Thirith on 29/10/2009 at 10:40
I've always enjoyed a well made, long and cinematic intro - e.g. Blizzard's intros, or (if you want to be more old-school) some of the Origin intros such as Martian Dreams. However, now that in-game graphics have come a long way, it's become more jarring to have intros that may look cool but that have little or even nothing to do with the actual gameplay. One of the things I'm talking about is the kind of intros e.g. to action games where you get the snazziest, most spectacular moves, but once you play the game it's pretty much completely different. Who hasn't watched intros thinking "I'm looking forward to doing *that* in the game?"... and then you never could do that while playing?
That's one of the things I greatly liked about the Left 4 Dead intro. Almost every single thing in that intro can and does happen in the game, which IMO is still pretty rare.
Do you know any other intros that give you an accurate idea of what the game will be like?
Kuuso on 29/10/2009 at 12:57
I've always thought that Final Fantasy intros are the best things about the games, eg. way better and completely different than the actual games.
For accurate intro-videos...I'll come back to that.
Briareos H on 29/10/2009 at 13:01
Well the Deus Ex intro was wordy, cliche-embracing, pretentious and awesome. I'd say that's a pretty accurate representation of the game.
Aerothorn on 29/10/2009 at 13:14
I'd say that, traditionally, the Metal Gear Solid intros (using the in-game engine) are somewhat representative, and get more so as the series progresses. Most of the MGS4 intro is.
Other than that...um...Anachronox? I'm blanking a bit.
Jason Moyer on 29/10/2009 at 13:31
The Thief series had the best intro videos in the history of gaming, but you all know that.
Thirith on 29/10/2009 at 13:34
I have to say that Garrett killing that one guard in one of the intros (Thief: The Metal Age? Can't remember whether it was that one...) rankles with me. Garrett is more professional than that; him shooting an unaware guard with an arrow struck me as a bit of a concession to the "cool, violence!" crowd.
Melan on 29/10/2009 at 14:07
Quote Posted by Briareos H
Well the Deus Ex intro was wordy, cliche-embracing, pretentious and awesome. I'd say that's a pretty accurate representation of the game.
Yup. But then DX is the game that makes bums quote American founding fathers and bartenders discuss Olaf Stapledon, and gets away with it. :cool:
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
The Thief series had the best intro videos in the history of gaming, but you all know that.
Thief intros, especially from TDP, represent the game's mood quite well - there are snippets of the same silent tension that accompanies watching a patrol or calculating your next move, and then the same frantic action as you dash from one point of safety to the other. Ambient sounds/music had a crucial role in creating this feeling, in both game and cinematics, but the variations between pacing are what really make it happen. The best Thief moments are probably those long stretches of tension you spend
not acting.
Taffer36 on 29/10/2009 at 14:52
Quote Posted by Thirith
That's one of the things I greatly liked about the
Left 4 Dead intro. Almost every single thing in that intro can and does happen in the game, which IMO is still pretty rare.
Easily the best intro I've seen. The reason it's so phenomenal is not only that it simply kicks ass, but because a person can actually learn how to play the game straight from that intro sequence. If friends come over and you want to do some coop, you naturally show them that cool intro sequence. But on another level it's teaching them exactly how the game works, how enemies work, even things to the finer details.
It turns out that you actually have to explain very little to them, they'll automatically remember from viewing the intro to turn off the flash light around the witch, to run when they see a tank, shoot down teammates who get caught by smokers, etc.
ANTSHODAN on 29/10/2009 at 14:54
I bought and installed The Witcher on Steam last night, and was captivated by the intro. Very very cool, introduced the character nicely, and even a couple of concepts within the game (potions and sexy ladies and junk:laff:)
Shame I got bored to tears running about the first village! Why does everything have to be so far apart?:mad:
DarkForge on 29/10/2009 at 16:05
Quote Posted by Thirith
I've always enjoyed a well made, long and cinematic intro - e.g. Blizzard's intros... intros that may look cool but that have little or even nothing to do with the actual gameplay. One of the things I'm talking about is the kind of intros e.g. to action games where you get the snazziest, most spectacular moves, but once you play the game it's pretty much completely different.
To use a Blizzard example, I would've said the gameplay in StarCraft is completely different to the feel that the intro (as well as the cutscenes throughout) gives you. I realise that the same birds-eye view employed in the game wouldn't really work as a gripping visual for a cinematic intro, but still, all the cool close-ups and battles of the Zerg and Protoss and so forth, one scene I vaguely recall where a Terran jeep (that doesn't even exist in gameplay) actually runs over a Zerg... as great as the game is, the actual gameplay just can't give you any of these moments. I think in times like that it's important to recognise the two different styles and the purpose that each is trying to fulfil, and accept that both styles co-exist and have their place.
That having been said, however, I do like the idea of intros being more accurately representative of the gameplay. My "I have played this game" repertoire is sadly minimal, but from the intros I can remember, I'd give a vote for Freespace 2. Sure the intro is in 3rd-person and the gameplay is 1st-person, but IMO the battle portion of the intro is pretty accurate to what you get in-game: dozens of ships - big and small - in the battle, a wing of fighters closing in and swerving through the flak, one of them suddenly getting blown away, huge beam weapons ripping through the hulls of the big ships... I think it gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect.
