A few weeks ago, Editor Mof bombarded you with some of the greatest music from the history of video games. He steered clear of some of the more obvious titles, sometimes favouring good soundtracks over good games.
However, as technology in gaming marches on, leading us down ever more beautifully decorated linear corridors like lambs ripe for the slaughter, we’re led to ask- what are the greatest video game opening sequences? Those opening movies that draw you in like a moth to a flame or Justin Bieber to a fan’s vagina.
With the release of Harry Gregson-Williams’ collaboration with the London Philarmonic Orchestra which even manages to make a reworking of the Angry Birds soundtrack sound utterly epic, we started to think about the best opening “FMVs” that we had ever seen. The ones that really capture the essence of a game without giving too much away. So here’s ten of the best…
Worms
Worms, as well as being one of the most enjoyable multiplayer games ever made (in its 2D form, thank you very much), has always had the very best opening and incidental sequences to boot. Who can forget the Looney Tunes-esque sound effects and the sheer sense of fun of Team 17, the Yorkshire developer with a sense of humour? No-one. That’s not even to mention the soundtrack.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
Live action openers were pretty commonplace in the early 2000s and Command & Conquer have stuck with their formula throughout the life of their games. Whether you’re a fan of Real Time Strategy or the thought of micro-managing units and tactics leaves you wanting to tear out every follicle of hair on your body, you can’t deny that the opening to Red Alert 2 featuring Ray Wise (out of Twin Peaks) and Barry Corbin (from One Tree Hill, you sad bastards) evokes a sense of the sheer scale of the game. Paratroops over the land of the free and the home of the brave? Crack out the rifles, Marjorie. We’re off to war!
Red Alert 2 was critically acclaimed and with good reason. Giant squid.
Half Life
Your mundane life might not be a million miles away from your trudge to work but the five and half minute opening sequence of Dr Gordon Freeman heading to work in the morning is one of the most memorable movies in the history of video gaming. Not once is there any indication of the sheer level of shit that is about befall the Black Mesa facility. What it delivers in spades is the notion of a man having a seriously bad day.
Battlefield 1942
For the FPS fan boys who will sit and argue until the day that time stops over the minute differences in the Call of Duty & Battlefield series’, we have one of the greatest openings to any game. Ever. The evocative music and historically accurate(ish) depictions of the theatres of war were enough to anoint a new generation in the blood and violence of the first person shooter. The sight of a squadron of bombers flying over a sniper’s hide still sends shivers up the spine to this day.
What it lacked in impressive graphics, Battlefield 1942 more than made up for in charm that was almost instantly lost with the release of Battlefield 2 (despite it keeping the soundtrack).?Perhaps there’s something more romantic about World War II. Actually, that’s a bit sick.
Starwing
Starwing’s opening is remarkable on two levels. The first being that it is remarkably similar to Star Wars in its direction and also that, in 1993, it was released on for Super Nintendo. A console that wasn’t capable of supporting 3D graphics. That is, except in Starwing. The antics of Fox McCloud and his supporting cast straight out of a drug addict’s version of Wind & the Willows have gone down in Nintendo folklore and it is due in no small part to this opening.
Bioshock
While more of an opening sequence than an opening movie, the introduction to Bioshock perfectly balances tension with an introduction. Not much is given away and it owes much to the afore-mentioned train sequence from Half Life. Everyone knows that something is bound to go horribly wrong but no clue is given as to what awaits.
The first sight of Rapture is one of the most affecting images in recent years of console gaming and will have given many the awestruck sense of “what could possibly go wrong?”. Little did they know they’d be playing one of the most enjoyable, if flawed games of its generation.
Future ?Cop – L.A.P.D.
Remember this one? Mech suits were big news back in the Playstation 1 days and Future Cop was one of the first games to really give them their due. This classic opener explains the both the tone of the game while beautifully satirising popular opinion of LA’s finest. Note the moment when the Police mech blows up a car in the middle of telling it to stop.
Appropriate force? Most certainly.
Dead Rising
What’s not to love about Dead Rising except pretty much everything once you’ve got through the opening half hour of gameplay? It doesn’t matter. We never said that these games had to be much cop. What we love at hecklerspray is a good bit of peril and there’s never anything more perilous than a jaunt through zombie-infested countryside with a small child and a gas guzzling station wagon. After all, what’s a zombie game without some utter idiots around to set the scene?
GTA2
“Isn’t that Jack Branning from Eastenders?!” We hear you scream. It certainly bloody is. Before Scott Maslen made his way onto the UK soap scene, he was the archetype of the Grand Theft Auto franchise- Claude Speed. Ever wondered why the main protagonist in GTA III looked like a spiky-haired prick who was built like a farmhouse covered in a tarpaulin? Scott Maslen is the reason- that’s what he looks like.
This sequence, while being choppy and confused, gives you an excellent idea of what GTA is all about. Running, gunning, driving, dealing drugs and changing the colour of your BMW. The only drawback of course is that GTA2 was set in a ‘near future’ Liberty City where a BMW 5-Series might have been considered a tad out of place. Not to worry though, it was the 90s’. No-one cared.
If you enjoyed that, there’s a short film version where Scott Maslen gets chased by rednecks and steals a van. Super!
Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssey
One of the strangest games of the Playstation generation was, without a shadow of a doubt, Oddworld where the player took on the role of Abe and had to guide him through one of Charlie Sheen’s trips, saving the enslaved populace of a meat processing plant as he went. The title was appropriate because this game was fucking odd. Still, it had a lot of charm and a really noir little intro sequence.
Abe’s adventure was one of the most enduring Playstation platformers due in no small part to the utterly sympathetic characters and often infuriating gameplay but unfortunately, it never successfully made the jump to later generations of consoles.
So what have we missed? Let us know in the comments, you sick puppies.
Dabby says
Ha! I opened this article expecting that I’d have to complain GTA2 wasn’t on the list, but you’ve deprived me of that :p Well done. It was pretty special for a video game back in the day.
Dave says
Resident Evil when that was first released was pretty special
Frank says
uhh Call Of Duty probably is the highets most popular game every year for the past like 5 years that should be #1 on the list
Arthur ASCii says
You missed off The Number 1 game intro sequence of all time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Ys7lAC3hY
Tyko Brian says
What!!! I can’t believe you guys missed out the intro of Deus Ex: Human Revolution!!! It wipes the floor with all these itros. See it yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=XIqJaT3cvf8