one game where there actually was a living and thriving social community. In its prime whether you were in the Mos Entha Cantina, the Great Lakes of Naboo, or the very unforgiving Rori. There was always people there, and lots of them. Half the time I played this game I wasnt grinding, or questing, I was socailizing. No other game has accomplished such a real living and breathing world. You could do anything at any time and it never felt like a waste, time was always well spent.
So there you have it, those of you who agree were fortunate enough to know. As to those of you who don't, I pity you for never experiencing it.
what game is this?
To the caterpillar it is the end of the world, to the master, it is a butterfly.
I'd have to say the last time I was truly awestruck by a game was Fallout 3, the moment you leave your home vault. Being met with the view of a ruined wasteland with numerous structures in the far distance, and realizing that they were all places that weren't just scenery, but places I could travel to and explore.
For me, the moment that defines a work's greatness comes right after I finish it. The best games/books/movie series will leave a giant, empty void when they're over. For instance, once Harry Potter defeated You-Know-Who for good, it left a sinking, empty feeling within me way down you-know-where. What was I to do except reread the final book, then reread the series and re-indulge myself in the movies each night?
When games like Final Fantasy 7, 9, and 10 ended, I was extremely disappointed. Not in the endings, but in the fact that they had ended, that the incredible journey was over. In each instance I immediately replayed each game. It was always awkward to begin the story all over again with knowledge of events that were to come, but that awkwardness was far better than the alternative: playing another game, stepping away from those Final Fantasy worlds. That would have been unbearable.
Chrono Trigger, FF Tactics, and to an extent, FF8 each gave me similar sensations.
WoW really had me immersed for a little while back in vanilla and the BC days.
The only modern game to provide me with an experience comparable to those of early FF days is Mass Effect 2. Objectively, I would call ME2 the greatest, most complete game I've ever played, although FF7 and 9 will forever be my favorites for nostalgic reasons.
In the realm of the written word, the only 2 book series that have "awed" me in the manner I have hitherto described have been Harry Potter and Wheel of Time, the latter much moreso than the former. It's terribly difficult for me to read any other piece of fiction while absored in Robert Jordan's world.
The only single movie to give me such a feeling has been Avatar, though Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings did as well in conjunction with their literary counterparts.
Maybe not so much awe as "Aaaaahhhh!" Fatal Frame 2 was perhaps the only video game that scared the bajeebeeze outta me. Mind you I played it in the dark with the sound turned up. There were some houses in the village that I just dreaded going into. Pins n needles all the way through the game. FF1 was pretty good too.
I tried getting into FF3 but by then the concept was getting stale. Can't think of any game I've played since that's scared me as much.
Dude fatal frame is awesome but nothing and i mean nothing is as terrifying as Amnesia...
I can not play that game for longer than 15 minutes at a time. its that fucking terrifying...
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
Probably Dragon Age Origins.. played as a scrappy dwarf rogue commoner, got really attached to her then the ending I got sealed it. Actually pulled a few tears.. lol
My last real "wow!" reaction was in SWG back in june 2003, first time logging in. I choosed Mos Eisley as my start point and when loading into the game it was night and really dark. To get a better view I took aim on a huge cliff(North-east of the city) overlooking the city and made my way over there. I was scared as hell in the dark when leaving the city borders, because it was full of critters lurking there, but I noticed the critters was almost more scared of me, they run away and hide when I got too close (I think they removed that AI in the later versions of SWG).
Anyway, after taking my time running up the hill and standing on the cliff, turning around, dawn brakes and the light and colors return to Tatooine. It´s was like a explosion in the brain, from all darkness and shadows to absolute beauty. It felt almost like a religous moment as the music from the movies played in the background. I still get the goose bumps all these years later writing this.
I played SWG from 2003 to 2006 and had hundreds of those moments, when you though you had seen it all you run into another one of them. I had played both UO and EQ before SWG(and had my share of "wow!" moments in them too) but never have I felt more "home" in a game than in SWG. Just sitting on the doorstep to my small house, preparing for a trip... crafting some traps and a tent, looking at all that sand and creatures, just absorbing the beauty. Knowing it was a 30-45 minutes dangerous journey(before mounts and speeders) to nearest major city, sitting there and just feeling safe at my house, my own little piece of land in the HUGE galaxy. Knowing there where a lot of people running around the planet living their own saga. Amazing! *goosebumps*
Latest singleplayer games is Masseffect 1&2. The ending in the second part gave me goose bumps.
SWG: Astromechs & Friday Features and Guides from SWG O-forums (2003-2005) (Read last post first for clarity)
Zelda a link to the past, Zelda Ocarina of time and Resident evil 1.
Note to self; must buy a nintendo again :-)
WOW,eq2,Vanguard,WAR,LOTRO,AOC,Rift Aion, SWTOR, TERA.
Currently playing GW2.
A good number of games tbh & more:
Shadow Brothers: Sword & Sorcery:
Async. Corp:
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
First console game I was in awe of: Legacy of Kain. It was on the original playstation. It was the first time I played a game with cut scenes. It was dark, gritty and gothic.
First PC game I was in awe of: Hitman 47. I was amazed by the game play and all of the missions had different ways to complete your goals. You could really get creative on how you wanted to take on the missions.
First MMO I was in awe of: Everquest. I had just moved on from UO. At the time, I was amazed at the graphics and exploring the world. It was just the core world at the time; no expansions were out yet.
It's not about fighting, it's about balance. It's not about enlightenment, it's about balance. It's not about balance.
The first Mass Effect game, which I played on xbox, but wish I bought it on PC from the begining. I was inspired and started working on fan arts of different characters, places, weapons, vehichles... you name it. Played this over 20 times through, and managed to get almost every acheivement in 2 playthroughs. (only the length ones were left after that) I could not put it down.
Now saying this, ME1 got me so hyped that I was biting my bottom lip everytime I thought about playing ME2, which was a lot of the time. Probably too much hype, which is why I was so dissapointed. ME2 did not feel inspiring to me, gameplay wise I was left heartbroken and with a very sore lip - this made me even more bitter.
I have barley even looked at ME3.
Put through the personal paces of my crippled fingers.
Just recently when I played the Gabriel Knight games for the first time. Was bored one night and decided to buy them over at GOG.com. What really struck me was the fantastic writing, voice acting and memorable characters. I found the stories to be brilliant. Especially that of the second one. I had no clue I would become so captivated by the series.
First time I played UO.
For me it has to be those moments (unfortunately quite hard to come by) in EVE when you had just entered a synch'd warp with 15-30 of your fellow pilots. Orders fully issued in VENT, roles assigned, first targets called due to good scouting. Easing out of warp and landing on the enemy fleet (perfectly placed) and starting the battle! Can honestly say nothing in gaming quite compares to a well executed 5-30 ship v. 5-30 ship EVE fight with good and coordinated teammates.
THE biggest moment ever for me was the first 5 minutes in everquest 1 in 1999. Walking out of the city of Felwithe and seeing all the people running about and realizing they were all real players. Ventured a bit into the darkness and saw a group of 4 or 5 players all sitting in a circle resting/casting/buffing and starting combat and realizing this was an actual adventure group. I knew instantly that I was completely hooked and that all those years of pen and paper/single player rpg's had finally lead to this moment. It would be two years before i began to emerge from my addiction that started that night!
A few honorable mentions-the early days of SWG-Tatooine, full cantina's.
Seeing RIFTS in Rift and how epic some of the zone events can be-completely transforming the look and feel of a zone.
First fights against Vox/Nagafen (first MMO raids-circa early 1999). First fights in the dungeon where the Sleeper was.
Many many many landscape/scenery views in LOTRO. The Shire-is probably the most perfectly constructed and executed newbie zone in all of MMO gaming in my opinion. PERFET introduction to LOTRO, to the world-amazingly immersive.
DAoC was the last one to awe me. I put the alarm on 3 A.M just to get some quality gaming done before school.
Since then, it's been an endless stream of "meh".
The last game I played that awed me would have to be Civilization 5.That game is so addicting.Before that Mass Effect 2.Currently playing the witcher 2, and although I wouldn't say I am in awe of it, it is a great game.Also, I was in awe of Final Fantasy 14...............in awe of how terrible it was.
My first true time was on final fantasy 6 and 9 tbh, they both filled me with this great feeling of adventure and all my friends were on them, so we had like a competition going to see how long it would take to complete them :P
When it happened in an mmorpg it was definatly guild wars, yet again all my mates on it, all little noobs thinking 1k was so rare to get, and being in a guild with our own cape looking like gangsters, it was a laugh and most probably the start of my mmorpg love.