Right, now I have a reply in place, I'll take a little more time to consider a few more gaming moments.
Ultima Online: My first MMO. I played it and played it and played it. I made friends and joined a guild and raided and warred and chatted and crafted. Its size stunned me. Its depth amazed. I was, once, extraordinarily taken by the game. Even now, I get all nostalgic when I see screenshots. My favourite moment from UO is when I start my first guild, and what it led to in terms of opening my first online forum and taking my first tentative steps into the social playground that was the internet of the 90s.
Assassin's Creed: It was my first game on a big HDTV set, and, at the time, it looked amazing. Today, I can take or leave the game, especially as the sequels simply blew it away, but the first playthrough of Assassin's Creed still stands in my memory as extraordinary. It opened my eyes to the possibilities of what the generation could offer. That all said, my favourite moment from the game is somewhat banal: the super-white opening screens. It just looked so perfect on my new TV, and it filled me with awe for what was to come.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy: I know many laud Mario 64 for being the first game that truly made 3D platforming worthwhile, but, for me, it was Jak and Daxter. It was perfect to me in so many ways with its insane draw distance and load-screen free playing and seamless gameplay. As always, later games bettered it in many ways, but Jak and Daxter still has a magical aura around it for me. My moment for Jak is hard to pick out, but it is probably dying. A lot. And having Daxter taunt me in ways that amused.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: I bought an N64 for the game, and I loved it. But, amusingly, the part that always stands out in my memory is the fishing. I ended up at that silly lake for altogether far too bloody long. Love it. It's almost enough to get me to buy a 3DS. But not quite.
Heavy Rain: SPOILER! KEEP AWAY! DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! This flawed gem really did immersion like no other. In particular, cutting off that finger was just excruciating. I know many that simply couldn't do it.
Baldur's Gate: Just the best RPG ever, at the time. In many ways, it puts modern counterparts such as Dragon Age or Mass Effect to shame, which is a little sad, really. Picking a single moment in this game is hard, but I'm going for the chant in Candle Keep, because it still sticks with me to this day, especially as it sets up everything that is to come: 'The Lord of Murder has perished, but in his doom he will spawn a score of mortal progeny...'
I'll post more later.
