5 Video Game Action Set-Pieces That We’ll Never Forget

A TRAIN TO CATCH (Uncharted 2)

In a series filled with some of the most memorable action set-pieces ever committed to consoles, there is one in particular that changed the gaming landscape. Naughty Dog set out to top the action from Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and they really outdid themselves in Uncharted 2. Players had never seen anything like it at the time. The sense of adrenaline was palpable as you hopped between each train car, fighting enemies while watching the environment whiz passed you. If that wasn’t enough of a rush, exploding barrels derail the train and send it plummeting over the edge of a cliff, leaving Drake dangling high above the valley. The mission doesn’t end there. Drake proceeds to climb back up the train before the rest of the train cars send him free-falling down below.

Sounds like an exciting cutscene, right? The best part was, it was all playable. Gamers spent countless years watching cutscenes, wishing they could take part in it. Naughty Dog must have thought the same thing as they pushed the PS3 to its limits making that dream come true. “A Train to Catch” remains one of the best set-pieces in the world of Uncharted.

This post was originally authored by Brandt Prescott.

THE MAW (Halo)

You had finally beaten those dreaded flood levels and were on your final race to victory. Your only mission left was to destroy the Pillar of Autumn and Halo along with it. The Warthog speeds through the facility as you get shot at by everything the game can throw at you. You pay no attention to the pesky alien foot-soldiers as you make your escape, narrowly missing building columns as the structure begins to collapse. The level may not hold up quite as well in comparison to the games available today, but back in 2001, this was cutting edge and unbelievably tense. There was great satisfaction in being able to mow over all of those pesky aliens with the Warthog as the facility begins to destruct around you.

It was chaos at its best, and it was punctuated by a six-minute countdown clock that you were racing against to make your great escape. Level designs like this were a huge sign that games would never be the same again. Given how major a franchise Halo has become, its hard to remember a time when Halo: Combat Evolved was a dark horse that nobody expected. A launch game for the original Xbox, and one of the greatest launch titles ever released.

POSEIDON (God of War III)

God of War is known for its epic boss battles, and God of War III was no different. The Assault on Mt. Olympus is one of the most breathtaking sequences in the series. The climb to reach the top of Olympus is thrilling enough, but the battle that ensues is one of the great moments in gaming history. Poseidon bursts from the sea on a chariot guided by monstrous horses formed from the watery depths below.

A game like God of War turns set-pieces into an understatement. There is so much happening in this battle that it’s hard to begin to even describe it. Kratos looks to be about the size of an ant, as he slowly hacks away at Poseidon’s claws that keep him attached to the cliffside. Poseidon’s horses gnash at you, his trident throws powerful strikes your way, and for good measure, his water tail will threaten to impale you. You have to keep an eye on all of his attacks if you want to survive long enough to do any sort of damage to him. If there’s one defining element of God of War, it’s that the game continually makes you earn your title.

It was a jaw-dropping way to kick off a God of War game, and a great way to show off what God of War could be like on the PS3. We can’t wait to see what set-pieces are in store for us with when the latest God of War releases for PS4.

SHOCK AND AWE (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare helped to shape modern gaming in a variety of ways. It gave a reason for players to return to multiplayer as they fought their way to unlocking weapons and climbing the ranks, but it also made the jump out of the WWII waters and into the near-future setting.

Modern Warfare was a game changer that many consider to be the best entry in the on-going Call of Duty franchise. The story was filled with thrilling sequences, but the standout mission was “Shock and Awe.”  After fighting your way through the city, you carry the pilot to the nearby chopper. Once aboard, you continue unloading your weapon so as to not be brought down by heavy firepower. You can finally breathe as you take off, only to see all of that effort go to waste when the nuke goes off in the distance. Your chopper spirals from the aftershock and slams into the ground.

The nuclear blast was so devastating that you couldn’t help but just stand in awe of the silent cloud in the distance that was about to devastate the land below. In the haunting final moments, you find yourself crawling out of the wreckage and staring up at the brutality and awe-inspring visual of the mushroom cloud, slowly dying from the radiation. Modern Warfare tapped into a new level of realism in this sequence as they showed the true horror of war.

Unlike the other set-pieces on this list, this was not a fun experience. It was a shockingly bold scene that left an impact, and for that, it will remain a standout moment for the series.

SUICIDE MISSION (Mass Effect 2)

Mass Effect prides itself on providing multi-dimensional characters and fully realized relationships that develop between them over the course of the game. By the time you reach the Suicide Mission, you have spent well over 20 hours with your crew mates. You know everything about them. You truly care about them. And now, you could lose them all in a single mission. Everything in Mass Effect 2 hinges on this single mission, and all of those choices you did or didn’t make could cost you it all.

For instance, if you didn’t take the time to upgrade your ship to its max potential, one of your crew mates will die in the laser blasts. Boom. Just like that, they are gone forever. It’s shocking to lose these characters in a blink of an eye. It can be devastating even. It feels like you lost one of your friends. Kudos to BioWare for making Mass Effect 2 one of the few games where it actually feels as though it is all your fault for any characters who die. It’s a gut-wrenching climax where your choices made a genuine impact on the story, and it can either be the best or worst ending of your gaming life.

It was a gutsy move by BioWare to end a game in this manner. The Suicide Mission has been cemented as one of the most memorable missions in gaming history and will surely be a moment we will never forget.