Wish you were here..?

[Ady]

One of the things I love about all this (not so) new fangled 3D gaming business is the potential it affords to creating tangible gaming worlds.

Every so often, I play a game and something in the scenery catches my eye and I just have to stop what I'm doing and stare at the scenery because it's so, well... nice.

There are loads of moments like this I can think of, but I'll start with a couple of fine examples.

Prince of Persia : TSOT - The scenery that frames the final ascent to the Vizier's tower is truly beautiful. The way the golden sunset hues bleed into the dusk skies has to be seen to be believed. It almost makes you want to jump into the TV screen.

Resident Evil 4 - The bit that sticks out the most can be found in the castle. There's this one long corridoor and along the right wall are a series of open windows with curtains blowing gracefully in the wind as the pale moonlight shines onto the ground. I actually stood and stared at that for a good 5 minutes. I'm not making this up.

Ico : Too many moments to mention, tbh. The melancholic, aching glow of Ico's pale sun is almost too beautiful for words.

OK then, if you can think of any picturesque gaming moments that have totally arrested you, then please discuss them here. I can't be the only weirdo around here...

[brokeback]

in resident evil 1 remake, there's a door in the main hall that goes down in to the caverns where you fight that weird girl with human skin on her head (edit: "human skin on her head"? what am I thinking? that applies to everyone! you know what I mean). the gentle flicker of the candles in the walls had me absolutely captivated. Resi 1 was an awesomely beautiful game.

[anephric]

I remember watching my mate angle himself for ages to get the best view down a woman's top in PC Unreal 2. That was quite a Herculean effort to witness. The stench of geek was in the air, the funk of 40,000 years...

[brokeback]

also, quite a few times during metal gear 3. one part in particular - when you are walking through the mangrove swamp with all the fish and frogs and the evening sun reflects off the water. That whole section was jaw droppingly beautiful, especially considering it's on the ****station wank.

[Darwock]

The giant moon over the city outside temen-ni-gru on the way to the first fight with Vergil in DMC3

The waterfalls on the road between Besaid villlage and the shore in Final Fantasy X

Flying at night in Ace Combat

Driving around in the busy canals in Beyond Good & Evil

[Wools]

Sonic Adventure - Mystic ruins. The first game I saw on the Dreamcast as a kid. To this day that section is one of the most beautiful enviroments in any game.

ICO - The garden by the waterfall. From the stone, cold grey of the opening to this was a jaw dropper.

There's loads of others but thses two are my favourite. Honerable mentions to Metal Gear Solid 3, Halo, Pokemon, Shenmue 2 and Animal Crossing

[IcePak]

Panzer Dragoon Saga - The first time I saw the sunset at the Uru ruins was jaw-dropping. Even moreso in the tunnels that connects North and South Uru, with the sea life swimming around naturally.

[Big Seany]

Final Fantasy X. Quite a few stunning bits in that, such as the aforementioned waterfalls, and the whole FMV lurve scene could be watched again and again... Also the atmosphere of the Cosmo Canyon observatory in FFVII puts me into a bit of a trance.

[spagmasterswift]

Resident Evil 4 - The bit that sticks out the most can be found in the castle. There's this one long corridoor and along the right wall are a series of open windows with curtains blowing gracefully in the wind as the pale moonlight shines onto the ground. I actually stood and stared at that for a good 5 minutes. I'm not making this up.

I did the exact same thing. There was also a bit when you could see specs of dust floating around in a beam of sunlight coming through a window. Stunning!

[Ostrog]

Playing Stranger's Wrath, I'd often stop to watch the various little critters scurrying through the undergrowth, or just wander about looking at the landscapes on my travels between the towns.
The first time I saw the Chozo temple in Metroid Prime, I just stood there staring at it for ages. The sight of this huge edifice with its' strange birdlike statues and glowing masonry, coupled with the eerie music caused me to stop what I was doing and take it all in. A lot of the locales in the game do that.
Seeing Tokyo during a sunset in Tetsujin 28 was pretty memorable, moreso for the massive robot that was wading through buildings, though.
Just about everything in Katamari Damacy caught my attention. Even though the surroundings were not as detailled as in most games, they were no less elaborate. And colourful to boot.

[parkinho]

Gotta be seeing Phendrana Drifts for the first time on Metroid Prime. Fantastic.

Riding across Hyrule Field during sunset on Ocarina of Time was pretty special too.

[babs]

The Purple clouds everywhere at the start of the 3rd (I think, or was it 2nd) island in Baten Kaitos. First time in ages I've sat and said 'woah'.

[Destrukticor]

the lava room in resi 4 had me transfixed for ages
that lava looked amazing with the heat haze and all sorts going on as well

GT4 has me impressed in prog scan

Various places in WOW (ironforge and stormwind especially)

[Yoshimax]

Second the lava room in Resi4 and I'll chip in the intro sequence on Ocarina where Link pulls up on Epona beside the river - the music heightened it too and the fact the sequence was the same every time you booted.......

[brokeback]

seiken densetsu 3 on the super famicom. when I scaled that mountain for the first time and saw the curve of the earth. That was a milestone in gaming for me.