10 GoldenEye - The dive from the dam
There was some debate as to whether this moment should make the top 10, as looking at it in the harsh light of 2006, it looks sadly dated. OK, it looks extremely dated. But in terms of moments that made us feel at the time, "It's great to be playing games right now," this has to be right up there.
In the game's first level, Bond reaches the dam and makes his way along the top to its midway point, shooting a few sentries along the way. The following cutscene looked so real, so close to the movie we'd seen at the theater a short while before, that realizing this was a real-time cutscene and not a video made us feel a bit funny. Nothing else had been quite so cinematic.
The triple-angle dive looked so good, it was the first time a few GamesRadar staffers realised N64 might actually be better than their Sega Saturns. As Bond executed a perfect swan-dive, thousands of gamers watched in awe. And then bought loads of copies and played in multiplayer for the next decade.
Above: Bond stands at the top of the dam in the most cinematic moment ever seen... In the '90s, at least
In the game's first level, Bond reaches the dam and makes his way along the top to its midway point, shooting a few sentries along the way. The following cutscene looked so real, so close to the movie we'd seen at the theater a short while before, that realizing this was a real-time cutscene and not a video made us feel a bit funny. Nothing else had been quite so cinematic.
The triple-angle dive looked so good, it was the first time a few GamesRadar staffers realised N64 might actually be better than their Sega Saturns. As Bond executed a perfect swan-dive, thousands of gamers watched in awe. And then bought loads of copies and played in multiplayer for the next decade.
