10 Stunning Experiences From Current-Gen Gaming

WC: Every generation of gaming creates its own blend of unique experiences that burrow their way into our heads forever. We’re exposed to moments that bring tears to our eyes, anger in our hearts, and even make us mourn the loss of our favorite characters. Moments in gaming where our jaws drop in astonishment, and we realize that what we’re playing is something truly special.

With the current generation, game developers have done away with the pixelated blur of 20 polygon counts, lackluster particle effects, and primitive gameplay mechanics. Now, it seems that gaming is evolving at a rapid rate, and we get to witness each stunning moment first hand.

Here’s 10 of the most stunning experiences of our current generation, in no particular order, for your reading pleasure.

[j-blaze]

i can make a list from MGS4 and Heavy Rain alone

[Riderz1337]

Yeah I know what you mean man! Also don't forget Uncharted series! Wow Naughty Dog is the greatest developer ever and Uncharted is an amazing series. The Last of Us looks to impress all of gamers around the world as well.

LOLOLOL

[Riderz1337]

for people who don't get it, J-Blaze has a huge hatred for Naughty Dog for whatever reason, so I'm just trolling him. Lol...

[Horny]

I'd say add far cry 3 to the list, amazing experience overall.

[ForgottenProphecy]

I don't get all the downvotes. MGS4 and Heavy Rain were easily the most awe inspiring games this generation. He didn't even diss any game on this list, or any game at all for that matter. Some people are just stupid.

[Catoplepas]

It's j-blaze. It's utterly irrelevant what he wrote. I personally just down-vote him whenever I see him. I suspect most other people do the same.

[showtimefolks]

THIS IS JUST MY OPINION: MY PERSONAL LIST:

Gears of war 3....very good looking

God of war....stunning looking more like playing a game within a CGI trailer

Uncharted 3....Great looking wow ND

MGS4....one word PERFECT

Bioshock....I thought it was good looking but captured the atmosphere perfectly

GTA4....In 2008 This was the Standard for open world games till RDR beat it see how both are made by RS. so now the next one will be GTA5 that will take the crown

Batman...very good looking, but color's wise very stale i am hoping for next one they add some colors. but than again its a Batman universe which is very dark

Heavy rain....extremely good looking

if there is one game that had the wow moment for me it was and still is MGS4

[Axecution]

Lol you kind of just based your entire list off of graphics xD

[zerocrossing]

It was a nice list but yeah where the hell was MGS4... Not a single Japanese game, biased much?

[Eyeco]

The Microwave tunnel in MGS 4 was completely stunning

Related video

[IAmLee]

*UC3 SPOILER*

WHEN SULLY GETS SHOT.

[deep_fried_bum_cake]

You realise that you are only supposed to write a spoiler message in capitals because it draws the reader's attention.

Writing the spoiler below it, also in capitals, kinda defeats that purpose as it makes it very unavoidable.

[x5exotic]

I could make a list from God of War 3 alone.
It easily stands out with almost every moment of its run.

PS: HR sucked, it wasn't even a game. So not even close. MGS4 is great on the other hand.

Also, Dead Island's TRAILER was a really nice moment. Can't say the same for the game :P
@topic, too many pages; did not proceed.

[Cueil]

seeing dude's nuts get sniped was to much... to much

[plaZeHD]

Red Dead Redemption, when you enter Mexico.
God Of War 3 Poseidon boss fight.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves train level.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception desert.
Bioshock the atmosphere.
are among the best in my opinion.

[Ezz2013]

also uncharted 3 ship yard/yemen level/the plane level/the hourse level/the hidden city
and pretty much every boss fight in god of war 3

[plaZeHD]

Yeah Naughty Dog loaded Uncharted 3 with crazy set piece, and God Of War 3 had huge scales, Cronos boss fight can possibly be the largest boss in video game history. I would also like to add the boss fight with Mr. Freeze in Batman: Arkham City.

[guitarded77]

The plane level was so freaking amazing. From crawling through the dark red lit particle filled corridor at the beginning, to skydiving over the desert, that entire level made me question if Naughty Dog's team is made of aliens.

[Darrius Cole]

Actually a better moment is the first time I saw the Uncharted 2 trailer at E3. I'm talking about the trailer where the helicopter chases Drake and Chloe and the building you are in (i.e. the entire level) collapses beneath your feet. That is the first time I can recall seeing anything like that happening in a game.

When the game actually got here it validated the trailer every bit.

[DasBunker]

I liked the Hades fight better, Poseidons was good too but the finisher sequence was weak IMO and placing it right after starting the game was anticlimatic.

[calis]

I see you don't know what anticlimatic means.

[DasBunker]

@Calis

Compared to GOWI and II, the opening of GOWIII was anticlimatic IMO.

"anticlimactic - of or relating to a sudden change from an impressive to a ludicrous style."

Seems like you and all those who agreed with you, don't know their words.

[calis]

You didn't even mention God of War 1 and 2 in your original post so that's redundant. But that doesn't matter because it is still the incorrect use of the word.

Anti-climatic relates to something in the same sequence of events. So your comparison of the opening of God of War 1 and 2 to the opening of 3 is nor even relevant to that. That's like saying Superbowl 30 was anticlimatic because Superbowl 4 was awesome. They're completely unrelated.

That doesn't even begin to discuss how you said it in your original context which was saying it was anticlimatic because it was at the beginning of God of War 3 which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

[StrawberryDiesel420]

For me, it was taking down Maneater and Flamelurker solo in Demon's Souls. Such an epic experience.

[platformmaster918]

The plane crash and running across the chateau roof as it blew up were both amazing in Uncharted 3 as was running from the water. I literally asked "which way is up?" about 10 seconds before Drake did haha. This kinda stuff is why Uncharted 3 was my favorite in the series.

I would also say slicing off your finger in Heavy Rain, having to use the middle stick in Arkham Asylum, and going back in time to change the outcome of the battle in A Crack in Time.

[adorie]

Good ones. I would throw the Chronos encounter from God of War III in there too. I couldn't get over the interaction and scale of the whole experience.

[Mouktouk]

The ending of Metal Gear Solid 4 was brutally intense, one of my best moments I had in this generation, with Journey, Amnesia's playthrough and Portal 2's non-puzzle sequences (among many other moments in many other video games).

[cleverusername]

The Napal level in Uncharted 2!

[RustedMan]

interesting list.

[BanBrother]

Do you agree with;
10. Dom's death - Gears of War 3?
9. Poseidon death scene - God of War 3?
8. Black soulstone cinematic - Diablo 3?
7. Legend Of Rapture - Bioshock (Seeing underwater city for first time)?
6. Drill to the eye - Dead Space 2?
5. All Ghillied Up - Cod 4?
4. Scarecrow Nightmare world -Batman Arkham Asylum?
3. THAT announcement trailer - Dead Island (you KNOW what one)?
2. Tracing Nathan Drake's Adventure - Uncharted (basically the whole game)?
1. X-ray brutality - Mortal Kombat, Sniper Elite V2?

Now, surely I can not get in trouble for copying the list, as I used it in context, by asking you what you thought of each ranking, thus the '?' at the end.

I myself only disagree with 10,4, and 3. 10 and 4 were good, but weren't good enough. Number 3 is a joke tbh. Where was Halo 4, Assassin's Creed 2, Heavy Rain, Uncharted 2, Fallout?

Good list, interesting yes. I can agree to disagree, as everyone has their own opinions. Nice article.

[Aceman18]

personally as much as i like Gears i laughed during Dom's death scene. i was really happy they off his character i couldn't stand him since the first game.

for God of War i love the Kronos fight.

also Heavy Rain from beginning to end was a thrill a minute.

Uncharted had some great sequences throughout the whole series.

[SephirothX21]

that nobody wants to have.

[WackyVee]

I really enjoyed Dead Island, but looking at that video makes me remember how the game could have been so much more, more story driven than what it ended up being.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

Being invaded for the first time in Demon Souls......

[xXBlondieVanHarlowXx]

*Black Phantom -Cuddlez96704- has invaded*

Me: Oh, WTF!! :O

*accidentally runs off cliff*

Me: (,_, )

At least that's how my friend's & i remember our first time lol

[dalibor]

Bahaha I can totally picture that happening. So many ways to die accidentally especially for beginners. That smiley face is perfect for somebody who had ran off a cliff. And also surprised nobody said anything about R:FOM when in the church all those scorpion things just jump at you. There were so many of them you had to run like hell. A shout out to the first game I got for the PS3.

[Aceman18]

@blondie

haha yea that scared the hell out of me.

@dalibor
yea the church scene with the leapers was nerve racking and awesome at the same time.

lost odyssey had some great moments too.

[SonyStyled]

Posidons death is one of the most brutal expiriences ive encountered this gen

[arbitor365]

i dont know why there is a pre rendered cut scene in there and anything having to do with dead island....

[kudakadere]

Easy :

God Of War 3 boss fights
Uncharted 2 Napal , Uncharted 3 Plane Scene
Halo 4 in forerunner general
MGS4 liquid snake scenes
Red Dead Redemption Ending
Heavy Rain Endings

[Kevlar009]

I have to say this was the first time I've seen the Eye needle part from DS 2. And the fact you can screw up and kill yourself was pretty hilarious. Was not disappointed

[Karpetburnz]

Uncharted 2 Train level and Napal
Uncharted 3 Plane level and Ship level
God of War 3 every boss fight
Dead Space 2 space freefall
Shadow of the Colosus boss fights.
Ratchet and Clank weapons
Red Dead Redemption ending

[Stoppokingme]

So many to choose from, I could go on for hours.

Leaving the vault in Fallout 3
Going through the Omega relay in ME2
Thresher maw vs. reaper in ME3
Riding a brumak in gears 2
Fighting Ornstein and Smough
The flooded archives from Amnesia
Fighting my first dragon in Skyrim
The mannequin sequence in Condemned
John Marston's death
And every ridiculous headshot I've pulled of since '05.

[iNMyFiN4LH0uR]

Some of mine:

MGS4 Microwave hallway sequence
MGS4 the return to Shadow Moses Island
MGS4 Raiden vs Vamp
Uncharted 2 the train sequence
Uncharted 2 the Nepal and helicopter/tank attack
Uncharted 3 the plane sequence
Dragon Age: Origins the ending choice
Elder Scrolls V: Skryim's stunning atmosphere and detail
COD4 the nuke sequence
COD4 assassination mission
COD: MW2 No Russian mission
Halo 3's multiplayer and the escape at the end of the game
Halo Reach ending/death sequence of the last spartan
Dead Space 2 eye drill
Mass Effect 2 going through the omega four relay
Mass Effect 2 the destruction of the Normandy and Shepherd's fall
Mass Effect 3 the run towards the lift/portal
Red Dead Redemption ending
Resistance 1 multiplayer-40 player matches in Nottingham
Bioshock opening
Demon Souls and experiencing the difficulty for the first time
Spec Ops: the Line white phosphorous mission
Heavely Sword final boss fight
God of War 3-all the boss fights
Diablo 3 when diablo appears in his original form

And all the awesome multiplayer fun we've had with friends online. This was an awesome generation for playing with people around the world.

[zerocrossing]

Im just gonna out it out there, Xenoblade chronicels.

It's the JRPG of the generation as far as Im concerned, even with the graphical limitations of the Wii Monolith soft made a stunning game with vast explorable landscapes and some amazing looking environments, Satorl Marsh at night is just beautiful IMO.

[ninjahunter]

I remember when my friend got an xbox 360 and showed me all ghillied up, i was like 13 or something and decided to be a pc gamer, guess what, 13 year olds dont have computers that cost more than $200 haha. I almost crapped myself when i saw The graphics.

[NeoTribe]

That time mario jumped on a turtles head. Was crazy. Shoulda seen it.

[lilbroRx]

Woah, everyone list is based almost entirely on the PS3. If that doesn't say that N4G is ruled by PS3 fans, I don't know what does.

I dare not post my list(would mostly be PC games).

[akaakaaka]

You are welcome to join us!
muahahahahahahaha 'evil laugh'

R you a troll?
Maybe PS3 have so many exclusive with amazing breath taking moments and we gamers are here just saying our experience.. and you seem to be jealous.

Not for nothing you see us talking great things about this games, plus non fanboy reviews to.. this games are great and have unforgettable moments for us the gamers.

[MasterCornholio]

Whether you like it or not Naughty Dog, Santamonica Studios and Quantum Dreams tend to provide incredible experiences with their games and usually those games are exclusive to the PS3.

So i dont believe its because of fanboyism that your seeing those lists.

[Sp1d3ynut]

LOL...this is just dumb. A Diablo 3 cinematic...REALLY?? If you're going to put CG cutscenes in a list of "stunning experiences", you might as well add everything Blur Studios has ever done. Hell, every cutscene from SW:TOR should be on that list, at the very least.