For me, the first game I played that really used sound to it's best effect was Doom (I think, or it could have been Quake - it was a long time ago alright :-) )

For me, the first game I played that really used sound to it's best effect was Doom (I think, or it could have been Quake - it was a long time ago alright :-) ). There was one particular demon that you would hear half whispering in the distance. As soon as you heard that sound you knew that one of those demons was lurking around somewhere but you didn't know where, so you would start lookng frantically round, waiting for it to burst screaming out of the shadows and attack you. To this day I have never played another game that evoked such a sense of tension and dread as that sinister whispering.