Pick a gaming 'gen, name three games you feel define THAT 'gen & why.

[Juk3n]

I'll kick things off with the 6th gen.

Resident Evil 4 - Originality, buckets, a reinvention or at least a great attempt at one, and on top of that, stunning.

Ecco (Dreamcast) was my first, "now THIS is next-gen" moment, such a beautiful game, a showpiece more than a classic, but if someone had only ever known gaming during the 32bit/64bit era and wanted a visual reason why they should invest in the next gen, id show them this.

Shenmue, because I see and acknowledge what you tried to do there SEGA and I applaud you for it.

 

[Hero of Lime]

For the 5th gen(N64, Playstation) Mine might be a little too biased so bear with me.

Mario 64: Showed how 3D environments and movement can be made and made well.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Showed that older game series could transition well into 3D, and it still highly regarded today.

Metal Gear Solid: Showed that the story-telling in gaming can become more complex, showed what the Playstation had to offer.

 

[The_Scrivener]

SNES/Genesis

Chrono Trigger - The template for all RPG greatness.

Super Mario World - The natural evolution of what used to be the greatest name in gaming.

Mortal Kombat - One of the most prominent original debates on violence in video games heavily contrasted on the two warring consoles. It didn't hurt that it was probably the cornerstone of the height of the fighting game genre in mainstream video gaming.

 

[scarecrow350]

For the 7th gen, aka the one thats now drawing to a close, its got to be:
Spec Ops: the line - outlines both the obsession with CoD styled action FPS, and the recent trend in story driven and focused games.
Super Mario Galaxy - represents both the start of motion control gaming movement, by being the first actual good game that used them (in my opinion at least)as well as being the recent peak of the Mario franchise, which has been slipping further and further downhill with every game being released since then.
Assassin's Creed - shows how franchises are now being milked for cash like cows in a stable, as it started out the generation as a launch title that was critically acclaimed for doing something different, and is now ending it as a multi-million dollar project that is way over budget.

(if i could choose a 4th and 5th it would be resident evil 5 and super meat boy, as they show the lack of attention and support survival horror has received recently and the prevalence of indie games this generation respectively)

A bit depressing i know, shame how much the industry has changed in one generation alone, this next one looks to be better however, now that big companies have actually started to listen to what the audience want.

 

[tce11]

3rd Gen: (NES / SMS (though I never played a SMS so won't be including any games from it))

Super Mario Bros. 3 - At the time this was the epitome of platforming, the genre which basically dominated that generation. Great graphics and music, all the worlds have a very unique feel, and having all the levels be connected by an overworld was amazing at the time.

The Legend of Zelda - Awe inspiring, huge, open world, with only your curiosity to guide you. This game defined the feeling of adventure.

Final Fantasy - Dragon Quest (or Warrior) may have been the introduction to console RPGs, but this game perfected the formula.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

6th Gen for me. The key year, to me, is 2005: Resident Evil 4, GTA San Andreas and Shadow of the Colossus. Everybody knows them, everybody has an opinion on them and everybody's (probably) played them.

Resident Evil 4 - it lay down the blueprints for every action-adventure game that would follow. The 3rd person over-the-shoulder camera angle, the slight zoom-in effect when aiming, the popularization of QTE's as an integral game mechanic, the slightly above-average multi-tasking enemy AI, the ragdoll impact detection, the decent escort engine... it's all become a norm to every game that's followed.

GTA San Andreas - the best selling game on the PS2 and arguably the climax of Rockstar's GTA series. It redefined open world gameplay and threw in RPG elements into the mix - which nowadays is pretty much a given in non-RPG games. Every sandbox that followed owes something to this game.

Shadow of the Colossus - everybody's favorite games-are-art cult opus, a nigh-flawless game that defied gameplay and genre rules by enveloping the player in a highly atmospheric story made of pure subtext, a vast and gorgeous world to explore and 16 very memorable boss fights in a row.

I think 2005 was the PS2's finest hour. Some honorable mentions include Silent Hill 2 for elevating storytelling in games, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time for single-handedly creating the ever popular time-manipulating mechanics, and God of War 2 for inspiring a slew of action-adventure clones.

 

[Insomniac98338]

Sixth gen:

Sonic Adventure on Sega Dreamcast. One of the Dreamcast's best selling titles and to this day I regard it as the perfect transition of 2D to 3D as far as Sonic is concerned.

Killer 7 (PS2 and GameCube). Whenever I play this game it feels like I'm high on a lethal mixture of Absinthe and pretty much any and every hallucinogenic drug known to man and I don't even smoke cigarettes or drink alchoholic substances and as such I realistically wouldn't know how intoxication via any of the aforementioned substances would feel like. Either way, it certainly is an awesome experience that I doubt even Suda himself can fully replicate in any current and/or future game.

Odin Sphere on the Playstation 2. I cannot fully and adequately express my thoughts on this game, although I can say for certain that it's a ***** to get back into if you haven't picked it up in over a month and you forgot how to play it competently. To start over from the first chapter or painstakingly relearn every single game mechanic as Cornelius...That said, express my thoughts for me Penny Arcade! http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/04/25 http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/04/25

 

[King of Asgaard]

PS3/360 (7th Gen)

-Dark Souls. In a time where actually difficult games are becoming less common, the existence and huge success of Dark Souls is a damn good indication that games made to be challenging can be very profitable.

-Skyrim. Despite the lack of depth and the kinda meh combat, Skyrim is a fantastic example which shows that exclusively single player games can and will sell, regardless of what those schmoes over at EA want to convince you of.

-Red Dead Redemption. For being the ultimate sandbox game, which has yet to be dethroned in terms of sheer variety and numerous content, and is one of very few sandboxes with a phenomenal story, while still being fun to mess around in.