Great gaming moments
Gaming. We love it because of those moments it gives us. The unexpected that can make you smile, curse, gasp or scream. There’s no other medium like it and why, I like to think, we all love it so.
With that in mind, here are a few gaming moments that stick in my mind.
Assassin’s Creed Unity online
A complete car-crash at launch and not much better when I picked it up a few months later, Assassin’s Creed Unity has gone down as a lesson in how not to do things. Which is a shame because when it went right it went really right.
Online was amazing. I’ll never forget the first time I teamed up with three other assassins and we swarmed over the Parisian rooftops. We were a wave of silent murder, climbing up towers, leaping off, rolling, running, dashing through windows. The guards never stood a chance. It all felt so fluid and free.
Then the game crashed, kicked you out and you had to keep your fingers crossed you’d reconnect. But for the brief moments it worked? Unbelievable.
Mortal Kombat X-Ray Moves
Remember the first time you saw a finishing move? Some made you laugh, others made you say how gross it was and some even made you wince. They are so ridiculous, so over the top though that they arguably lose their impact over time. Not so the X-Ray Moves.
Unleashed in the middle of a fight they zoom in to see ribs crack, backs break, bones shatter and spleens sliced wide open. All in glorious slow motion. Even now I still groan in shared pain every time I see one. They are so brutal, so violent and so well executed that their impact just isn’t diminished. The visuals are complimented by the sounds as slowed down the muffled screams are drowned out by the sharp crack of bones cutting through the fog before it’s all rounded off with a well timed vibration of the controller.
It’s a moment that never gets old.
Halo Warthog escape
At the very end of Halo the player is tasked with escaping the collapsing ring by driving along in the game’s signature vehicle, the Warthog. Might not sound much on paper but when there’s two of you playing (one driving, one shooting), the epic Halo theme music booming out of the speakers, explosions going off all around and the huge Duke controller rumbling in your hands it’s really quite special.
That it all happens after the grand final battle makes it a thrilling, fitting end and I loved it.
Molten Core for the first time
Coordinating 40 people to do anything at the same time is hard. Coordinating 40 people across the world to take down an ancient lava-tornado god-monster armed with a huge, fiery hammer, most of whom have never met in person is bordering on the heroic. That’s what it took to complete one of World of Warcraft’s first and most legendary raids.
It takes time to even get to Ragnaros, taking down multiple sub-bosses on the way. Then the fight itself is epic, and even the slightest deviation from the plan or your specific role can spell certain doom for the entire raid group. It’s a colossal effort all round and the feeling of completion is really quite special. So much so that it was traditional to take a picture of the whole party around the defeated foe’s hammer.
I only did it once and wish I could find the screenshot (it was ten years ago!) to share, but the experience lives long in the memory.
So what are your favourite gaming moments? It could be when The Legend of Zelda theme plays, using the pedal to duck in Time Crisis or zombie-dogs through a window. Maybe it’s a last minute winner in FIFA, a perfectly-timed resurrection in Overwatch or breaking into Shadow Moses. Let us know in the comments!
MMOs are great for moments like this. I had the foresight to record a couple of (successful!) attempts at what used to be Final Fantasy XIV’s toughest bosses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTKrgEiBeOk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMTi6ncId90
The Ace Combat series is also amazing for memorable moments. All the ones I’ve played have incredibly dramatic finales — most recent release Ace Combat 7 is definitely no exception in that regard.
I tend to associate my most memorable gaming experiences with the music that played at the time. And, in turn, the music can be the thing that *makes* those experiences memorable.
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is what I love about gaming, it gives you a chance to have those moments. Love your Ace Combat one, I’ve never played the series so might need to jump in!
LikeLiked by 1 person
First time I completed Molten Core, Sulfuras, Hand of Ragnaros dropped. My first time seeing a legendary drop and I lead that group. It was a moment that changed the way I played MMORPGs forever 🙂
Great moments!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! I bet there was all sorts of cheering and partying on the mic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Metal Gear Solid 3 had plenty of memorable moments – especially nearing the end. Saying more would involve spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that.
LikeLike
Good choice. Great game!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, good. Glad you agree. The ending in particular was something special, though the motorcycle chase was an amazing sequence as well. Then, of course, there are the bosses, which are some of the most memorable in the medium’s history.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The End especially. Just…wait.
LikeLike
Not Molten Core, but Blackwing Lair! Being in a guild raid the first time they take down Nefarion is a memory I won’t forget!
LikeLike
And seeing the head hang in Stormwind too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Life is Strange Kate’s suicide moment
LikeLike
I was sat with my other half while she was playing. Shows just how powerful gaming can be as a medium.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on DDOCentral.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The end of Bioshock Infinite made my hairs stand on end and tears roll down my cheeks. Hands down one of my favourite gaming moments.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have to be careful what I say for spoilers but yes, it all came together so cleverly. Again, shows what a well written story and emotional attachment games can bring.
LikeLike
I will never forget the first time I saw a finishing move from “Mortal Kombat”. Since I did not know what to expect, I was taken by surprise by the gory elements of the fight.
LikeLike
There are really too many to count and its part of the reason I write on here.
-Getting a DOUBLE KO during a fight online or with a friend.
-Seeing a funny glitch. A fond one was during a cutscene in The Witcher 3, where Zoltan (a dwarf character) and Geralt the MC are having a conversation. The camera changes and then there are two Zoltans on the screen. It had me belly laughing so hard I don’t even remember the conversation in the scene.
-Discovering an unlockable in the game and falling in love with it. For me, it was Mercenaries mode in Resident Evil 3 Nemesis.
LikeLike
Love a good double KO! I remember wasting hours on Resi 4 Mercenaries on the GameCube. Good times 🙂
LikeLike
Yeah! The worst were when you going against a boss. I remember getting one against M Bison in Street Fighter II Turbo.
LikeLike
I remember playing Final Fantasy 7 & Final Fantasy 8 and I learned that music is an essential part of telling the entire story.
LikeLike
Good shout! Yep, absolutely agree.
PS – FFVIII is the best FF.
LikeLike
One of the obvious ones, seeing Hyrule Field for the first time in OoT will always be etched in memory. More recently probably when discovering Skyhold in inquisition. After the hammering you’d taken and the forlorn scene before hand that was the moment in that game you saw a bit of hope for the first time
LikeLike
Love those, great choices 🙂
LikeLike
Oh god….AC unity made me cringe
LikeLike
Did you play it online? When it worked it was sublime.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me and my buddy were stoked for an online AC game we could play together and were completely let down by it. Honestly after a couple weeks of playing it I had lost interest
LikeLike