Top 10 Greatest Videogame Moments, Part 2

5.) Connecting the Tunnels (Red Faction): Let's be honest, while Red Faction had a decent single-player mode, it was basically just an average shooter until you factored in the unique feature of "Geo-Mod Technology," which allowed players to blow holes in walls and basically any surface using rockets. Daniel, Greg, and I exploited this feature heavily in the multiplayer mode. We didn't even really try to kill each other, but rather took more pleasure in who could create the deepest, coolest looking tunnel. It took us a while to realize that there was a limit to how many rockets you could blow into the walls until they stopped digging your tunnel deeper. This takes a long time--maybe ten minutes--but there is indeed a limit to how deep your tunnel can be. This was like the game developers challenging us to see what we could do within that time limit.

We primarily created tunnels in one specific level that had two fortresses facing each other--big, multi-level affairs with ramps going up to the top and windows that let you drop down into the ground between the two identical buildings. We had created tunnels before connecting one fortress to the other along the side wall. The time had come when we would attempt to create a full circuit along one side wall to the other fortress and then along the other wall back to the first one, so you could walk between fortresses on both sides without ever touching the ground between the two. A plan had been born.

We got to work, Daniel and I, and soon enough we had one tunnel connecting the two. We only needed another tunnel on the other side connecting one base to the other. We sensed time was running out and the other tunnel had not been completed yet. There was some doubt--that fear that the developers had foiled our schemes, that it was impossible within the limited amount of damage we could do. But we were getting close. Have faith! There was only one small portion of rock separating me from Daniel in the middle of that God-forsaken tunnel. Now, all of the work done in tunnel-digging was done using the utlitarian rocket launcher, a specialized tool used to either A) blow people's spinal cords and innards out of their bodies or B) dig tunnels in rock. But, there is another kind of rocket launcher available in this game. A much bigger one. The...Fusion Rocket Launcher. When it goes off, it's like an atom bomb being dropped in your hometown. Hence we designated it as the "Nuclear Holocaust Machine." Daniel and I both strapped this bad boy onto our backs and fired them at the same time at the thin layer of rock separating us from each other and our spiritual needs. This combined nuclear explosion blew the final piece apart, allowing us to go between bases at our own need whenever we chose, without setting foot on the floor way down below, a place reserved for peasants and the stupider, uglier bots, so they could fire automatic weapons at each other's heads like the brainless idiots that they were. No, we would never set foot in such a stinky place. We only roamed the upper levels of this city of paradise (the Nuclear Holocaust Machine was available at the very top of each base). Laughing at our accomplishment well done, we casually fired a rocket launcher into another wall to try to create some other God-forsaken tunnel to take a piss in. NOTHING HAPPENED. We had used our final bit of damage available connecting our two tunnels together. We had come within one rocket blast of our dream being destroyed. One errant misfire would've created the heartbreak of having our tunnels almost touch, but not quite. And like I said, we were firing rockets continously for at least ten minutes, so that is a lot of damage being done. This was debatably the greatest day of our lives up to this point.

4.) Beating "Hangar 18" (...and the Game) (Guitar Hero II): Mike put it well the other day when he said that going through Guitar Hero II for the first time on expert was the greatest gaming experience of his life. This wasn't just a typical pay-as-you-go affair where you carry on at a steady clip until you complete the game and then move on with your life. Beating Guitar Hero on hard and expert was an odyssey of self-doubt, self-loathing, and a whole lot of anger. I remember I had beaten the game on medium easily (can anyone not?), and then I played the first few songs on hard. Wow, there is nothing like the transition from medium to hard in GH2. There was absolutely no mercy on hard. I remember thinking there was no way I could ever beat the game on hard at first. I beat one or two songs after some valiant effort, but some of the songs early on ("Woman," I'm looking at you!) are almost impossible to comprehend at first.

After many months, I began plugging through the game on hard, and after many more months, I was finally able to beat it, with Mike coming up hot on my heels. Now, the transition from hard to expert is not quite as bad as medium to hard--don't let anyone fool you, it's not. Most of the game wasn't hard to get through on expert if you've already beaten hard, which is a tremendous feat in my opinion. That is, until you get to the later tiers. It starts with "Freya." Who doesn't get stuck on this on expert? I was on this song for a solid 2 weeks. Next up is "Psychobilly Freakout." A completely ridiculous and weird song, I was on this for fucking three weeks of my life. There is so much pain in the randomness of this song (sadly, this wasn't to be the last of my struggles with this song--it's even harder and takes longer to 5-star, unfortunately). And finally, the last obstacle to beating the game (and, no, don't kid yourself that it's "Free Bird," which is technically the final song) is the monolith that is "Hangar 18." Oh, you say this isn't too hard as you strum through some chords and get through the verses. Then you hit the solos. And I do stress "solos" in the plural. For there are 9 of them. And they are absolutely unforgiving. This song was to become my nightmare. I played through the beginning so many times I could do it with my eyes closed (literally). I dreaded playing this song. The day that I beat this--I don't know how--after a solid month of trying, was one of the happiest days of my life. I beat "Free Bird" on my first try, the encore to the final set of doom (also check out the 5-star insanity of "Institutionalized" in this set, but of course, "Misirlou" is the hardest song to 5-star out of all the main setlist), and laughed at how easy it was compared to "Hangar 18." I love that songs like "Hangar" are a collective obstacle for everyone trying to beat this game for their first time on expert. "Hangar" is still my favorite song to this day in the game, and it proved to be a very worthy adversary on my quest to 5-star the entire setlist (but that is a story for another entry later).

3.) Garibaldi 2:40 (SSX: Tricky): I had mentioned earlier our efforts put into the first level of SSX: Tricky. This was the peak of my efforts. I remember earlier Daniel and I had questioned whether it was possible to dip below 3:00 in Garibaldi (the first level). I remember well the first time I was able to accomplish this feat, and I think I might've even called Daniel to tell him I did so. This was the first milestone we reached. Greg was the first person to dip below 2:50, which was a very, very solid feat. Once you got below 2:50, that was where the real race began. Greg was usually my motivation for getting new records in this level. I could not live with myself knowing Greg had the faster time. And he often did. Only through hours and hours of practice was I able to beat some of Greg's times, which came out of nowhere. He would demolish a record by over a second, whereas I would squeeze by one of his times by tenths of a second (or occasionally even hundredths). I forget who was the first person below 2:45, but I think I was the first person to get 2:43 and he was the first to get 2:42. I was finally able to top his 2:42 with another, slightly faster one of mine. This took me a long time and much stress. I remember looking up music on Greg's computer as he casually played Tricky in the background. Then I remember turning around and seeing a big, fat 2:41 on the screen and wanting to stab myself in the throat.

Now, keep in mind that we had absolutely gotten this level down to a science at this point. The biggest innovation was using the Select button to manually restart yourself at one point of the level. The computer would start you at a good location which helped shave off precious seconds. Every single bank and jump had to be timed absolutely right to get a perfect time (and I do mean every single one). Greg and I took this science a lot more seriously then Daniel, who ironically actually came up with a way to shave off even more seconds later on, but it was so radical compared to the beloved path that Greg and I used that we were never able to put much enthusiasm into it. I didn't see how it would be possible for me to get a 2:41. I already thought that 2:42 was about as far as I could go theoretically. But Greg had called upon me, and I would never step down from one of his challenges.

After much hard work and yelling at the screen, I was able to pull off that 2:41. I think I lowered his score by a tenth or two-tenths maybe. That was the fastest time Greg ever got, and really an amazing score when you think about it. However, after time had passed and perhaps the tournaments had finished, I decided I wanted to max out what was possible with that original route in Garibaldi. My 2:40.7 was debatably my greatest ever achievement in SSX: Tricky (I say debatably because in all honesty, I think my 2:01 in Snowdream, the second level, is perhaps an even more impressive feat--and one that I honestly didn't believe I had gotten after I had forgotten about it--but Garibaldi is a much more popular level and people know times for it more, so I chose it to make this list, no insult to that 2:01). Perhaps a 2:39 is possible theoretically, based upon several of my fastest split times in which I was not able to complete the race at such a clip, but honestly I believe in practice a 2:40 is as fast as you could get using that route. If anyone ever tops this time, I will first bow down to them, but then go to my room and practice my ass off. But I'm not sure if I'd ever be able to beat their time. The progression of the fastest time in Garibaldi from 3:20 to 2:40 is a quest I can say that I'm very proud to have been a part of. Greg and I shook out this level for all it was worth, spilling its dimes and nickels so we could go buy some greasy corndogs to nourish our inner ambitions and competitive drives.

--Edward