Hey all, what games have you played lately that you feel either represent a new standard for games or are the pinnacle of their genres?

Maybe it's their Graphics, Sound, Game play or concept

For me there are 4 games that have really stood out over the past few years that offer a unique experience, something that just feels so far ahead of other offerings.

Uncharted 2 : From the stunning graphics, to the seamless integration of animation with the game play. It does such an excellent job of making you feel in control of your character. The pace of the action broken up with involved puzzle sections makes me feel like I am Indiana Jones. Big win for me. It offers nothing radically new but everything it does, it does so well that I can't help but compare 3rd person games to Naughty dog's classic.

Grand Theft Auto 4 : Sandbox games are nothing new, but what with so many clones, all offering immersive experiences, none yet have felt as polished and offer the degree of depth that the GTA4 series has done so far.
The dynamic animation technology of the characters is simply awesome. Occasionally glitchy but to have a persons foot fall onto a brick you've dropped in front of them and not go through it but rest naturally, raising the height of the character as they progress? It adds that degree of realism where other games you can just feel the characters as being stuck within their bounding boxes.

Heavy Rain : Sorry for listing two PS3 exclusives, but Heavy Rain? everything that Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit) could of been. It's button bashing, dance dance revolution style of action sequences to not appeal to all but sitting down to a none stop session? for me it offers the closest experience to a fully immersive film next to Mad Dog Mccree. It never bogs you down with too much fiddly involvement, the sizes of various environments are just the right size so you can flow through them without feeling their restrictions and above all, short of Dragon age offers one of the most brilliantly executed multi-branching story lines since the choose your own adventure books.

Braid : How can I not mention Braid? it has been years since a game has offered me a new way of thinking, to turn time on it's head and have me think in circles meant that Braid had me coming back for more every day until it was finished. Lovely cute graphics, this game has proven beyond a doubt that with the right idea, you don't need to be a big name developer to catch peoples imagination and admiration. For that reason alone Braid is the hero game, justifying decades of bedroom development. It took me back to the Commodore 64, when game play was paramount.

Give me not cutting edge graphics! give me cutting edge concepts and the graphics will be nothing but a sprinkle of salt on my chips

What are your standout games of the past few years?