# Games whose intros are better than the game
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 20, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947 "2005-11-20T16:48:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/1 "2005-11-20T16:48:17Z")
Inspired by the multiple references to **Black & White** in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=345535).
I love the opening of **Black & White**. It’s almost worth reinstalling the game to experience. The rest of the game ranges from fun to frustrating, though, so I am resisting.
**Half-Life** has a great opening sequence, and is for the most part a great game (aside from f\*\*\*ing jumping puzzles in Xen).
**Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall** has a FMV opening that I really like, but the game itself was more than a little buggy.
Anyone else out there tempted to re-install some games just for the opening?
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### Author:  [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/2 "2005-11-20T17:10:42Z")
> [@Brainiac4](#):
>
> **Half-Life** has a great opening sequence, and is for the most part a great game (aside from f\*\*\*ing jumping puzzles in Xen).
Did I miss the opening sequence then? All I can remember is sitting on a train for 15 minutes doing nothing, assuming something was about to happen.
Can’t think of a good opening sequence from a bad game, though normally I watch them once and forget about them apart from a couple, but that’s for a different thread 🙂
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### Author:  [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/3 "2005-11-20T17:43:12Z")
> [@Tuco](#):
>
> Did I miss the opening sequence then? All I can remember is sitting on a train for 15 minutes doing nothing, assuming something was about to happen.
You’re thinking of Half-Life 2.
"Rise and shine, \*Mr.\*Freeman. Rise … and … shine … "
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### Author:  [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/4 "2005-11-20T18:01:03Z")
An old game called “Lure of the Temptress”, by Revolution Studios. Very nice and atmospheric, particulary the scene when the orc army is coming over the hill.
The rest of the game is rather lame in comparison.
Star Ocean. Great intro sequnce(up to the point they travel back in time). The rest of the game isn’t nearly as interesting. Time Travel? Check. People turned to Stone? Check. Star Trek Tech? Check. Demon King? Check. Main story actually takes advantage of this premise? Nope.
The Intro Sequence of “Force Commander” was much more fun then the rest of the game.
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### Author:  [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/5 "2005-11-20T18:11:46Z")
No, Half-Life the original had the long tram ride. HL2 just has a brief intro off the train.
When HL first came out, the tram ride was a revolutionary way to set the mood in a FPS and HL was one of the very first FPS games to really establish a sense of place and ongoing developments and events in that place: most everything before had basically been a bunch of boxes with monsters in each one. I understand that newer gamers might find the tram ride dull and pointless, but then, they’re spoiled by a world of games that HL spawned.
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### Author:  [@yastobaal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yastobaal)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/6 "2005-11-20T19:01:21Z")
Tiberium Sun. I love installing the game because the very first time and only the first time you run the game it runs through what happened in the first game. Images of the game, segments of the cut scenes and voices start and gradually get faster till you’re bombarded with all this info at once. Then it stops and using the female computer voice and glowing (Green? I think) text it says “Welcome back commander”.
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### Author:  [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/7 "2005-11-21T21:51:42Z")
The intro to _Return to Zork_ was fantastic. The game, sadly, sucked.
The intro to _Command and Conquer: Red Alert_ was great, and the game itself was almost as good.
The intro to _Out of this World_ was amazing. The game, while still good, never matched it’s own intro.
The intro to _Fallout Tactics_ was very cool. The game was frustrating and difficult to control.
The intro to _Diablo_ was one of the best cinematics I’ve seen. The game didn’t do much for me.
The intro to _Planescape: Torment_ was incredible. The game was better, though. Still one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played.
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### Author:  [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/8 "2005-11-21T22:29:55Z")
I liked the rendered intro to Empire Earth showing warfare progressing through the ages. Not a terrible game.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/9 "2005-11-22T02:30:52Z")
_Warcraft III_ was a pretty good game, but the opening intro was twice as cool, with the army of humans and the horde of orcs charging eachother down the slopes of a valley. I really want to see someone do a Total War style RTS using the Warcraft setting, or a reasonable fascimile thereof, so that I can actually play something like that.
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### Author:  [@Tixenfleaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tixenfleaz)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-whose-intros-are-better-than-the-game/331947/10 "2005-11-22T04:29:55Z")
**Warhammer 40,000: Final Liberation** was a decent turn-based strategy game based in the Warhammer universe. Nothing particularly special about it, and the graphics were substandard even for the late 90’s.
The Full Motion Video opening and cutscenes were something else altogether. The actors and costumes were excellent, and the scenes completely captured the doom and gloom of the WH universe. I have a hard time believing that these scenes were filmed for such a lackluster game, but I’ve never been able to find out anything more about them. I quickly grew bored of the game, but I played it all the way through just for the cutscenes.