Marching On (Dragon Age Inquisition)
When you boot up Dragon Age Inquisition, you see a seemingly endless stream of mage and templar representatives head towards the Conclave, its presence in the background seeming insignificant until later on. But later on in the main menu, you may notice that the mages and templars are marching towards Haven, and later on Skyhold. Yes, really. Go back and check.
The Beast Draws Near (Infamous 2)
Infamous 2 begins with Cole fighting the Beast said to have destroyed the world at the end of Infamous 1. The battle doesn’t go Cole’s way, forcing him and his friends to flee to New Orleans Marais in search of Blast Cores to help Cole amp up his powers for round two. Every time you open up the game, it starts with black on white text telling you how far away the Beast is from New Marais. Pausing the game will show a map of the United States, with an orange dot slowly making its way down the coast, its trail marked by fire. While the game isn’t timed like say Zelda: Majora’s Mask, it doesn’t make things any less tense.
Game Over (Batman: Arkham)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYRmhgwr1wo
In most games, whenever you die, it’s just a black screen and an option to continue or completely quit back to the main menu. Maybe some prompt along the lines of “you are dead” or “mission failed,” but that’s basically it. The Batman games take this a step further. Depending on which villain you’re facing, when you die, they step out of the shadows to taunt you. Immersive, yeah, but they never get annoying. They put you in the right mood to want to lay the Bat-beatdowns on them.
Lovers Found… Maybe Not (Dead Space)
Isaac Clarke has pretty bad luck. He went aboard the USG Ishimura in Dead Space to reunite with his girlfriend Nicole, but it had the bloody nerve to be infested with the pesky Necromorphs. He gets tossed around, face grabbed, and shot into space, all just to see his beloved Nicole. And in chapter 11, you two finally reunite. Sadly, this reunion doesn’t last for long, as it’s revealed in the final chapter, ‘Dead Space,’ that the visions of Nicole on the Ishimura have all been the Marker mentally manipulating him. Nicole killed herself at the start of the Necromorph infestation. If you look at the titles for each of the 12 chapters in the game, you’ll learn that the first letter for each one spells out “Nicole is Dead.” Poor Isaac.
Family Bonding (Infamous First Light) (SPOILER ALERT!)
Infamous First Light focuses on Fetch Walker before her escape from the DUP in Second Son. When starting First Light the menu shows her and brother Brent sitting on rooftop over the beautiful Seattle night lights. Finish the game, and it’s just Abigail sitting by herself, Brent having been killed by her. It’s a downer to open the game up and hear the somber guitar tones, reminding you that in First Light, Fetch is all alone.
The Friend in Your Hands (Transistor Ps4)
Your sword in Transistor makes up about 90% of the dialogue in the game, offering commentary on the world, the enemies you face, and giving you moral support. You can hear him through your TV or speakers, or if you truly want to feel like Red, you can go to the options menu and switch his audio to come out through the speaker in your PS4 controller. Listen to Logan Cunningham’s husky voice in the palm of your hands, just like Red. Y’know, minus the part where your controller can’t create deadly shock waves.
About the author
