NationStates Jolt Archive

Which game has pulled you in the most and made you think "oh my god, how did they design this?!"?

For me its the opening level of Half Life 2, immediately after you get off the train until you're given a weapon. It was like playing 1984.

For me it was Final Fantasy X-2. I was pulled, sucked in and I couldn't stop playing it. It's atmosphere was too entrancing.

On the occasion that I do play World of Warcraft, I'm always amazed by the immensity of it.

Myst, I guess. Assuming that I understand what you mean by 'atmospheric.'

Skies of Arcadia. Just awesome.

Star War: Knights Of The Old Republic.

I literally couldn't stop playing it. :)

Star War: Knights Of The Old Republic.

I literally couldn't stop playing it. :)

Oh, that was good too. I also enjoyed KOTOR II - I loved getting the robes. :)

Oh, that was good too. I also enjoyed KOTOR II - I loved getting the robes. :)Yeah, my sig is from KOTOR I. :p

And I love all the Jedi/Sith/Special robes. They win.

Yeah, my sig is from KOTOR I. :p

And I love all the Jedi/Sith/Special robes. They win.

I always used Dual Lightsabers. I enjoyed the attack motions. :)

I always used Dual Lightsabers. I enjoyed the attack motions. :)I'm more traditional, single blade. I like the dueling skill, and you can only do that skill with single blades.

Silent Hill had its moments.

Silent Hill had its moments.

Same with the original Resident Evil.

I'd have to agree with HL2 as well.

Bioshock, definitely.

The old AvP, as played on PC... many years ago.

The perfect mix of flickering lights, atmospheric sounds and immersive action. The tension was pretty well keyed, so you were already on adrenaline when you popped your head round that corner into the flickering corridor... and the little radar pinging like a racing heartbeat as an alien broke out of the shadows and ran up the wall and along the ceiling towards you...

Turok 2 was good, but AvP is the only time I've yelled 'holy fuck' and jumped out of my seat when I got gibbed. :)

For me it was Final Fantasy X-2. I was pulled, sucked in and I couldn't stop playing it. It's atmosphere was too entrancing.

I love that game...

F.E.A.R. was certainly atmospheric. Freaking scary as well.

Atmospheric? Two words: Resident Evil.

Bioshock, definitely.

This.

Fallout 3 also draws you in from the very beggining.

And as old as it is.. Chrono Trigger was the very first game to draw me right in... I was hooked from the words "Wake up Chrono"

Not necessarily the most: people have covered a lot of the obvious ones. But Stalker is a pretty atmospheric game. The gunplay wasn't up to much, but the atmosphere was good.

For me its the opening level of Half Life 2, immediately after you get off the train until you're given a weapon. It was like playing 1984.

Everything in The Orange Box has that completeness of environment and story. Portal was just awesome. TF2 also has a cool retro-cartoon feel throughout everything.

Gun was also good for making you feel like you were in the Old West of popular culture.

Gun was also good for making you feel like you were in the Old West of popular culture.

Mmmm... I got bored with it. You could shoot like 30 random innocent people before anyone got pissed at you, that got old fast.

Pong. Admit it, that game was pretty intense.

System Shock 2.

I was about 17 when I first played it and I still wouldn't play it while I was alone in the house.

Total War. Ah, it's like a beautiful painting, where everybody dies.

F.E.A.R. was certainly atmospheric. Freaking scary as well.

This. Also F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point.

On second thought, World in Conflict. Everything from the soldiers talking when idle "Did you see that last issue of guns and babes?" "Dude, you read that?" "Only for the articles!" To the physics engine (Tanks can be destroyed, and pushed around as mobile cover by a vehicle) and even occupying a building (Your soldiers stand on rooftops, peek through holes in the structure, everything, instead of a little gun pointing out the window and shooting). I say it's probably one of the most atmospheric games I've ever played. On the highest graphics setting, I feel like I'm almost there.

Gun was also good for making you feel like you were in the Old West of popular culture.

That's 'cause every scene in that game was lifted straight from Leone, Peckinpah or John Ford. :tongue: Not that I minded that.

I'm going out on a limb here and go with Halo I.

Gears of War or Doom 3

Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2.

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and the original AVP for PC. The only games that have ever made me jump.

I have never been so scared as when I was playing FEAR and AVP 2 as the Marine for the first time. Those games rock.

Gun was also good for making you feel like you were in the Old West of popular culture.

Yeah, Gun was just awesome. A bit short though.

I'd have to say the Fallout and Gothic series or Mass Effect, Dead Space and Bioshock were all for me incredibly atmospheric video games.
Hard to choose one though...

Well, I'm not sure what's the MOST atmospheric video game but the game that comes to my mind is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I found many of the environments in that game bizzarre, perhaps even more so than whatever I could've come up with, and even with the environments that seemed a bit more down-to-earth, that combined with the more bizzarre ones helped create an odd sense of nostalgia towards that game, even though I only started playing it when I was 14 or so and still have yet to play through it from beginning to end...

Nobody else likes Chrono Trigger!? :eek::mad:

From the old days: Loom.

Well, i'm always deeply immersed in every video game i play. I achieve this by dressing up as the character i assume the role of. A nice side effect of this is that it also makes me play better, since i feel that i am the character. It makes my reactions a little faster, and i see things i would otherwise miss.

For me i'd have to say Mass Effect.

FEAR. Bioshock...

Metal Gear Solid 1. Now that was a game.

Nobody else likes Chrono Trigger!? :eek::mad:
I've never played that before. But maybe some who've played it or liked it just haven't happened to come across this thread yet.

Well, i'm always deeply immersed in every video game i play. I achieve this by dressing up as the character i assume the role of. A nice side effect of this is that it also makes me play better, since i feel that i am the character. It makes my reactions a little faster, and i see things i would otherwise miss.
You must really love SPORE then.

Nobody else likes Chrono Trigger!? :eek::mad:Of course we do, calm down, deep breathes.

Nobody else likes Chrono Trigger!? :eek::mad:

I love Chrono Trigger, I just don't think that it was the most atmospheric video game.

Superman 64. No one who has played it has failed to have been deeply moved and affected by the experience. To this day, the words "solve my maze" still trigger me to perform acts of psychopathic bloody violence.

Clive Barkers Undying

that game had some of the best atmosphere.

Has no one mentioned Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare? Or Soul Calibur 4? Or Left 4 Dead? I'm relatively young compared to the rest of you, so I don't have much appreciation for the old school. Besides Diablo (1), and Starcraft. BTW, anyone tried Mirror's Edge yet? I'm absolutely in love with that game.

Has no one mentioned Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare? Or Soul Calibur 4? Or Left 4 Dead? I'm relatively young compared to the rest of you, so I don't have much appreciation for the old school. Besides Diablo (1), and Starcraft. BTW, anyone tried Mirror's Edge yet? I'm absolutely in love with that game.

Okay, Call of Duty 4 was not drawing in, althoguh good. Left 4 Dead also good, but doesn;t have the sheer HOLY S*%$ factor any Resident Evil has had on me. I never played Soul Calibur or Mirror's Edge...

KOTOR and MGS4 were really good, I actually payed attention to their stories and plots.

Another vote for Half Life 2. It had more impact on me then any other video game, ever.
I also immediately noticed the correlation to 1984, though I've not read the book.

I imagine there will be some other ultra-immersive ones in the future.

You must really love SPORE then.

Not especially.

Quantum of Solace is the best video game i've ever played. The action scenes are for the most part better than they were in the film.

Superman 64. No one who has played it has failed to have been deeply moved and affected by the experience. To this day, the words "solve my maze" still trigger me to perform acts of psychopathic bloody violence.

I think we all need therapy for that game. I tried it at a friend's house, and I still don't trust the Man of Steel. Time limit to fly? Really?! :mad:

Another vote for Half Life 2. It had more impact on me then any other video game, ever.
I also immediately noticed the correlation to 1984, though I've not read the book.


There's also references to the book "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," seeing as how the main character of the book fears "The Combine" and their "machines." And yeah, I also second Half Life 2. I keep meaning to buy/borrow 1984, but I keep putting if off...

Not especially.
But why? Does your SPORE costume make you look fat?

Dementium The Ward

System Shock 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Shock_2

creepy as fuck, very atmospheric

System Shock 2.

AvP 1.

~ blip ~
~ blip ~
~ blip, blip ~
~ silence ~
~ decapitation ~

Ah, good times, good times.

System Shock 2.

I was about 17 when I first played it and I still wouldn't play it while I was alone in the house.
Those monkeys were the worst.

I love Chrono Trigger, I just don't think that it was the most atmospheric video game.

I don't know, Zeal was pretty great in terms of graphics for the time. Same goes with the future world in that game.

For me, though? I have to agree WoW is constantly amazing me - I love the skies especially. I've also always been impressed by Final Fantasy XII, as well as the Silent Hill games. They do such a great job creating a creepy, amazing atmosphere for the plotline. :D

D00d, Stronghold 2001 game. That thing was so epic, that even today I still play it.

I'd have to say MechWarrior 3. You really get the feeling that you're stuck on a planet, surrounded by enemy forces. Also, the MFB guy did some really good voice acting.

For me it was Final Fantasy X-2. I was pulled, sucked in and I couldn't stop playing it. It's atmosphere was too entrancing.

I secretly enjoy this game. It's pretty fun, but embarassing to play (goddamn hot springs scene).

I'd have to say MechWarrior 3. You really get the feeling that you're stuck on a planet, surrounded by enemy forces. Also, the MFB guy did some really good voice acting.



I secretly enjoy this game. It's pretty fun, but embarassing to play (goddamn hot springs scene).

Mechwarrior 3 was excellent atmosphere. The voiceovers were engaging and you felt like you were part of a military unit. It's hard to get it to work as well as Mechwarrior 4 on my machine, however, so I end up just playing the newer one.

Sure wish there was a market for them to convert the storylines from the previous mechwarriors into the new engines. I would pay for the expansion packs if they did.

System Shock 2 is still scary as hell.

The original diablo. Playing that in a dark room with full surround sound was pretty intense, especially if you were 7 or 8 at the time.

I secretly enjoy this game. It's pretty fun, but embarassing to play (goddamn hot springs scene).

I did too. I got so engrossed by it, I played it several times until I got the 100% misssion completion and the perfect ending.

The most embarassing part, for me, was learning the dance routine with the Haypello.:$

I've only played a few of the Final Fantasies. I only ever had a PS1 with Sony. Guess i'm missing a lot. :(

The Longest Journey

But then I guess not much people play these kind of games

Chrono Trigger, DOOM 3, Diablo.

Wow, for me Final Fantasy III/VI was atmospheric. Go figure.

MGS, perhaps, was one of those where I was really drawn to the story, the characters, the music, the imaginery, the gaming and everything.

Let me think about another one...The first Tenchu, I don't know why. Doom 3 was pretty scary, as was Silent Hill, and F.E.A.R.

Which game has pulled you in the most and made you think "oh my god, how did they design this?!"?

For me its the opening level of Half Life 2, immediately after you get off the train until you're given a weapon. It was like playing 1984.

Seconded.

Fallout 3

...Everybody forgot about Deus Ex? :eek: :(

Half Life 2, although either the Ravenholm level or Nova Prospekt. Also, Call of Duty's 1, UO, and 2 were pretty damn good.

But, all in all, I'd have to go with anything from the Ace Attorney series as most atmospheric. I never stop playing them if I get them. They're always a treat.

The Longest Journey

But then I guess not much people play these kind of games
Good game. I certainly prefer it to the sequel.
...Everybody forgot about Deus Ex? :eek: :(
You can't create atmosphere when everything is either at night or in a military base of some kind. You need some variation or it gets tedious.

...Everybody forgot about Deus Ex? :eek: :(

Great game, but I wouldn't put it as one of the most atmospheric.

I've only played a few of the Final Fantasies. I only ever had a PS1 with Sony. Guess i'm missing a lot. :(

Nope. You have access to FF1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9. You're set.

Nope. You have access to FF1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9. You're set.

As far as RPG's go, I still prefer Skies of Arcadia. The ship to ship battles were awesome. :D

Wow, for me Final Fantasy III/VI was atmospheric. Go figure.

MGS, perhaps, was one of those where I was really drawn to the story, the characters, the music, the imaginery, the gaming and everything.

Let me think about another one...The first Tenchu, I don't know why. Doom 3 was pretty scary, as was Silent Hill, and F.E.A.R.

The first Tenchu was very good. Shame it was the onle redemption for the franchise.

...Everybody forgot about Deus Ex? :eek: :(

God knows I've tried...

Maybe it's just me (nostalgia), but FFVII was easily one of the most atmospheric games I've ever played.

This question is just too hard to answer... I like original NES games - but it's hard to compare them for atmosphere to modern games. But if you ask me Zelda just sucks you in and once you get sucked in ... Dragon Quest is the same way, not so much to it but it just sucks you in even with like half a page of plot.

I suppose that I should mention a few more modern games (which haven't been mentioned) which just sucked me in ... red dead revolver (ps2), entire metal gear series (I haven't played the new one :( ), xenosaga, return to castle wolfenstein

... and its already been said but half life 1 & 2 are both f'ing awesome.