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Rockstar Games has cemented its place as one of the leaders in the gaming world in because of how they tell their stories. With that in mind, it’s a good time to revisit the best opening missions throughout their catalog. These moments set their games in a way unlike any other developer, and that has a lot to do with the influence of film in Rockstar’s storytelling.
5 Bully
The reason why Bully is considered one of Rockstar’s better open world games is because of how unique it is. Placing players in a prep school makes for a one-of-a-kind experience, and Bully delivers. Right after the cut scene where the player character gets dropped off and meets the principal, the world opens up. And because the main character is a nuisance ,there is a fight sequence to set the game up right from the start.
It’s a good way to introduce the combat all while having the trademark Rockstar Games charm. While players are doing all the things that are required to progress, Bully is creating the story without players knowing. It introduces the main antagonist right away, but with the context of him being a friend at the start. Bully does a good job at starting off the story without the player even knowing it has begun. Now, fans can finally rest assured that there’s something coming out for Bully in terms of a sequel, so it’s a good time for players to revisit this unique take on an open-world game.
4 Grand Theft Auto 4
The opening mission of GTA 4 sets up the rest of the game pretty well. When Cousin Belk picks up Nico for the first time, players immediately can get a feel of where the game is going. However, the opening mission isn’t a good indicator of the game itself. Rather the second mission is the real opening mission where players are doing something.
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The second mission establishes the tone of GTA 4, and it’s pretty much what players expect. Cousin Belk undermines some loan sharks, forcing players to try to escape them and thereby opening up the world of GTA 4 to players. With a great opening sequence and a mission that perfectly sets up the rest of the game, players will want to play GTA 4 from start to finish. GTA 4 doesn’t change much for opening missions, but it does open up the game much better than titles that came before.
3 Max Payne 3
Following the formula of making their games like movies, the opening of Max Payne 3 does it well, throwing players right into the action as soon as the game gets going. One of the reasons why Max Payne 3 was considered one of the best games of 2012 is how it captivated the player. Introducing the bullet-time sequence was one of the best things it could do for players. While there were other games that used these mechanics at the time, Max Payne it really fluid and more impactful than other games with the feature.
Players felt they were doing something important in the world. The way Max Payne 3 opens up reinforces that, showing how much important the character of Max Payne when he begins shooting and chasing the terrorist to the parking garage. Everything in that opening mission showed players how important the character is to the world.
2 Grand Theft Auto 5
Unlike the other Grand Theft Auto games, GTA 5 establishes the story in a prologue sequence in a different area than the main game. It’s a violent shoot-out that goes wrong quickly, but helps set the stakes of GTA 5. This is what makes it such a good adventure game: it sets up the tension and the circumstances of the world.
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With a story so grand and the world so huge, players will run into some interesting things in GTA 5. It helps provide context, and that opening sequence does it well. It establishes two of the three main characters, who act as anchor points for not just the third main character but the story itself. The shoot-out itself plays an important role in the story of GTA 5 because of the impact it has. Allowing players to experience that event helps them understand each character’s mindset thereafter.
1 Red Dead Redemption 2
This cowboy epic is Rockstars jewel for many reasons. It doesn’t just deliver beautiful graphics, with the real-to-life water physics. When it comes to its story, Red Dead Redemption 2 has it all. At the start, the gang is already on run. The player gets a feel of what’s going on through of each character’s dialogue. As players progress in the prologue, the dialogue continues and references something bad that has happened, which creates the scope of the story.
This sequence establishes quite a bit for players: who the gang is, who the bad guys are, some background on the main protagonist from the first game, and where in the timeline the game is set. A lot gets unpacked early on. Rather than showing the player how they’ve ended up on this snowy mountain, Red Dead Redemption 2 players learn context through the dialogue, which allows them to piece it together for themselves. That way of setting up the story works well in this game. Telling players what happened and allowing them to deal with the repercussions is a great way to draw in them immediately.
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