Because I can, here is my list of the games that left the most positive and lasting impression on me:

5. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 1 and 2 (I consider this to be a two-part game)

This may be a strange choice for many, as many will consider these to be forgettable titles, but there are a number of elements that made me really like GRAW: 1 The open spaces, or at least the illusion thereof. Running from cover to cover down a large highway in Mexico city felt very real 2. The AI got some complaints at the time and yet I remember it being one of the best AIs I've experienced in a game. They were taking cover, leaning to fire around corners. 3 The whole game had a realistic feel to it. Also it did not rush me and allowed me to choose the best way to tackle a situation. It was the most satisfying 1st person shooter single-player experience I've ever had since the previous Ghost Recon games. Multiplayer did not suck either.

4. Metal Gear Solid (Playstation 1)

This is the 1st and only game that brought tears to my eyes. I sometime hear that Metal Gear games have bad convoluted story writing. Maybe subsiquent games do, I don't know, but I know MGS had a great story for me as a kid and the music from the credits of that game is still on my mp3 player.

3. Freelancer

I love space "sims". Even after I lost much of my interest in cosmology (having found out how little people know about space but pretend to know) I still love the fantasy of space - the colorful auroras, the unknown and the bright future of humanity where we don't have all our bets put on one planet that can be blown up at any moment. Freelancer had good graphics at the time, good sandbox gameplay and a modding community that made the game trully fun.

2. Elder Scrolls Skyrim

It is better than 1st game on this list in almost every way...except the impression that it left on me is not as magical.

1. Elder Scrolls Morrowind

There is something magical about that game. The lore, the rpg elements, the music and the sandbox gameplay comes together beautifully and all the mods for the game made it 10 times better than it would have been otherwise. For the 1st time I felt like I could trully be myself. The Morrowind theme still makes my soul hold its breath every time I hear it.