What was the last game you played that made your jaw drop?

[Doppel]

Half-Life 2.

We should be WAY beyond where we are now.

As a (at this time) console-only gamer I have to think some of the blame lies with consoles. The big money is in a game that runs on all platforms and that means cater to lowest common denominator.

 

[mooncancook]

War Craft 2. Back when pretty much all my games ran in VGA the SVGA graphics in WC2 made my jaw drop.

A more recent one would be Crysis 1 screenshots. They looked amazing but I didn't have the hardware to run it then.

 

[crisium]

Well sure, graphics have almost stagnated for many years. But gameplay innovation and story telling have continued to evolve and should have dropped your draw once or twice since 2004.

But looking at my personal all-time top 25 games list, there are no games from after 2004 ranked higher than Half-Life 2. So I cannot disagree with you. Hard to say, but I can generally safely say that Half-Life 2 is still the best game from 2004-2012. Hmm...

 

[CZroe]

Well sure, graphics have almost stagnated for many years. But gameplay innovation and story telling have continued to evolve and should have dropped your draw once or twice since 2004.

But looking at my personal all-time top 25 games list, there are no games from after 2004 ranked higher than Half-Life 2. So I cannot disagree with you. Hard to say, but I can generally safely say that Half-Life 2 is still the best game from 2004-2012. Hmm...

There were many times that I expected to be blown away only to be let down miserably. Now I keep my expectations low.

Damn! Why couldn't Heavy Rain have been as good as the trailer led me to believe?!

 

[imaheadcase]

Half Life 2. Nothing else was good looking and played well at the same time.

 

[Pocatello]

Skyrim was nice but you kinda expected it to look nice so it wasnt really jaw dropping. Walking out of Vault 101 in FO3, and first laying eyes on the capital wasteland was probably the most wow experience Ive ever had in a video game

This was for me also. I know Fallout 3 graphic was out of date when it was released, but that scene seeing the wasteland for the first time was haunting for me.

 

[exar333]

Oblivion and then Crysis.

Edit: FarCry! Almost forgot this one...

 

[njdevilsfan87]

PS2 on multiple occasions. The initial wow factor lasted a good few weeks. Whie no longer there, it is still a lot of fun and my game of choice now, and likely for the long term if SOE ages it well.

 

[zerogear]

Crysis, in it's 13 fps glory.

 

[kreactor]

farcry 3 when i was swimming across the river to skin that tapir drinking by the shore when a croc yank me back and try to deathroll me

gta v bogt ending, jumping out the private plane by ellis island, sunset on my back and endsong music fading in...

 

[Grooveriding]

I'd say the first time I played a CD-ROM game. The ability for them to pack much better visual assets into games because of the huge jump in storage versus floppies was really amazing. The Legend of Kyrandia stands out to me as one of the first CD-ROM games I played.

For raw graphics; Far Cry and then Crysis, nothing since then has done anything to wow me. BF3 was nice for finally seeing another good looking game on PC after so long had passed since Crysis 1/Warhead.

For story plot twists etc... The Dig had a really amazing story that wowed me a fair bit, also when I used to still play WoW. In The Burning Crusade expansion when my guild first got to Illidan and then in SWP when we got to Kil'Jaeden and he crawled out of the Sunwell. Pretty awesome.

 

[Achilles97]

WoW. A month after release, I finally decided to play my first MMO. I was a troll leveling in Durotar when I saw a huge King Kong type of wall. I nervously stepped inside to see the bustling metropolis of Orgrimmar with so many guys running around, chat messages constantly, guards patrolling, and that deep music. Jaw hit the floor.

BF3 the first time I loaded a Conquest Large map, which happened to be Kharg Island. I stepped off the hovercraft onto the beach to see planes streaking over, a tank rumbling in the distance, a jeep full of guys zooming by. I stepped over the crest of the hill to see a battle going on before me. I took shelter there for minute to take in the scale of the situation and to hear all those sounds going on. Jaw hit the floor.

 

[CZroe]

farcry 3 when i was swimming across the river to skin that tapir drinking by the shore when a croc yank me back and try to deathroll me

gta v bogt ending, jumping out the private plane by ellis island, sunset on my back and endsong music fading in...

GTA V is not released yet.

 

[HeXen]

For raw graphics; Far Cry and then Crysis, nothing since then has done anything to wow me. BF3 was nice for finally seeing another good looking game on PC after so long had passed since Crysis 1/Warhead.

Farcry 2 had better graphics in regards to textures and models than part 3 does.
Crysis 1 still has superior water and physics

 

[Stringjam]

Almost forgot.....when you walk through the caves in Dear Esther.

Played it again last night.....jaw dropped again.

I'm not even a fan of Source, but somehow the developer managed to create an environment (low-res textures and all) that just completely immerses you in the scene. It's profoundly beautiful - and a testament to just how important artistic direction is, no matter what the graphic quality.

 

[Golgatha]

Batman Arkham Asylum - Mainly the fighting gameplay and grappling hook mechanics. Finally an awesome Batman game where you feel like you're the dark knight.

Fallout 3 - As others have mentioned, coming out of the vault and seeing the wasteland. Just amazing and huge.

 

[Oyeve]

Wing Commander II, when some jockey got blowed up and said "SHIIIIIT!", I was like, did he really curse? Of course way back then they didnt curse in games. Oh, and when I played "Kingpin". The cursing in that game was so way over the top! Awesome!

 

[CZroe]

Batman Arkham Asylum - Mainly the fighting gameplay and grappling hook mechanics. Finally an awesome Batman game where you feel like you're the dark knight.

Sunsoft's Batman, loosely based on the 1989 movie, did that for me on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Rare and awesome cinematics, excellent Ninja Gaiden-style wall-jumping gameplay, difficult, plus you actually get to KILL The Joker! Ichinisan's video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtvBUEq1h3E

Not sure how that got past Nintendo's censors.

 

[imaheadcase]

Agreed. I bought the game off-the-shelf in 2001 and was amazed like i have never been ... ever.


I fear the "golden" age of gaming has past us by ...

No, we just got older and not impressed as much.

 

[zijin_cheng]

Farcry 3 is pretty good, graphics are above average but no Crys.s

 

[Face2Face]

Blackreach in Skyrim -- Skyrim overall though - So many times I would stop playing and just stare and say, man this game is F*&*ing awesome!!

 

[Slammy1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Commander_III:_Heart_of_the_Tiger

 

[JoetheLion]

Nothing since Oblivion and yeah, Half-life 2.

 

[Eureka]

For those of you who like good stories and shooters, Spec Ops: The Line. Amazing game, but don't spoil it by reading up on it. It's a hell of a game.

 

[poohbear]

witcher 2 for sure. What an Epic game in every category!