10 Gaming Opening Levels Which Surprised Us All
8. Half-Life
Though Half-Life was hyped to the moon and back as the FPS game you needed to play, few still could've seen its groundbreaking, unforgettable, and much-imitated opening level coming.
The game's first chapter, "Black Mesa Inbound," sees players taking a scripted tram ride through the Black Mesa Research Facility.
The five-minute sequence confines the player to the tram carriage but allows them to move around freely otherwise, taking in the facility's expansive labyrinth of labs and tunnels.
There's arguably never been a better mood-setter in video game history, and yet one which was so totally unexpected, by starting the game as protagonist Gordon Freeman begins his gruelling first day at Black Mesa.
There's also an added layer to the level, as those who pay real attention to their surroundings will notice much ominous shadowing for impending events - nuclear missiles in transit, toxic waste, and of course, the presence of G-Man himself.
Even for those expecting Half-Life to be the second coming of Christ, this opening sequence was like nothing else the FPS genre had ever delivered before.