I recently lost power, internet, and cable for over two weeks due to a giant wind storm. During that time, not only was I able to catch up on my reading, but I took some time to reflect upon why I actually enjoy gaming, and in particular upon moments that made a lasting impression on me. Now that everything's been restored, I'm feeling charitable.


SO! Tell me about your mind-blowing revelations, your slack-jawed gaping, and those things you'll never forget, for whatever reason. I'll choose one entry using random.org and the winner will receive a 5.99 or 9.99 game of their choice, (or more, depending on the weekend sale). The drawing will be done at 11:59PM on Friday, July 20th.


As an example, I just yesterday finished the final (agonizing) level of Creeper World 2 in under 200 seconds, putting me in the top 20 scores ever, which at least partially justifies the hours and hours I spent perfecting my strategy. Another would be when I finally realized what all the fuss was about with the Heroes of Might and Magic series, and became heartily addicted for months on end. But the thing that's most indelibly etched in my memory is the very first time in Morrowind when I broke into the secret library in Vivec and learned the TRUTH.

Enjoy!

EDIT: You don't have to pick just one. List as many as you like. The goal of this thread is both STORYTIME and also FABULOUS PRIZES.

That part in Braid. If you've played it you will know :P

Stepping out into the world in Oblivion for the first time (it was my first sandbox game) and just freaking out and running all over the place. Although Oblivion is probably my least favorite of the three modern Elder Scrolls games, nothing's quite matched that initial moment of wonder (coming out of the vault in Fallout 3 is close).

The intro of Grim Fandango. Love at first sight. :D

Also, in Arcanum

[MAJORHUGESPOILERSERIOUSLYDON'TREADTHISIFYOUDON'TWANTTHEPLOTSPOILEDFORYOU]









The reveal of Kerghan as being behind everything, and subsequently talking the dude to death. I thought the philosophical debate was handled really well, not least because the guy was a bit disturbingly sympathetic...








[SPOILEROVER]

I had a lot of great moments in gaming, so it's hard to pick just one. A great one would be when i first finished Sacrifice. I had played Pyro and


SPOILER ALERT:









After i destroyed the device Marduk was using to destroy the world (using a generous amount of volcanoes), and Pyro appears and tells me that he really wasn't that worried about Marduk in the first place. After all i had gone through, and that's all the bastard can say...







SPOILER ALERT



Thanks for the giveaway +1

Memorable moment?

Getting bitchslapped in Diablo 3 in only a few seconds by a Teleport, Vortex, Fast, Shielding elite pack of 4 Wrathful Deceivers.

That was so MEMORABLE. :p

Anyways, +1 but not entering.

I assume he's referring to the "ending" sequence.

The ending actually didn't impress me that much, so that's probably why I didn't think of it.

I believe I'm in the minority though, many people think it's great and I won't argue against it by any means.

Yep, that thing :D

Just one moment?

Well, it's arcade gaming, but it's funny so you should enjoy it at least. I like the Tekken series of arcade fighter games, I've played them since Tekken 2 and own several for my PS2. In the good old days, it was a fairly simple game of high attacks, low attacks, blocks, punches, and kicks. As the series went on they got more complex and included such things as counters, get up moves, throws, balance breakers, combos, and other mechanics that greatly raised the complexity of the game.

I played as Paul Phoenix across all of them. With the ability to have four players playing tag team matches in TTT, my friends and I played it to death. I learned to frame count, learned Paul's obscene ground game, combos, and watched pro competition videos for fun. I know this is ranting on, but it's worth it for the delight involved. See, Paul Phoenix was a character designed to be a man of simple moves that could be built into combo attacks. Now these combos weren't really tracked or coded into the game until Tekken 3, but in the case of Paul most of his combos were backwards compatible.

Enter the local Nickel Nickel, an arcade that had a bunch of dated games that took nickels instead of quarters, but provided a great classic experience for those who loved arcades and hated to see them go. Nickel Nickel had a Tekken 2 machine. One night, they were having a tournament. Keep in mind, this is a game of single blocks and attacks largely, being played by people who can barely do that.

I played one match. My opponent talked some trash in a kidding kind of way. The round starts, and I pick him up and hit him with a ten-hit combo, dealing enough damage to kill him twice over before his body hits the ground. For laughs, I kill him in the second round using just well-timed roundhouse kicks.

One of my many favorite moments in gaming.

The Milkman Conspiracy sequence in Psychonauts was pretty mind-blowing for me, especially when you step outside of the guard's house and you see the twisted up neighborhood for the first time.

Psychonauts was already near the top of my favorites list by that point, but that sent it through the roof.


Thanks for the giveaway, bevinator!

Damn so many. I think one of my favourite moments was the first time I tried Mario 64 and how blown away I was, the controls and just how amazing it 'felt' to play. I've played games which arguably have tighter controls since, but nothing which reproduces that awe.

The 'Mr Crowley' moment in Brutal Legend. Can't say why, but I just thought it was so well executed, always strikes me as one of my favourite random moments in gaming.

Killing M'uru, because seriously.

Accidentally reaching the top 5000 on SF4 PS3 while dicking around and unlocking the upload replays thing using a regular dual shock controller, and the utter rage from a friend who was trying to do the same with a £100-£150 stick.

Treasure Island Dizzy on the Amiga. I'd played it loads on my brother's C64 (I was 6) and then one year had the Amiga as a birthday present with the game. I was in disbelief at the difference. I miss the Amiga.

Monkey Island: grasping how the swordfighting worked :D took me a while (I know, I know. I was probably 7 or 8 years old though to be fair.) Same for me. My braid memories are mostly made up of rage from trying to do the speed run.

Edit: and wow, I completely forgot about the milkman conspiracy. I love psychonauts.

Too many and numerous to mention, so let me just put a random one here.

Back when Prince of Persia (classic) and Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame were relatively new, back in the 1990s, my brother and I would take turn playing them. I was just still a child at that time, of prepubescent age, did not know anything about love :-) Anyway, the constraint of game time (1 hour of hourglass), the urgency to save the princess, all the efforts needed to pass the traps and enemies, difficult jumps, etc. all those present in those two games really made us brothers feel like a hero when we finished the game. It feels like we really did that for love (to save the princess). Sounds silly and cheesy, but I must say those moments are quite memorable.

Another one I remember was meeting Hans at the end of episode 1 in Wolfenstein 3D. Made me almost jump out of my chair when he shouted "Guten Tag!" at me and proceeded to perforate me with his chain guns. I had played computer games before that, but Wolfenstein 3D really opened up the world of computer gaming to me.

There's a secret library in Vivec? Is that attached to the story?


My most memerable moments I would have to say, the entire game of Legend of Zelda: OoT the first time I played through it, from the death of the Great Deku Tree, exploring the world, my first encounter with Gannondorf and the dying soldiers in Hyrule Town, and my first exposure with Re-Deads. The first time entering the temple, my adventures through the world and it's changes, and beating the game. It was very memorable for me, being 10 at the time.

There was Megaman Legends on PS1. I played the game often, egar, willing, ready. When I was little though, we didn't have a memory card, so games had to be beaten in one sitting. I spent a long time trying to beat the game all the way through, secrets and bosses and grinding and what have you while I was young. I finally beat it, waking up early, playing non-stop all the way to the end, nearly dying on the final boss and beating the game for the very first time with a time of 13 hours, 22 minutes. As an adult I've played and beaten the game in 5 hours, PLUS all side quests and missions, but it was a major deal when I was little.

Like I said many times, I didn't grow up a PC gamer, so I don't have any really deep memories that are very old for PC games. I did have Morrowind though. What stands out for me is the very first time I reached level 10. It was amazing to think I had gotten that far after so long. Even now, I can still point out the place where I rested and leveled when I walk past it. And there's the first time going through the Tribunal. I had to use every potion and method I could to take down the rogue guard, and then prepare myself for the god, only to fight a battle I had never seen coming. I STILL have not been able to beat her, but it's been a while since I've gone back to try.