"I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture... and kill them. I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill." - Pvt. Joker (FMJ)
"Today a young man on acid realized that matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration; That we are all of one conscious mind experiencing itself subjectively; There is no such thing as death; Life is but a dream, and we're the imagination of ourselves! Now heres Tom with the weather..." - Bill Hicks
Halo CE. To this day it remains the best game I ever took a chance on. I had heard some buzz about it at school, but I had never seen a single screenshot or read a single review. I remember going to pick it up. The cover art left me thoroughly unimpressed, and I considered returning it before I even made it home.
A friend of mine called me when I was a few blocks from home, and i told him to come by. Played the first level... decided we'd raise the difficulty because we've been playing shooters together for years. Ordered chinese food, and planned for a long stay. We wound up beating the game in one sitting. Been hooked ever since.