Posted December 08, 2011
There are three moments that have really stuck with me over the years.
Note: Spoilers ahead.
1) Your first encounter with a xenomorph in 'Aliens vs Predator' (the 2000 game) in the marine campaign.
The atmosphere leading up to that moment was wonderful. The dark, not always reliable lighting, the aesthetics of the environment, the click and bleep of the motion tracker... Then a hiss of steam and the snapping of a xenomorph's jaws, blindly firing your pulse rifle, and being rewarded with the agonising squeals of a dead alien. The closest I have ever come to crapping myself with fear.
2) The first boss in 'Painkiller'.
So, after a lot of damn fun shooty-shooty blaster action, I'm dumped in the middle of a massive graveyard. I quickly run around, looking for ammo, health, whatever else I can find. Looking around, I see the boss coming towards me. "Oh, he's a way away. I've got... WHAT THE F***?" I have never seen such a massive enemy. I'm literally frozen for two or three seconds as I take into account the enormity of this thing towering above me.
3) The plague carrier quest in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.
On my second play through of this game, I was a Malkavian. Now, I can rarely bring myself to be a dick in roleplaying games, so when I spoke to Hannah, I used my Malkavian insanity to make her think I was Paul, her sort of boyfriend. Her dying words, my insane dialogue trying to ease her passing... By the time Hannah had taken her last breath and passed peacefully into death, I was an utter wreck.
Note: Spoilers ahead.
1) Your first encounter with a xenomorph in 'Aliens vs Predator' (the 2000 game) in the marine campaign.
The atmosphere leading up to that moment was wonderful. The dark, not always reliable lighting, the aesthetics of the environment, the click and bleep of the motion tracker... Then a hiss of steam and the snapping of a xenomorph's jaws, blindly firing your pulse rifle, and being rewarded with the agonising squeals of a dead alien. The closest I have ever come to crapping myself with fear.
2) The first boss in 'Painkiller'.
So, after a lot of damn fun shooty-shooty blaster action, I'm dumped in the middle of a massive graveyard. I quickly run around, looking for ammo, health, whatever else I can find. Looking around, I see the boss coming towards me. "Oh, he's a way away. I've got... WHAT THE F***?" I have never seen such a massive enemy. I'm literally frozen for two or three seconds as I take into account the enormity of this thing towering above me.
3) The plague carrier quest in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.
On my second play through of this game, I was a Malkavian. Now, I can rarely bring myself to be a dick in roleplaying games, so when I spoke to Hannah, I used my Malkavian insanity to make her think I was Paul, her sort of boyfriend. Her dying words, my insane dialogue trying to ease her passing... By the time Hannah had taken her last breath and passed peacefully into death, I was an utter wreck.
