This Gen's "Holy Wowzer" Magical First Play Moment

[Malc]

Very true, when I saw how fluidly it went from cutscene into actual game play I almost filled my pants with awe.

And then how quickly it went from gameplay back to a cutscene so quickly and fluidly.

[Magnakai]

Bioshock was the game that I bought with my 360. The first thirty minutes of that game basically consisted of me going "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." Absolutely breathtaking beauty.

Also, the beginning of GTA4 was quite weak, but the next section, where you leave the flat and wander around the town sent shivers up my spine. It was so alive, so New York. It felt like reality put through a filter. I didn't even run anywhere, I just walked around the streets looking at stuff. Then the GTA gameplay started, and it became relatively cartoonish again. But that first section...

[Riskbreaker]

The Mass Effect intro, with Anderson discussing your character's background and whether you were suitable for the job followed by a walkthrough the Normandy and then the camera pans and spotlight on your Shepard. All with that epic soundtrack playing though the whole thing. It was done really well and kinda cemmented the feeling that it was a Sci-fi epic.

Other moments:

Fallout 3's "Oblivion" moment. Stepping almost blind out of the Vault, seeing DC on the horizon and knowing you could venture there was immense.

Venturing out into Bower Lake with your dog at the start of Fable 2 and looking down the hill over the area as the sun rises on the horizon was nothing short of fantastic.

Another vote for Lost Planet. Fighting the Worm was never chore, it actually became one of the battles I looked forwards to once it's attack patterns were nailed.

[saif]

Actually, for me, the most impressed I have been this generation is actually the PSP.
Completely based on the hardware but when I saw my first one, with Puzzle Bobble on it(!) I really really wanted one. Once I saw Ridge Racer and the speed it ran at, I was hooked.
On a lot of levels, I have been disappointed by a lot of releases in the last 5 years though. Blazblue was also very impressive.

[kernow]

I wonder how much 'awe filled pants' fetch on eBay?

I can sell you some cheap if you like and you can find out

[Tig]

For me it was definitely LittleBigPlanet... If only because it actually resembled the games I got excited about as a child, when a 2D platformer would have been the year's big Christmas present.
It was my favourite nostalgic genre, transformed with modern technology and a modern budget!


The first time going into Create mode with 3 friends, and just seeing what was possible in the game; sticking things together, gluing, attaching wheels to bananas, dropping dead fish on each other. It was the complete anarchy of kids playing with Christmas presents under the tree. And it seemed like there were no limitations in the game at all.


Incidentally, 2D platformers have had a big revival recently thanks to the indie scene and the download market. But the genre was in the wilderness for a long time... consigned to rubbish GBA film tie-ins. I'm glad to have it back.


Also- another vote for GTAIV. The spell wears off before the end of the game, but when it works, it's amazing stuff.

[cutmymilk]

GTA4 was the secondmost WOW moment for me, but as I restricted myself to one game and first play only it had to be Mario as it gets awesome as soon as you are on your first planet. GTA, as good as the first island is, only becomes 10/10 quality when you got to Manhattan.

A fair few people have been commenting on the browns and greys of this gen but as far as WOW moments go most games picked here are said brown and grey games.

I still need to check out Bioshock to see if that tops Galaxy but I think I might have left it a few years late for the impact to be so huge.

[Nighteyes]

I found GTA IV completely underwhelming from the first moment to the last I played of it. I didn't even bother finishing it, and I absolutely loved the previous three...

edit: The horrendous soundtrack didn't help it. I mean, really, it was appalling!!

[CMcK]

PGR3 was a fantastic introduction to this generation of games. First time you go over the big bridge in New York with the car redlined is amazing.

Gears Of War is a real graphical tour de force and a pretty tight game as well. A lot of hype but a real gem.

[garrz32]

Uncharted for me,esp when your coming out of the water and seeing your clothes are wet....one of the few games am impressed with this "new gen"
scene....

[BaudAttitude]

My first "wow, that's pretty" moment was in playing Tomb Raider : Legend. There's a bit where you're on your way to, well, raid some tomb or another, and you get this pan shot of a valley and waterfall and it's just gorgeous.

...and just as you're thinking to yourself, wow, this is really pretty, Lara makes some crack about how she's going into the postcard business or something like that; just a perfectly timed gag.

[jiggy]

A few stand out this generation; especially on the 360.

Call of Duty 2; it looked stunning, i was hooked instantly. Kameo was also very impressive when i first loaded it up. Gears of War graphically i couldnt believe games could look this good.

Mario Galaxy, it felt like i was playing the game as a kid again.

Uncharted blew me away and the story was fantastic, loved it.

[JP]

Uncharted, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, MGS 4, Crackdown & Flower are the main games to stand out for me. All ready good games with their own Wow moments.

The only one out of those that doesn't still have the same effect is Crackdown, it's certainly not a worse game than the others for me it's not aged well on the technical side of things. The controls & camera in particular make it seem really old but it's still a favourite of mine.

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

The only one out of those that doesn't still have the same effect is Crackdown, it's certainly not a worse game than the others for me it's not aged well on the technical side of things. The controls & camera in particular make it seem really old but it's still a favourite of mine.

Jumping off the top of the tower is another great moment, only marred by the fact it almost made me sick!!

[Decider-VT]

Another vote for Uncharted here. The shadows and the way the jungle reacted to your movements were great. One of those moments when you realise that everything that would've been prohibited by technical limitations in an earlier generation had been swept away, even if it was only for the little touches that make the environment a bit more believable.