Thief. I only found out about it when a friend of mine said he wanted to see how sword fighting would work in a PC game. I didn't want to sword fight so I was really uninterested, but I remembered seeing some screenshots in a magazine of guards with swords and so we fired up the demo. 3 hours later we finished the demo and raced to the store. The next few months of my life after that are a blur of hiding in the shadows, holding my breath in real life as guards passed by and hunting for loot in the craziest of places (fan missions ;) ). EAX was at its finest and sound has never before or sense been so influential to game play for me.

Playing Nintendo for the very first time in summer of 1992

These games for first time
Starcraft
Fallout 2
Half-Life
Carmageddon
Unreal Tournament
HOMM 3

Sorry guys i dont feel like explaining

For me, opening up my Megadrive box and just being in awe of that beautiful sleek machine.
Ocarina of Time
Link To The Past
Starfox on the SNES.
Also, incredibly, Shadows of The Empire! The whole shooting down an AT-ST was pretty magnificent to me back then.

Serious Sam

Seeing the final giant boss the first time (when he was destroying everything around him), and rushing towards the final pyramid. Wow.

Serious Sam: Second Encounter

Entering the Valley of the Jaguar. You can see for miles in the lush valley, and see through your sniper scope lots of enemies starting the pop out, looking for you. Holy shet moment.

I must say I like FPS games with such majestic views, that's probably why I love Serious Sam, Far Cry and certain levels in Unreal so much compared to cramped tunnel running levels in Half-life 2.

The First time using the Stone Portal in EOB

Getting my butt kicked in the Monster Allocation center in Wizardry 1 by: 2 Level 7 Fighters, 2 Level 7 Mages, 2 High Priests and 1 High Ninja

Meeting the Ogre in the Tower of Ishal - DA:O

Cracking open a brand new Nintendo Entertainment System and firing up FF1

Star Trek DS 9: The Fallen

This is a cool game for several reasons, but you can play the game 3 times as 3 different characters... Sisko, Kira, or Worf. I played as Sisko.

One of the coolest missions I've ever played was one where you have to muck through the swamps trying to track down and find the U.S.S. Ulysses starship. After following escape pod beacons for seemingly "miles", you finally come up to a big hill... when you crest the top of the hill, you can see the H-U-U-U-G-E Enterprise-like spaceship crashed nose-down in the swamp!

It was totally friggin' huge... and you actually have to climb up onto the nacells, and then make your way up to the top saucer-like section which was just massive! While running around on the top of the ship, Bajoran enemy troopers are constantly "beaming down" onto the hull and you have to take them out. Eventually you find a hole in the saucer section (or do you blast open a hole?) and you have to drop down into the pitch-black ship that is waist-deep in swamp water. Things are scurrying around, bat-like creatures are flying around, and the only light you have is from your own blasters, or the occasional sparks from exposed/shorted wiring.

All-combined... seeing the ship looming so large as you crest the hill, climbing your way up onto the TOP of the Enterprise-like ship, and then dropping down inside an Alien-like landscape filled with dread, fear, and tension... possibly the most memorable level ever!

My most significant gaming memory would be playing the PlayStation. Growing up, we had the Atari 2600, NES (snes), and genesis. My older brother bought a PS1 and I had to try it. My first game was D. It was so awesome. Back then the graphics were killer and I was hooked (yes, I love all games no matter how lame =P). Then he brought back FF7. Oh, boy.... I was hooked. He said he had trouble playing it and didn't care for it, but I loved it. I guess I have my bro to thank for making me into a big gamer.

It just amazed me how much the graphics evolved for the time period. I think gaming became much stronger for me then. Now it's a hobby and I love collecting and playing all sorts of games!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9adXZQ9sY-w

Driving like crazy near the stadium with a red sportscar, losing controls and plunging towards water. Car was in the air when I managed to push the exit car -button, and Tommy bolted out of the car, and to the ground, that was right next to the sea. Car went flying to the sea.

I remember that moment for the rest of my life. All it takes is to listen this song...

Edit. Gosh I miss this game...I sold it with my PS2 many years ago...

Mine involve more than just the game:

Final Fantasy VII - marathon session with beer and pizza to kill Ruby and Emerald weapons
I know it's a single-player game but I played through it with a couple of mates at Uni (we'd take turns with the controller and all offer advice). That way it became a shared experience and there was someone to turn to and say 'woah' when something cool happened.

Also: Wipeout 2097 - after the pub, a bit drunk (again at uni, again with a mate) trying not to fall off the bean-bag as I went round corners.

Those are both PS1

I also fondly remember the sewers in Eye of the Beholder on the Amiga 500...and less fondly remember the giant spiders with their creepy (for the time) sound-effects.

One memory that stands out to me would be ME1's mission where your driving down the last stretch toward the Conduit. From then on, I was a gamer.

Another memory would be Icewind Dale 2 when i first entered Targos. The theme music for it was unique and iconic that I always enjoyed coming to Targos when I start a new game.

This was actually posted to Reddit a few days (or less) after this thread was created, but I figured I'd avoid linking to it right away, as it might come across as an "ego boost" or whatever.

Maybe some of you can relate. :P

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/iryf6/what_is_your_favorite_video_game_moment/

Castlevania: symphony of the night. Or first syphon filter. At least that castlevcania was awe plus some.

age of empires 2 , the first part where we play the joan of arc story... broke my heart at the point where she gets captured and is executed :\ i played that map like over and over to see if i could change that ending.................... :(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP2FQLN3iwE&feature=related :\

the final ending to the story was awesome too, watch that cut-scene its really inspiring
the other missing cut-scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCMcMJW2I1E
screw it re installing the game CHARGE

Sorry for the bump, but I was wondering if anybody else or anybody new here wanted to add to this thread.

Again, I was curious if anybody else (maybe a newbie) felt like adding something. (The occasional bump for this isn't a bad thing, is it?)