12 Most Epic Character Introductions In Gaming History

9. Nathan Drake (Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)

The first Uncharted game was a decent if not fantastic action adventure title, but Uncharted 2 forever cemented the series as a game-changing video game landmark, and it did this right from its opening scene. The game opens with Indiana Jones-esque protagonist Nathan Drake waking up bloodied inside a rickety train carriage, before realising that it's slowly tipping off the edge of a cliff. Nathan ends up catapulted out the back of the train, just barely catching a guardrail, as a wide pull back reveals just how dire his situation is: the carriage is hanging by a thread and could drop at any moment. Cut to black. When we return, the player is flung into Nathan's shoes, and must rescue him from this perilous situation. So brilliant are the graphics that countless gamers have reported assuming they were still watching a cut-scene for many moments, until they realised Nathan wasn't moving. The remainder of the sequence has the player controlling Nathan as he scales the train, seamlessly intercut with cut-scene elements to make it feel even more cinematic. The scene ends when Nathan manages to scale the train seconds before it tumbles off the cliff, and we then realise it was all a flashback. Talk about a way to up your game, jeez.