Something I've always been interested in is the progression of in-game graphics. Games that once held the graphics crown are now considered "light gaming". What many don't seem to acknowledge though, is that older games can still look awesome even compared to heavyweights like Crysis and Call of Duty 4. I'm gonna just list and comment on what I feel are the most overlooked. Feel free to contribute and discuss 1) Half-Life 2 Release Date: November 16, 2004 This one still irks me. It stayed in the limelight for a while then just stopped showing up in ads, benchmarks, and cheesy youtube showoff movies. Sure, the original Source engine is showing its age, but it is by no means an ugly game. And I don't think it will ever be seen as ugly or blocky. The lighting in this game is still extremely eye-pleasing and the levels still look very sharp. The water effects are even still better than most current games. Performance is also excellent on almost any PC, so there's no excuse not to at least try the demo. Half Life 2 has some amazing longevity as far as graphics and gameplay are concerned. My only complaint would be a few of the textures. 2) HL2: Ep 2 Release Date: October 2007 Episode 2 brought the Source engine a much needed(and very drastic) face-lift. But when I hear about it, there's always mention of the "aging" Source engine. I don't know about you guys, but I think Ep 2 is one of the best looking games ever made. The character models/environments are pretty complex and the bloom/HDR is extremely well implemented. The game is chocked full of little shader effects. The lighting, shading, and art direction are IMO the best yet in any game. This game still looks stunning even on a now fairly old engine. 3) Call of Duty 2 Release Date: October 25, 2005 This game is neglected a lot in the wake of the bigger and better Call of Duty 4. Sure, it doesn't have all the fancy specular effects and depth of field, but I'll be darned if it's not still a terrific looking and playing game. CoD2 is probably the best FPS from the previous flood of World War 2 games, and rightfully so. The gameplay is fast, smooth, and intense. The smoke clouds are very nice and the character models are actually pretty detailed. Not to mention the very decent textures. 4) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Release Date: March 2006 This game almost seems like a no-brainer for graphics. But I still see a lot of criticism. I will be the first to admit that it does need a few minor mods to have it looking its best. But when all maxed out, this game provides a large, immersive, detail-rich, and beautiful game world. Anybody who knocks Oblivion for graphics needs to get a better video card and turn all the settings on. Those are a few of the games I would like to support as they reach their old age. These are polished, fast, and hard-hitting games. So before you think you need to play Crysis, don't forget to try some older games you may have skipped. Many older games still have very impressive graphics. As previously stated, feel free to add your own games and discuss what makes them look good to you
Tecmo Super Bowl - 1991 Best retro football game ever! I loved how you could run back to the opposite end of the field, throw a pass and still make a touchdown. Escaping the opponents tackles was easy as hell also. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAAgfY_NHzw
There were plenty of console games with great raphics too. Here are a few I remember. Conker Bad Fur Day - N64 Conker Live and Reloaded - Xbox Far Cry Instincts - Xbox Super Mario Sunshine - Gamecube Star Wars Rogue Squadrons 2 and 3 - Gamecube Metal Arms Glitch in the System - PS2/Xbox/GC Jak and Daxter - PS2 Jak 2 and 3 - PS2 Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess -GC/Wii Legend of Zelda: Windwaker - Gamecube Burnout 3 - Xbox Metroid Prime 1 and 2 - Gamecube ========================== These are all games with smooth, eye-catching graphics. They have high poly counts and all sorts of advanced effects. They still look great to me, despite their age. So when people talk about gameplay over graphics, they might be forgetting that the graphics are still good.
Why not? If it still looks good to you, then it qualifies Here are a few more forgotten or neglected games that still look spectacular. Ninja Gaiden - Xbox Halo 2 - Xbox Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past - SNES Freedom Fighters - PS2/Xbox/GC/PC Battlefield Vietnam - PC Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes - Gamecube(looks just breathtaking) Dino Crisis 2 - PS1 You can go see for yourself how great these games still look. I think there is a threshhold for graphics vs gameplay. The graphics in games have reached a point where they will always be "good enough" to enjoy the game and have all sorts of atmosphere and cool effects. Halo 2 for example. Light refraction, bloom, bump mapping, pixel shader water, reflection mapping(very minor effect). It features enough effects to still make it an impressive and enjoyable game for me, despite its apparent age. Or look at even the older games on my lists. Art direction and gameplay play an even bigger role in game quality than all the advanced effects. And I will stand by that to my dying day. Look at Far Cry. Shiny graphics, foliage, shadows, water, draw distance. But the game is almost completely unplayable even on easy due to its way unbalanced difficulty and damage detection.
A couple of console games to add: Beetle Adventure Racing- N64 (Theres one section with an Egyptian Anubis and a second with a neon Pumpkin Land... Both hidden parts but incredible looking, I'll see if I can screenshot them and post links after...) Primal- PS2 (Fairly old game with with an 4 INCREDIBLY large levels, and about 40 hours of gameplay. Never got much publicity but graphics wise, is still one of my favorite games out there. I can't run the emulator for the PS2 as my computer is a little too slow but will look up a few pictures from it.) http://www.webwombat.com.au/games/images/primal3.jpg http://www.gamebank.de/Bilder/Primal/primal-0201034.jpg
