2008's Top 10 Intro Sequences Feature

We all experience it every time we buy a new game: ripping that protective cellophane wrapper off like a rabid animal, thoughtlessly discarding 24 hours of free Xbox Live time, and placing the game disc into our consoles expectantly. For those of us lucky enough to own televisions, this is usually followed by a dramatic introductory sequence that's aimed at drawing players into the action without a pause for thought.

Gamers, you understand, have fairly short attention spans (stay with me here). Because of this, the convention with introductory sequences is for the action and drama to kick-in more quickly than what you might expect in a film or book. It's critical that the gamer is instantly engaged so that they can hunker down with their family pack of crisps for hours of gaming and not have to think about much else other than maintaining a comatose look or solving the occasional fiendish puzzle section.    

For the sake of argument, we're going to loosely define intro sequences here as any section at the very start of a game prior to the introduction of direct gameplay. This includes both rendered and CG cut-scenes, in-game sections where you're not in full control of the lead character (although the ability to fiddle with the game's camera is accepted), and the occasional cinematic cut-scene set to prescribed button prompts (otherwise known as interactive cut-scenes). What this definition does not include are tutorial sections or any type of free-roaming within the game world. 

This top 10 isn't simply listing the most memorable intro sequences of this year's best games, nor is it seeking to compile a list of the most graphically impressive sequences either. Instead, we aim to speak briefly about 10 moments at the beginning of this year's games that instantly engaged us, used an original technique to initiate the gameplay, or simply rung a harmonious chord with our otherwise near-unilaterally unimpressed game critic brains.

10. Far Cry 2

What do great first-person shooters have in common? Could it be addictive gunplay, fearsome enemies, or perhaps even well scripted level design? Nope; it's none of these. If you go by the example that Far Cry 2 follows, then it's all in the introductory sequence. As your character is given a taxi ride through a troubled African nation complete with points of interest like the last plane departing the country and a nerve-racking road block set by some amoral looking militants, it becomes increasingly apparent that you've experienced this formula before.

Remember Half-Life's shuttle ride into the Black-Mesa facility, or the train ride into City 17 in Half-Life 2? Since Valve's revolutionary shooter was first released, this intro formula has become an iconic component of many FPS games that seek to emulate and pay homage to the original. Last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare did the very same, swapping the shuttle and train rides for a kidnapping that leads to a brutal drive through the streets of a fictional Arabic nation. Far Cry 2 pulled this familiar format off once again and to mighty aplomb, adding in a Heart of Darkness once you've reached the capital city of Pala.

N.B. It's quite a long video, so you may want to 'skip to the end'.

9. Dead Space

At the beginning of this sci-fi survival horror romp, Isaac Clarke is a humble engineer who's had little more to deal with in his whole life than a dodgy dampening field coil. As he approaches the USG Ishimura aboard the shuttle Kellion during Dead Space's introductory sequence, you get the distinct impression that this may not be the case for long.

The sequence shows Clarke viewing mission logs from his ex-girlfriend (who's aboard the Ishimura) before the Kellion pulls out of hyperspace to find this once proud ship hanging limply in orbit around Aegis 7 with debris from a 'cracked' asteroid revolving around it eerily. The silence of space is an ongoing theme in the game, introduced in this cut-scene to produce an atmosphere of pure suspense.

8. GTA IV

Welcome to America Liberty City, Niko Bellic. The introductory cut-scene to GTA IV pulls no punches in its depiction of the troubled world that Niko has run from and the corrupted society that he'll be fleeing to. Everything from diamond smuggling to light bondage is going on aboard the vessel that transports Niko and a shipload of other illegal immigrants to the New World. Expecting to find his cousin Roman (a wealthy man for whom women and parties are a nightly occurrence), Niko instead finds Roman, a drunk who's liberal with the truth. As with every GTA game then, you'll be starting right at the bottom of the social pile.

7. Metal Gear Solid 4

The unmistakable voice of Solid Snake is what guides us through the intro for MGS4. Those husky vocal cords, blackened by 100+ cigarettes a day, pronounce that "War has changed" as the Old Snake rides aboard a troop carrier into the heart of battle. Naturally, Old Snake blends effortlessly into a platoon of soldiers fighting by his side but as soon as they pour out off the transport, swathes of these soldiers are mowed down by incoming fire. The sequence doesn't show you who's firing at these soldiers but Old Snake knows; he knows and you better believe he's in cover.

6. Fallout 3

While Old Snake may say that "War has changed", Fallout 3's intro sequence pronounces that "War never changes". A cut-scene opens with a valve flickering in the heart of a radio, cueing Horace Heidt's 'I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire'. The camera pans out to show the extent of Fallout 3's post-apocalyptic world, complete with a Citadel in the background and Brotherhood of Steel paladin in the foreground. If ever there was a cut-scene that immerses you in the game world before you ever step foot in it, then this is it.