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Times your mind was actually blown by a video game

Cess007

Member
I've had several mind blown moments in gaming; but i think one of the biggest was this fucking moment on FF9:

Wall_IX_38.jpg

I remember watching that CG cutscene and then, my mind exploded.
 
Reading over the past few pages i forgot some important ones;

Realising that wind waker takes place hundreds or thousands of years after the other games and in a post apocalyptic setting - only discussing the zelda series recently made me realise how ballsy this was of Nintendo; on the same level as Majora's, if not more so.

A lot of if not all of Metroid Prime; but maybe the first one was the condensation on the visor; also mass effect, first proper RPG, everything about it, didnt care for ME2 and as such i'm not going to play ME3 but i've played through ME three times, excellent - and skyrim, first elder scrolls game and maybe only second RPG, the sense of exploration and choice appeared endless, the world was magnificent

One of the biggest mind blowing games for me was Deus Ex, a friend told me to play it and i didnt think i'd like it but the freedom of this game is insane, i'm sure there are like seven vaguely set out paths - where most games have three rigid paths - but the fact they knew i'd try one of them - it felt like the game was being written as i played it - i've never had that since, truly mindblowing.

I remember two instances; one, the cops are coming to get you in your apartment, my friend and i were talking about the game after and he said he ran out and had a shootout, but i stayed in the apartment and waited, then ran into the bathroom, heard the cops come in and look for me, then i jumped out the bathroom window. Something like that, its been ages since i played it, but the fact we could have two completely different experiences was amazing to me

Another was accidentally shooting a fairly important main character early on and dropping the controller and thinking everything would restart - but it just continued and the game reacted to me; utterly blew me away, like i said no other game has done that
 
Let's see...

-Seeing a video game for the first time (Robotron something for Atari something, don't remember).
-Playing a scrolling video game for the first time (Super Mario Bros). I even thought each screenshot was a different game you could play,
-Brutal video game violence (Mortal Kombat 2). Seeing Kung Lao decapitating Sonya with his hat for the first time was really something.
-That games could indeed be perfect (Super Metroid).
-That a JRPG could instantly make all previous JRPGs feel outdated and archaic (Chrono Trigger).
-Playing my first 3D game ever (Super Mario 64). I had seen screenshots of 3D PC games before and seen a few crappy 3D looking games that used vector graphics, but SM64 was the first game that showed me 3D gaming in all its real time glory.
-Video games that could scare the hell out of you (Resident Evil). Those damn dogs!
-Cinematic video games (Metal Gear Solid).
-If you can see it, you can go there (Ocarina of Time). Well, my friend had one of the older Elder Scrolls games in which you could do that also, but really, both of our minds were blown away anyway.
-3rd person over-the-shoulder shooting done right (Resident Evil 4). All that needs to be said.
 

Hypron

Member
Many of mine are already mentioned but I think this one is pretty cool, even today:
Doom3computer.jpg

This is such a great way to interact with computers in a game. I don't know why more games don't copy this (well... I know actually, it wouldn't work well on a controller).
 

Birathen

Member
EvE Online had me pretty awed at how big the conflicts could get and how drawn out. Following the whole BoB & friends vs .. Was it Red Swarm Federation it was called(?), was pretty amazing. Waking up one morning and seeing the RSF had brought down Shrike's titan, oh god.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRlrFudaEs8

Best slideshow ever :3
 
First time playing Vanilla World of Warcraft (was my first mmo). It had so much immersion, it really felt like being in that world of warcraft

The ending to Red Dead Redemption did it for me
Ending was kinda predictable, if you have ever watched any western movie at all :D
 

spekkeh

Banned
Daaad I found this videogame in your sock drawer, what do I do with the lady on the bed?

type undress son

lsl_3.png


o_O

Blew my eight year old mind.

Shortly after: daaad why am I dead from sex.
 

Comandr

Member
The "& Knuckles" add on for S1/2/3. I still am mystified by it. Does the S&K cart contain the actual "& knuckles" experience for its respective games? Could SEGA really have programmed knuckles into sonic 2, only to be unlocked far into the future? Holy shit, so that's how you break those big rock piles in Angel Island Zone?

Mindblown.gif
 

GraveHorizon

poop meter feature creep
Pandemonium. My 6/7 year old self was goddamn amazed at the experience, even though it's made up of the most basic platforming ever. I didn't notice the annoying jumping sound effect because the person whose house I was at had their stereo system playing a Savage Garden CD, which is part of what made it one of my most definitive gaming memories. I honestly thought it was part of the game for years because I didn't know any better.
 

Azure J

Member


"On that day Azure J received a grim reminder: we lived in fear of the Ing and got tense as fuck to step into dark temple arenas."
 
StarCraft 1 & Brood War - Control entire army with just mouse clicks (and hot keys).

Road Rash for Windows 95 - It's not importance to win the race. It's importance to wait for your opponents to catch up and then hit them with a bat.

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation - First 3D game.
First time to witness big boobs.

GTA: SA - First open world game. First time ever to mod a game.

Fifa Online 2 - First online experience.
 

Mahonay

Banned
- Playing Mario 64 for the first time at a FuncoLand kiosk. I didn't want to leave. Luckily I had a friend who got it soon after launch. Spent a lot of time at his house after that.

- Watching the Shenmue preview disc that came in an issue of the Official Dreamcast Magazine. I don't think I've ever been so obsessed with another game prior to release. Still one of my all time favorite titles, as much as a boring life simulator it can be.

- Playing the original demo disc for Splinter Cell. I was surprised that my Xbox was capable of rendering a game that looked like that. I had simply not seen that kind of lighting in a game before it. I just messed around with the shadows for a while.

- Stepping onto Halo for the first time.

- Playing GTA III. I was already a huge fan of the top down GTA games before it. When I saw a 3D version of it was in the works, my mind was already blown. I knew we were in for something special. Finally playing it was magical.

- Morrowind as a whole. When I opened up the map that came with the game, and realized I could go anywhere, with different adventures and loot lying in nearly every corner of this detailed world, I'm pretty sure I let out an audible squeal. I was playing that game 8-10 hours at a time for days when I started.

- The Intro for MGS2. Absolutely captivating at the time.

- Digging endless holes in the original Red Faction. I was at some Sony store in Chicago. They had a kiosk there with it, it was before I had even heard of the game. It was definitely one of those "Holy shit!" moments when I realized I could just blow holes through the level, where ever I felt like it.


I can't think of more recent games that have left the same kind of impact on me. The effects of getting older and becoming a sad jaded man, I guess.
 

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
xenobladfe legitimately blew my mind, wasent a 360 or PS3 or PC, but a wii game blew my mind straight open with it's world.
 

ironcreed

Banned
Wish I could find a better .gif, but RF:Guerilla. I remember in the demo they give you a giant mech and you could just smash right through a building. I think I ejaculated.

ku-medium.gif

This is no joke. The game is so damn fun and the destruction is still such a marvelous showcase. I really need to pick it up again.

Oh, and by the way, what the hell were they thinking going from Guerrilla to Armageddon? I know it did not sell all that well, but they nailed the formula that they needed to build on. One of the best open-world games of the last gen.
 

AlphaDump

Gold Member
Shooting limbs off in Soldier of Fortune.

Yes.

Seeing FEAR gunplay for the first time.


Getting a Diamond Viper v770 Ultra after playing PC with the standard card it came with. I was too young to know how to use it and never told the game to use D3D and one day i accidently played with the settings.I went from like 20 FPS to well over 100. Quake 2 and Half-Life were just absolutely insane.
 
Everyone has already referenced my top moments but I had not seen the following mentioned:

I am a sports gamer, first and foremost and, when I walked into the video game store and saw this game for the first time, I was stunned at what a football game could look like outside the confines of the Madden universe:

NFL2k.jpg
 

Nymphae

Banned
Can't really think of something awe-inducing, but the dog jumping through the window in RE1 actually scared me so much the first time I saw it that I jumped off of the floor towards the PS1 and smashed the power button as hard as I could. I have never been so scared by a game and can't think of another game that affected me so much.
 
Rez HD - First time I laid eyes upon that game, I was floored.

Mortal Kombat - First time seeing a fatality in the arcades, I lost my shit and spent my allowance in the matter of an hour.

GTA: VC - It was the first time I played a game that really had the soundtrack of my youth.

NBA Jam - "He's on fire!"

Conkers Bad Fur Day - Rare still gets a forever fistbump from me for that game.

MGS - Psycho Mantis floored me

Silent Hill 2 - When it's revealed what happened between James and Maria, jaw met floor.
 
World_of_Warcraft_512x256.png


Blew me the fuck away. My first major MMORPG. First time I ever saw a game with such immense scale. The huge PvP fights at Tarren Mill were insane. The instances and boss fights were insane. I don't think I'll ever experience immersion quite like that again — which is probably a good thing. WoW stole a year of my life.

Other than WoW, there was Okami:

Okami.jpg


My first cell-shaded game and easily one of the prettiest video games ever made. The artstyle just blew me away.

And, more recently, Xenoblade Chronicles:

xenoblade_chron_thumb.jpg

xenoblade_chronicles_18.jpg


My first non-handheld jRPG. Screenshots don't even come close to doing it justice. The art direction and scale were amazing. Combine that with the music and the story and it was just a mind blowing experience all around.
 
Zelda OoT. The entire game was magical but one thing that stands out to me was after beating Jabu Jabu I thought I was near the end of the game...then I learned that there were temples and that the game was just getting started. My young mind was blown away.

I'm 30 and still waiting to feel the magic that I felt playing OoT :(
 
Final Fantasy VII

The music in that game plus the graphics and plot. Its characters were all different which was different than what I was used to before playing it. There is no voice acting, so I gave each character his or her own voice in my mind. It was a great experience that I completed many times.
 
Actraiser on SNES was one of those moments for me. The music was absolutely incredible and more cinematic than anything I had played previously on NES or PC.
 
Mario 64 - That first experience

Guardian Heroes - Added leveling, branching paths, and 45+ character, 6-player multiplayer clusterFs to the Streets of Rage formula.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time - The whole experience, especially the ending.

Mystaria - Playing so many diverse characters in a strategy RPG, one of my first experiences with the genre.

Skies of Arcadia - A prettier, newer Mystaria. Building up your pirate fortress was so cool.

Resident Evil 4 - The variety of gameplay was stunning.

Super Mario Bros. - Staying up until 3 am at 5 years old.

Secret of Monkey Island - So goddamn funny

Maniac Mansion - Amazing adventuring and so funny.

Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate - So pretty and colorful and the adventure was so completely random and varied.

Silent Hill 2 - The scariness and ending.

Dead Space 1 and 2 - Dead Space evoked my feelings playing Silent Hill 2 and the intro to Dead Space 2 was like WTF!

Mass Effect - An RPG that looks so pretty and you mostly spend it talking? AWESOME!

The depth/breadth of content of all the N64 Rare games - You could lose a lifetime in those games. The realization that you aren't even barely scratching the surface 30 hours in.

Soul Calibur - That wep vs. wep combat and how amazing it looked on the Dreamcast.

999 and VLR - Amazing storylines, amazing endings.

Lands of Lore - So pretty and colorful with adventuring/exploring was great. When I think of great exploring RPGs that were pretty this is the one I usually go back to.

Bioshock (visuals, not gameplay) - That opening sequence, the rest was kind of ehhh.

Chrono Cross - Amazing music and story. So many diverse characters to play and world to explore.

Ultima Online - Standing outside Brittania with no pants on, waiting to rob people as they cross the bridge. Only to be successful, then step into town and have them get killed by guard when they attack you. My god the trolling was gold-standard. I also carved up the corpses of thieves around the bank and stored them in my bank. Then once I had enough I would spread them around and force the server to go at a crawl. Good times.

Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall - So many towns! I could do anything, steal, break into places, whatever I wanted. So much freedom. GTA 3 before there was a GTA 3.

Soul Blazer - I am still filled with wonder at the game design of slowly uncovering and revealing parts of the game world as one succeeds at the game, revealing more characters and story with each accomplishment. Great game design.

Braid - Some of the best puzzle design I have ever seen with a whopper of an ending. The middle was completely incomprehensible though.
 
Wish I could find a better .gif, but RF:Guerilla. I remember in the demo they give you a giant mech and you could just smash right through a building. I think I ejaculated.

ku-medium.gif

I remember a mission where I had to rescue hostages in a prison, I went with my truck speeding through the wall of the cell and rescuing all the prisoners! Simply amazing.
 
Panzer Dragoon Zwei.

titlescreen.jpg


One of my all time favourite video games. At the time when I first watched that intro, then transitioned into gameplay - the music, graphics, narrative told while still controlling the dragon and culminating with the dragon finally learning to fly just before you're about to plum it to your death. The entire opening 10 minutes just blew me away - in fact my entire first play through was full of awe inspiring moments. Maybe why I hold the game in such high regard to this day!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrI2rbWjMNo Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adv4EHxQlyc Part 2
 
The fight with Ganondorf at the end of Wind Waker. It remains one of my favorite moments in gaming.

"The wind... it is blowing..."

Chills every time.
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member


"On that day Azure J received a grim reminder: we lived in fear of the Ing and got tense as fuck to step into dark temple arenas."
I got this game for the first time ever yesterday. Can't wait to play. :)
 
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