dDepending on what kind of games you enjoy, you are now nodding your head excitedly or asking yourself “what the heck is a fixed piece?”. Allow me to explain if you are in the latter camp. Most people have seen an action movie at some point in their lives. Use that frame of reference and consider those big, loud action scenes that make you catch your breath. It’s not just that these scenes are bigit is that they are unique focal points, often standing alone as notable moments.
Think Tom Cruise climbing the side of a 100-story building in a Mission Impossible movie, The Rock doing something deadly in a Fast and Furious movie, or pretty much anything James Bond does. Now put that in a video game and you have a regular part.
The gaming landscape is full of these moments and everyone will have a different list. Certain developers are really great at them, others tend to avoid them because of budget or just the flow of the game. It’s impossible to cover all the great examples in PlayStation’s illustrious history in one article, but we’ll try. Let us know your favorites in the comments!
The train
from Uncharted 2
Uncharted is a series that is basically built on a foundation of set pieces, and the second entry in the series is arguably the most packed with it. What makes this scene unique is that it is literally the beginning of the game.
The camera fades into our hero, Nathan Drake, who is on a train, and it soon becomes apparent that everything is very wrong with the screenplay. Nate is covered in his own blood and pieces of luggage fall past him. The camera widens and you see that Nate is, in fact, in a train car dangling from the side of a mountain, still connected to another car perched steeply on the edge of the cliff.
The train literally disintegrates around him as he tries to escape, with pipes popping, doors flying open and boulders falling to the ground as Nate clings to his life. The camera work is incredible throughout the scene, often rotating to show the scene from above, resulting in a dizzying view that is not for the faint of heart. It really sells the danger Nate is in and cements the scene for the experience as one of the greatest in PlayStation history.
By the time you’re back on solid ground, you may need to pause for a few minutes to catch your breath.
Jeep Chase
from Uncharted 4
The final chapter of Nathan Drake’s treasure hunting adventures features one of the best set pieces in all four games. Nate’s long-lost brother Sam is back in the picture and, as always, trouble ensues. The brothers find themselves with Nate’s partner Sully in a small village in Madagascar, on the trail of a pirate treasure but clashing with the local bad guys. They get into a jeep and try to catch up with Sam, who is fleeing on a motorcycle.
What follows is comparable to the best car chase scenes in movie history. Sully drives the Jeep through narrow side streets, bustling markets and over hills as they fight to get to the harbor to escape the island. Chased by the bad guys in a huge armored truck with a mounted cannon, they must twist and turn around the city, firing back to stay one step ahead. They soon run out of real estate, and that’s where things really get crazy.
As Sully comes to a screeching halt at the end of the dock, Nate uses his grappling hook to hook one of the enemy trucks as it chases Sam. After being dragged through the water and mud, Nate must make his way through a convoy of vehicles to reach Sam, where the chase ends with vehicles spinning away, massive explosions and stunned onlookers. It’s the best cinematic moment in a game that’s full of them. As is the case with all these set pieces, it really has to be played to be believed, so what are you waiting for?!
Scarecrow battles
from Batman Arkham Asylum
This is a bit of a different take on the usual set-piece formula, as it’s less action-packed than the rest of this list, though it’s no less impressive for what it accomplishes. The first game in the Batman Arkham trilogy was groundbreaking with its combat and traversal mechanics, and the Scarecrow scenes turned everything upside down.
While Batman wanders through it Arkham AsylumWhile trying to put the city’s worst villains back behind bars, he is stalked by Scarecrow, in many ways his most feared enemy. Using his terrifying fear venom, Scarecrow makes Batman’s worst nightmares come true. While the rest of the game has a 3rd person camera over Batman’s shoulder, these scenes shift brilliantly into a side-scrolling perspective. The camera runs back and forth in a semi-2D design, shifting 90 degrees as Batman turns corners and makes his way to the Bat Signal, his only weapon against the villain.
A nightmarish version of the shelter, where pieces of the floors and walls fall apart and fly around, is the setting. Batman must avoid a huge Scarecrow standing between it all, trying to find him with laser-like eyes and clawing at him with squirting fingers, determined to give the superhero a lethal dose. As you creep behind broken walls, the level is constantly changing to keep you on your toes, all with the threat of those horrific eyes closed behind you. It is terrifying to the enemy as well as the rapid change in tactics that leaves you on edge and eager to escape.
This is what “undermining expectations” should look like in gaming.
Cronos Battle
from God of War 3
For all the incredible action on this list, the Cronos boss is in God of War 3 takes the cake for sheer size and scope. Not only is the environment where the battle takes place just massive, but you’re literally fighting something the size of a mountain. This boss is bigger than some whole levels in earlier god of war games, basically carrying a smaller mountain on his back! For a franchise that has made itself famous with massive enemies and levels, this is the biggest of them all.
Cronos has something Kratos wants, but all you really need to know is that he’s trying to crush the puny man-who-destroyed-the-gods in his massive stone hands. Kratos uses his destructive tools to rip to pieces from his enemy, and the sight of bloody fingers and gaping wounds on Cronos makes the battle incredibly visceral. Along the way, Kratos battles regular beasts that emerge from Cronos, on platforms that themselves look like normal levels. You can almost forget you’re fighting On your enemy until the whole scene starts moving again.
At one point, Cronos swallows Kratos, and you can imagine that things don’t end well for the big man. Mortally wounded, Cronos falls, the chains surrounding him render him helpless to fend off the final death blow. The whole battle will leave you breathless, due to the battles that push the buttons and the sheer magnitude of what you’ve just seen.
helicopter fight
from Spec Ops: The Line
This is a game much more appreciated for its unique story than for its cover-based 3rd person shooter gameplay. Most lists would put the “White Phosphorous” moment in this spot, but I find the helicopter fight is much more of a real scene. The game takes place in a world where Dubai has been ravaged by apocalyptic sandstorms, resulting in a humanitarian crisis. An elite unit of the US military is sent to help, but when they remain silent, your team of three is sent to assess the situation and report back.
Pushed into town to solve the mystery, your team discovers that the unit that was sent to help has gone rogue and is trying to take you out. After infiltrating their base of operations, grab a helicopter and attempt to evacuate. The helicopter minigun is your weapon of choice and destroys trees, people and the building itself. As the glass tower on top of the villain’s headquarters collapses in spectacular fashion, your team tries to flee the city. They are being chased by multiple enemy helicopters that want to stop you at any cost.
The chase that follows is pure adrenaline as you try to shoot down the helicopters and air-to-air missiles. Choppers crash into buildings and construction cranes and drop them in your path. You shred glass facades with your minigun as you try to stop the relentless pursuit of your enemies. A fresh sandstorm rages through the city, reducing visibility to zero. A final enemy helicopter strikes yours in the chaos, sending you plunging into the sand once again, unable to escape the madness in the city.
Nuclear Explosion
from Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
Duty is another franchise that puts incredible rules at the heart of its games. From taking out your enemies with an orbiting C-130 gunship to running through a devastated White House when the battle comes to American soil, these games have done it all. But the wizards of Infinity Ward outdid themselves with this scene in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, where you witness a nuclear explosion up close.
You are part of a US naval unit trying to stop a terrorist who threatens to detonate a nuclear bomb. When it becomes clear that this may not be possible, your unit evacuates, but one of the helicopters is shot down. You sit down again to rescue the pilot from enemy forces, but when you return to the sky, the nuclear bomb explodes in a blinding flash. Your battle to stay in the helicopter and prevent your fellow soldiers from being ripped from the dying plane. When the helicopter crashes heavily, the screen goes black.
After a pause, the film reveals you are still alive and returns to your view in the wrecked helicopter. You somehow pull yourself out of the wreckage and turn around to see the huge mushroom cloud just a few miles away. All around you fellow soldiers swallow their last words or lie strewn on the ground, already gone. As you stumble on your knees and take your last breath, the screen turns white. It’s incredibly powerful stuff, and for a series that never backs down from showing off brutality, this is a moment that truly shows the hell of war in the starkest terms possible.
If action games are your thing, you won’t want to miss the games we’ve featured here, and you might be looking for other games that suit you. There are thousands of candidates across four generations of PlayStation consoles, so there’s no doubt you’ll find something to your liking. Enjoy the journey and long live the gaming!
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