Yeah the up-river sequences were probably the best graphics I've ever seen in a console game to date lol. In terms of visuals,

Heavenly sword take the cake for facial expressions, true next gen in that regard.

Uncharted for environmental graphics, the water, shadows, lighting, absolutely incredible!

Ratchet and Clank, the colors! The details and polygon counts were phenomenal. The amount of things happening on screen was simply bedazzling :) The opening sequence, and the area's you get to see moving backgrounds and such are just beyond eye candy.

Super Stardust HD :) No joke! Flying your ship around, with THOUSANDS of particle effects, meteorites crashing, all in full 1080@ 60FPS no hitches is quite a feat all on its own. You'd have to see this game in motion to really appreciate it :P

Assassins creed, when your standing on the "view points" and you know that the entire city is loaded, it's a pretty next gen feel :P

Burnout Paradise! Man everything about that game screams next gen xD Just get in a car crash and you'll know what I mean :P

@gnizmo

since you seem confused, next gen means something new that couldnt be done before, a totally new experience.

yes next gen means Wii, Xbox360, and PS3. those are the consoles people recently bought to make the next gen leap. but technically you are right, its not "next" gen, they have reached the point where they are the current generation of systems but most people should know what was meant.

Did you think I meant next gen as in best level in a game for the Xbox720 or Wii2????

getting my hands on wario ware for the first time and seeing what motion controls have to offer...that is next gen to the extreme

For me it was Gears of War. I was in awe at how well it looked overall. I don't own a PS360 and haven't bought/played any PC games in awhile so that is the best looking game I have played.

As for best game overall it would go hands down to SMGalaxy. Controls + Environments + Graphics = FTW!!

@superchunk, yeah I forgot about Gears. Gears was probably the first "next gen" experience that I got to see on a console :P

I haven't had that "wow" moment yet to be honest. I expect MGS 4 to change that in a big way along with Gran Turismo 5 and Zeno Clash for PC.

actually when i saw oblivion for the first time i was shocked 

Gears of War, level 2, in Embry Square, where there's intense gunplay going on, and you really feel like you are fighting enemies who are as smart as or smarter than you.

Also, Fight Night Round 3.

For me the following games all showed glimpses of what 'next gen' could mean:

a) Uncharted - as mentioned already the little details, Nathan flinches, curses when you run out of ammo, his clothes get wet according to how deep he was submerged, the water as you went upriver (although I too found the barrels didn't work and detracted from the level - actually if you want to see an upriver level done right play Far Cry on PC for the river level)

b) Heavenly Sword - the big battles with, hang on, that looks like hundreds and hundreds of bad guys on the screen at the same time! The cutscenes were the best also.

c) R&C in terms of the animation, size of levels and just the crazy level of detail that was everywhere in every level

d) Assassin's Creed as you slip through (relatively) crowded streets then effortlessly ascend to look out over the entire city and its all there, no loading, no wait

e) Oblivion - when you first step from the sewer and really get to grasp the open world before you, and realise you could actually walk to the top of the misty blue mountain off on the horizon

Looking ahead - LBP. That to me has a chance of really defining next gen as something trully inovative rather than simply better visuals, etc. I'm almost dreading it coming out in case it doesn't live up to the promise.

Lost Planet mission 7 for me. I actually found that level to be more impressive than Gears. There is a huge snow plain and quite a lot of very big enemies can spawn. If you don't kill them you end up with an incredibly impressive scene of huge bugs and men all walking around with explosions going off everywhere. Looks amazing.

I also had another minor one with Just Cause. Tbh I don't understand why that game wasn't more hyped. Graphically I think it is amazing. Skydiving from an extreme height, then landing on a speedboat and going insanely fast over the great looking terrain. Simply very impressive.