EvaUnit02 on 3/11/2008 at 13:47
Those two links are identical.
Muzman on 3/11/2008 at 14:08
cheers. Should be fixed (the new one won't change anyone's life, I don't think)
gunsmoke on 3/11/2008 at 22:25
I think that long list of UT3 shots are all great.
Yell Piranha on 3/11/2008 at 22:52
I'm suprised no-one has mentioned X3 yet. I wanted to love this game so much because of the astounding space visuals but just couldnt get into it.
In terms of looks with playability HL2:EP2 takes it for me. Ran like a dream on full settings (unlike Crysis which I could barely run on good settings) and looks excellent, even if not super realistic.
pdenton on 3/11/2008 at 23:00
For it's tone and gritty atmosphere I gotta give it up to Condemned when it was first released.
heywood on 4/11/2008 at 02:06
Quote Posted by dethtoll
With the possible exception of some of the Tropico ones those graphics are quite fake-looking to me.
There's a reason why it's called
Unreal. It's supposed to look like a fantasy world. Because of that, I don't judge it based on whether it looks like a real Earthly habitat.
Sometimes when games try too hard to look real, I think it backfires. Crysis is an example. Sometimes I think Far Cry looks better. When I look at Crysis, I can't help but nitpick it to death, thinking "that looks fake, that doesn't look right, that looks cartoony, etc." And Far Cry 2 looks
nothing like Africa. But when I played Far Cry, I was just constantly basking in the graphical beauty of it.
I have the same feeling about today's CGI. I could not stand to watch the movie Polar Express, but the Pixar films look great to me. I hated the CGI in the last 3 Star Wars films, but I'm still impressed by the models, costumes, and marionettes of the first 3 films.
Aerothorn on 4/11/2008 at 02:45
Some moments in gaming graphics have been pre-rendered and don't really count - but damn, the intro to Final Fantasy VIII was pretty amazing back in '99.
I recall being amazed at the graphics of Morrowind back when that came out, particularly the water graphics. And yeah, Far Cry was pretty awesome. Max Payne 2 was technically impressive. But I can't think of any recent games that have really shocked me with their graphical quality. Mass Effect, maybe.
mothra on 4/11/2008 at 12:02
since nobody was able to run Crysis in its full, uncut glory I don't think it is qualified to appear on any best-of list. that's crytek's fault. but all in all, considering features and specs, UT3 can stay on the xbox where it's unparalelled. On PC......ut3 doesn't look good. sure, it runs smooth but after playing UT3, COD4 and some other Unreal3-clones I can't find anything amazing with the engine. on the contrary, when I hear unreal I usually associate uninspired, run-of-the-mill popcorn entertainment and not artistically and technical excellence. the ClearSky engine alone beats Unreal3 hands down in many appartements. especially in something as mundane as WOOD.
Unreals wood looks like the candyman vomited some wax over a few steelpipes and painted it brown. that's no wood. igitt.
nicked on 4/11/2008 at 13:29
Quote Posted by heywood
Sometimes when games try too hard to look real, I think it backfires. Crysis is an example. Sometimes I think Far Cry looks better. When I look at Crysis, I can't help but nitpick it to death, thinking "that looks fake, that doesn't look right, that looks cartoony, etc." And Far Cry 2 looks
nothing like Africa. But when I played Far Cry, I was just constantly basking in the graphical beauty of it.
Sounds like the uncanny valley to me (the human brain is attuned to recognise "real life" and so an almost perfect 3D model of a person's face for example, seems slightly creepy to us, whereas an obviously fake, but artistically well-designed person is accepted a lot more easily.)
I think games (and other media) tend to get it right when they pick a design philosophy and run with it. I prefer the look and feel of the Unreal 1/Tournament engine over any later incarnation, simply because it knew it's limits, and was impressive within those limits, rather than trying too hard to be realistic and falling short.
Kuuso on 4/11/2008 at 14:30
Sacrifice gave me a hard on back in the day. The scale of the spells. Looks amazing even in this day.
