Games that made you just go "Whoa...."

[Gryphon]

We've all played them, or seen them. From the word go you are just awe struck by how gorgeous it is, or how fluid game play is, or even how perfect the musical score is set to what is on screen.

Of the few that I can really say this about, Mxy and I both agree that Elder Scrolls: Oblivion gets the "Where have you been all my life gorgeous?" award. Play it on a good machine, you'll understand, trust me.

The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time gets my vote as well, for nearly everything is flawless from controls, to most deffinately the music, even the design and layout of the game. Along with that comes Assassin's Creed, due out this November, look it up, you're eyes will thank you.

Call of Duty 2. Let's just say that after the Point Du Hoc mission I had to take a break because I was emotionally drained by just how intense it was. Think Saving Private Ryan.... yes, it's that rough. Gave me a whole new level of respect for Normandy Veterans, which was sky high to begin with.

Grim Fandango, but that's because I love film Noir, jazz, swing, and Bogart  films.

[BFM_Hydra]

Woah, there are games OTHER than Halo????  _idk_ _idk_ _idk_

[Flops]

http://www.youtube.com/v/SLXLGByTcZ4
http://www.youtube.com/v/R37E4839ytE

The first video is a clip from Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.  It's still my favorite single player game ever, as the storyline is good, the voice acting is top notch (I believe I heard somewhere that most of the voice actors are from Cowboy Bebop), the dialog is integrated seamlessly into the gameplay, the gameplay is good, and the music is awesome.  You get reports from AWACS, listen and respond to the opinions of your wingmen, listen to ally and enemy chatter, all while trying to accomplish your mission.  It's very engaging for an arcade flight sim, and I would HIGHLY recommend it.

The second video is a trailer for F-Zero GX (I had trouble finding a decent gameplay video of GP mode).  This racer still amazes me with the level of detail in the racing mechanics, level design, and just the graphics themselves.  There's moments that are truly awe-inspiring, such as on "Double Branches" where the path splits, one side flips upside down, and you speed down the track with half the field (30 total racers) directly above your head.  The insane speed, turns, jumps, loops, and huge field just make this the best futuristic racing game ever, hands down.  Oh, and the music's good too.

[BFM_Hydra]

Ace Combat 5 appears to be like a game we used to play called Freelancer. That was pretty cool ^^

[ÞÛmª]

Best game ever: Super Metroid, duh! I really, really like Super Metroid  (!


Best graphics ever: There was some other game I saw, but I forget it.

Best graphics for computing power: Kings Quest, for the Apple II!

And, of course, best FPS ever: Halo!

Best MMO ever: Sorry, but World of Warcraft pwns. Now if they did something about the cost...

Best RPG ever: I am personally fond of Final Fantasy: Tactics (PSOne). The first and mah personally favorite RPG. Next would be Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Both are by the same people: SquareEnix (aka SquareSoft).

[Gryphon]

(I believe I heard somewhere that most of the voice actors are from Cowboy Bebop)

Yes, Captain Bartlet (Wardog Leader, Heartbreak 1) played Spike Speigel, and his Yuktobanian Intel girlfriend was Faye Valentine.

[A41~Møbiu§]

i agree with Flops Ace Combat 5 : the unsung war is one of my top favorites!!!! i highly recommend it HIGHLY! best story, game play, music and much more. I really enjoyed that game. definitely got that Whoa factor when playing it. i had stop playing seeing how i was "emotional drained" after a certain "sad mission" i don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't played it yet, but those that have know the one i speak of (chopper  :( ).

other: whoa factor games of mine

Ace Combat 4: shattered skys -> game play, music, voicing acting and STORY!!

MGS:3 Snake Eater -> game play, music, voice acting, graphics and one heck of story!!

RE4 (resident evil:4) -> game play one of the best or not thee best RE games due to game play. gives you a rush facing a large number foes that are much more smarter then your average zombie. also story line and just the amount of secret missions unlocks bonus stages. this game has a high replay value.
 
well those are a few of my top pics.... oohh wait FF VII and  FF X great story line and game play truly awesome final fantasy games and Xeno Saga is also one good RPG series highly recommend if your looking for a good RPG (role playing game)
 

[BFM_SirTaco]

call of duty 4 i just saw the incredible graphics and tactics as my friend's brother played it

[Zoldor]

i'd have to vote for ff7.

(and puma, i like cats, too. tastes like chicken)

[Flops]

I find FF6 (3 in US) more engaging, as the story made more sense (you have to play FF7 twice or more to actually comprehend it all,and then it's still confusing) and the music as a whole is better than FF7.  FF7 has some good songs, but there's so many that are forgettable.  On another note, those are the only two FF's I've ever played.

Super Metroid is a game I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone looking for some good action/platforming gameplay.  Also Metroid Prime.  But not Metroid Prime 2 (It's good, but it lacks something from the other Metroid games, and I can't place my finger on it).

Resident Evil 4 is an awesome third person shooter.  However, the storyline is a joke ("Hey guys, when the boss says 'capture' the girl he really means run over her with a giant mine drill, right?" _idk_), but that's not the reason to play the game.  The reason is the crazy dilemmas you find yourself in (Figure out how to unlock the door while rocket launchers are being fired at you!), huge assortment of weapons and secrets, and not to mention how you still play the game even during cutscenes.

Finally, I have to list the best 2-d platformer ever- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES, on the GBA it's Super Mario Advance 3).  The animation and backgrounds are amazing, the gameplay is awesome (you can just complete each goal, or try to unlock secret levels by finding all the hidden items), and the bosses are just awesome.  If you never played this game yet you had an SNES, then something's wrong.

So, you may be thinking "Well, Super Mario Bros./3 is his 2nd favorite platformer, right?"  WRONG!  Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest.  Tons of awesome gameplay, secrets, bosses, and really awesome music just make this another awesome platformer.  Oh, and Pirates.  Lots and lots of pirates.

The two vids below showcase the 2 platformer's (can't show RE4, got tired of shifting through speedrun after speedrun for Super Metroid and Prime, don't feel like finding a FF6/7 video. )

http://www.youtube.com/v/qAW4vd9sNxw
http://www.youtube.com/v/51vYJu5XH3Y

Edit:  I need to find the MGS 1 and 2 compilation on PS2 and then get MGS3.  I've really been wanting to play this series but I get distracted by some other game.

[MrMxyzptlk]

In addition to Edler Scrolls IV: Oblivion a few others stick out in my mind, WRT "Whoa!"-factor:

Wipeout 3: Special Edition had great/clean graphics for a REALLY FAST racer. (Ok, maybe not so fast by TODAY's standards!  )

Being a Computer Graphics trailblazer, I had (still have, actually!) 3D goggles! They're like "sunglasses" with a thin cord running from them to a serial-port dongle, and work(ED!  ) WITH ANY GRAPHICS CARD.  (The "glass" in each would go opaque electronically alternately every 60th of a second - in sync with the Left/Right images generated by the game on screen. Hence you literally see two different perspectives out of each eye, every 30th of a second!)

These are NOT your "theatre 3D goggles," by any means!

Problem was, they only worked with games that supported that company's attempt at an Open Source 3D system, so the available games ended up pretty-much being the ones that came on its demo CD. 

With a few SUPERB exceptions!:

Descent & Descent II were both 3D-enabled for these goggles! Now, we're talking about a game with a 3D perspective that was pretty intense to begin with! (Excerpt from Wiki article about "regular" Descent play:)

"Although the keyboard interface for moving and rotating in full 3D space is easily learned, many players initially suffered from nausea and confusion since any viewpoint became possible." (I ONLY played 3D games with the then brand new MS 3-axis Sidewinder joystick, so I had true 3-axis flight control!)

Descent II - or even the original Descent! - when played in REAL 3D is AWESOME! (And something that even the strongest stomach can only take for 15-20 minutes at a sitting!)

Shots whiz by as you dodge them and they LOOK like they're RIGHT THERE IN THE ROOM WITH YOU! (I can't imagine this setup with a monitor larger than the 19" one I played on!)

There were two other games of similar note, only because of the 3D perspective:

Whiplash (in the US) was what has today beceme your standard auto racing game, but this was the first with real physics and damage effects, etc. ... and worked with the 3D goggles! (And was, therefore, not NEARLY as nauseating as Descent!), and

Slipstream 5000, a whacky fururistic racing game where you race against others on a LAN + AI bots around a track in 3-space! (Think hoops/pylons floating in the air....)

P.S. I had three sets of these goggles so we could play multiplayer LAN (+ bot) games with these things on all our computers, too!

All of these were "Whoa!"-games when viewed in true 3D!

[Gryphon]

I have to add Aliens Vs Predator II into this lot, because they captured the feeling of being a Colonial Marine quite well with lots of shadow and that "you are being stalked" feeling. As well as when you played as the Predator you felt like the mighty Hunter with all the kick-butt weapons, and as a Xenomorph as the cunning, stealthy and viciously brutal killer.

[AEONS]

Everquest, definitely. It took me a while to realize how big of a game it was, and how many people played it. When it hit me, it was a "Woahhhh" moment.

[BFM_Hydra]

I hate pay to play online games ^^ Personal preference though

[BFM_Warlord]

TRANSFORMERS THE GAME for PC is awesome ,you have to try it.