Games that absolutely blew you away when you first played them?

[Syt]

I've been thinking lately. There's plenty classic games that I've played, and many games I've been engrossed by, or deeply impressed by their scope or looks or gameplay.

But there's very few that actually blew me away when I first started playing them. Actually, I think for me there's only been 3 or 4 of them.

C64: Pirates!
One of the first games I sunk endless hours into. Start with a little ship and seek your fortune in the Carribean. The size of the game and its freedom was what kept me glued to the screen. Of course it was a cracked version, but using a copied password list and a real life map of the Carribean was enough to get me started - capturing ships, plundering cities, romancing governors' daughters . . . the scope totally blew me away.

PC: X-Wing
Yes, TIE-Fighter is the superior game. But I'll never forget playing the game at a friend's place the first time - sitting in a X-Wing or Y-Wing cockpit, dogfighting against the Empire, making daring escort or assault runs, all in full 3D! Managing shields and energy settings, thrust etc. It seemed so ultra-realistic at the time, and gave us something we'd dreamed about since we'd been little kids.

XBOX (later PC): Mass Effect 1
Its presentation on XBOX was outstanding for its time, with (almost) realistic faces, fluid dialogues without long, awkward pauses, a beautifully designed universe and a classic space opera plot. The following games expanded the formula, but ME1 had me truly amazed at its beauty and polished presentation. I was deeply impressed by KotOR1/2, but Mass Effect had me absolutely amazed at the time.


But the one game that took the cake (mostly because I had no idea what to expect when I first played it):
PC: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
I was unaware of the TES series up to that point, and actually downloaded a pirated version to see what the fuzz was about (I bought the full version the next day). It was my first real open world experience and I was at a loss for words. A huge world with what felt like nearly unlimited freedom inside it. A strange, weird land with mushroom forests, crustacean shells as houses, weird ruins, and almost every object could be picked up and manipulated - all that in (again, for the time) mindblowing 3D graphics. My head swam when I thought about how much work must have gone into the game, just placing all the objects. You never knew what lay beyond the next corner, behind that next hill. Just exploring the lands had me busy for countless hours. Oblivion left me cold by comparison, but Skyrim rekindled some of that original sense of wonder. Still, Morrowind remains one of my favorite designed worlds in games.

[The Brain]

One stands out: Dungeon Master.

[Lucidor]

Interceptor for the Amiga. A friend had hooked up his computer to a good stereo. The game had me during the opening credits.

Red Storm Rising gave me the ultimate power trip. Unloading a load full of Harpoons into a carrier group never got old.

[Scipio]

Pirates!  Maybe the best game ever.

[Tonitrus]

Wing Commander I & II

But I was also younger and more impressionable then.

[crazy canuck]

Civilization

[Pedrito]

Arcade: Tetris

Pc: Quake, Freespace; Championship Manager 2.

L.

[FunkMonk]

TIE Fighter. 

[Liep]

Warcraft, Red Alert 2, and Ultimate Soccer Manager 98.

But maybe most of all (and earliest), Sensible World of Soccer.

[CountDeMoney]

The original Resident Evil.  Got so wrapped up in that, I called off work the next day.

[The Brain]

The original Resident Evil.  Got so wrapped up in that, I called off work the next day.

Why doesn't that happen anymore?

[Iormlund]

Quite a few back in the day. X-com UFO defense, Panzer General, Civilization, Ascendancy, X-Wing.

Doesn't happen anymore. I think the last one was Homeworld. I still listen to its awesome sound track regularly.

[CountDeMoney]

The original Resident Evil.  Got so wrapped up in that, I called off work the next day.

Why doesn't that happen anymore?

Because the RE franchise sucks now.

[The Brain]

The original Resident Evil.  Got so wrapped up in that, I called off work the next day.

Why doesn't that happen anymore?

Because the RE franchise sucks now.

Nice dodge.

[Eddie Teach]

Super Mario Brothers, Civilization, Heroes of Might and Magic