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Most Atmospheric Scene in a game?

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#42
Thiefs 1-3 are very atmospheric especially thief 2's the night time roof mission "Life of the party" and the thirds asylum "the cradle" which scared the **** out of me.
Stalker has a great atmosphere which is best at the first underground bunker. Gears of War has a good atmosphere too, which is great as its coming to pc real soon.
Half life 1 & 2..
Rainbox Six Rogue Spear in the critical situations near the targets
 
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#43
gunho said:
Thiefs 1-3 are very atmospheric especially thief 2's the night time roof mission "Life of the party" and the thirds asylum "the cradle" which scared the **** out of me.
Stalker has a great atmosphere which is best at the first underground bunker. Gears of War has a good atmosphere too, which is great as its coming to pc real soon.
Half life 1 & 2..
Rainbox Six Rogue Spear in the critical situations near the targets
Click to expand...

Damn Rogue Spear owns so much, i wish i could play it :( unfortunately every time i try to play it now, it gives me some weird bug :( I can load a mission, but once loading is done it shuts off back to windows :\
 
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#44
Maschine Pistole-38 said:
Running out into Hyrule Field for the first time in Ocarina of Time.
Click to expand...

I was going to say that too and for the time of that game it was huge, plus the music made it even better :) When i first went into the field in Twilight Princess i had the biggest smile on my face, its a shame they mirrored the whole game for the Wii though.

Also the Shalebridge Cradle level in Thief 3 was extremly creepy those wierd doll things creeped me out so much.

Many cutscenes from Mafia too, especially the last level and ending sequences.
 
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#45
I never really considered the asylum to be all that creepy. I mean certainly it was moreso than the rest of the Thief 3 game, but it was still somewhat lacking imo. The inmates were supposed to be creepy and terrifying, but once I realised how easy they were to kill, I just went on a mission of genocide, which left me me free to explore the place without interruption.

Thief 2 also never creeped me out, not even "Blood" or the last level which people were raving about. Thief 1 on the other hand, had me a mass of tightly bunched nerves the whole way through. None moreso than the levels with undead and spiders though. I shamefully admit that I never completed TDP. The Bone Hoard (I think that was the name) scared the crap out of me (I somehow attracted half the zombies in the tomb and spent considerable time running laps around this big pit with about 20 of them in tow) and by the time I got to the level where you had to go "over the wall" to the sealed section of the city, I just chickened out. After running like a little girl from a couple of hammer haunts, I got completely lost and ended up hiding in a dark alleyway where I could hear a spider somewhere nearby. I couldn't work out where the damn thing was (other than really bloody close judging by the noise) and was too chicken**** to leave my hiding place to find out in case it was just around the next corner.

Granted, I played TDP before either of the other games and I was certainly far younger so perhaps it's a case of "rose coloured glasses". In any case though, both Thief 1 & 2 are easily contenders for the most atmospheric (and immersive) games ever made. Thief 3 though, just didn't do it for me. It looked pretty, but the tiny consolised levels meant a loading screen and a new area every few minutes and nothing kills it for you more than that.

System Shock 2's also up there for atmosphere. Same company as Thief, what a happy coincidence... or is it? ;)

F.E.A.R. also had a good atmosphere, but it's overdone. You get really desensitised to the office environment by the end of the second building. I'd actually forgotten that there were two buildings at all, they all just blended together. The bunker levels though were fantastic imo. The downside to it all though was your lack of vulnerability. It's hard to be nervous when you're a super fast killing machine with ultra-lethal weaponry and a selection of instant kill kung fu moves. I still enjoyed it immensely, but the player being a god among men really does change the way a game plays.
 
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#46
The only two major flaws in Thief 3 are that they took your sword away. Fighting with the dagger is plain boring, so it can only be used to stab people from behind, which makes it nothing more than a deadly version of the blackjack. No thanks. Blackjack for me.
The other flaw is that healing potions are so damn cheap in every meaning of the word. I refused to buy any and it made the game a lot better.

Also, and this is true for all the Thief games, try to kill/knock out as few guards as possible! Sneak around them. Don't flatten all of them first and search for goodies afterwards. That way you have a sense of danger throughout the whole mission.
Another thing to do is to lower the gamma setting so places where you are 100% hidden appear 100% black. That way not only you can disappear in shadows and reappear to strike someone, but also the guards.
And crank up the volume so your steps sound as loud as they would as if you would walk around in real life, better yet, set a bit louder. That way the game makes you jump when all of a sudden a guard you haven't even seen before because he was in a dark area of the level starts screaming at you.

I think the Thief games are one of the most atmospheric games ever created, but they have a number of devices for pussies e.g. the possibility to increase the gamma values to abnormally bright levels etc. But if you play the game as it is supposedly meant to be played (=setting it to very dark and very loud, not quicksaving all the time, not knocking out everyone but only those you cannot sneak by) the games just rock your socks.

EDIT: I just remembered more great missions in Thief 3: The one where you have to break in the house of the hag and when the hag hunts you in the city... Also the minimalistic cutscenes rock! The one where you first encounter the hag or the ending when Garret catches a child who tried to steal something from his belt and when he realises that everything is one big cycle the rock-music fades in. = Awesomeness!
Thief 1 and 2 had a similar style for their cutscenes but I can't remember any one but the one where you meet the forest godess in Thief 2, but that one was awesome as well.
 
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#47
Murphy said:
The only two major flaws in Thief 3 are that they took your sword away. Fighting with the dagger is plain boring, so it can only be used to stab people from behind, which makes it nothing more than a deadly version of the blackjack. No thanks. Blackjack for me.
The other flaw is that healing potions are so damn cheap in every meaning of the word. I refused to buy any and it made the game a lot better.

Also, and this is true for all the Thief games, try to kill/knock out as few guards as possible! Sneak around them. Don't flatten all of them first and search for goodies afterwards. That way you have a sense of danger throughout the whole mission.
Another thing to do is to lower the gamma setting so places where you are 100% hidden appear 100% black. That way not only you can disappear in shadows and reappear to strike someone, but also the guards.
And crank up the volume so your steps sound as loud as they would as if you would walk around in real life, better yet, set a bit louder. That way the game makes you jump when all of a sudden a guard you haven't even seen before because he was in a dark area of the level starts screaming at you.

I think the Thief games are one of the most atmospheric games ever created, but they have a number of devices for pussies e.g. the possibility to increase the gamma values to abnormally bright levels etc. But if you play the game as it is supposedly meant to be played (=setting it to very dark and very loud, not quicksaving all the time, not knocking out everyone but only those you cannot sneak by) the games just rock your socks.

EDIT: I just remembered more great missions in Thief 3: The one where you have to break in the house of the hag and when the hag hunts you in the city... Also the minimalistic cutscenes rock! The one where you first encounter the hag or the ending when Garret catches a child who tried to steal something from his belt and when he realises that everything is one big cycle the rock-music fades in. = Awesomeness!
Thief 1 and 2 had a similar style for their cutscenes but I can't remember any one but the one where you meet the forest godess in Thief 2, but that one was awesome as well.
Click to expand...

I loved "ghosting" the missions in Thief. You know, as in leaving no proof or traces whatsoever. Just fulfill the objective, and never get caught, never knock someone out, never make any noise, not even lockpick anything. Like you were never there. Just you and the shadows.

Yes the cutscenes were amazing. Garrett is such a cool, cynical anti-hero. Read a couple of quotes from him. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thief

"Tombs with piped in music. How classy."

Have you ever played Fan Missions, Murphy? Some of them are as good as the stock missions.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s atmosphere is great, too.
 
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#48
No I haven't yet. Back in the days I didn't know much about aquiring custom content and my internet connection wouldn't have made it fun anyway. Nowadays I don't have Thief 1 anymore and Thief 2 refuses to run without crashing regularily and I have no idea what causes it. Getting it to run in WinXP is trouble enough, but troubleshooting afterwards without the help of eroormessages and the like is too much for me atm. Well, and my Thief 3 is the xbox version, so no custom content for me there, if there is any anyway.

Red Alert 2 crashes just like Thief 2, after about 2 minutes of playing. I tried to lower the hardware acceleration for my soundcard because that fixed that problem in Baldur's Gate back when I had my old soundcard, but it doesn't work for these.:(
 
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#50
Atmospheric?

STALKER. The Chernobyl NPP.

There's a huge, booming storm, several BMPs rolling in, about 5 choppers in the sky, squads of soldiers everywhere; sure, well, that's not too amazing.

Then the blowout starts. It's like watching the end of the world when you see it for the first time.

"Alert! Blowout! Disperse and take cover! Look at this ****, the unit is off scale, see..." Then you hear the loudest and most nerve-racking thunder ever, the ground quakes, and the sky goes crazy.

:eek:
 
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#51
SiC-Disaster said:
Damn Rogue Spear owns so much, i wish i could play it :( unfortunately every time i try to play it now, it gives me some weird bug :( I can load a mission, but once loading is done it shuts off back to windows :\
Click to expand...
Run it in compitibility mode for windows 2000.

Where are you?..you Taffer!

I agree, Thief 1 had the best atmosphere and some great missions such as the one your all talking about the bonehord, that cathedral, the return and the lost city. Thief 2 had one of the best missions ever, remember the rooftop mission, life of the party anyone?! It has that funny fight you were in the middle of?

Theif 3 had another great mission I remember...The pirates house one, pity the game was ruined by the xbox...ala dues ex 2.
 
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#54
X-com enemy unknown/ufo defence. I remember the first time I played, I was about 10 and home alone in the dark, landed my ship nighttime mission. didnt really know what to expect then to hear those doors, footsteps and screams...then to see a single aliens head sticking out of the cornfield did me in pretty bad.
Another is ww2ol in which I crawled for well over half an hour through a hedge to get behind a german tank to sap it, got up behind it and realised I had no satchels as I was a rifleman I just broke and wept.
 
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#56
gunho said:
Run it in compitibility mode for windows 2000.

Where are you?..you Taffer!

I agree, Thief 1 had the best atmosphere and some great missions such as the one your all talking about the bonehord, that cathedral, the return and the lost city. Thief 2 had one of the best missions ever, remember the rooftop mission, life of the party anyone?! It has that funny fight you were in the middle of?

Theif 3 had another great mission I remember...The pirates house one, pity the game was ruined by the xbox...ala dues ex 2.
Click to expand...

It allready is, but it doesnt help :(
 
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#57
SiC-Disaster said:
It allready is, but it doesnt help :(
Click to expand...
Try downloading the latest patch or just google it...

Max Payne is very atmospheric, up there with the best. Thoose dreams! Plus every level really. Great game too

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, is another atmospheric game. Best in the 2nd jail you go too. Pity the game didnt sell to well for the pc, even though it plays and still looks amazing. Check it out: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/2899.html

Both the "coolest" games ever...
 
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#58
Yeah, Riddick rocks! Its nothing like Pitch Black (which is an excellent movie), and thankfully its nothing like Chronicles of a Warrior either.
Its a breed of its own and a great one at that. I have the xbox version and I enjoyed it a lot.

"Already trying to get under my skin, huh Riddick?"
"Would be easier if I got something sharp."

"Darkness... You afraid? I'm not: The dark is afraid of me."

"****, you're Riddick!"
"I think you're gonna need backup."
"Command, I need backup"

"My slam has become a damn warzone. I'm losing men faster than I can replace them and all this unrest... Well, it began shortly after you arrived, Riddick."
"Could be a coincidence."
 
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