Do you ever feel like you are the character?

[Limewater]

I think I sort of felt like that the very first time I played Doom. At least, the game really freaked me out. By the end of the first level, I realized there were tears running down my face because I had not been blinking.

But that's the only real instance I can think of. Otherwise, I have never really felt like I was doing more than controlling an on-screen character.

[Gamerforlife]

Ico-I felt a real protective urge towards Yorda, as if I, not Ico, was protecting her. It really sunk in the first time I lost her to the shadow creatures

Same here, but other times well hadda link.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2001/9/28/

FPS and Flight Sims would prove their worth when closing eyes and still seeing the images flying towards you. This is hours later while trying to sleep.

I've seen that Penny Arcade comic. While it certainly is funny, I can't say that I ever had so many problems with Yorda when I played the game. However, I played the US version which I heard is quite different from other regional versions of the game

Ico is one of the rare games I've played that truly immersed me. Even save spots were brilliantly incorporated into the game's world and they even functioned as a way to show the growing bond between Ico and Yorda. That game was truly ahead of its time

[CRTGAMER]

I've seen that Penny Arcade comic. While it certainly is funny, I can't say that I ever had so many problems with Yorda when I played the game. However, I played the US version which I heard is quite different from other regional versions of the game

Ico is one of the rare games I've played that truly immersed me. Even save spots were brilliantly incorporated into the game's world and they even functioned as a way to show the growing bond between Ico and Yorda. That game was truly ahead of its time

Agree a phenomenal game. Get the PAL version, Yorda does have better A.I. Reviewed both at my signature link.

[Pichu]

Uh in Fire Emblem RD I put myself into the body of one specific character.

That game is fantastic.

[J T]

It's funny how any time you ask about anything being done well in a videogame, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus almost always come up. I almost have stopped mentioning them in posts because it seems like they can be applied to just about any gaming topic. I think they apply here too. I felt really closely tied to Wander in Shadow of the Colossus. Agro was my horse, not some character's horse, so I became the character. Not to mention the guilt I felt every time I saw another colossus fall by hand and moan out its final death rattle.

[DNT 2.5]

Well, at the end of shadow of the colossus I felt like I wanted to rip his testicles off. While he bled out I would then remove his limbs while beating him with them, eventually using his own hand to disembowel him.
I would then strangle that bastard with his god damn large intestine.

Also JT- You have THE MOST AMAZING SIG EVER.

[Gamerforlife]

It's funny how any time you ask about anything being done well in a videogame, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus almost always come up.

Which makes it all the more sad that a large section of the gaming populace knows nothing about either game

I think what makes Team Ico's games so great is that they represent a pure artistic vision. It's not about marketing, demographics, industry trends, copying what other games are doing or giving a rat's ass what the gaming media is saying. Team Ico just does whatever the hell they want and because of that we get amazing games that are truly unique.

I wish I could see more of that in the industry, people making the games that are in their heads without any external influences messing things up

[Josh]

Play Shenmue all day and see if you don't "Tank Control" walk that way. Seriously someone help me.

It's either that or attempt to race forklifts next to a freaking harbor. Take your pick.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Metroid Prime or Gran Turismo 5. Otherwise no. I do get emotionally attached to characters though. I honestly feel bad sometimes being evil in inFamous.

[Incognito D]

Especially when I was younger, I'd always feel like I was Link in Zelda. I think it was a combination of the fact that he never speaks - therefore leaving all his thoughts and feelings to the player - and the way that the game gives you the option of naming him after yourself. That and he was also a young boy with fair hair, which I could relate to at the time. (That's a weird way of basically saying I kinda looked like Link )

Someone else mentioned Pokemon and that's another good example. It also displays 2 of the above traits:
- The character never speaks
- You can give him your own name

These methods seem to help in creating the sense that you are the character it would seem.