It's one thing to expertly direct a string of cutscenes that set everything up and make us anxious to get stuck in, but what of those titles that meld the two together? By combining a minor hands-off narrative element with that of suddenly plonking you in the middle of the action and whispering "Proceed...", often developers have been able to capitalise on the uniqueness of video games by asking that you be the one who explores that first area, fires that first shot or starts the first of many conversations. Some titles use this remarkably effectively, hooking you in within the first few minutes by bolting you to the chair and ensuring you're kept there, jaw agape with adoration for whatever's unfolding on screen. The greatest games have always been able to do this - controversially - better than film, being that as the latter is a passive medium, when the opening beats of a very engaging story are being controlled and filtered directly through your fingertips, it's something truly special. Coming to define the 'authorship' side of last year's "Are video games art?" debate, although some people say the player dictates everything that happens within a given experience, it must first be put there by the game's creators in the first place. Only then is it down to us to explore and (hopefully) discover everything in the right order - something that certain developers are complete masters of.
