Your Favorite Game Moments (And some random other thoughts) (Off-Topic)

by cheapLEY , Thursday, August 20, 2015, 05:19 (3390 days ago)

I've had this post idea in my head for a bit, now, just as a sort of fun off-topic walk down memory lane.

First, CruelLEGACY's post from a few weeks ago inspired my original idea. What are your favorite moments in video games? I mean this to be a very broad question, encompassing anything from gameplay moments to cutscenes to dialogue to whatever as long as it's in a video game.

I'll start by posting a few of mine, and then discuss some things afterward.

In no particular order:

1. First Ride in Mexico, Red Dead Redemption

This is pretty commonly recognized as a great moment, and I love it. I actually don't like this video, as when it happened to me, I slowed down completely, just taking a leisurely ride. For some reason, this fellow galloping around a full speed ruins the moment. I couldn't find an appropriate walking speed video, though.

2. Burning the Marijuana Crops, Far Cry 3

Just towns of fun with a totally appropriate music choice for the moment. Had a huge grin on my face the entire time I was playing this section.

3. Sniping the Grunt from the Shade in Truth and Reconciliation, Halo

I cannot find a video of this anywhere, and it makes me wonder if not many played the same way I did (and still always do). I'll record on tomorrow when I have a second to demonstrate what I'm describing. After clearing the first area of Truth and Reconciliation, you must move off to the left and traverse a narrow path along the cliff. In the distance is a lonely grunt sitting in a Shade turret. I always stop behind a rock and snipe him out of it. At this point, there is not music playing. When I fire that sniper, the first beat of Under Cover of Night begins simultaneously, and it's always awesome.

Basically this.

4. Pretty much all of Sword & Sworcery.

It's just a fun thing to play with my Sennheisers on.

There are many more, but this is enough to illustrate my point for now.

After it was mentioned here a few days ago, I've been playing Life is Strange (Finished Ep. 4 just a bit ago). The soundtrack to this game is absolutely incredible, and a big reason of why I love this experience so much. I have a habit of using the "sit" button whenever I see it, and just listening to the music, or watching Max play her guitar. I listened to the whole song before I made Max get out of Chloe's bed in the morning, etc. I really like the downtime in this game. The part where you find Rachel's body really hit me, and a large part of that is due to Message to Bears playing over the scene. I feel like they've really used music very effectively (perfectly!) in this game. And it has turned an otherwise probably enjoyable experience into a fantastic one that will probably stand out as a favorite for some time to come.

As I thought about this this post over the last few days, I've been mentally compiling some of my favorite game moments, and I realized that my top moments are all because of the music involved. While the double Scarab battle in Halo 3 is an undeniably great and memorable moment, like Ocarina of Time's Twinrova, any moment in Portal, the VoG, or any other great gameplay moments, the ones I find truly memorably and amazing are the ones where the music is doing something really special. Even when it's something as simple as Rock Anthem for Saving the World accompanying the fight out the Cartographer.

I imagine this may be true for many people; music is undeniably a very powerful emotional driver. I know for me personally, though, music is the single most powerful art form. I would give up just about anything before I gave up music. Take my Xbox, take my PC, take my television. Leave my iPod alone!

I guess I just sort of thought it was odd that my favorite video game moments are moments that, for the most part, could have been just as effective in a movie or television show. It wasn't the "game" part that made them my favorite moments.

TL;DR: Games are awesome. Music is awesome. Combining the two is super awesome.