OldBoy

I mean really enveloped, totally absorbed, stayed up nights, always had the urge to play and just absolutely invested throughout...

for me, all of the above was true and then some:

wlj

I know that one came out of left field



i have played some good games but i haven't been "blown away" since that one.

foxdvd

I would say Red Dead, but not to repeat, before that was Mass Effect 1.

Michael Corvin

Maybe a cliched answer since it just came out but Halo 4. I had that double take during the first cut scene where I realized it was animated. I thought they went the film route since they did Forward Unto Dawn to tie-in. My jaw hit the floor. Plus the in game visuals are just as sweet. Grunts and Jackyls never looked so good. They actually have reptillian skin. It's gorgeous.

Before that was probably Rayman: Origins. The visuals are pure eye candy but the soundtrack really put a smile on my heart. I've been playing games since the 70s and it had a level of whimsy that I just hadn't seen before.

starseed1981

Blown Away? Probably Final Fantasy VII.

Decker

I wasn't really a huge fan of Uncharted. It was okay, but didn't feel all that special to me. But in the first scene in Uncharted 2 you're hanging for your life from a train car dangling over a cliff. It was so cinematic and visceral. And there was so much more that I loved. It didn't really feel like a game, more like an action movie where I controlled the star. My favorite game of this generation and it completely blew me away.

shumway

This game is the reason I even purchased a 360 to begin with. My brother pre-ordered and brought it to our house, along with his 360, and a portable TV on Thanksgiving that year. I knew I had to have that game. Played the hell out of it, much to the chagrin of my wife and joy of my children.

RichC2

999 on the DS, mostly because it was so unexpected. An adult old school puzzle/adventure game? Awesome.

Especially notable with it's classy dialog:

adrenaline78

Been mentioned already.. but FF7... wow.

Uncharted.. incredible...

and as far as a racer, Burnout Paradise.. that one knocked my socks off! loved it!

brayzie

That 999 game looks awesome. The only game that made me want to buy a system after the PS2 was Hotel Dusk, and 999 looks somewhat similar to that.

Sorry, but the last game that blew me away was Shenmue. I'm not up on this generation of games.

Groucho

I will say The Walking Dead. With this game, Telltale has mastered the interjection of both storytelling and emotional weight into gaming.

dom56

Fighting dragon in Skyrim just blew me away. Can't wait to ride one on the next DLC Dragonborn.

RichC2

It's a slow but very intriguing game. 999 is Hotel Dusk meets Saw (or The Dark Knight if you want to be more sophisticated about it). I want to buy a Vita just to play its pseudo-sequel, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, but I can't justify spending that much on it.

LosingMyMind

Get a 3DS. Much better selection of games and Virtue's Last Reward looks identical, with the 3DS version being superior with the inclusion of the 3D.

BTW, my copy arrived today and it even came with the pre-order watch. Cool!

K&AJones

That's a tough one....because I usually get blown away by something new like the first game in a series. I'd actually list it like...

Halo on the First Xbox....nothing ever like before and totally grabbed everyone and sent XBox sales flying.

Gears of War...did for the 360 what halo did for the first XBox. Something new and something you wouldn't put down

Bioshock...the first one was a feast for eyes and really something never seen or played before.

COD 4 Modern Warfare...Each one seems to improve a bit on the other but for some reason this one sticks out. The "Water Effects" are simply outstanding in this one.

Battlefield 3....The realism and lighting here was second to none not to mention the sound.

Borderlands 1 & 2...The first took many by surprised with it's semi-real and cartoon cell look. Something brash but play wise totally insane and off the wall. The second doesn't have the same wow factor but it far more polished, better play and looking yet keeps the origianal look and style

Trevor

Gears of War perhaps

Raul3

A lot of the ones mentioned before. And I would also add Fallout 3, it was like, wait, what? Did I really spent more than 200 hours in this game?

mhg83

Skyrim (pc) spent many sleepless nights playing that game. I think i last logged 110 hours and still have a crapload of quests to do.

Tarantino

Fallout 3. I didn't have any idea what it was, and my roommate got a free copy. Started playing it one bit because I was bored, and 8 hours later, I was hooked. I ended up playing for over 100 hours & got most of the achievements. I'll never forget traversing the barren land & seeing my first Deathclaw.

Rival11

In order from the time I got back into gaming:

Bioshock - the game that got me back into gaming and made me buy a console.

Call of Duty 4 modern warfare - could not believe multiplayer was that awesome I was so blown away by it.

Grand Theft Auto IV - I could not beleive the amount of detail that was in this game - mainly graphically and the ambience of a real city (i.e. when it turned morning time it FELT like it was morning). That and the random encounters that just happened naturally in the game (i.e. when strangers just come up to you and all of a sudden there is interaction - so cool, it's like the game had its own life).

Red Dead Redemption - I really thought it was just going to be GTA on horses and while obviously to some degree it is.....it was just so easy to let this game own you - I was quite taken by the atmosphere of this game as well.

Undead Nightmare - just a mindless fun time and was so impressed with how the entire word was transformed for this fun add-on - they put a lot of work into this one.

And....most recently....

Sleeping Dogs - sure it borrows HEAVILY from GTA but....those last two missions man....those last two missions.....worth the money alone.

Deftones

FF7 is the most notable game.

I gave up gaming during the PS2/Xbox/Dreamcast years.

In this new generation, I'd probably say Mass Effect, just based on how good the story was.

devynal

This without a doubt. The Wild West, the atmosphere, the storyline, the amazing DLC.

It's a bittersweet thing with RDR: I love the game, but it saddens me that no other game will come close to being as epic as it was.

Rob V

Rainbow 6: Vegas --- the only game I've played at 3am.

OldBoy

that scene does look epic and kinda makes me wish i had a PSN to play it. my kinda game/experience.

Kedrix

Skyrim....and before that probably Fable II, I know odd but damn it I loved that game.