Video games are capable of bringing out a multitude of emotions in us. Fear, sadness, joy, laughter, and even pure amazement. However, there is that very elite selection of games that do it better than all the others; whether it be for just one moment, or for the entire experience. I'll be focusing on select moments in games that stand out above the rest. Moments that brought us close to tears, had us dumbstruck in a moment of realization, clutching our controller in fear, or just plain made us smile. This list is in no particular order, because I found it too difficult to place one above another. Here they are. *Warning: This list contains spoilers for many games.*

30. Condemned: Criminal Origins - The Department Store


They're alive... or are they?

You're walking through a dark, desolate department store, filled with mannequins. As you make your way through, some seem to be almost alive. Some even attack you. You turn a corner and see a group of them. You quickly run in the other direction, only to see them appear in front of you. You make a run for the next hallway, but suddenly they're there again, blocking your path. Is this a hallucination? Are they real? You try to get past, but can't. Everywhere you turn, they suddenly appear. You run into the only open doorway you see, and plummet into darkness.

29. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Exiting the sewers


All this is yours. Oh, and more. Alot more.

After helplessly watching the Emporer get assassinated, you are told to continue along a hidden path that takes you through the dark, cramped sewers of Cyrodil. Fighting your way through goblins and rats, you finally come to a long tunnel with a light at the end of it. You make your way down and exit, only to be greeted with this sight. This is no longer the cramped spaces you have been experiencing thus far. The mountains in the horizon, the vast forest, the hills, the lakes, the ancient ruins, the caves. All of this is free for you to explore. You look right, you look left, you look behind you. A gigantic city wall greets you, and as you make your way around it, you see other, similar cities perched on the horizon. That's when you realize you're nothing but a dot on this vast open landscape that is begging to be explored.
28. The Darkness - Jenny

You are Jackie Estacado, and you have been cursed with the power of The Darkness. The one true, normal thing remaining in your life is your love, Jenny. Early on you share a romantic moment with her, as you embrace each other in her apartment, curled up on the couch. She looks at you, you look at her, and you share a kiss, a moment of bliss in an otherwise traumatic time. This, however, is not the strongest moment the two of you share. Later on, you are again looking upon her, but this time, from seperate sides of a door. Paulie points a gun to her head, and she tells you "Jackie, this is not your fault". The Darkness has you constricted, unable to do anything. The trigger is pulled, and the love of your life is killed before your very eyes.

27. Shadow of the Colossus - Your first glimpse

Having brought your dead loved one to a temple that resides in the middle of the land, you are told that in order to bring her back to life, you must defeat the 18 Colossi of the land. You accept, and set out to search for the first one. You are a young man, a boy even. All you have is your sword, your bow, and your horse. The power of love drives you to overcome any obstacle. However, as you reach the top of a hill, the ground shakes, and your vision is filled with a giant, strange creature that seems to be make of stone and grass. It easily dwarfs you, and you instantly feel vulnerable. As you stare in amazement at what you have gotten into, the creature suddenly rises from the ground and disappears behind a cliff. You run after it, and turn the corner, only to come to a stunning realization. You stare at what is before you, the beast that towers above all else on the landscape. That was not a creature. That was it's foot. Sensing you, it turns, giant hammer in hand, and raises it into the air. You must take this creature down with naught but your sword. Good luck.

26. Bioshock - Welcome to Rapture

Your plane has crashed in the middle of the ocean, and you seem to be the only survivor. Surrounded by wreckage and fire, a lighthouse nearby catches your eye. You swim to it, and enter, greeted by a bronze statue of a man holding a banner. No Gods or Kings. Only Man. You make your way down the lighthouse, and find a single spherical pod. Curious, you enter, and pull a lever inside. You are brought down, deep into the ocean. Your window is covered by a screen, a voice speaks to you, and a video plays. A man who was tired of the way things were done on the surface, tired of being constricted by morality. "I chose... Rapture." The screen peels away, and you lay eyes on something impossible; a city, resting on the ocean floor.

25. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Darth Revan





As an aspiring Jedi rising in strength, you join the fight against Darth Malak and his Sith fleet. You have no recollections of your past, no memories. You have been told of Malak's past; he was once a Jedi himself. He and another jedi, named Revan, were some of the most powerful in the galaxy. The two of them singlehandedly ended the Mandalorian War, and were hailed as heroes. However, when they returned, they were changed. They had become Sith; Revan as the master, Malak as the apprentice. Revan brought with him a fleet of unimaginable size, and systematically waged war against the Jedi. He was one of the most feared and respected Sith Lord to ever exist. However, he was betrayed by Malak, who fired upon his master's ship, siezing the Sith throne. You and your party run into Darth Malak aboard his ship. Shocked to see you, he wonders aloud how you survived. Confused, you question what he means. It's then that he explains to you what your forgotten past is; there is a reason to your rapid growth in strength, your incredible capabilities, your seemingly limitless potential. You were once a Jedi, and a very powerful one. You were Darth Revan.
24. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - The Nuke




You are escaping a warzone by helicopter, when suddenly a flash fills the horizon. A mushroom cloud rises into the air, and suddenly the helicopter is overcome by a massive shockwave. You plummet towards the ground, your ears filled with the screams and cries of your fellow passangers. You hit the ground, and everything goes dark. When you awake, you are surrounded by you companions, strewn across the wreckage, dead. Your heartbeat pounds in your ears as you crawl out of the helicopter and fall to the ground, taking a look around you. The land has been scorched by the nuke, debris and destruction everywhere. You stand up and take a few steps forward into the wasteland. Your vision begins to get blurry, and you drop to your knees. Your heartbeat slows, and your vision goes white. All is quiet.

23. Dead Space - Something larger




As you search the dark, deserted ship for clues as to what happened to the ship and it's crew, you encounter grotesque monstrosities which seem to resemble humans. It isn't long until you realize that these creatures are the crew. Or they used to be, at least. Your mining weapons serve you well in keeping these Necromorphs at bay, as you chop them into pieces to incapacitate them. Just as you begin to feel comfortable, you are suddenly swept off your feet by an unseen enemy. You turn to fire, and see what has hold of you; a huge, powerful, seemingly endless appendage that is intent on dragging you to your death. You fire desperately at it, trying to free yourself before it's too late, but your accuracy is cut by the violent shaking as you are dragged through the ship. You see the end, an opening through the wall that the appendage had burst through, and realize you have no more time. You fire off one last shot, and it lets you go, mere feet before what would have been your death. You get up and brush yourself off, and realize that those roaming Necromorphs are now the least of your worries.

22. Metal Gear Solid - The crawl




Aboard Liquid's ship, you must upload a virus into the Patriots system to finally bring the war economy to a halt and stop the Patriots' civilian control scheme. To do so, however, you must crawl through a tunnel filled with microwave radiation. As you crawl through the tunnel, using every last ounce of your strength, the fate of your companions play out above you; Raiden fighting to stay alive, Meryl and Johnny in the heat of combat, the crew of the Missouri waging war with Liquid's Outer Haven ship. An emotional, almost haunting tune plays out as you collapse, and again and again force yourself on in order to save your friends, as well as the rest of the world. You lie on the brink of death, grimacing in pain, as you reach the last stretch. Everything you have ever done has come down to this. You can't give up now.

That's it for this time around. Please leave comments on what you think about these moments, and what you expect in the upcoming lists. Thanks for reading