Koki on 28/10/2008 at 06:07
The Core level in Crysis, hands down.
june gloom on 28/10/2008 at 06:22
Source is the only game engine I know of that's managed to make people look as realistic as possible. The problem with most games is that people always manage to look plastic, and that's not something I've seen fixed yet outside of Source. Part of it is that Source's lighting has a much more realistic, muted quality to it that's somewhat lacking in its contemporaries, and the way that light reflects off people is much more believable.
Stalker wins the realistic environment category, again because not everything needs to look like it's been saran-wrapped (and it does a better job of it than Source, which to its credit was the king until 2007.)
pdenton on 28/10/2008 at 06:32
For what it's worth I think Dead Space has the best looking fire in a game yet.
Aja on 28/10/2008 at 06:34
Route Canal is one of the most graphically brilliant levels I've ever played. It's basically a decorated corridor, but it feels as though I'm snaking my own path through something much much larger. Sense of scale is something very few games have managed to properly convey. I can't play Crysis, but offhand, Half Life 2 and Gears of War are the only games I can think of that have ever left me in awe of a place far bigger than I.
Oh, and also wanted to point out that Animal Crossing on DS has some of the most aesthetically appealing visuals I've ever seen. They're simple and colourful and well-defined, and they remind me of looking at picture books as a child -- the illustrations used to evoke a sense of aesthetic excitement that I think dulls with age. When I see those old pictures I remember what it was like, but the realness of the feeling is gone. Animal Crossing's not quite like that, but I imagine a five-year-old might have a similar experience with it.
And for 2D graphics (this one's obvious), Super Metroid is the best. ;)
aguywhoplaysthief on 28/10/2008 at 06:43
1701 A.D. and Fable I.
Wille on 28/10/2008 at 07:00
Blade of Darkness. Real time shadows that ran smoothly on old hardware, nice water effects, architecture that made you feel small and of course David Gurrea's hand painted textures :).
Sulphur on 28/10/2008 at 07:06
The Homeworld series. No other game has inspired me with quite as much awe as the original Homeworld. Homeworld 2, while more of a by-the-numbers experience, is still beautiful to look at even today.
And also -- while Black & White 2 fails utterly as a game, its graphics are still pretty fucking insane. Zoom right out and see your island wreathed in clouds in the middle of the ocean; zoom right in and you can watch the ants marching along in the grass.
Koki on 28/10/2008 at 07:09
Quote Posted by Aja
And for 2D graphics (this one's obvious), Super Metroid is the best. ;)
Icewind Dale 2.
Andarthiel on 28/10/2008 at 07:40
The Witcher - it still looks amazing and takes a real beast of a machine to run well
STALKER - Some bits of it looks really good like the underground areas
Unreal Tournament 1, 2003, 3 - Each era of UT had amazing graphics and I didn't list 2004 because the graphics were same-ish with 2003 .
Assassin's Creed - Just wow, the game itself had a few tedious bits but it looks amazing.
Medieval II:Total War - Possibly the most amazing looking RTS with the exception of Supreme Commander.
Thief: Deadly Shadows - After playing the first two Thief games I was blown away by it's amazing visuals and lighting.
Neverwinter Nights - After the 2D Iso era of RPG games this was one of the first to bring RPGs into a 3D environment and I salivated over this game when it first came out.
Morrowind and Oblivion - While Morrowind deosn't make much of an ipact graphics-wise today I was quite amazed when I first bought it and of course Oblivion had enough eye candy to make average PCs overheat.
Freespace - One of the first space sims to go 3D and I was hooked on the demo. Similar thing can be said for Descent 3.
That's just for starters, I'll add more when I can come up with them.
Thirith on 28/10/2008 at 07:44
Neverwinter Nights? That's an unusual one. The usual opinion I've heard - and one that I share - was, "And this is what we traded in those gorgeous Baldur's Gate 2 graphics for?!"
It did have its moments, though; well done realtime shadows can make even the most blocky, basic environment feel more real. (It's something that usually works better in 3rd person games than in 1st person games because you can better see the shadows shifting.)
