This may be bizarre, but...

Nothing gets me excited about a game like a good horn feature. When I first saw the Skyrim trailer, I thought it looked good. But then that final, soaring note came in, and I knew what scope this game had in mind. It made me that much more excited. The Uncharted theme used in the past two games also has an excellent horn part that is both adventurous and roaring. I love it to pieces.

What strange thing gets you excited about games?

Oboes. The more oboes the better.

When I think of horns I think of the scary sound the tripods made in Spielberg's War of the Worlds.

Gamewise it's usually a scenario where all hell is breaking loose and I'm up against unimaginable odds and there's nothing I can do about it. Take the first half of the Mass Effect 3 demo, for example.

Boy do I have the game for you

Nothing says "Quality Game" more than "centered main character walking or running forward in some sort of pose" box art.

Cool reload animations. Anything slick or out of the ordinary just tickles something inside of me.

This also goes for anything slightly weird or odd about an otherwise mundane firearm, e.g. putting a scope on the side of a semi-automatic sniper rifle in Modern Warfare 3 and (more recently) Syndicate, especially useful for closer encounters.

Also weapon wheels. What? You want to allow me to hold every weapon in the game? Fucking sold! It seems like Singularity, Syndicate, FEAR 3, and many others could have greatly benefited from this.

@ShadowConqueror said:

Oboes. The more oboes the better.

I second this. Its the best color instrument in an orchestra and the best solo instrument in an orchestra as well.

@benson: I actually don't remember any music from Ico other than the ending song. SotC has gome good stuff, though. I think Ico was a little more minimalist.

@Zelyre: Oboes are only great when played by REALLY skilled musicians. Trust me, I have heard a bad oboe, it's painful.

Anything with a weird/dark sense of humor about it generally earns my favor. After seeing the cut scene following the first boss battle in Super Meat Boy, I declared that game awesome.

Time Travel

lemme think specifically of music... I think a good vocalist, preferably female. Persona 3 & 4, FF13-2, NIER, NIER, NIER

@CyborgDuo: Not necessarily a strange thing, but I love it when the game I'm playing has music that sort of mirrors or shadows the action being played out on my screen (sort of like film music or subtle incidental music).

@bonorbitz: Dude if that movie did one thing right, it was making the tripods some of the most terrifying things solely because of that damn horn. HL2 has some good horns in it as well for the combine.

When bad@bonorbitz said:

When I think of horns I think of the scary sound the tripods made in Spielberg's War of the Worlds.

Gamewise it's usually a scenario where all hell is breaking loose and I'm up against unimaginable odds and there's nothing I can do about it. Take the first half of the Mass Effect 3 demo, for example.

I agree entirely with the tripod noise thing, I still have no idea why. My favorite moment in gaming is still when I first encountered striders in HL 2 and heard that ominous noise.

@SSully said:

@bonorbitz: Dude if that movie did one thing right, it was making the tripods some of the most terrifying things solely because of that damn horn. HL2 has some good horns in it as well for the combine.

@milkman4591 said:

When bad@bonorbitz said:

When I think of horns I think of the scary sound the tripods made in Spielberg's War of the Worlds.

Gamewise it's usually a scenario where all hell is breaking loose and I'm up against unimaginable odds and there's nothing I can do about it. Take the first half of the Mass Effect 3 demo, for example.

I agree entirely with the tripod noise thing, I still have no idea why. My favorite moment in gaming is still when I first encountered striders in HL 2 and heard that ominous noise.

I don't know what terrified me more, the loud horn noise they made or the sound of those things walking. The scariest walking sound since the AT-ATs in The Empire Strikes Back.

@fuzzybunny566: Right over my head. Tells you how much of a music nerd I am.