Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Zrbo Presents: Top 5 "First Levels" of Videogames


As you probably know I'm a connoisseur of videogames. There's a certain enjoyment that comes with playing a game that can't be found through film or music. Especially when a game is new, there's nothing like getting home, ripping off the plastic and popping the disc/cartridge/floppy disc in and firing up that game for the first time, taking in the graphics, the music, and, most importantly, the gameplay.

The following posts will highlight those opening moments of videogames. More specifically I'll be looking at those great first levels of videogames. The top 5 "first levels" I've chosen are ones I believe effectively teach the player the basics of gameplay, give the players a taste of what the game is about and what's to come, and in cases where the game has a story to tell, introduce players to the story and leave them wanting more.

This list is not meant as a nostalgia trip, though you may find a whiff of it here and there. Also, my knowledge of videogames is not nearly complete and there would practically be no way for anyone to have played every single game out there, so please excuse me if "your favorite game" didn't make the list. The following list is composed of games that I have played, though that was not necessarily a criteria of mine. I hope you enjoy what's to come, and I'll try to make it as easy to read as I can for the non-gamers out there. Lad-, er, gentlemen, the top 5 first levels of videogames...

3 comments:

Herr Zrbo said...

Hey, look at that. Double spacing, what do you know?

yoggoth said...

Super Mario World!

Does a game like Tetris count?

Doom had a pretty neat first level.

Okay I'll let you write it....

Herr Zrbo said...

Heh, I thought about games like Tetris and Pac-man. I should have added a qualifier in my text that says that only games with distinct 'levels' count. Otherwise one could (rightfully) argue that the blank box at the beginning of any Tetris level is the best.