I don't think any game I've ever played has had me this emotionally caught up. The Mass Effect series didn't even capture my emotions like this. Whenever one of my teammates died in Mass Effect, I was like dang I hate it had to be him. Okay lets keep it moving
In the Last of Us , just having the fear that one of your own possibly is terrifying in itself. Each cinematic had me clinched to my seat looking like

. I don't know what it is, but this game was just overwhelming, and I seemed to care about Ellie's well being more than the surroundings. My sole purpose for existing was to protect even if it meant my life. Mass Effect had some of the best characterization I had seen up until this point, but even still I wasn't that emotionally torn by events in the story.
If I had to go with a top 3 pick for games this gen, it would look like this:
3. Mass Effect 2
2. Uncharted 2
1. Last of Us