Favourite opening to a game?

when infinite came out a lot of people talked about how great the intro was. I don't deny it was good, but there's a lot of games out there with strong openings. whether it be laying down the premise, establishing a mystery or building up atmosphere, I know a bunch of games can start out great, but often the fact that some games have to last at least 10 hours long to be worth the investment and can rely on the same few gameplay mechanics can be to its detriment. at the start of the game everything is completely fresh and especially with story driven games it can be absolutely anything

I started alan wake recently and I loved the way it opens. so many unanswered questions get thrown at you in just the first hour, and the few characters you are introduced to all feel like they have a certain depth to them and you know you'll encounter them later and learn more. I felt kind of the same way about hotel dusk; for me the characters are the most important part of story driven games. it might sound weird but hotel dusk is one of my all time favourite games and the story wasn't even the most interesting thing about it. in the opening few chapters you're bombarded with locked doors and a bunch of characters who all seem like they have something to hide

fallout 3 and heart of darkness are way up there for me too. the start of fallout 3 really feels like the start of something ominous and i loved the atmosphere in heart of darkness but that might just be nostalgia

No more Heros 2 was pretty good.

Both Fallout 3 and New Vegas.

Playing through the early life of the protagonist was a stroke of genius and so was getting shot straight in the face

My favorite is the opening video to Mechwarrior 2.

God of War 2 is the best; I suppose my favorite is Super Metroid. If we're just going with intro videos Suikoden 3's is great as is Chrono Cross.

I love the beginning segments of Wild Arms 3. And I will not apologize for it!!!!

Saints Row 3 - that is what I call an opening :)

The first call of duty game I ever played was modern warfare. I don't smoke weed often but on that day, I smoked a hell of a lot.beat the game in one sitting. The whole game was intense as all hell, but that opening level, escaping the sinking ship,combined with how out of my mind I was at the time. Was incredibly intense. Allmost like I was actually there. Must have only taken three breaths the entire time. Then climbing onto that chopper and watching the ship go down. Felt liked i actually lived through that.

Sadly,no COD game since then has been able to recreate that magic for me like the first one did.

Oh is this another place to mention Nier?

serious though, that game has a fantastic opening that's interesting, very involved with the story and sets the tone very well.

War........... War never changes

Bioshock.

My be a mildly controversial choice... but Final Fantasy X. The game until you get to Besaid and first walk into the jungle hearing that soothing music, is easily my favourite opening of any game ever. It is fantastic. The use of intrigue, carnage, Tidus's hopelessness when he wakes up on the ship and then a feeling of finally being in a place where he can start afresh in Besaid - just perfect to me.

I would have to say Bioshock Infinite. From the boat ride to the note posted on the door of the tower, to the climbing ,all the way up to the raffle. Never before have I been so enthralled by a video game universe.

Excuse me while I go start it again, for the third time.

Medal of Honor is way up there.

Mass Effect 2's opening is great.

I can't think of anything better right now so I'm going to go with Fallout 2. I love that game and it's opening is pretty rad.

I tend to forget openings, but this one I've remembered from the first time I played it many years ago.

MGS 3, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. These are at least the most memorable ones for me.

Gameplay wise, Metal Gear Solid. If we're talking cutscenes though? Dawn of War:

well not counting the dream sequence tutorial, i love the start of Escape from Butcher Bay, the way credits roll while you are walked into prison. awesomely cinematic and immersive.

Yep. That first hour or so I just sat there with a stupid grin that got bigger and bigger

The first 10 minutes of Amped 3 are fantastic. I think of Saint's Row as the spiritual successor as no other two game series have been as crazy.

Sorry that's in German. Only video I could find that didn't have 20 minutes of loading and talking in front of them. It's the whole snowbaording dressed as a giant pink bunny I like anyway.

Far Cry 3, for all its story faults near the end, starts off pretty darn strong. The set up, the stealth tutorial, and the chase scene do a great job in capturing your interest initially.

The train climbing in Uncharted 2 was pretty cool.

The first level of Resistance 3 did a great job setting up a crapsack community and then destroying it.

Yeah I really enjoyed the Mass Effect 2 opening as well, even though the "twist" was somewhat spoiled by the launch trailer a week prior to playing it.

The "Hallelujah" moment in the opening of Bioshock: Infinite was excellent. Also every Metal Gear game.

Butcher Bay.

All of the Mass Effect games come to mind. Also no one ever forgets coming out of the sewer in Oblivion or the vault in Fallout 3 for the first time.

Half-Life 2's probably my very favourite. Gave me chills, even with it's stuttering "Ri-ri-rise and shi-shine, Mister Freeman..." audio, all the way to that Barney reveal, which is one of the few times a videogame has actually managed to cause a big, stupid grin on my face. First Half-Life, Batman - Arkham Asylum/Arkham City follow in that same great vein of walking around the starting area, while the credits roll. Also gotta hand it to Prey, even if the rest of the game's pretty dull.

Mass Effect 2 opened pretty fucking strong.

Yeah, I'm gonna say Fallout 3. I have MAJOR issues with that shitstain of a story, but that opening, doing the tutorials as flashing through your childhood was pretty awesome.

Fallout New Vegas has a fucking epic intro to the credit sequence. "The game was rigged from the start." *BLAT*. BETHESDA SOFTWORKS PRESENTS. Also, while not strictly speaking the "opening" to the game (being about 45 minutes to an hour in), walking out of the sewers in Oblivion for the first time is probably my favorite gaming memory ever.

I think i need to also throw my support behind Fallout 3. What a cool opening, from the narration by Ron Perlman to being born to going outside for the first time. Great shit right there.

FF 6-10 for me, I loved the way they all started.

Asura's Wrath is pretty great. It starts off at eleven then breaks the knob and keeps turning it all the way around again.

In recent memory? Warhammer 40k: Space Marine - simple text transmissions say everything I need to know about the Warhammer 40k and the Ultramarines. Strategic Value Absolute!

P.S. Is that the machine god answering the questions?

That said, the aforementioned opening to Final Fantasy III (US) on SNES haunts me to this day, so if I'd go that far back, due to Nostalgia, that'd be it.

Mass Effect 2 and Metroid Prime can both still get me going.

Despite the later parts, Far Cry 3 had a good opening.

@white_silhouette said:

Going to have to agree with this.

The opening to the original World of Warcraft is pretty good too, if only for the music.

Mass Effect trilogy(2 was best) and Resident Evil 4 when you get dropped off is so creepy and the music adding tension. I also liked Legend of Zelda OOT man that beginning set up what could be the greatest game ever.

posting again because i remembered a few: the opening moments of fight night champion look great, I never played the game but love the direction it took, wish more sports games would give that a try. star fox adventures has a great opening too, the game starts off completely unexpectedly and is beyond anything star fox games tried prior or even since. I don't think that game did so well but i'd totally play another one of those. and the first level of sonic adventure 2 is probably the best part of the game

Maw

Fuckin

Lost Odyssey

I thought Batman Arkham Asylum had a really strong opening.

Ni No Kuni also had a very good opening, this was maybe due to the high amount of voiced dialogue and animated cutscenes the rest of the game lacked.

Final Fantasy 8 had a pretty amazing intro. If only it had Paper Planes as the music...

Both Dead Space 1 and 2 come to mind.

Metal Gear Solid 3

1) God of War

2) Bioshock Infinite

3)Fallout 3

4) Saints Row The Third

5) Red Dead Redemption

All have fantastic opening sequences.

Of the ones that haven't been mentioned, Resident Evil 2's dual opening was pretty great (well, for its time):

Shadow of the Colossuss

Resident Evil Outbreak

God of War 2. Holy shit...at the time it was jaw dropping. It still holds up too. 3's opening is also very strong, but it's too similar in execution. But in 2, playing that huge mutli-stage boss battle for the first time was incredible.

Also, the original Silent Hill's opening will forever be engrained into my brain. Probably one of the most bone chilling, pant-shittingly scary things I've experienced (relative to the time it came out and how old I was). I just didn't know what to expect at all from the game. I mostly just thought it would be a lot like Resident Evil, but what actually happens is insane and utterly terrifying. I love it's creative use of camera angles, as well.

And yeah, I guess I'll say Fallout 3, too. They managed to make the whole tutorial/character building sequence unique and entertaining, and it was something I actually looked forward to doing every time I started a new character. I can't say the same about most other RPG's.