Hurr, let's see how this turns out. A lot of things I like are things that my friends will most likely be unable to relate to, and this goes with vidya gaems, too.
FPS:
I'll give this to the Battlefield series of games, and whatever other games were shaped after it (though I've stopped paying attention to it after 2142). Think about it: Participation in epic battle, where careful planning is the key to keep the enemy from spending your team's reinforcements. Individualism is prevalent in FPS players where I live, and that's something I look down upon. I'd rather win than try to be the guy with the most kills just to stroke my e-peen - IF I WANTED TO DO THAT, I'D BE PLAYING CoD4 FREE FOR ALL. The FPS genre tends to impress me a lot, it's just that Battlefield did it for me.
Shoot-em-up:
Raycrisis (Because I haven't beaten any Touhou game, I don't have my hands on Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun, and Einhander is quite possibly one of the easiest of its kind). You're a hacker, attempting to stop an uber-computer called Con-Human from killing humanity and replacing the world as we know it with its own - from within it. It's short, it's replayable, it's fun. Plenty of options, and most of your runs through Original Mode are not the same, even if you've chosen the same setup before. What I like about this game (and other games in the Ray series) is that your craft's lock-on feature is essential, since a lot of enemies will shoot you from outside your normal plane of operation (I know, Einhander did it with the Wasp, though RAYFORCE AND RAYSTORM CAME FIRST.), where your normal shot can't hit. The music is also handled in a unique way: depending on the first Part you choose, a theme will go on for your entire run until the final boss, which is nice. Also: Name me another boss in any game WHO FUCKING SHRUGS OFF YOUR SPECIAL ATTACK AND THROWS IT BACK AT YOU.
RTS:
Homeworld. You owe it to yourself to play this if you like strategy games. There is a unit production system, but just because it's there doesn't mean to say it's like building a base. Since it's outer space, the game repeatedly tells you that you're not fighting in a 2D environment (which almost everyone else gobbles up like gold), and that you've got to find creative ways to rape your opponent(s). It's slow, it's got a steep learning curve, yes - but it looks and plays good if you get over it. Name me another game that succeeds at outer space scenery porn.
Third-Person Action:
Mobile Suit Gundam vs. Gundam. The game is... how should I put it... You took a Battlefield game, put giant robots into it (come to think about it, ever heard of Operation Troy?), made said giant robots the main players, and gave them their own movelists. That's what the Gundam vs. series is, and that's why I like it.
I am sorely lacking in next-gen games, and since Fallout 3 is sort of not an RPG, I'm not talking about it here. Even if I play the hell out of it.
