_{“The Memory Card” is a seasonal feature that dissects and honors some of the most artistic, innovative, and memorable videogame moments of all time.}

We all have experienced our fair share of sad moments in videogames. Some make us wipe a single tear from our cheek -- others result in nothing more than a quick sniffle of the nose. There are even some that don’t affect us in the least! But there are some -- and you all know which ones I am talking about -- that just take us over the edge to an almost embarrassing level of emotional outpouring.

But why is this? Why do certain sad videogame moments affect players much more than others?

While most of it has to do with the design of how the scene is presented or the emotional connection that is established by the game’s strong story, I am a firm believer that many sad videogame moments are made all the more affecting based entirely on how much one’s real-life resembles what is happening on-screen.

A perfect example of this occurs in one of my favorite games of all time, Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. During a devastating scene near the end of the game, I was an absolute emotional wreck, thanks in large part to a simple, basic similarity I had to the game’s main character.

Hit the jump to experience, what I think is, the most hauntingly tragic videogame scene since the Solitary Island in Final Fantasy VI.

_{“The Memory Card” is a seasonal feature that dissects and honors some of the most artistic, innovative, and memorable videogame moments of all time.}

Regardless of their varying types of gameplay, videogames generally portray their most emotional story beats within the confines of a safe and easy cutscene. Not to say doing this is a bad thing by any means -- some of the most incredibly beautiful videogame moments I have ever experienced have occurred in cutscenes (three words: Palom and Porom).

But it’s very rare for a videogame to integrate an emotional story moment into the actual gameplay. Sure, there are examples like BioShock or Half-Life 2 that present very moving, dramatic moments between characters in-game, but those sequences are still more or less just traditional cutscenes with a fancy, somewhat misleading, real-time sheen.

There is one moment in God of War II for the PlayStation 2, however, that manages to manipulate the player into performing a shocking act that completely changes the emotional tone of the game’s story. And it does all of this during the game’s action-heavy gameplay.

Hit the jump to witness a surprisingly brilliant moment in a game that barely gives you time to breathe.

_{"The Memory Card" is a seasonal feature that dissects and honors some of the most artistic, innovative, and memorable videogame moments of all time.}

How many of you reading this right now have attacked a chicken with your sword in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past? How many of you have watched your poor friend plummet to his or her death off the bottom of the screen while scaling the waterfall in the original Contra? I am assuming almost all of you. Heck, I am raising my hand as well. The look of shame on my face is indescribable.

But despite these evil actions, why is there nothing in these games that punishes you? Sure, the chickens may fight back a little or your real-life friend may punch you in the shoulder, but where are the moral implications for being a genuinely bad guy? Zelda still calls Link a hero despite his abuse of poultry. Lance still fights alongside Bill even though his seemingly best friend abandons him during a war.

After years of videogames basically letting players get away with being, for lack of a better term, giant douchebags, there is a sequence in classic role-playing game Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo that attempts to bring some form of consequence for making poor moral choices.

Hit the jump to relive a memorable, sobering moment that has no problem judging you for some of the less-than-noble acts you are guilty of committing.

“The Memory Card” is a seasonal feature that dissects and honors some of the most artistic, innovative, and memorable videogame moments of all time.

Halloween is always such a fun time for me. Not necessarily because I like dressing up or eating a lot of candy (hey, I do that all year long!). No, Halloween is great because it is an excuse for me to go back and play some of my favorite horror videogames. From Resident Evil to Clock Tower, Silent Hill to Eternal Darkness, I love to turn off the lights, crank up the volume, and play specific sequences in games that make me jump (and some that even give me nightmares).

This year, though, I decided to do something a little different. Instead of playing genuinely scary games, I thought it would be fun to replay some horror games that err on the side of the absurd, the strange, and the flat-out ridiculous. With that in mind, I was led straight to one of my favorite horror games of all time: Phantasmagoria for the PC.

In addition to its twisted storyline, Phantasmagoria contains some of the most infamous death scenes in the history of videogames. While they are all screwed up in their own special way, one moment in particular surpasses being violent -- it could easily be categorized as gratuitous, offensive, and even sexist.

Hit the jump to relive a moment that really just needs to be seen to be believed. Happy Halloween!

You are staring into the face of sheer terror.

Halloween is only a few days away, and with it comes gamers everywhere thinking about (and dressing like) some of the videogame characters that scare them the most. Pyramid Head, with his blood-soaked deformity and giant knife. Dr. Salvador from Resident Evil 4 and his deadly chainsaw and bag-covered face. Clock Tower’s demented Scissorman and those damned killer scissors.

For me, though, none of these characters come close to being as scary as the dreaded Phanto from Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Seriously. Look at him. Those dark, empty eyes. That creepy smile. The lack of a body. Phanto is like a digital nightmare slowly taking over my childhood memories of running through fields of flowers and dancing with baby deer in the rain.

But why is that? Why does a seemingly silly 8-bit character from a very family-friendly game scare me more than horribly satanic demons, chainsaw-wielding psychopaths, and giant devilish scissors?

Hit the jump for the reasons Phanto is the scariest videogame character of all time. But be warned: this feature is not for the faint of heart. Don’t blame me if you can’t sleep at night after reading it.

“The Memory Card” is a seasonal feature that dissects and honors some of the most artistic, innovative, and memorable videogame moments of all time.

For the last two weeks, The Memory Card has put on a fine suit and fancy top hat and become The Graphics Card, a three-part miniseries focusing on amazing, specific moments in outstanding videogame graphics over the years. The first installment focused on my first graphics memory from the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (Mega Man 2), last week centered on the 16-bit Super NES (Super Castlevania IV), and this week is about my first “Oh my gosh did you see that?!” graphics moment on the current generation of videogames.

Now, as of late last week, I had a moment all picked out. In fact, I even finished the entire article and was ready to share my fond gaming memory with the world.

But then Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the PlayStation 3 was released and everything changed.

You see, in the game there is a sequence that pretty much made me lose my mind. I think I even let out an audible schoolgirl squeal when it happened. Once I experienced it, the previous moment I had scheduled -- while still cool -- seemed like nothing in comparison. So, I decided to scratch my original plan and talk about the moment from Uncharted 2 this week instead. So here we are. To be fair, there are at least fifteen graphical moments in Uncharted 2 that dropped my jaw to the floor (two words: train sequence). This just happens to be the one that affected me the most -- and was also early enough in the game to blow me away first.

So, without further adieu, hit the jump for one of the coolest things you will ever see in a videogame. A visually striking moment that combines the spectacle I felt during Mega Man 2 with the visceral, emotional connection I experienced during the rotating room in Super Castlevania IV. Oh, and then it multiplies everything by about a thousand. You really are not ready for this.

“The Memory Card” is a seasonal feature that dissects and honors some of the most artistic, innovative, and memorable videogame moments of all time.

Last week was the first edition of a three-part Memory Card miniseries specifically focusing on amazing moments in videogame graphics over the years (I am calling it The Graphics Card). Last week’s entry featured my first “holy sh*t!” graphics memory from the Nintendo Entertainment System. This week, it’s time to move on to the 16-bit era -- more specifically, the Super Nintendo.

The Super NES is my favorite videogame console of all time, and it is home to more beautiful visual moments than I can even list. But, just like last week, this is an article on my first memory of being impressed by the graphics on a particular console, not the end-all-be-all, best graphics ever to grace the system. Thinking in these terms, one moment quickly came to mind.

The moment is in Super Castlevania IV and is one of only a handful of videogame moments that remind me of a specific, wonderful time in my childhood. Keep reading to find out the strange reason why. Hit the jump for Part 2 of The Graphics Card trilogy (of amazingness!).

For a hardcore retro fan, Halo is the enemy.

And not the oh-I-am-just-not-a-big-fan-of-that-game kind of enemy. No, retro fans think Halo actually is the devil and the main thing that is wrong with videogames today. Trust me when I tell you, we have had many passionate discussions about this exact topic on RetroforceGO! They have almost turned violent.

So, it goes without saying that I have avoided playing Halo like the plague after all these years. But after crossing my arms like a baby and refusing to play the game, I was finally, unceremoniously pushed over the edge by Destructoid community member Dexter345. He sat me over a chair, hit me with a belt (metaphorically, of course), and chastised me for my stubborn attitude about not wanting to play one of the most popular and influential videogames of the last ten years.

After rubbing my now sore metaphorical behind, I thought to myself: maybe he’s right. Why shouldn’t I, at the very least, try a game that, for better or worse, has made a huge mark on popular videogame culture?

So, I finally bit the bullet, borrowed Dexter’s copy, and decided to play through the first Halo on my Xbox 360. The good news: I still like retro games. Whew! But what of my eight-years-in-the-making experience? Is there a reason so many retro fans hate the game so much? Hit the jump for the sexy details.

Last week, we had a contest asking you all to recreate a scene from a horror movie to win a brand new, sexy 2010 Nerdcore calendar. The results are in, and the winners are:

• mix
• Clov3r
• KaL YoshiKa
• Trevor McGee
• Super Drybones

Woo hoo! Congratulations, guys! We will be contacting you soon! Exclamation points!

Thanks to everything that participated. Again, even if you didn’t win, you can purchase one of the new calendars right here. The Nerdcore guys are good friends of Destructoid, so let’s support them. It’s for the boobies! THE BOOBIES!

Ah, I bet you thought I was going to use “Make it work!” in the headline to describe the recent news that Atari is bringing a Project Runway game to the Wii. The popular phrase is the most well-known thing to come out of the hit Bravo Lifetime reality show for people that have never seen it.

But I have not only seen Project Runway, I watch it every week on a regular basis and know all the ins and “auf”s of the show. So, instead of “Make it work!” I decided to channel Season 4 winner Christian Siriano and drop a “Hot mess!” for all you fans out there.

Aaaaand ... now I am realizing I should not be proud of any of this and am super embarrassed I told you.

So, uh, yeah. Atari is bringing a Project Runway game to the Wii. It comes out next year. And you can use the Wii Balance Board to strut down the runway and show off your newly designed fashions to the virtual judges. I will probably be buying it. Thoughts?

Guys?

[UPDATE: Official press release behind the fold!]

It’s no secret that Destructoid has a very special relationship with Nerdcore. So “special,” in fact, that when Nerdcore completed their brand new 2010 calendar they presented us with two choices: 1) We could give away five of the fabulously scandalous calendars to you, our loyal readers, or 2) I could exclusively pose nude for all twelve months in various scenarios, most of which involved me facing the camera with one leg up on a wooden chair. Although I would do anything to further my career in the nude calendar posing business, I decided to think of you all first and declined the second option. You’re welcome.

So, here we are with five wonderfully sexy 2010 Nerdcore calendars to give away. Check out the below gallery for a preview of the some of the (censored) photographs. Needless to say, they are extra hot this year.

This year’s calendar theme is “Horror,” so to win, we want you to take a picture of yourself reenacting your favorite scene from a classic horror movie and post it in the comments. Heck, you can even make it a scene from a horror videogame. As long as it is in the horror genre, anything is game. And, no, you don’t have to do it with your clothes off, but I will say this: the more skin shown, the better. Think of us as the David Letterman of the blogging world.

The contest ends next Monday night (10/12) at 11:59 p.m., so get those entries in as soon as possible! This year’s calendar is a great one, so if even you don’t win, you should purchase one by clicking here. All the proceeds go to a charity to help save abandoned puppies.*

Good luck!

*That is not true at all.

“The Memory Card” is a seasonal feature that dissects and honors some of the most artistic, innovative, and memorable videogame moments of all time.

As a huge fan of retro games, I tell myself over and over again that fancy new graphics don’t really matter -- it’s the gameplay that really counts. A game with great gameplay and subpar graphics can still be considered good, but a game with terrible gameplay and amazing graphics more often than not is dismissed as a failure. Regardless of what is more important, graphics are obviously an integral part of the mainly visual medium of videogames. In fact, some of my favorite videogame moments of all time revolve around a game’s graphics.

Over the next three weeks of Memory Card articles, I will be focusing on three very specific moments from three different generations of videogame consoles that feature graphics that absolutely blow me away. These moments aren’t necessarily the best graphics each generation has to offer -- in fact, I don’t think that is the case at all -- but they are moments that hold a very special place in my heart. Each of these moments actually made me gasp out loud in awe the first time I witnessed them and helped me realize how strong, well-designed visuals could have just as much an emotional effect on me as a rich story or innovative gameplay.

The first week I will be talking about a moment from the 8-bit generation of videogames (Nintendo Entertainment System); next week will focus on the 16-bit era (Super Nintendo); and, finally, the third week will feature a graphical moment from the current generation of consoles (PlayStation 3).

For this week, the featured moment occurs in Mega Man 2 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. If you have read the title of this article --  and are a fan of the game -- you probably already know what moment I am talking about.

Hit the jump for Part 1 of the Memory Card Graphics Trilogy of Amazingness. Or as the cool kids are calling it: The Graphics Card!

"The Memory Card" is a seasonal feature that dissects and honors some of the most artistic, innovative, and memorable videogame moments of all time.

I was originally going to write about an entirely different topic this week. I had it all planned out, scheduled -- ya’ know, what annoyingly organized people do. But then I realized something. Something unbelievably important.

This is edition #69 of The Memory Card.

Now, when I noticed this was the 69th article in this series, I could have done two things: I could have ignored my immature giggling and continue things as planned, or I could scrap my original idea, move it to next week, and use this rare event to post something completely juvenile -- something that makes me laugh every single time I see it.

For better or worse, I decided on the latter.

Am I a little ashamed to stoop to a "69" joke and dedicate an entire feature to something so immature? Oh, most definitely. But, hey, it’s not very often I get to share this little bit of naughty videogame nostalgia with the world, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Professionalism, be damned!

Hit the jump to witness a videogame moment as unintentionally hilarious as my beloved Showgirls and as embarrassingly immature as this post.

69. Hehehe.

As a guy who grew up being called “Ma’am” through the drive-thru speaker system at McDonald’s more times than he can count, I know what it feels like to be mistaken for the wrong sex. Basically, it sucks. Lucky for me, though, I got to experience the satisfying feeling of pulling around to pick up my two cheeseburger value meal and seeing the embarrassed face of the person who made the mistake in the first place.

Sadly, many videogame characters that experience a similar humiliating issue don’t ever get to feel this same satisfaction. Their “drive-thru experience” just ends with a single tear cascading down their cheek after the game is turned off and the screen goes black.

Over the years, there have been many videogame characters that genuinely confuse me as to whether they are male or female -- be it the way they are designed or their misleading role in the game they are featured in. Whatever the reason, there is something about these characters that result in me deciding on a sex in my mind, only to find out years later -- in most of these cases -- I was completely wrong about my choice.

Hit the jump for a list of the ten videogame characters that baffle me the most.