The condition of your character in a video game (such as Rainbox 6 or
Call of Duty) where your character is blinded and/or stunned by a flashbang. This causes you to:
1. See the world as if it's moving slowly
2. Hear a ringing in your ears
3. Have an image burned
in your eyes
4. Have general disorientation and confusion
The phrase comes from Tom Hanks' role in Saving
Private Ryan, in which his character is "stunned" by the battle (explosions, dead men, etc) during the invasion of Normandy in which he displays the above symptoms. In addition to calling this experiece "Tom Hanks Mode" you may also refer to this as "getting Tom Hanksed".
Gamer 1: Dude, you didn't back me up!
Gamer 2: Sorry, man. I was in
Tom Hanks Mode.
Gamer 1: You're just standing there, shoot someone!
Gamer 2: I just got
Tom Hanksed,
give me a break!