15 Most Cinematic Gaming Moments

Awe-inspiring game bits we bet you'll recognise...

Max Payne  (2001)

The Moment

New York cop Max Payne returns home after a hard day at work.

He calls to his wife. No answer. As we move through the house something's not right. Objects are scattered across the floor and closets have been raided. Max pulls his pistol from its holster and moves upstairs.

Then we see it; the dead bodies of his wife and child. And the murderer is still there. Max kills him in slow-mo (bullet-time again) and swears revenge on the scum of NYC, becoming a violent, hard boiled noir vigilante.

Cinematic Equivalent

The premise of Max Payne is similar to Death Wish (1972). Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) returns home to find muggers trashing his house and sexually assaulting his daughter, and eventually murdering his wife.

This sends Charlie into a spiral of madness and he becomes a vigilante, taking the law into his own hands and cleaning up the streets of New York.

Next: Shadow of the Colossus, 2005

Comments

    • MattMaytum

      Sep 17th 2009, 11:50

      Great feature. Makes me really want to play all those games.

      Alert a moderator

    • MattMaytum

      Sep 17th 2009, 11:50

      Great feature, makes me really want to play all those games!

      Alert a moderator

    • sowasred2012

      Sep 17th 2009, 11:56

      Would've picked a different moment from MGS4 - the battle with Snake/Rex vs. Liquid/Ray at Shadow Moses follows up with the most incredible cutscene as Snake defeats Liquid, only for him to go jump off into Arsenal Gear at which point Snake pretty much gives up. Up steps Raiden, who cuts off his own arm (he was caught beneath falling debris in their fight) to get into the action, and then (literally) single-handedly stops this Titanic-sized ship from destroying Snake. Not entirely sure what that could be compared to in a movie, maybe Randy Quaid's sacrifice at the end of Independence Day, but turned up to 11.

      Alert a moderator

    • Buried At Sea

      Sep 17th 2009, 18:50

      the intro to dead space was the only good bit from the game. such a piece of s**t.

      Alert a moderator

    • TheTingler

      Sep 17th 2009, 23:05

      Medal of Honor: FRONTLINE?! I think you should go back and play Medal of Honor: Allied Assault instead. Frontline was the crappy console equivant. Allied Assault was the PC version which was made by a team that immediately split from EA after finishing it and formed Infinity Ward, creators of Call of Duty. Allied Assault is unofficially the first Call of Duty game, then. Allied Assault also had the Omaha landing, but it wasn't a stupid tutorial mission. It was several missions in and re-created it perfectly, including all the Saving Private Ryan moments.

      Alert a moderator

    • hreyy

      Sep 18th 2009, 3:25

      Wait theres no Halo 1 FIRST time you encounter the flood? LMAOO fail

      Alert a moderator

    • somewhatfrail

      Sep 18th 2009, 12:42

      Great article guys. Call Of Duty 4 is jampacked full of film references, I absolutely love it. 'Crew Expendable' - Alien. And the line of dialogue "I like to keep this for close encounters" while pulling out a shotgun being lifted straight from Michael Beihn in Aliens. 'Charlie Don't Surf' - Apocalypse Now. 'No Fighting In The War Room' - Dr. Strangelove. Also, Spielberg actually wrote the first MoH games so it's unsurprising to see so many things in those games which feel all too Ryan-esque.

      Alert a moderator

    • somewhatfrail

      Sep 18th 2009, 12:43

      Oh, and in CoD: World At War there is an Xbox achievement called Saved Private Ryan. XD haha

      Alert a moderator

    • KerrAvon

      Sep 18th 2009, 23:40

      No Knights of the Old Republic? Pity. Better script, acting and effects than all 3 prequels but its easy to bash the prequels because they are awful. Should check out the Conflict series, Vietnam for all the Apocalypse Now references and Desert Storm for the Black Hawk Down ones, or just shout your own with a mater "Charlie's in the trees!"

      Alert a moderator

    • shinysavage

      Sep 20th 2009, 20:37

      No love for Mass Effect? Plenty of cinematic moments there - the Salarian captain's speech to the troops, the first time you see Sovereign (in game, at least), the final space battle over the Citadel, the first jump in a mass relay, the Mako getting catapulted out of the mass relay to the Citadel... Or Halo 3, and the first Scorpion fight. Epic stuff. Good list though.

      Alert a moderator

    • bentgaga

      Sep 21st 2009, 3:51

      Wow I thought that as well with COD MW somewhatfrail I love it when stuff like this is done, makes everything so much more exciting I hope COD MW2 exceeds all expectations..

      Alert a moderator

    • RazorbalNL

      Dec 9th 2009, 15:15

      The moment in Bioshock(FAVO GAME!)was the greatest moment in gaming ever! The moment in Call of Duty 4 was also an masterpiece

      Alert a moderator

    • RazorbalNL

      Dec 9th 2009, 15:19

      Part 2: (its not the only cinematic moment in the game but sure this is the BEST). The moment in Killzone is also awsome(the Helghast are my favorite bad guys). GREAT ARTICLE! the end.

      Alert a moderator

Leave a comment

Most Popular

  • News

    1. Reviews

      1. Features

        1. Video

          Close

          Log In to Total Film

          Forgotten your password?

          Close

          Join Total Film

          Registration is quick and easy

          Hint: Steven Spielberg directed this film about a Dinosaur-filled island attraction

          As you are registering with Total Film, we would like to think that you'd enjoy receiving the following emails. If you'd rather not receive them, please untick the boxes:

          * Mandatory fields