Story is everything to me when it comes to video games. Multiplayer doesn't appeal to me much unless I'm playing with people in the same room, though there are exceptions. But for the most part, singleplayer is what I'm interested in.

There's nothing like that point when you're reading a book, watching a movie, writing a story, or playing a video game, when you become unconscious of your own existence and the only thing that exists is the world unfolding before you, that point where you are "in" the story. And if it's a good story it's going to start dragging you in right from the beginning.

The intro sequence of a game is one of my favorite parts. It sets the tone for what's to come and it can make or break a game for me. The image above shows at about what point in Final Fantasy VI that I was hooked. It's a simple scene, just three people in Magitek Armor walking along in the snow, yet even playing if for the first time mere days ago, when HD graphics are all the rage and 16-bit is old hat, this scene still managed to make me go "whoa" in a way that few games ever do. Nobuo Uematsu's incredible music really makes this scene work, and it sets a mood of solemn silence all the while hinting at epic adventure in the future. At least that's what I pulled from such a simple scene, and sometimes it doesn't take much to really get you trapped in the game's story.

Another intro I love is the one from Metal Gear Solid. I played this game when it first came out and at the time there was nothing like it. The intro has a cinematic feel to it that really pulls you in as a movie would, and while some criticize the MGS franchise for its heavy use of cutscenes, I wouldn't have it any other way. The intro to Metal Gear Solid alone is enough to let you know there is a great story ahead of you. Beginning a story "in media res", or in the middle of the action, is a great way to get the player into the world of the game fast and Metal Gear Solid even manages to give you some pretty good background information right at the beginning without bogging down. One could claim the story cutscenes do get bogged down later on, but the intro is perfect.



I'll leave you with one final game intro I love, and that is the intro to Colony Wars: Vengeance. I think the Colony Wars cutscenes are way better than Vengeance, due in part to Burt Caesar's narration which sounds a lot like James Earl Jones, but the intro to Vengeance is nice and epic and the music easily gets stuck in my head. Plus, after playing Colony Wars, which is my favorite game of all time, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Vengeance, and the intro doesn't disappoint, setting the player up for an action-packed space adventure with plenty of twists and turns.



There's a lot of other intros I like, but these are just a few which I believe possess the qualities all great intros should have: a gripping pace, just the right amount of information, and a mood which acts as a precursor to what's to come. A great intro should give you the overall feeling of the game in just a minute or two, and for me, the intro plays a large part in whether I will be able to get into the game. If it doesn't get its hooks in me, I'm likely to drift off to something else.