Realizing immersive games were in fact possible on a device as small as an iPod touch (ex. Grand Theft Auto, Galaxy on Fire 2, etc). Playing Epic Citadel and witnessing first-hand the graphical awesomeness of the Unreal Engine on a top of the line iOS device. Being able to use apps with voice and image recognition. iDOS
Honestly, for the first three months after I had got the iPod I would be amazed with every game that I downloaded. All of them were so much fun! It started with all the free apps first like facebook and google and stanza, etc. Then came the games which starting with angry birds and I was floored. Repeat experience with Assassin's creed (these were days when I didn't know about TA). And absolutely astounded by the looks and gameplay of N.O.V.A, NFS Underground, NFS Shift, Real Racing, Bruce Lee. Then got totally enthralled by Tilt to Live. Even now, for a lot of games, I have urge to squeal or go "Woooo". As a gaming platform, iOS has surpassed my expectations by miles. And even 9 months after owning an Ipod, I continue to be excited and am super possessive and protective about it.
I agree with epic citadel, it was akin to seeing my own face for the first time. Took me ages to give Tilt to Live a proper go but it is brilliant once you get the hang of the controls. Seeing the pixels disappear with Retina was pretty cool and finding out I can use my iPod as a door stop was awesome too. Oh and before I forget, completing some of the levels on the Cut the Rope felt like I had just actually seen a real moon landing.
If you have a laptop, you can tether the wireless internet connection from your iphone to your laptop. And the 3g single strength produced by the iPhone is actually strong enough to play online, from your laptop. You can play Call of Duty BlackOps, on your laptop, online, while tethered to your iPhone. How's that for satisfaction?
Getting my iPod touch and starting up Chinatown Wars - that was the biggest wow moment for me. But there have been many others - iOS4 release, Epic Citadel, NOVA, The Quest, etc. For me gaming on the touch has been like gaming on the PC circa 1995-2002, with a wide selection of excellent games that can be picked up on the cheap and offer a very wide diverse selection of genres. The second biggest wow moment however was jailbreaking and finding out how much functionality Apple is keeping out of iOS. SBSettings, and Folder Enhancer just being two of the functions off the top of my head that seem like they should be included is standard iOS installs. Dospad and console emulation is also very unreal.
Watching Call of Duty: Zombies running for the first time. Just seeing how much the App Store had progressed to that point, I didn't even think it possible for such a game to be ported. Even with just one map for $10, my jaw dropped when I first saw it running.
Having M.U.L.E. (Nescaline) running in my hands tied with Master of Magic (iDOS), Sword of Aragon (iDOS). Though, 50 Mission Crush and Roadwar 2000 in my hands is awesome too. Rixx
When I finally got all gold stars in defender chronicles. It took ages. Also beating various levels were really satisfying too when you spend ages and keep letting one guy in.
May be the recency effect, but obtaining the Khador Drive in GoF 2. Also, getting 3 stars on a Cut the Rope puzzle after being stuck for a long time.
Playing my first paid app back in '08 (pocket guitar) The excitement of my first "big" app finishing (asphalt4) Being blown away by the first Brothers in Arms and its 'amazing' graphics Watching movies with the gf sharing the earphones since I blew out the speakers Yeah, these are waaay back then
