So has any game made you feel "wow this is next gen stuff right here"

[WhiteNachos]

Personally I'm thinking for this Gen... Smash bros. WiiU eight players... one console. never been done. no sir!

it makes me so happy that I can have more than three friends now!

I know you meant more than 3 friends for a game of smash brothers, but it seems like you're saying 3 friends period. Like the number of friends you're allowed to have is limited by Nintendo and how many people they'll put in for Smash bros. I'm picturing you begging Nintendo "please, I want more friends" and they say "sorry kid, hardware limitations, but now you can play as Wario".

I'm dissapointed with the Xbox one and PS4 though, this gen is really slow off the mark. which is fantastic for nintendo! starting early as they did. XD

Seems to be moving in the same pace as the PS3/360 gen to me. A bunch of nothing then games that come out on both platforms then slowly going to actual next gen games.

 

[Wasted]

Basically, every first new AAA game from the new generations I got: Mario 64, Mario Sunshine, Gears of War 2, and Titanfall.

Sorry to pick on you but I am very curious to know how Titanfall was the game to make you feel amazed about its graphics? Not a bad game by any means but compared to the other games on your list has me wondering. To me and everyone I ever talked to the graphics were the poorest aspect of it.

OT
I would have to say Mario 64 and LoZ:OOT where the two games that blew my mind when I first saw them.

I also remember playing a FF8 demo at a cousin's house. It was my first RPG ever and had no idea what I was doing. I could not comprehend why I was walking around in an empty level only for a transition to occur to a battle screen. I was shocked that I was not able to control the characters in real-time. Turn-based combat was a foreign concept but it looked amazing especially when I managed to use magic. Being a demo the characters were loaded with the visually impressive level 3 spells. Curiosity got the best of me and I eventually selected the GF menu. "What the hell is a Leviathan?" I thought as I selected that option. When the summoning animation played, I was literally in awe. I looked so cool! It blew me away and I bought the game shortly after.

Nowadays, FF8 is one of my least favorite FF games from the few I played (Squall's emo nonsense annoys me to no end) but I'll remember it fondly.

I can think of a few games that had that effect. The first one was GTA 3, i spent a bunch of hours palying GTA 2 on PS1 so when i saw by beloved game in 3D it was something amazing. The second one was HL2, i don't even know what it was, the graphics, physics, characters, environment, probably the whole package that showed me something that i have never seen before.

Can't believe I forgot about GTA3, that game and MGS2 blew my mind when I first saw them.

 

[Mezahmay]

I went from an OG Gameboy to N64, so that completely blew my mind growing up. The jump from N64 to Gamecube also amazed me at the time since the polygonal 3D figures finally smoothed out. Since then it's just been polishing the same 3D technology to me even if some individual games impress me, like playing CoD4:MW the first time, experiencing the first set of games with achievements on the 360 was cool, experiencing online multiplayer for the first time was a blast in games like CoD or L4D, etc. The newest console generation brings to mind a song from Boy Scout camp growing up where part of the chorus goes, "Next verse same as the first, but a little bit louder and a little bit worse." Xbone and PS4 have pretty much been languishing in last gen with some extra bits I don't care about tacked on.

 

[bumbledog]

For graphics: Probably laughable these days but I remember me and my mates being blown away by the first Gears of War on Xbox 360, thinking "wow those graphics". There was an awful lot of detail on the character models.

Without being a snob about "next gen" console, there's nothing yet that I haven't seen on my (similarly priced) PC. More recently I tried Trinus Gyre with Google Carboard and played Skyrim in VR- which was, literally, an eyeball-melting 10 minutes. Having depth perception in a game is something that a verbal explanation simply cant do justice.

For innovation:
Seeing enemy gunfire peck chunks of brick out of the wall next to me and spotting smoking gun barrels on FEAR was awesome. The AI on FEAR still makes me sweat.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

Far Cry 3 and Skyrim. Having a gorgeous game where you are required to go along a linear path is one thing, to see a game that is gorgeous to look at AND gives you the freedom to go (basically) wherever you want blew me away.

 

[jdogtwodolla]

The only time I caught myself thinking that was when I played Infamous: Second Son, The only game of this current gen I've actually played. The feel of the controls over the last two and the visuals of it all. I especially liked a certain second conduit Boss Fight. That was amazing. Makes me excited for more games with legitimate fantasy aesthetic to come out.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

PC - Quake, Unreal Tournament, Morrowind, Doom 3, BioShock, Crysis

N64 - Super Mario 64, Legend of Zelda: OoT, Perfect Dark

Xbox - Halo: CE, Fable, Mercenaries, Ninja Gaiden Black, Timesplitters: Future Perfect

Xbox 360 - Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, Red Faction: Guerilla, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Far Cry 2

Xbox One - Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Yes I'm an Xbox fanboy. Deal with it.

 

[Xman490]

Basically, every first new AAA game from the new generations I got: Mario 64, Mario Sunshine, Gears of War 2, and Titanfall.

Sorry to pick on you but I am very curious to know how Titanfall was the game to make you feel amazed about its graphics? Not a bad game by any means but compared to the other games on your list has me wondering. To me and everyone I ever talked to the graphics were the poorest aspect of it.

To be fair, I played Titanfall on a $1200 Lenovo laptop that seems to be high-mid-range. Even with the game settings on high, it runs smoothly.

 

[Flammablezeus]

Prototype. It was incredible to not only have hundreds of people on screen, but the fact that they also had allegiances and could fight amongst themselves, as well as having so many physics interactions going on simultaneously. I still can't get over the fact that Activision was once capable of creating something like that.

Edit: I want to add Super Smash Bros Melee. As a console gamer at the time, I'd never seen a game run that smoothly before and I thought that games would only get more and more silky smooth. Of course, time was a great teacher in that respect (that'll show me to get excited for progress.)

 

[Ragsnstitches]

In General:

Half Life 2
It felt like a distinct shift for gaming in terms of graphics, physics, animation and fidelity. While all of these aspects have improved in the last decade, I still feel like HL2 is still the most recent defining leap in terms of single player FPS experiences. The gun play, while good fun, was build on old gaming principles which feel a lot more archaic when compared to the other advancements the game had. The AI was also a notable improvement over contemporary AI, with enemies feeling very distinct in terms of behavior and path finding.

I remember owning a bonus DVD that I got with a Counter Strike game (the one with the single player campaign) that had the early footage of HL2, showcasing combat, enemies, physics and animations. One segment had a scene (not in the game sadly) showing a Strider attacking some rebels and blowing the shite out of a walkway. That was definitely a "this is the future!" moment. Here's the video for those curious, sorry for the shitty resolution:

For Consoles:
Going from the N64 to Dreamcast felt like such a massive leap for me. On the other side going from Megadrive to N64 didn't feel quite so significant as I had computer games that were better looking then what was available on N64.

Soul Caliber and Resident Evil: Code Veronica blew my fucking mind at the time.

When it came to the previous generation, Killzone 2 had some very good ocular stimulation in the opening sequences and was quite amazing to play at 1080i on a 50" TV. On top of that the game had some really satisfying and weighty gunplay that was exceptional for the time. I felt confident in my purchase of a PS3 from that game alone.

This generation hasn't had that same impact.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

One of my favorite SNES games was Star Fox. One of my first N64 games was Star Fox. I remember picking my jaw up off the floor when I got it as a kid and I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep that night. I didn't really care as much for Super Mario 64 but that's because I went from being amazed by Star Fox to being amazed by Ocarina of Time.

 

[cdemares]

In this new generation? Not much. The closest thing is the Nemesis system in Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. It's awesome. It's like a strategy game or something. I love how these Orc capitains pursue their own agenda. I like that you're not the most important thing in the world to them. They talk about you, sure. But it's not just you they're waiting around to fight. They want power in the Orc pecking order and have rivalries with other captains. They keep generating these guys, too, each with strengths and weaknesses. And they level up. And they remember things about you. It's actually quite an achievement. It just doesn't look impressive until after you've played a while. It's more subtle than flashy graphics. It's the kind of next-step I was looking for. Enemies that matter.

I still expect more. But this shows progress.

 

[bumbledog]

I second that thought cdemares; The Nemesis system was genuinely refreshing and made every players game personal. Definitely a step in the right direction.
I always prefer a game that prioritises fun-to-play over fun-to-look-at.

 

[small]

only two games have done that for me, the first was DOOM, and the second was operation flashpoint

actually getting to play a shooter that looked stunning for the time and wasnt cartoony and in 3D? WOW (yes im aware DOOM wasnt actually in 3D)

getting off the chopper in operation flashpoint seeing hills and forests stretching miles in the distance and knowing i could actully go anywhere i wanted, that was a flooring experience

 

[DrGonzo]

Killzone 2, GoW3 and Uncharted 2 all made me say "WOW", but Im still waiting for that moment this gen. There have been pretty games but nothing that made me feel like it couldnt have been done in some form on a PS3 or 360. I think we might have hit the point with the last gen where devs could pretty much make whatever concept they came up with work in some form or another and Im a little afraid that this gen is just going to be the same ideas in higher fidelity.

 

[WhiteNachos]

For graphics: Probably laughable these days but I remember me and my mates being blown away by the first Gears of War on Xbox 360, thinking "wow those graphics". There was an awful lot of detail on the character models.

Without being a snob about "next gen" console, there's nothing yet that I haven't seen on my (similarly priced) PC. More recently I tried Trinus Gyre with Google Carboard and played Skyrim in VR- which was, literally, an eyeball-melting 10 minutes. Having depth perception in a game is something that a verbal explanation simply cant do justice.

For innovation:
Seeing enemy gunfire peck chunks of brick out of the wall next to me and spotting smoking gun barrels on FEAR was awesome. The AI on FEAR still makes me sweat.

Any other games you tried with VR? I'd imagine Fallout and Bioshock would work well with those.

 

[ThreeName]

Ocarina of Time was actually my first big "next gen" game. So big. So pretty. Almost the exact same for Wind Waker as well.

Crysis for pure graphical power, I think TF2 felt like a move towards stylisation and aesthetics over realism, which was nice at the time..

 

[peruvianskys]

The first F.E.A.R.. Not just because of the amazing lighting and shadows. It had some amazingly impressive AI tricks to show off, and it was really the first 1st person horror game that "worked" for me, even if you were playing as an unstoppable superman.
Yeah, I know you can't really talk about "generations" on PC, but it just felt like a leap.

If I have to go back further, I'd say watching Quake 2 for the first time, and seeing my neighbour turn on 3D acceleration. My 9 year old mind couldn't quite comprehend how the game managed to run smoother AND look better at the same time. That was awe-inspiring as well.

For console-games, it would be KillZone 2 for shooters, Batman Arkham Asylum for 3rd person action (Maybe Assassin's Creed) and God of War for pure awesome.

I remember playing FEAR on my new PC and seeing a light fixture swing back and forth when I threw a grenade. The accompanying lighting effects were absolutely shocking in a "I never expected that to be possible" way.

Besides Half-Life and Half-Life 2, I remember playing God of War I and II right before III came out. The jump between the two was pretty incredible.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Halo 3 on the 360 was the first game to visually wow me, it was prettier than anything id seen before then. More recently though.. GTA 5, despite being released incredibly late into the 7th gen, absoloutely amazed me, theres just so much stuff in that game, I honestly couldnt believe I was playing it on a PS3