Best beginning in a game?

The planescape torment beginning is good of course, although the whole amnesia thing is a bit of a trope.

The first mission from Thief: The Dark Project was also great, not from any story perspective, but simply capturing due to mood and gameplay.
 
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Bioshock (Plane crash merged with just starting by floating in water)
Prey (smashing the glass from your appartment was awesome along with all the pre-recorded sounds)
Ultima Underworld (thrown in dungeon, minimal backstory but atmospheric start)
CIV 4/5 Baba Yetu is epic.
 
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I'm not sure; the problem is remembering the details of those games played recently over those played years ago. wiz 8 wasn't so bad and prey was pretty good but I'm sure there are other games both fps and rpg that had decent beginnings.
 
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Final Fantasy XII
This game has a seven minute long, spectacular CGI at start, impeccably depicting the world and its main conflict.

Then, the game starts with a short, but very intense prologue, acting as a tutorial, ending with one of the biggest game plot twists ever:
Your character gets killed.
Then, the game starts proper.

…shit, just by thinking about it, I want to play this game again!
 
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Hard to pick one. A few examples from top of my head.

Gothic. You're starting as a wuss being tossed somewhere you're not supposed to ever escape from and then you're basically persuaded to roleplay a defiant personality.

Assassins Creed 3. You're playing as a certain person for a few hours only to discover you were not playing the game's actual main protagonist. There is another crazy twist there but lemme not spoil it.

Prey (the new one). Just to say, after doing some "chores" you discover nothing was what it seemed. This awsome start of the story sadly was the only good thing in that game.
 
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Elder Scrolls 4's expansion, Shivering Islands. Not only was that statue impressive, that butterfly room was absolutely incredible!

The opening cinematic for Wing Commander 4.

It looks pretty weak now but this is the first game opening I ever saw with such huge production values. It LOOKS LIKE A MOVIE! They've even got (some) real actors! Before that, all the opening cinematics I had ever seen looked like something one or two guys tossed together in a week. As far as I'm concerned, modern gaming started when I saw WC4's opening.

Prey's was definitely a great one, too. Also the best credit placement ever.

And special mention to Final Fantasy 7. The beginning isn't particularly awesome when you first play it but, the second time, when you actually understand WTF is happening... wow.
 
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Well unlike every other game out there, it does allow you to throw shit on someone's house… :)
No, seriously, it's not the best beginning. It's the best game. ;)
 
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joxer said:
No, seriously, it's not the best beginning. It's the best game. ;)
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I agree but Kingdom Come: Deliverance has to be one the longest prologues I ever played. Not kidding by the time the opening credits played I was like what.

Still the best game I played last year despite its bugs.:thumbsup:
joxer said:
Assassins Creed 3. You're playing as a certain person for a few hours only to discover you were not playing the game's actual main protagonist. There is another crazy twist there but lemme not spoil it.
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Psst Joxer Assassins Creed 3 is getting remastered.
 
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There have been so many good ones it's hard to say but I have always liked Half life 1 and the beginning.

" Gordon they're waiting for you in the test chamber"
 
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A lot of really good examples here.

+1 to both Half-Life games, Gothic, Bioshock, Fallout 3, Baldur's Gate 2, Prey, and The Last of Us.

I see Morrowind and Skyrim mentioned, but I thought Oblivion actually had the best opening for a TES game. Getting released from the Imperial prison by the emperor himself (voiced by none other than Sir Patrick Stewart), and running through catacombs with him and his guards while fighting off assassins felt epic. Too bad the rest of the game was mostly crap. :)

I think The Witcher 1&2 also have excellent opening sequences.
 
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Hurls said:
Mass Effect 2 (I hadn't played ME1) - you are resurrected on a space station that is being attacked and you don't know what is going on and who to trust
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Loads of good choices in this thread, but I'd just like to second ME2. The intro with the Collector attack and Cerberus resurrection is a fantastic start to the game that shakes up the foundation of the first. I liked the fact that my imported character had visible scars related to that intro for a large chunk of the game.
 
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I liked RE2R very much. It's art, art and nothing more. Leon and Claire looked so natural, I even had a feeling I'm gonna watch a cartoon.
Talking about plot, The Last of Us wins.
 
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Yea was lookiing forward to black mesa but it been like what two centuries that they have been working on the final area ? Talk about slow.

vurt said:
Half-Life was indeed good.. can't wait for the final version of black mesa. I do like the HL2 beginning (and its overall a good game), but HL1 is king.
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