- Halo CE: The reveal at the beginning of Two Betrayals. o_O
- The Warthog run at the end of Halo 3. I'm a sucker for that piano theme, and the nostalgia was almost too much.
- Any ridiculous victory in Worms World Party (e.g. sticking a ninja rope across the map and knocking someone into the water while you tighten the rope)
- The vehicle battle near the beginning of Uprising in Halo 2. A compact arena, playing as my favorite character.
- Being ridiculously overpowered at the end of KOTOR 2. (The lack of tuning on that game is just bizarre.)

Goddamn Flood scared 12 years old me into stop playing my favorite game. It was that intense for me.

Discovering Horror For The First Time--Halo:Combat Evolved

Still a hell of a feeling. This could be reflected in a lot of games, but Halo 1 does an awesome job. C'mon, you know I don't need to say any more.

Except for one thing--when I first started playing in 2002, I didn't know the cutscenes were utilizing in-game engines, and that each experience would be somewhat different. I guess Bungie knew this somehow, because the first time I watched, just as Jenkins fell backwards, a whole bunch of Infection forms walked right over the camera. In all the times I've played 343 Guilty Spark, I've never gotten that to happen to me again--ever. The chills I got were nerve-wracking, and I think it's incredible for them to introduce a whole new enemy to us, in the most terrifying way possible.

The first time I encountered this sequence I was FULLY expecting a friggin' Sword Elite to charge out of the door behind me (the MC) and skewer me against the door Jenkins & team went through. Why? Because of the eerie music and those DANG SPOOKY STRINGS which were straight from the E3 demo where the marine says while turning his back to the door, "All clear, looks like nobody's homuuugghhh." and gets a sword through his back.

Video Link (because youtubefull doesn't like timestamps).

That one moment....that intense moment...everyone has to fire their Gjallarhorns in a coordinated attack, but everything rests on the shoulders of the Swordbearer. Every time someone picks up the sword, I hold my breath, and most times I don't even blink. In spite of all the activities and teamwork you must create to endure those challenges, nothing becomes so vital as to that moment.

I just recently beat Crota on Hard for the first time--and even though I was only watching--like this, it still FELT like this. In fact, it always does. But the reason this is here, is because of the MUSIC.

All I can feel when I hear that is hardened determination, extreme focus, but most importantly--HOPE. CONFIDENCE. ASSURANCE. ANXIETY. EXCITEMENT. Forget 30 Seconds of Fun. How about 30 Seconds Where Your Heart Stops?

Discovering Horror For The First Time--Halo:Combat Evolved

Still a hell of a feeling. This could be reflected in a lot of games, but Halo 1 does an awesome job. C'mon, you know I don't need to say any more.

Except for one thing--when I first started playing in 2002, I didn't know the cutscenes were utilizing in-game engines, and that each experience would be somewhat different. I guess Bungie knew this somehow, because the first time I watched, just as Jenkins fell backwards, a whole bunch of Infection forms walked right over the camera. In all the times I've played 343 Guilty Spark, I've never gotten that to happen to me again--ever. The chills I got were nerve-wracking, and I think it's incredible for them to introduce a whole new enemy to us, in the most terrifying way possible.

5. Playing With the Language Filter Off--Bulletstorm.

I'm way too childish for my large frame, because no mature adult would find this enjoyable. These guys take swearing to a literal comic zenith. In its excess, just to begin with, is ridiculously over-the-top(which is right up my alley), but on top of that, they combine curse-words that end up not even making sense--just to get an extra gasping, oxygen-deprived cackle out of ya. (Favorites include: namby-pamby cocksucks, I will "kill your dicks", and "happy horse shit"). To this day, I can't consume anything while playing Bulletstorm, because within minutes it will go flying across the room. Damn shame that People Can Fly actually...couldn't fly, and a sequel never left the ground as hoped. But we'll always have Trishka and Gray sending your kids to bed early. REAL early. :-)

4. Perfecting the Izuna Drop For The First Time--Dead or Alive Series.

And let's be honest--unless you play this game 24/7, it'll be your ONLY time.

The Izuna Drop is a famous move from ninja lore, made even more famous by DOA alum Ryu Hayabusa. One of his signature moves, the Izuna Drop is quite possibly the hardest button combo ever in the entire series. However, it is extremely powerful, and does serious damage to an opponent's health. But again, back to the difficulty. Imagine your thumbstick in a clock position. Starting from 9, you must roll your thumbstick in a full semi-circle all the way to 3, then press your throw button(the wind-up). Ryu will launch his opponent in the air--during which--starting from 6, you have to swing up to 12(or maybe even 11 or 10), press the button again, and THEN do a full 12-12 clockwise circle while pressing throw. And all of that has to happen within 1.7 seconds.

It's frustrating having trouble with it. It's even more frustrating when it's the primary routine move for throws, and three of his six counter holds.

But when you finally nail it, and you hear his fierce scream as you spin in a fury of wind...the feeling is incredible. Go spinning off a cliff or doing it for the knockout, and your joy increases tenfold. That is why it's one of my favorite gaming moments.

(The preceding clips were done in Training Mode--staged.)

3. Theater Mode--Halo 3.

Although Bungie, and then later on, 343 Industries would screw it up in Reach and Halo 4 with their terrible 3rd person camera positions, Halo 3 was the perfect iteration of a feature that everyone wished their favorite game had. So many times across Halo's history, players were forced to describe their adventures and exploits orally and wish it could be shown instead. Since 2007, players have now been able to prove it, and chronicle their amazing moments in Halo 3, as long as they didn't turn off their Xbox. Or eject the disc. Or put in another game. Or play anything on the Xbox Live Arcade. Or play too many more recent games. Or accept your friend's invite. Or play with modded content. Or keep your FileShare current. Or save too many of anything. Or keep the file for too long. Or play the disc too much. Or lose your connection to Xbox Live. Or not buy two copies of each DLC pack.

And the Halo video scene began a Renaissance of glorious content from players around the world. Definitely one of the best things Bungie's ever come up with, and a kick-ass feature that lacks from so many other games.

2. Dear My Friend--Sonic Unleashed.

For a long time, this was number 1 on my list, but I had to switch it, as this is a one-time thing, and my number one is a near-constant. The ending to Sonic Unleashed is a long-time coming, but it's absolutely worth it after defeating the most difficult level of all time and besting a boss that's just as challenging. The cutscenes themselves are heartwarming, but the closing theme--Dear My Friend by Brent Cash--is a melter. I've listened to that song 29 times. I've cried to that song thirty-two times. Say whatever the hell you want to me, call me all kinds of names, I don't care. This ending theme has never failed to reduce me to a literal puddle of a sobbing man. It does indeed make me cry. I mean 'lose-my-dog' cry. No other song, and no other gaming moment ever touched me to that degree. Reach made me cry, sure--but I got over it very quickly. Something like this is a permanent softness in the heart, and probably the most cherished memory I could ever have been put on this earth to witness.

https://youtu.be/5Bdtv9PfPvs?t=57m16s

(Embed doesn't work with time-starts.)

1. Literally Every Time I Press 'X'--Modern Sonic Series

The reason I switched this with number 2 is because this is a feeling so exhilarating, it's something I literally wish for in real life! I've heard people complain that Sonic is "too fast" and that levels become trial and error, and that the levels are too punishing, blah blah--no. EGGMANLAND is punishing, and I nailed that, but the rest are really easy!

Just keep going. Don't give up, put that brain to work and remember you can take it slow first. THEN you hit X and go pro--like I do.

Pressing X activates boost, and when you learn the level of the layout, you quickly realize that Sonic Team re-perfected the philosophy of the one-button game instilled all the way back at Sonic's birth. Your speed gets insane. The music funnels into a tunnel of compressed whistles, to help amplify the incredible effect of running at the speed of sound itself. Combine that with strong nerves, and a decent memory, and you've got THIS.

(And you KNOW I've got loads more. And none of them have views. Show some love!!)

But those are my faves,and I feel good sharing them all with you.

Destiny: beating the raids for the first time. What an awesome feeling! Same goes for Skolas. First time I was on a team that beat Aetheon, I was dead at the end and felt like I'd let the team down. First time I survived Aetheon, I delivered the killing shot. What a rush!

I recall the first time I ran the Crota raid. IIRC it was with Slycrel, Cruel, Vortech, Ashes, & Pyro? Cruel explained it in a hushed whisper, I was having headset problems & couldn't hear anyone over the game audio. We tried to take down Crota for a couple hours & could never get the timing right. I'm glad we failed so hard our first time, it made the future successes that much sweeter.

Halo CE: I bought my Xbox to play some sports games originally. I had a choice of bundles at the local store: 3 games and 1 controller, or 2 games and 2 controllers. I took the first because it had three games. After realizing that the sports games were boring and full of glitches, I started playing the games that came with the bundle. Some type of driving game that got boring quickly, then Munch's Oddworld, which was a blast but had limited replay, then some game called Halo.

I started Halo late on a Thursday night. Like, post-Letterman late. I remember forcing myself to save and quit because I had to work the next morning. My hands were trembling from adrenaline. I spent the weekend finishing it and replaying it over and over.

I remember thinking with disappointment as I was finishing AotCR as I thought the story was concluding. Then Jenkins. Holy crap, what a game! The Maw was a complete blast, even if it didn't make any sense whatsoever. The game's play, humor, and music had me hooked.

Beating CE on legendary coop: coop split screen with a buddy. Managing the rocket launcher on the bridges of Two Betrayals. That was some super cereal coordination for two drunks.

Halo 3 The Ark. What can I say? I like tanks :)

Kermit's Coop Nights: the only way I finished the Vidocs prior to Bungie locking the Halo stats. I can haz recon!!!! This was also how I beat H4 on legendary. I don't really like H4's gameplay, and wasn't looking forward to soloing legendary.

Funniest moment in gaming: During a Kermit coop night run of Spartan Ops, I died and kept respawning on Kermit. No problem except he was backed up to a ledge. Things were going a bit sideways for the team (read: Jeff Foxworthy-esqe pandallerium), and I couldn't get Kermit to move. So I respawned, threw a grenade, fell, then died. I remember Kermit even asking where that grenade was coming from. Several respawns later, he finally moved. I couldn't stop laughing. Hopefully, I muted my microphone:)

Tyrant's Mythic guides and High Speed Halo: They opened my eyes to different ways to play Halo.

HBO/DBO: I found the B-net because of HBO. And Tyrants guides, and a much better place to hang around than the B-net. No, I don't get around much. Shut up and get offa mah lawn!

Destiny: beating the raids for the first time. What an awesome feeling! Same goes for Skolas. First time I was on a team that beat Aetheon, I was dead at the end and felt like I'd let the team down. First time I survived Aetheon, I delivered the killing shot. What a rush!

Bioshock: Would you kindly?

The Last of Us

* The beginning
* "Make this easy for me"
* "... then fucking walk!!!"
* "adios, little brother"
* "oh baby girl, it's ok"
* The ending

Journey

* Sliding
* The last 10 minutes

Limbo

* Seeing "her" for the first time
* The "leap"

Mass Effect 2

* The intro
* The Suicide Mission

Halo CE

* "we'll be fine"
* Storming the beach in Silent Cartographer
* The final warthog run

Halo 3

* 2 scarabs at the same time

Destiny

* Flawless Raider
* Trials of Osiris/The Lighthouse

1. I'm just going to have to put "Halo CTF" as one of my favorite game moments

2. I spent one new years eve playing Warcraft 1 multiplayer by modem all night
3. Starting Harvest Moon the second time

4. When I showed the Oculus Rift to my In-Laws and it BLEW THEIR MINDS
5. When Rise Of Nations released

Bonus: The opening of Bioshock Infinite before it went off the rails

Punch Out was hard as butts, too. Congrats on beating it, and the moment sounds amazing. One of those that was definitely a PRODUCT of the game but not BECAUSE of the game. Very groovy.

I was 8, having broken my arm over the summer so I had a huge cast on. It took some getting used to playing with it.. Anyway, my dad was a big fan of Mike Tyson's Punch out, but I kind of pulled ahead of him in terms of progression. He hadn't ever beat the Great Tiger, and I meanwhile was on Mike Tyson. In round two, I managed to TKO Tyson, and I remember screaming "DAD! I BEAT MIKE TYSON!", and he screamed back "YOU BEAT MIKE TYSON!?" and got out of bed to come see the end. The NES was in the spare bedroom, and my mother had a headache, and heard everything. She did not appreciate that, and got very upset later.

The Last Of Us. The End.

Some of you have already mentioned this particular moment of gaming. For me it was the icing, the cherry, and the sugar on top of what was already a masterpiece of video-game history. I know some detractors would argue that TLoU isn't deserving of the praise it's received since the game came out in June of 2013. To you I would say: *blows raspberry*

For everyone else, you may have played the game and loved it as much as I did, or you may have yet to add the title to your personal list of completed games. I cannot urge you enough to play it. It's wonderful.

That said, the ending of this game was the pivotal "make or break" segment to the whole. If they hadn't nailed it here, the game still would have been pretty damn good. But it was this progression of events that made a really good game, into a phenomenal one. I could go on and on about this scene, but I'm not going to. I'll just post the video for you to watch or not watch on your own.

If you care to know, the specific moment I'm talking about is the last bit of dialog and the very last lie of the game. That's what did it for me, that perfect bit of storytelling and the last line of sympathetic character building for the games protagonists. Absolutely perfect.

Completely agree.

Arranged according to my personal game chronology.

Metroid. Mother Brain.

Metroid was the very first game I beat. I was around six or seven years old and it took me months of playing and making hand-drawn maps of the game world to finally figure out that vertical maze of weapons and power ups. Eventually though, I made it to the games final boss, Mother Brain. The fight was tough for me, and I had to attempt it a few times, but finally I hit her with that last missile. Though just as I was breathing a sigh of relief, the message flashed up on the screen: "Time Bomb, you must escape!"

I panicked and rushed through the door to find a new area I'd never seen before! But by this time I was a seasoned Space Bounty Hunter, I knew what to do: jump on the platforms to climb up.

And so jump I did. Jump and jump and jump again! Occasionally I would fall and have to retrace my leaps, but with that countdown clock ticking away I was never further away from planning my next move. The time made it's way closer to zero, and I made my way closer to the exit. Upon attaining the very last elevator I remember clutching tightly my control, unwilling to be duped into another false victory. But it turned out that my skill was finally rewarded, the "you did it!" screen came up and I discovered that I had be playing a woman the entire game!

I was shocked at this revelation. Like I imagine most did, I'd assumed that I was some strapping young man wearing that power-armor. But no, it was a lady that wore the mechanical orange and red! But really, what did it matter? I was Samus Aran, badass star warrior! And who gave a butt (six year old me, remember?) if I was a woman?! I saved the galaxy and destroyed the bad guys! It was then that I learned that you didn't have to be a dude to kick ass, and it's always been one of my cherished gaming memories.

Freespace: The Great War. Boarding the Shivan freighter.

This one was technically a cutscene. It happens roughly half-way through the campaign, and for me at least came as a bit of a shock. Freespace is a space-fighter simulator, probably my all-time favorite genre of game. As such, all of the gameplay, and a good deal of the cutscenes revolve around ships and lazers and such. Hence my surprise at a scene showing a bunch of marines boarding one of the freighters I'd blown up.

It was a cool scene that showed that I was part of a greater world. A world where, yeah I was a fighter jock and flew through space, but there were also grunts who had to do their own heavy lifting. It also showed me just how alien the Shivans truly were, with tri-lateral symmetry and apparently having evolved in a zero-g environment, and incredibly vicious to boot!

Alan Wake. Old Gods of Asgard Concert.

This one was just awesome. If you haven't played Alan Wake before, I strongly suggest you do, also minor spoilers following. The majority of this game is tense and poorly-lit. Darkness plays a huge roll not only in the gameplay, but also the plot of the story. It is also a psychologically dark tale about the pull of insanity, and how much of our waking world we take for granted. Being that literal and metaphorical darkness plays such a pivotal roll in the narrative, having this moment of balls to the walls rick-rollen goof off time really helped to cut the tension in a fun and exciting way. I felt refreshed after this moment in the game, ready to tackle the remainder of the brooding plot of evil.

Batman: Arkham Asylum. Defeating Scarecrow.

The Arkham games are some of the best... No, wait, the are THE best Batman games out there. Everything about them screams "We understand the Bat." I've loved every moment of playing these games, but you'll always remember your first love. Asylum holds a special place in my heart because everything was new, yet recognizable. We hadn't had any Batman game of that caliber up to that point, learning the mechanics of becoming the Caped Crusader was a blast that I absolutely loved.

That said, there was one particular moment in the game that really stood apart from the others. In fact it was a single line of dialog spoken after you defeated Scarecrow (in arguably the best series of encounters in the game). It was this line that spoke to me of the true other-worldy nature of Batmans will and drive for vengeance. To me it was another beautiful and subtle nod to the darker side of the Batman franchise.

(Hmm, can't seem to set it to play from the middle. Go ahead and skip to 11:27)

The Last Of Us. The End.

Some of you have already mentioned this particular moment of gaming. For me it was the icing, the cherry, and the sugar on top of what was already a masterpiece of video-game history. I know some detractors would argue that TLoU isn't deserving of the praise it's received since the game came out in June of 2013. To you I would say: *blows raspberry*

For everyone else, you may have played the game and loved it as much as I did, or you may have yet to add the title to your personal list of completed games. I cannot urge you enough to play it. It's wonderful.

That said, the ending of this game was the pivotal "make or break" segment to the whole. If they hadn't nailed it here, the game still would have been pretty damn good. But it was this progression of events that made a really good game, into a phenomenal one. I could go on and on about this scene, but I'm not going to. I'll just post the video for you to watch or not watch on your own.

If you care to know, the specific moment I'm talking about is the last bit of dialog and the very last lie of the game. That's what did it for me, that perfect bit of storytelling and the last line of sympathetic character building for the games protagonists. Absolutely perfect.

Anyway, that's what I was able to come up with. I'm sure that as soon as I hit submit I'll think of a dozen more that belong on this list. Heh, ah well, nature of the beast I suppose.

In my opinion, the music in Life is Strange is just additive. It's another layer on the game that makes it better. In the best musical moments in games, it's more than the sum of its parts, like Under Cover of Night, or even Breaking Benjamin in Halo 2, or the intros in Borderlands. Life Is Strange's music is just adequate to me.

I can't really argue against that point. Mainly, I just think it's that I really dig all the songs that have appeared in Life is Strange (especially that Message to Bears song. Message to Bears in general got me through a pretty rough point a few years back, and so it obviously plays off of those feelings as well, which clicked very well with what was going on when that song played).

I would argue that the music in something like Sword & Sworcery is way more powerful and a much bigger driving factor, as that game seems to really only exist to showcase the music in it. Hell, it's even called an EP. I'm not sure I'd have given that game more that four minutes if the music hadn't been immediately amazing.

One of the big standard mentions for great game music has always been Halo, and I won't disagree. Halo's music is incredible, and the way it syncs with the gameplay was really unique a the time. It absolutely made that game even more amazing than it already was. But I feel like Halo would have been a great experience even without that music, whereas I can't say the same thing for Sword & Sworcery (or Life is Strange, for that matter).

[*]The Giraffes in The Last of Us

Not really sure why seeing a bunch of giraffes got to me, but it did.

Yep, that's an amazing moment. Partly because during the build up to that, I felt like something awful was going to happen. She climbs up and runs off then yells, and I was like "Fuck, this can't be good."

1) Exploring Dantooine in Knights of the Old Republic. The locale was a safe haven for the Jedi, a bastion of comfort. It was a plains environment continually at sunset. Green and yellow tall grass blew in the wind. The standard music for the planet was beautiful already, but a certain conversation with your Jedi Master, Bastilla Shan, allowed her theme to fade in. Combine the visuals and the music, along with the sense of exploration and a great piece of Star Wars fiction, and you get goosebumps... Especially at 0:50 in. You feel like Luke looking at the sunset.

2)There are many beautiful, quiet moments in Final Fantasy VII and VIII. "Anxious Heart" from VII is a track that seems to always be at the back of my mind when thinking of those games... Something about it disconnects my conscious mind from all the crap I fill it up with. Those first few chords have a breathing quality to them that gets in you and steadies your nerves. Then the main melody takes you up and down in spirits. You quickly relax or rise into a content, neutral mood. Beautiful sadness. Maybe it was during this music that I first stepped out of my brain and into another world using the video game medium, so it will always be important to me.

The next track in the game fits the conversation that's occurring perfectly and also benefits from having the last track lead into it. I think I was a longing romantic in elementary school and this song gave me something to dream about.

3)The "Vigil" track from Mass Effect. This music plays during a pretty significant part of the story and it really nailed the Blade Runner inspirations the game was channeling.

4)Assassin's Creed Brotherhood was my favorite of that series (of which I've played at least). Exploring all of Rome with no boundaries and with horses to boot. Collecting renaissance art and climbing classic architecture was just amazing for me. I was taking Art History classes at the time and I could actually remember the slides the teacher was flying through because I could say "oh hey, I climbed that!". This particular track plays out in the countryside when you're just calmly riding your horse around the fields.

At around 1:30 a violin comes in that's just startling beautiful.

5)Halo 2. "Once More, With Feeling." I'm guessing I probably don't need to describe this one here. :)