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

[McElroy]

Good Old FFVII in the late nineties. The backgrounds and the battle animations were better than most animated series on tv. For 6th gen I'd say GTA III, but it was also because the change in perspective was so striking. PS3 launch games were also quite good looking, but they also sounded extremely impressive at the time.

On PC a similar sense of awe has happened twice. First was when Empire Earth came out with the most epic cinematic trailer they even showed on tv. Age of Empires had four technological ages - EE HAS 12!! MECHS! LASERS! It was AoE and C&C combined and that sure was something for the little boy me. The other was Crysis which I'm sure everyone can still remember. I was a bit late to the party, but I hadn't yet spoiled the most gorgeous part, so it indeed struck a wow-effect.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Do you mean this gen? Cos' no, nothing has made me feel like that with this console generation.

Last gen however, I remember getting out of the starting dungeon in Oblivion for the first time and being like 'holy shit'. I can walk up any of those mountains? I can go wherever the hell I want? Sure, Morrowind did the same thing, but it looked like butt. Oblivion looks kinda ugly now too, but at the time it was amazing.

 

[duwenbasden]

NES to SNES (Super Mario 3 -> 4), Gameboy Advanced to Dell Axim. Starcraft and SimCity 2000 blew me away back in the days too.

My heavily modded Skyrim looks better than GTA 5 on "next-gen". How long before we realise this notion of "Gen" do not apply to PC. The last "gen" we collectively had was from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95, and from 98 to XP (and DX9 to 10, maybe? )

Yes, Press X to Pay Respects.

I don't have a high opinion of "next-gen".

Yep.

 

[GloatingSwine]

The first Unreal.

The lighting, light sources, gloss surfaces, colours, the shiny was so new and shocking at the time, especially since the closest other competitor was Quake 2, with it's relentless brownness, much flatter texturing, less effects, smaller areas, etc.

 

[babinro]

Not for a while.

Commodore 64 to NES felt like a major jump.
SNES to N64 felt like a major jump at the time.

Since then...most of the changes have happened during the lifespan of the systems rather than as of the launch of a new console. The jump from Gamecube to Wii initially felt like a major jump until the limitations of motion controls became a reality.

 

[XaVierDK]

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.

 

[Zeterai]

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I bought it with my Wii, and upgraded from a GameCube. Now, I realize that either of these systems weren't exactly synonymous with graphical fidelity to rival their.. erm.. rivals.. but those lighting effects.

Half-Life 2 was like that as well. I remember back when the Source engine was a big deal.

 

[Xman490]

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

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Secret of Evermore and Secret of Mana for the SNES.

Mana, because of just about everything and Evermore because my partner was a fucking robot toaster dog with a plasma cannon.

And special kudos to Mana for having the fast travel options of flying dragon and motherfucking cannons. Yes - fast travel cannons with Rastafarian attendants, shooting you to your desired location. You don't see that in many other games, do you?

The next game that did that was Wild ARMs 1 for the PS1. Since then, no other game has wowed me to that effect.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

The first "next gen" game I played was Dead Rising 3. It did feel pretty next level. When you escape the first area and find yourself on the highway looking out over what has to be at least a couple thousand individual zombies all wanting to snack on your squishy bits... that felt pretty cool.

Dead Rising has always been about pushing the most amount of zombies that the hardware would allow. And as a fan of the series (and zombie fiction in general), I've always really liked their approach to the undead horde. The old games would have dozens of zombies on screen, but you would always seen many copies of the same few models. Which was fine in the 360 days. The DR3 approach felt next gen to me even though the game is far from the best looking game on the system.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Going to the N64 from SNES and Genesis was incredible back in the day. Star Fox 64 was just mind blowing to tiny me, maybe even more so than Mario 64. Which still blew my mind of course.

Another great example would be going from N64 to the Gamecube. Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader looked "HD" to me back then. It still looks great to this day, I don't know what magic Factor 5 used on the Gamecube, but it was beautiful. Plus, going from Super Smash Bros. on N64 to Smash Bros. Melee was also a real game changer for me. The movement, the visuals, and expanded modes. The difference was night and day.

Needless to say, this current gen has not done that for me yet. It is nice to see Nintendo games finally being made in HD, but I've been wowed by HD games before so I would not call it a new experience.

 

[Ryan Hughes]

Nothing from this generation, obviously. Graphics may be shiny nowadays, but true innovations in gameplay and story telling are hard to come by.

Silent Hill 2 was likely the biggest jump for me in generations. It was one of the first titles designed to really work the PS2 to its limit, and boy did it take horror to a new level.

As for other generations, Mario 64 is an obvious choice, as it used the raw horsepower of the N64 to show things that just had not been possible before.

Suikoden I for the PS1 is another, not because of its graphics -those are sprites on par with some 16-bit titles like Chrono Trigger- but because of its depth of story. The move to disc-based consoles removed the storage limitations of the 16-bit cartridges, and allowed simply for a much more expansive story and setting.

 

[zegram33]

well, oblivion and skyrim of course. oblivion especially, at the time one of my friends just didn't believe there was an overworld at all (he thought I was lying about it)
hmn.....Just cause 2 back on ps3 was the first time I remember just sitting and watching the world (far cry 3 had me doing the same thing, and RDR to a lesser extent)

 

[WhiteNachos]

No, because I feel like devs, journalists and a lot of players view "next gen" as "shinier graphics". But I want "next gen" to mean smarter AI, better level design, more quest completion options, etc, I could go on for a while listing all the different elements that make a good game, but you know what I mean.

I haven't seen any of that stuff yet. Which is not to say all the games I've played recently have been bad. I just haven't seen any improvements from "last gen".

Huh interesting, I'm curious for some examples. The only ones I can think of are the invention of FPS and othre genres when we went from 2D and 3d and sandbox games which were much easier to make on PS2 and PS3 games.

I mean good level design is still good level design all the next gen consoles do is remove some limits to what you can do.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

I grew up with a limited N64 library and Pokémon on my Game Boy Colour. When I got my Gamecube, I was AMAZED by Super Mario Sunshine. It looked so... beautiful and amazing. Same with Star Fox Adventures, which I liked a lot more than most people did. The environments in Star Fox Adventures were absolutely wonderful; even to this day, I think that it's one of the most atmospheric games I've ever played. Smash Bros. Melee also felt like such an improvement over the N64 iteration.

Maybe my opinion is coloured by nostalgia, which is entirely possible, but the jump from N64 to Gamecube was the biggest, most significant "next-gen" change I've ever felt, especially considering I don't feel much of a difference between, say, the PS3 and the PS4.

 

[kasperbbs]

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.

 

[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.