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When I saw this, I totally expected to make it outta there somehow.
It hit me hard when I realized I wouldn't...
It hit me hard when I realized I wouldn't...
I'm not a big fan of FPS games. That part of me died with N64 and Perfect Dark. And I never have played CoD4, but reading through this makes me regret that I never experienced the moment, or probably ever would.
Good write up as usual, Mr. Concelmo.
Good write up as usual, Mr. Concelmo.
One of the things that makes it even more powerful is the fact that you just rescued that downed pilot, only to see her to spinning helplessly out the back once the blast wave hits. It really makes the seriousness of what happened more personal even before your character dies.
Definitely one of the most memorable moments of gaming in recent years.
Definitely one of the most memorable moments of gaming in recent years.
This scene wrecked my pstche for a few days. I couldn't believe how powerful, and how much emotion I got out of, this scene. If anyone ever says games cannot be as emotional as book or movies, they should be forced into playing this level.
Great write-up of one of the greatest moments in gaming.
Great write-up of one of the greatest moments in gaming.
Allow to say as always these make my day even though it was only about year or so ago we were experiencing this..it sure as hell makes an impact. One of my greatest fears and nightmares is a nuclear blast. There is nothing more terrifying than a mushroom cloud, so yes, this scene freaked me out!
A little late if you ask me, but I agree on that it was a great scene.
I can remember reloading the level cos' I thought that I had died cos' I went the wrong way.
I can remember reloading the level cos' I thought that I had died cos' I went the wrong way.
Maybe I just smoked too much, but who died and came back in FFIV? Tellah didn't come back. Yang maybe? It could be argued that he SHOULD have died, but didn't.
Back on topic: I don't even know the story and the end of that video was very moving. What a way to go. I liked how you could see the building in the distance crumble away, it sort of let you know that he wasn't going to be okay.
Back on topic: I don't even know the story and the end of that video was very moving. What a way to go. I liked how you could see the building in the distance crumble away, it sort of let you know that he wasn't going to be okay.
This scene is one of the very few that hit me hard the first time around. I'm not really affected by video game deaths, but when you make you *play* that dying man, crawling through the remains of a nuclear explosion.. was just quite an emotional thing to watch.
This is way different from any interactive scene like in HL2. If they pull something off like this in Modern Warfare 2, then I'm going to jizz myself to death.
Good job to Infinity Ward there, and nice write up once again Chad.
This is way different from any interactive scene like in HL2. If they pull something off like this in Modern Warfare 2, then I'm going to jizz myself to death.
Good job to Infinity Ward there, and nice write up once again Chad.
@Diverse,
You should really, REALLY play CoD4. Rent it; single player is short enough to beat in a weekend.
CoD4 has a bunch of set pieces (nuke blast, bombing raid (comments are lololol), the finale, and mile high club) that put other FPS's to shame.
In my opinion, the only FPS's that come close to CoD4 are Bioshock and anything Valve related.
Awesome writeup Chad :)
You should really, REALLY play CoD4. Rent it; single player is short enough to beat in a weekend.
CoD4 has a bunch of set pieces (nuke blast, bombing raid (comments are lololol), the finale, and mile high club) that put other FPS's to shame.
In my opinion, the only FPS's that come close to CoD4 are Bioshock and anything Valve related.
Awesome writeup Chad :)
Good write up as always. I've only played the first CoD but hearing all about this one makes me kind of want to pick it up. Too many games, so little time.
Great read, as always. That scene came completely out of left field for me, and I was stunned. The fact that you were walking around with him, stumbling out of the heli, made it one of the most emotional and memorable moments in a shooter.
The one thing I remember is the way the controls and the experience become so integrated with your experience. Once you realize that you can control the character still, you become filled with almost a determined hope that you can make it out of the chopper and survive. You crawl out of the wreckage, stand up, even limp around a bit, then I turned around and saw the mushroom cloud...and at that moment I realized that I wasn't going to finish this mission alive. And I could do there is just stand staring at the cloud and the papers and debris that roll past and wait to die.
I was spoiled for this scene before getting the game, but nothing can prepare you for actually controlling your character as he gasps his last breath in a godforsaken, barren hell of a landscape. Absolutely chilling and terrifying.
I was spoiled for this scene before getting the game, but nothing can prepare you for actually controlling your character as he gasps his last breath in a godforsaken, barren hell of a landscape. Absolutely chilling and terrifying.
This is one of the gratest moements in mother video game history.
I am serious, every gamer I have met that have played COD4 have mentioned in first hand this articular scene.
I was just pleasle shocked at that moment.
A trully 11/10 moment in gaming.
I am serious, every gamer I have met that have played COD4 have mentioned in first hand this articular scene.
I was just pleasle shocked at that moment.
A trully 11/10 moment in gaming.
Great memory card. It deserved it.
Yeah I SERIOUSLY thought that, even after I died, I would come back later. I couldn't believe it when that didn't happen.
Yeah I SERIOUSLY thought that, even after I died, I would come back later. I couldn't believe it when that didn't happen.
This is definitely in my top 5 best moments of this generation. Great example of how video games can use interactivity to create emotional resonances that film cannot.
The main reason this scene affected me so was that it was in 1st person form and kept me immersed. What the soldier experienced, I experienced; seeing the pilot plummet to her death after my heroic rescue, seeing the mushroom cloud and realising 'hey that blast is a little close', my last futile struggles for life. It ignited a fervor in me, a determination to destroy the person responsible, making that final scene/set piece of the game really satisfying.
The finality of it is and still remains unique in videogaming. The drama around the death itself is beautifully rendered but the futility of this soldier's life is so crushing to the player that it makes it Aeris' death in FFVII, only better, because it's not as cheesy.
Christ, I swear I'm not that much of an asshole, but I feel like I always wind up a dissenting voice, and I swear I'm not trying to troll or anything but, really, guys? Really? This scene had no emotional impact for me whatsoever besides annoyance because, as Cartman up there said, I thought my death was a result of me going the wrong way. When I realized this wasn't the case I wasn't saddened or surprised, it was just kind of like, oh. I thought that both the intro and the end were more emotional because there's something intensely personal about being shot in the face or watching when of your squad mates be gunned down in cold blood.
But this leads me to another point. Please guys, this is why people have trouble taking gamers seriously. This wasn't an emotional moment because there was no character development whatsoever. What was my dude's name, Jackson? What did he like, what did he dislike? Was he a fan of the Marines? Did he hate invading the Middle East? For all we know, he could have been a sociopathic madman. Can you even tell me definitively that he was even male? It's nearly impossible to connect with a character like that except perhaps on a visceral level, but that doesn't cut it for me, and I don't think it would or should cut it for a lot of other people who are familiar with good character development in books, movies, or other video games.
But this leads me to another point. Please guys, this is why people have trouble taking gamers seriously. This wasn't an emotional moment because there was no character development whatsoever. What was my dude's name, Jackson? What did he like, what did he dislike? Was he a fan of the Marines? Did he hate invading the Middle East? For all we know, he could have been a sociopathic madman. Can you even tell me definitively that he was even male? It's nearly impossible to connect with a character like that except perhaps on a visceral level, but that doesn't cut it for me, and I don't think it would or should cut it for a lot of other people who are familiar with good character development in books, movies, or other video games.
This sequence totally blew me away when I first experienced it. My best friend and I bought CoD4 the first day it came out, and took turns playing each level. It was my turn on this level. The helicopter part was awesome, then came the blast. I had to set the controller down and walk away for awhile. I couldn't handle it. Amazing story crafting, that.
@Master
It's a MEMORY CARD, where they talk about MEMORIES from GAMES. There's going to be game spoilers.
As for the topic on hand, I fall in between John Johnson and everyone else. I didn't reload the level because I thought I'd gone the wrong way or anything like that, and I was totally "omg" over what had happened, but this scene PALED in comparison to the Ghillie Suit level and the final scene on the bridge.
It's a MEMORY CARD, where they talk about MEMORIES from GAMES. There's going to be game spoilers.
As for the topic on hand, I fall in between John Johnson and everyone else. I didn't reload the level because I thought I'd gone the wrong way or anything like that, and I was totally "omg" over what had happened, but this scene PALED in comparison to the Ghillie Suit level and the final scene on the bridge.
@John Johnson,
I see what you are saying, but I think some people (such as myself) think the lack of character backstory helps the scene. Because everything is presented from a first-person perspective, the player becomes the character.
I think this is also why the game designers don't have Jackson talk throughout the game. The less identifiable the character, the more immersive the first-person experience. :)
I see what you are saying, but I think some people (such as myself) think the lack of character backstory helps the scene. Because everything is presented from a first-person perspective, the player becomes the character.
I think this is also why the game designers don't have Jackson talk throughout the game. The less identifiable the character, the more immersive the first-person experience. :)
This was so good in the sense that it was unexpected.
I'm kinda jaded towards war movies and videogames because the plot always involves the americans winning, in CoD4 when they didn't and they actually lost something in a big way it became shocking and awesome.
I'm kinda jaded towards war movies and videogames because the plot always involves the americans winning, in CoD4 when they didn't and they actually lost something in a big way it became shocking and awesome.
Great feature and wonderful analysis as always Chad! Having said that, I agree somewhat with John Johnson there. It was definitely a memorable moment for me because it was so unexpected and original, but it didn't have any emotional impact on me per say. I'm not sure why that is; I've been attached to silent characters in the past many times before (Chrono, Gordon Freeman, The Prince from Katamari Damacy etc.), but that scene just didn't connect with me on anything other than a "whoa!" level.
Which is still pretty good :)
Which is still pretty good :)
@ Chad
True, I agree it does add to the immersion, but I don't know if immersion and emotional attachment go hand in hand. It's hard to do both, for sure and I think the only FPS character I've ever had any sort of emotional connection to was probably Gordon Freeman (of course the blessed HL series comes up in these discussions). But I wish that more FPS's would move towards that method of story telling, wherein you never really leave the roll of the character but other characters indicate to you what your character is like. I guess Fallout 3 is like that too, but the presence of an external story teller does kind of mess with that.
At any rate, don't want to crap on your write up, kudos to you, and after all this is the memory card, and you've definitely nailed a very memorable video game moment. Also, sorry for the second wall of text in the comment section.
True, I agree it does add to the immersion, but I don't know if immersion and emotional attachment go hand in hand. It's hard to do both, for sure and I think the only FPS character I've ever had any sort of emotional connection to was probably Gordon Freeman (of course the blessed HL series comes up in these discussions). But I wish that more FPS's would move towards that method of story telling, wherein you never really leave the roll of the character but other characters indicate to you what your character is like. I guess Fallout 3 is like that too, but the presence of an external story teller does kind of mess with that.
At any rate, don't want to crap on your write up, kudos to you, and after all this is the memory card, and you've definitely nailed a very memorable video game moment. Also, sorry for the second wall of text in the comment section.
This brings everything back. It's been like two years since I fully played through the SP campaign, but when you described that whole feeling of not moving, I remember doing exactly that. I just never moved in the helicopter for a long while as I had no idea what was happening until I mistakenly pressed the stick.
Definitely a huge moment.
Definitely a huge moment.
Damnit I wish there was an edit button.
I just remembered during that whole thing when he died, leading up to it, I refused to believe Jackson was going to die. I thought he would somehow make it, he was a main character.
Then it never happened. ;-;
I just remembered during that whole thing when he died, leading up to it, I refused to believe Jackson was going to die. I thought he would somehow make it, he was a main character.
Then it never happened. ;-;
I agree about that scene being amazing, I was just thinking about some other examples of story-related character death. Or I was trying to, anyway.
The only example I can come up with right now is the various main characters you play as in Eternal Darkness. I remember some of them clearly as being prime examples of me being shocked by their deaths. Particularly the Franciscan monk that is killed deep under Oblié Cathedral by the giant monster you fight later on as another character. And if you picked Ulliouth (or whatever the blue one was), you were crushed with little warning.
I remember thinking I did something wrong before it dawned on me that my character was really dead, simply reduced to nothing but some bloody mush.
The only example I can come up with right now is the various main characters you play as in Eternal Darkness. I remember some of them clearly as being prime examples of me being shocked by their deaths. Particularly the Franciscan monk that is killed deep under Oblié Cathedral by the giant monster you fight later on as another character. And if you picked Ulliouth (or whatever the blue one was), you were crushed with little warning.
I remember thinking I did something wrong before it dawned on me that my character was really dead, simply reduced to nothing but some bloody mush.
I agree with John Johnson. While I was playing CoD4, I had no idea who I was or what the deal with my character was. When this scene happened and I jumped into playing another character, I was more like "oh well" and continued playing the game. I can see the emotional attachment, but for me, it didn't quite work because I had NO CLUE as to who I was.
Amazing write up as always! Man I love these Memory Cards. :)
But whenever moments like these occur, a funny thing happens to me when I play them. I play the POV like it's a movie. Meaning, I make sure to look at all the poignant visuals (i.e. the mushroom cloud, the playground, the wrecked helicopters, just as you said). However I, for some reason, take care with the controls as if someone else would be watching the gameplay. I would make sure I don't make any sudden pans from left to right, smooth out my turns when I look at objects just to make sure that my "imaginary viewer" is getting the full picture of what is happening in the game.
I AM Spielberg for that moment. And try to make it the most visually spectacular as possible.
I'm not sure if I do this more with FPS, but I found myself doing this even when I play alone. Especially in crucial moments like in your write up. :) I think I do it mainly to really appreciate what's going on. Essentially making my own dramatic cutscene that the game developers wanted me to see.
Anyone else find themselves doing this?
But whenever moments like these occur, a funny thing happens to me when I play them. I play the POV like it's a movie. Meaning, I make sure to look at all the poignant visuals (i.e. the mushroom cloud, the playground, the wrecked helicopters, just as you said). However I, for some reason, take care with the controls as if someone else would be watching the gameplay. I would make sure I don't make any sudden pans from left to right, smooth out my turns when I look at objects just to make sure that my "imaginary viewer" is getting the full picture of what is happening in the game.
I AM Spielberg for that moment. And try to make it the most visually spectacular as possible.
I'm not sure if I do this more with FPS, but I found myself doing this even when I play alone. Especially in crucial moments like in your write up. :) I think I do it mainly to really appreciate what's going on. Essentially making my own dramatic cutscene that the game developers wanted me to see.
Anyone else find themselves doing this?
As soon as I crawled out of that helicopter, I expected to find an assault rifle a few metres away, pick it up and then Rambo it out of the blast radius zone, meeting up with other survivors along the way.
Oh, how wrong I was.
In fact, when you think about it, pretty much every playable character in the game dies -- The president at the start, Jackson, Price and even Soap (presumably). Not to mention the execution of Soap's entire SAS unit. It really makes you think just how costly the entire campaign has been when pretty every character you interact with ends up dead.
Oh, how wrong I was.
In fact, when you think about it, pretty much every playable character in the game dies -- The president at the start, Jackson, Price and even Soap (presumably). Not to mention the execution of Soap's entire SAS unit. It really makes you think just how costly the entire campaign has been when pretty every character you interact with ends up dead.
Chad you are beyond awesome you made me feel the same way I felt the first time I got to that scene it was incredibly well made and I wish more videogames learn from this and try to make same kind of connection with the player. Sure I beat the game about a year ago but it still is, in my opinion, is one of the most unexpected, coolest, and saddest moments in FPS history.
The reason this scene is so important is because it elevates the game as a whole. Initially I was somewhat against the concept of a modern take on warfare; it didn't seem right to be ramboing my way through crowds of people in a scenerio that seemed a bit too close to what's really going on in the world at this exact moment. World War 2 and Vietnam have distance, so we are able to treat them with that mentality. The Middle East is still a place where young soldiers and civilians die seemingly every day. I was really worried that Modern Warfare would pull punches on driving home the direness of the situation and tragedy of loss of life.
"Shock and Awe" proved me wrong.
"Shock and Awe" proved me wrong.
That was the greatest Wtf moment for me for any game I have played in a while. I was like How could this happen I am the hero of the game. This doesn't happen to the hero. Shock and Awe is sometimes putting it lightly.
Finally, after you told me you were writing about this one last year, we get your take on this scene from CoD4. It's just as good a write-up as I expected. Shock and Awe is one of the best scenes in a game in recent memory. Props to Infinity Ward on that one.
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