When was the last time a moment in a game made your jaw drop?

[DigDog]

i'd give my vote to Oblivion then; the only game were i'd play just to watch the scenery. Other games may have reached a higher photorealism, but i just love the design choices in Obv.

oh and also, Wipeout2097 ("XL"). That game was the only time i've really felt a sense of speed, i was completely gobsmacked when i first saw it. Also, pretty much everything was amazing aboutit; the design, music, the FMV intro, minimalistic hud .. everything.

 

[OCNewbie]

Not sure if it was literally jaw dropping, but I smiled, or said "Woah" to myself, and thought it was totally bad ass when I saw (Borderlands 2 related):

Spoiler

the cutscene for The Warrior for the first time

. Not even sure that's really a spoiler, but jic.

 

[exdeath]

Jaws don't drop with awesome controls or a great story

Yes.

They do.

All of my most memorable jaw dropping controller dropping out of limp frozen hands hair standing on end eyes the size of dinner plates heart stopping blue in the face full body chill moments in gaming have been due to stories, characters, and some of the greatest unexpected plot twists of all time. Acts of betrayal, sacrifice, or some huge revelation about the world you've been exploring that makes you feel small and insignificant in real life.

As I posted with my example, learning the true nature of the world of Xenogears was the most incredible moment in gaming history for me. I was physically stunned and then shaking shortly after. Shakespeare himself would be applauding.

Even better that I played it for the first time as an adult, more than a decade after its release, a PS1 game in the PS3/360 generation, so it confirmed for me that my tastes never changed and that there is no nostalgia about it.

Ill take that experience over photorealistic graphics any day.

To this day, one word still elicits a small hair response and buzz down my neck: Deus.

 

[zinfamous]

I have to jump on the Skyrim train. Probably every moment for the first 20 hoursor so--probably not a great estimate, but however long it took to explore most of what the game had to offer (examples of scenery and all that--not every nook, of course).

And yes, much of that does have to do with graphics--but more importantly it was design more than quality, music and sound effects were all part of it. The first time you see Whitehall, that first Dragon fight, the first time you visit the Stormcloak's capital--all of it incredible.

One thing I didn't like was how the dragon fights go from completely epic early on, to just mediocre annoyances the more you progress. I think it has to do with just too many unenventful random dragon encounters (I think they (meaning all of them) should have been designed as specific beats for the main story, with a serious progression reward for each), and the fact that you quickly become so OP that you can just punch them to death.

 

[DigDog]

Yes.

They do.

. Acts of betrayal, sacrifice, or some huge revelation about the world you've been exploring that makes you feel small and insignificant in real life.

Champions of Krynn, on a C64.

The Aurak Myrtani continaully escaping me, when i finally caught him i was foaming at the mouth and shouting to the television (yes, TV was the monitor for the C64) about me, his a*hole and the procedure of him acquiring a second one.

Good storytelling beats anything, really.

 

[rh71]

text-based MMORPG I died to my arch nemesis (some douchebag 30-something who lived with his parents) and he looted my corpse which had ALL my gold on it. Circa 1997. I'll never forget.

 

[DigDog]

text-based MMORPG I died to my arch nemesis (some douchebag 30-something who lived with his parents) and he looted my corpse which had ALL my gold on it. Circa 1997. I'll never forget.

LEU? or some other MUD i assume ...

 

[rh71]

LEU? or some other MUD i assume ...

it was Onyx MUD. After graduating college I tried to get people to get that back online after it died. Then WoW came a few years later.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

EQ1 I was simply blown away that I could talk to a friend during the day, them meet up with them at a bank/landmark/shop and we could all adventure together. Good times....

 

[OCNewbie]

EQ1 I was simply blown away that I could talk to a friend during the day, them meet up with them at a bank/landmark/shop and we could all adventure together. Good times....

I remember when I first created an Erudite Wizard, and appeared in the EQ1 world for the first time. I was so overwhelmed; I had no idea what to do. There was another newbie Wizard next to me just casting spells, and getting attacked by the low level critters. I saw all these spell effects, and heard the casting sounds, the combat sounds, etc. It was definitely a moment seared into my brain.

 

[Danimal1209]

Surprised nobody mentioned Aerith getting killed in FF7.

 

[Crono]

Surprised nobody mentioned Aerith getting killed in FF7.

Thanks for ruining the game for me.