Top 10 Opening Levels In Video Games
Now this is how you make a great first impression. Join http://www.watchmojo.com as we countdown our picks for the Top 10 Opening Levels in Video Games.
For this list, we're taking a look at the levels that are regarded as either the prologue or the first stage, that instantly sucked gamers in with their inventive designs, riveting exposition, and insanely fun gameplay.
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Top 10 Opening Levels in Gaming
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Now this is how you make a great first impression. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 opening levels in gaming. For this list, we’re taking a look at the levels that are regarded as either the prologue or the first stage, that instantly sucked gamers in with their inventive designs, riveting exposition, and insanely fun gameplay.
#10: World 1-1 “Super Mario Bros.” (1985)
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No we didn’t rank this list backwards, we’re instead starting with the level that laid the foundations of ideal opening game design. The platform genre, not to mention the gaming community, was forever changed when players first took control of a little plumber and set off into the Mushroom Kingdom. Word 1-1 is still nothing but side-scrolling, mushroom-ingesting, block-breaking, Goomba-smashing, fireball-throwing, coin-collecting, Hidden 1up finding, flagpole-jumping fun. Opening levels just got better from here, so let’s see what comes next.
#9: Prologue “The Last of Us” (2013)
Often feeling like an interactive movie, “The Last of Us” effectively immerses players not only into its action, but its drama too. The game’s foreboding atmosphere slowly builds tensions as a girl named Sarah explores her dark, empty house. When her panicked father returns home, things really go from bad to end-of-the-world bad. We’re then taken on a car ride evocative of "Children of Men,” capturing the horrors of a world gone mad from a youth’s perspective. Plus if you didn’t get all choked up just before the title appeared, you really have no soul.
#8: Prologue – World of Chaos “Bayonetta 2” (2014)
How do you start a game that opens up with Bayonetta doing her Christmas Shopping in her elegant Sunday dress? (Show Bayonetta kicking the fighter jet)Yep that’ll do it. From there it only gets more crazy, having her quad wield a set of pistols while on the back on an angelic centaur with an upbeat pop version of Moon River playing in the background, hardly a second goes by when something over-the-top isn’t taking place. With cars driving on the sides of buildings, and a giant beast climbing up a even taller building, Bayo 2 lets the player know right off the bat that it doesn’t have a subtle bone in its body. And that’s why we love it.
#7: Freeway “Mega Man X” (1993)
Where some games gradually ease the player into the action, “Mega Man X” instantaneously plunges you into combat. Whether you’re ready or not, prepare to blast and dash your way through an army of inventive robots across a crumbling freeway bridge. You might assume that you’ve reached the level’s boss upon encountering a massive Bee Blader. Though this helicopter is just the tip of the iceberg as you soon find Vile waiting for you in his best Boba Fett Costume. Throw in Zero’s sudden appearence and it’s impossible not to be excited for what’s ahead.
#6: TIE Fighter Factory “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” (2008)
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No not the prologue section where you play as Darth Vader, but rather the mission where the real game starts and captures all the kinetic energy that epitomizes “Star Wars” at its best. As Starkiller, you must raid a TIE Fighter Factory to assassinate General Kota. Although you’re armed with a lightsaber, you’ll likely have more fun using the force to blow enemy forces away. After storming through the factory like a force wrecking ball, Starkiller finally comes face-to-face with Kota. Their big showdown makes for a heart pounding action sequence, pumping the player with adrenaline and, of course, the force.
#5: Black Mesa Transit System “Half Life” (1998)
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A five-minute train ride might not sound like a rousing way to start a game, but “Half Life’s” opening creates an absorbing sense of mystery and ominous atmosphere as Gordon Freeman takes a trip on the Black Mesa Transit System. Much like your arrival to City 17 in “Half Life 2,” this intro is about immersing you in the setting instead of blowing shit up in your face. Confined to a small passenger car while an unsettling robotic voice talks, you get a behind the scenes look into an environment you’ll soon get to explore. With guns.
#4: A Rock and a Hard Place “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” (2009)
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Now it’s time for a completely different kind of train ride. The second “Uncharted 2” starts, the game throws the player into the middle of a gripping action set piece. Bleeding and delirious, adventurer Nathan Drake is awoken to a horrific sight against a snowy backdrop. Just as the player hangs at the edge of their seat, the train Nate’s on is hanging over a cliff. Jumping, swinging, and holding on for dear life as Drake climbs to the top, it’s hard to think of a more exhilarating way to begin a game.
#3: The Courtesy Call “Portal 2” (2011)
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In the spirit of “Half Life,” “Portal 2” quickly engages the player into a living, breathing world from a first-person perspective. After spending countless days in a seemingly ordinary room, Chell is greeted by the bumbling, Cockney A.I. core Wheatly. Lets just say his methods for getting you out of your little chamber aren’t very well thought out but they do get results. Then it’s time to explore the crumbling Aperture Science Enrichment Center and retrieve the portal gun. But, sadly, there’s still no cake.
#2: Crew Expendable “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” (2007)
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With a flair for the cinematic “Call of Duty” games were once the very best way to feel like a participant in an action movie. This is perfectly exemplified in the first “Modern Warfare” game, as the you play a member of the SAS assaulting a freighter. Stealthily taking out the crew is cool enough, but the cinematic feel really takes off when you have to get back to the Chopper as the ship begins to sink. Call of Duty may be stale these days, but man was this ever fresh when it dropped. Before we beat the final opening level, here are a few honorable mentions: Corneria “Star Fox 64” (1997) Green Hill Zone “Sonic The Hedgehog” (1991) The Dam “GoldenEye 007” (1995) First Colossus “Shadow of the Colossus” (2005) Welcome to Rapture “BioShock” (2007)
#1: The Village “Resident Evil 4” (2005)
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In arguably the best “Resident Evil” game to date, Leon S. Kennedy ventures to a rural European village of the damned to rescue the president’s daughter. What’s best about this sequence is that you just have to survive; there’s no killing everyone. When Leon makes his presence known in the main village square, all hell breaks loose, as the infected townsfolk pursue you with knives, pitchforks, and at least one chainsaw. Just when it seems like there are too many to take on, a church bell draws them away, leaving you perplexed, shocked, and relieved. Roll Title. Do you agree with our list? What video game opening immediately had you hooked? For more entertaining Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.