For me, it's a tossup between Skyrim and Borderlands 1 & 2. But why?
Because Skyrim (2011) was so immersive and well designed that I didn't care about grinding for mats. Not at all. And Borderlands (2009) had such an amazing ambiance to it's atmospherics, a mish-mash of the old west, steampunk and science fiction, not to mention the endless gun porn.
Games that really rocked my world - I could play any of these right now and still have a ton of fun.
Wolfenstein 3D (1991) - The game that started it all. You haven't lived until you've blasted your way through endless waves of nazis and shepherds and found all the secret doors at two oclock in the morning, when it's minus five outside.
More Americans learned what verboten! achtung! gustafo? and mein lamen meant in 1991 than in any other year.
Doom (1993) - Dude. It's fucking Doom, man. C'mon.
And you thought Imps were scary.
Quake (1996) - The first truly multiplayer 3D game. Sure, you could play Doom with others but it required a lot of legwork just to play 1V1. Quake's netcode made it (relatively) easy to play others. CTF as a favorite gametype was pretty much born here. And there's the Shamblers.
Get ready to get punkd. Punk. - <3 The Shambler
Tomb Raider (1996) - I remember emailing friends and family shortly after trying the "beta" before anyone ever heard about this game. I predicted that it would be a huge hit and that they should give it a go. Nobody I knew actually picked up the beta, but after two movies, a pile of fan fiction and at least one amusement park ride later, I can safely say I was probably right on that call.
Yes kids, this was considered too provocative for a video game in 1996 by some reckonings. Heh.
From 1997 to 2000 there were a lot of games that I never got to play including Legend Of Zelda:Ocarina Of Time since I never owned an N64.
Halo (2001) - no further explanation needed.
Jet Set Radio Future (2002) - A game that didn't take itself seriously, smooth as glass. Had it's slower moments but overall a cult classic.
Hey! You there! YEAH YOU!
Brute Force (2003) - A lot of people hated on this game for generic characters but it's squad based mechanics were innovative (and fun) for the time it was released. Other squad based games were clunky and meticulous. I loved it but Im definitely in the minority.
Digital Anvil put a lot of love into their game using little more than a skeleton crew, pushing the original Xbox console's limits.
Despite their best efforts, the game was not well received and DA dissolved the following year.
Halo 2 (2004) - o rly owl.jpg
This blurry image, taken from a handheld camera shows the world's very first look at the Halo2 battle rifle,
covertly shot during the E3 demo in early 2003.
World Of Warcrack (2004) - This game killed so much of my life I'm not even going to dignify it with a graphic. But I loved it.
Half Life 2 (2004) - Played through this game so many times I lost count.
"Here ya go, Gordon. Start ya off with the most useful weapon in the entire game. Enjoy."
Prey (2006) - This game simply creeped the shit out of me. But in a good way. The game was kind of generic but I actually had nightmares from this title. It's a shame that this game was forgotten. I think they waited waaay too long to release it. If they RTMed Prey in 2003/04 it probably would have been huge.
Say wat now?
Portal (2007) - I'm only here for the cake. And the love cube thingy.
Hello. Meet your best, and only, new friend in the world.
Brothers In Arms: Hells Highway (2008) While the enemy suppression system and "action cam" were not new, they got it right in this game. Environments were beyond incredible. Story was well done, not half baked.
Ooh, baby.
Fallout 3 (2009) - This little number created such a rift in the nerd kingdom that cosplayers still don their real life Pip Boy 3000 even today. Wasted more hours on this game that probably any other game I have ever played.
All you want to do is find out WTF in the back of that derelict truck. Don't you.
Skyrim (2011) - The beginning of the end for really awesome story-driven games.
Abso. Fucking. Lutely.
Borderlands 1 & 2 (2009/2012)
Borderlands 2 was probably the last game I played where I actually enjoyed blue, purple and orange equipment drops.
And there's my list. Needless to say I've tried a few games here and there since 2012 but nothing has really "rocked my world" like the last couple of entries.
Wow. Can't believe I spent two hours compiling this mess.