A great example of the simple-but-effective first-person wasteland intro, 2010 action role-playing game Fallout: New Vegas shows you a ruined America, as gray and hostile as an undiscovered planet.

Castlevania’s 1987 NES port has a to-the-point, 11 second introduction. An 8-bit bat flies toward you as you’re encouraged to push the start key. Protagonist Simon Belmont stomps up to a sharp-looking ...