We love game beginnings. They're so full of potential and the promise, and they're when we take the first steps of every new adventure in a new world. Games have always had great openings, but in the last 15 years or so game designers have placed added emphasis on hooking us with the opening moments, frequently going above and beyond simple CGI cinematics or basic tutorials with interactive intros that often show off the very best a game has to offer. From the famed Black Mesa tram ride to a timely dragon attack sparing us from the headsman's ax, we've seen some doozies -- so today we salute the very best.
One big ground rule before we get going: no pure cinematics. We love cutscenes too, but that's a discussion for another day (sorry Blizzard fans). To make this list we've got to be able to interact with the game in some shape or form, even if that simply means turning your head to look around at the world. Good? Good. Let's get this countdown train rolling.
Developer: Bethesda
Publisher: Zenimax Media
Release Date: 2008
You are born. How fitting for a roleplaying game. Not just a gimmick, your Vault-birth-through-young-adulthood experiences in Fallout 3 serve as a playable character creation menu where players pick their traits and skills. It's a clever, enjoyable experience punctuated by the Generalized Occupational Aptitude Test, or GOAT. "Question: A fellow Vault 101 resident is in possession of a Grognak the Barbarian comic book, issue number 1. You want it. What's the best way to obtain it?" What an amazing way to reenter the Fallout universe.
Developer: Relic
Publisher: THQ
Release Date: 2000
"Kharak is burning." The mothership's launch was a momentous occasion, the result of the combined effort of the people of Kharak to search for their true origins. Its return from a shakedown cruise finds the entire planet and its population reduced to burning rubble; the shock and disbelief of the mothership crew is palpable and stirring, while a somber choir signs in the background. For a game entirely about spaceships, Homeworld's opening provides an incredible emotional connection to the plight of the unseen characters.
Note: We goofed. Homeworld replaces Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, which didn't line up with our recollections.
Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: 2007
From the satellite tracking eye-in-the-sky to the viewpoint of fictional President Al-Fulani, you witness the violent takeover of your government at street level, complete with firing squad shootings of unarmed civilians. The tension builds as you're driven through the chaotic streets, culminating in your own on-camera, point-blank execution. It's a helluva way to begin a game, and a brutally convincing way for Infinity Ward to pull the Call of Duty franchise out of World War II and into present day. Subsequent CoDs haven't come close.
Developer: id Software
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: 2004
Nothing like stepping off of a long interplanetary spaceflight, getting a nice tour of a futuristic Mars facility, and then having to battle the forces of Hell to cap off an otherwise typical day at the office. It would be years after first playing through this intro before many had a PC powerful enough to go through Doom 3's opening area again at an acceptable framerate, but even stuttering and chugging our way through it created a heightened sense of immersion. Allowing players to move through the base, eavesdrop on engineer and scientist chatter, and even take a brief stroll outside really set the mood for a living, breathing facility that was about to be overrun by otherworldly forces.
Developer: Firaxis
Publisher: 2K
Release Date: 1991-2011
The year 4000BC is one of the most exciting moments in strategy gaming. A new settler pokes a hole in a blanket of fog of war and sets out to discover a whole new randomly generated virgin planet full of unexploited resources, marauding barbarians, ancient ruins containing treasure and technology, and of course rival civilizations. Exploring each new map is the gaming equivalent of unwrapping a present (sometimes it's a new pair of socks), which makes pushing the "new game" button on Civ feel like Christmas morning.
Developer: Human Head
Publisher: 2K
Release Date: 2006
All Tommy wanted to do was spend a nice, quiet night at the bar and wait for his girlfriend to get off of work, but what he got instead was a creepy and dramatic alien abduction set to the tune of Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper. Suddenly, he finds himself alone on a disgusting alien ship where gravity is bonkers. Tough night for Tommy; great intro for gamers.
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: EA
Release Date: 2009
Why have just one beginning when you can have six? The race and class you choose in Dragon Age: Origins determines which unique background story you'll play through, from a City Elf living under the oppressive rule of your human masters to a Human Noble (with City Elf servants) caught up in a web of deceit. Aside from the staggering amount of replayability the six lengthy origin stories add, they're a fantastic way for players to immerse themselves in the character they're controlling. That's what roleplaying games are all about.
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve
Release Date: 2011
Even within the confined spaces of the original Portal, Valve succeeds in making Aperture Labs seem like a big, ominous entity. Funny how far a joke about cake can go. At the outset of Portal 2, after waking Chell from a 50-day slumber for "mandatory physical and mental wellness exercises" and then putting her back to sleep for an extended nap, Valve literally tore down the walls to reveal one seriously massive facility... and one seriously funny sidekick. Everything in Portal 2 is a more fully realized version of what Valve gave us in Portal, and its opening is the perfect sampling of the big, hilarious adventure that's in store.
Developer: Irrational Games (then 2K Boston)
Publisher: 2K
Release Date: 2007
It's not the fiery plane crash at sea that does it. It's the moment you step inside the entrance to Rapture, you come face-to-face a glowering statue of your host, Andrew Ryan, and a banner with his Objectivist mantra: "No Gods or Kings. Only Man." It's a foreboding welcome, but with no other survivors or land in sight, you have no choice but to take the Bathysphere ride down into the awe-inspiring Art Deco city under the sea. From the shock of the crash to the wonder of Rapture and the terror of the first shrill cry of a Splicer, it's an emotional blender set to liquefy that kicks BioShock off with an intense bang.
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Sierra
Release Date: 1998
Descending deep into the Black Mesa research facility via tram is the first taste of the Half-Life experience, and it's a powerful one that hints at the gaming tour du force to come. Immediately, players become Gordon Freeman, and as he's transported into the secret underground complex, so are we. It's a subtle yet highly cinematic technique without actually being a cutscene; in 1998, it was a game-changer. The action-free opening also serves as a world-changing juxtaposition that comes when Gordon suits up and puts a specimen into the Anti-Mass Spectrometer. Best. Game opening. Ever.
Spy Guy says: Crysis, Mass Effect 2, Company of Heroes, Monkey Island, and Skyrim were among some of the other notable beginnings that just missed the cut. What does your personal Best PC Gaming Intros List look like?
