There was a moment in Oblivion (one of many) that shit me up really  proper. I was very low on health and a troll was kicking my arse. I hate those fuckers at the best of times. So I made a run for it and saw a dungeon come up on the map so I ran in (it had a door). Id be safe there to heal(the dungeon was separated from the world by a loading screen). So I spent a few minutes getting my health sorted and then turned around and the fucking troll was right behind me all along just standing there. Once I had turned around he started attacking me. Freaked me right out.

Some more:

First time I felt truly "in the zone".Levels 7 and 8 of Kaboom on the 2600  - I can still get that with that game when I'm on form.

The initial high you get when you first play WarioWare. It feels like you are in mental freefall.

Also, first time I saw Ready to Rumble running on a Dreamcast in a demo pod in EB/GAME with a crowd around it. Dodgy graphics were a thing of the past. Last time I felt a buzz about a console.

Me and LD have a pretty similar gaming life, it seems.

g.man wrote:

ALLAHU AKBAR!

g.man

Definitley Bioshock, my favourite opening of any game ever;



Stepping out of the airlock at the beginning of Mass Effect 2 and it going all quiet.

I think BioShock was my favourite single player experience of the 360. I found it incredible.

Have to mention Gears MP with you lot though, really opened my eyes as to what online multiplayer is about and had countless moments (good and bad).

wonderbanana wrote:

Radiant Silvergun on Saturn. I discovered it late but it reminded me just how many games from Japan I'd overlooked. It rekindled my life long love affair with shmups which started with Space Invaders and to this day remsins the one genre I have blown serious cash on, near £500 on one game more than a few times. I've owned it countless times on Saturn and even bought the original arcade hardware (that wasnt cheap either), thankfully it got an XBLA release so I don't keep getting the urge to replace it. Is it the best shmup ever? No, I don't think so. But it may just be the most genre defining, it's certainly epic by shmup standards and it has probably pulled more peoples interest into the genre than any other game. The first time I loaded Silvergun it mesmorised me, I couldn't understand why I started with all the weapons but it felt empowering, you felt like you were the greatest most powerful ship in that universe from the start. It was experience versus the invading hoarde.

I have to say I was slightly underwhelmed by RSG. But when I first played it I did realise it wasn't just another pick up and play shump with arcade sensibilities. That is why it probably put me off as that's what I was looking for at the time.  It's probably the reason why I never warmed to Ikuraga too. Neither game suffers fools but I find RSG the more approachable game.

I credit fed my way through RSG (something I very rarely do) just to see more of the game and it was and still is a stunning game with lots of great ideas. I tried the XBL version and hated the look of it though.

 I still have the Saturn disc (and the US GC disc of Ikaruga) so I will return to it.

Splatoons final boss.

SotC - number 13 I think. The flying one that comes out of the sand. An event itself when you first see it and it flies up, but boy when you're standing on your steed, make that jump, and then it flies up with you on its back.... Gasp!

The bird (number 5?) was good too.

i used to love playing Madden on my mates' megadrive.  he wasn't so keen as i always beat him.

then one game, going into the final seconds, he was leading.  i had the ball, but deep in my own half.  tensions were rising.  i made a desperate play as the buzzer went, but it was incomplete.
in celebration, my mate launched his player at my receiver, smashing him whilst directing a triumphant "HAH!" at me.  this is when we discovered that tackling someone after the buzzer is 'unsportsmanlike conduct' and gets the opponent a new down.
i had one more play!  tensions ramp up, we line up, i opt for a 'hail mary', my go to play in a tricky spot.
QB drops back, hits the receiver, he's running, gets to halfway, here comes the defender...tackled!
the buzzer goes, my mate has done it, he's won.  he jumps up in triumph.  at this point, i can't remember if he hit the joypad in delight, or dropped it on the floor.  the result though, was that his player launched into a diving tackle, smashing my receiver again... More 'unsportsmanlike conduct'!  "nooooo" he screamed.
one more play.
tension is palpable now.
hail mary again.
qb drops deep, waits.
defence holds well, receiver is away.
QB goes for a long long pass.
it's in the air...
it's over the defender...
receiver takes it!
the pass is good!
receiver high steps into the endzone...
TOUCHDOWN. Conversion.

I win. tough luck mate.

I'm not sure we ever played Madden together again.

Finally beating the black car in Ridge Racer on Playstation.

The opening of Just Cause.
Climbing to the top of the Empire State Building in Spider-man 2.
Driving to the top of the hill in Smuggler's Run.
Sky-diving from the zeppelin in GTAV. (here)
Driving out the back of a cargo plane in GTAV. (here)
Your first leap of faith in Assassin's Creed.

I like in-game heights.

Being killed by an Uruk in Shadow of Mordor.
Beheading your opponent in Barbarian, and the goblin kicking his head along as he drags the body out.
Discovering the underground lake in Gears of War 2.

I've probably mentioned this one before...
My highlight of the entire last generation was Mass Effect 1. Specifically my first night with it.
I was single(ish) at the time and sharing a house with some mates. I had the 360 setup in my room. So I popped on my headphones,lit a smoke,cracked open a beer, turned off the lights and started. It was the music on the title screen that initially grabbed me and by the time I was roving in my Mako on some desolate planet with such a palpable feeling of isolation.....Utterly magical.

Recent one for me:

The entire intro part of MGSV. It is probably the most fitting intro to any game ever. Real talk. Nailed it.