Ever had a case of graphics awe?

[AvsJoe]

Let's go back in time. Way way back to the distant year of... 2000. I had been addicted to my NHL 99 for the N64 for about 2 years now but I wanted an NHL-series game for my new PS1. NHL 2001 was just coming out so the bottom fell out on NHL 2000's price. I bought that sucker and booted it up... and was immediately taken aback by the graphics. They looked like real people to my 13.5 year old eyes! Every one of my friends agreed that graphics couldn't get much better than this.

Well, we were wrong, but not as wrong as you'd think. Compared to EA's Madden and FIFA series, their NHL series really lacks in the graphics department; they actually haven't gotten much better in the last 10 years.

 

[WraithPrince]

Spoiler

Prince of Persia 08 Omg...

 

[Blemontea]

... i know i have stopped and looked around in games before, but i cant remember which ones and the one i do know i am tired of typing its name so im not going to mention it.... im going to look at some post to get and idea... I suddenly just remembered F-zero on the N64 it looked amazing when i first saw it, i hardly believed it was on N64.

 

[Z(ombie)fan]

Okami.
I haven't even played it but DAMN.

 

[redpete17]

I remember staring, jaw open, at how amazing the graphics in Unreal were. Yes, Unreal (1998). Which now, 12 years later, looks like a low resolution pile of ______.

 

[deathbydeath]

i'm not a graphics whore, but i loved VVVVVV. it had great graphics, and some kind of charm no AAA fps can match

 

[A big red rooster]

When i was in 5th Grade, I got SSBM. It blew me away.

 

[philosophicalbastard]

Halo's skyboxes always had me starring, but those don't really count as graphics. Most recently I was dumb struck by this tech demo for this MMO space game in which they rendered an entire planet that could be fully explored with seamless transition from space to ground. This was all from an independent developer.

 

[FallenTraveler]

snip

really? honestly, I was more impressed by the first game, the second left me kind of down :/ not that it was bad, it just didnt seem to be as realistic as I wanted

I didn't care about the Realism. MW1 just bored the hell out of me. but when I slid down that Ice wall in Cliffhanger my Jaw dropped.

I couldn't believe that a game I wrote off as a bland cash in to capitalize off the popularity of MW 1 turned out to be an absolutely stunning, cinematic, enthralling cash in to capitalize off the popularity of MW 1

Agreed! (apparently I interpreted you differently) There were some truly amazing and jaw dropping moments in that game!

but I still see some of graphics (mostly poly count) as a little lacking

 

[Mikeyfell]

Modern Warfare 2

I know it's hypocritical of me considering all the hatred of mainstream FPS's I have pent up.
but while I was playing MW2 the Sheer outstanding-ness of the graphics combined with glorious visuials,

Spoiler

like hanging off an ice wall, or battling through nuked Washington DC, or getting washed up on shore and stumbling around a helicopter wreck to get in a knife fight whit an evil general, only to have to pull the fucking knife out of my chest and throw it back at him in order to save the fucking day.

just blew my fucking mind

it made me completely forget that I had only started playing 6 hours ago

I agree with this.
But nothing can top the feeling of awe, joy and just stunning visuals that was the moment I stepped out of Vault 101 in Fallout 3.

were you playing on the PC version?
I can only Imagine how much better it would be than the console version.

 

[Mikeyfell]

snip

really? honestly, I was more impressed by the first game, the second left me kind of down :/ not that it was bad, it just didnt seem to be as realistic as I wanted

I didn't care about the Realism. MW1 just bored the hell out of me. but when I slid down that Ice wall in Cliffhanger my Jaw dropped.

I couldn't believe that a game I wrote off as a bland cash in to capitalize off the popularity of MW 1 turned out to be an absolutely stunning, cinematic, enthralling cash in to capitalize off the popularity of MW 1

Agreed! (apparently I interpreted you differently) There were some truly amazing and jaw dropping moments in that game!

but I still see some of graphics (mostly poly count) as a little lacking

mostly I don't care how the good the Graphics are
I mean all my favorite games are on the PS2
but sometimes you just need to sit back and stare wide-eyed at the screen with your mouth hanging open

 

[adam5396]

I dont really get wowed by graphics much. At least not with detail. The 2 times I remember being wowed were Shadow of The Collusus's graphical style. And Just Cause 2's huge view distance. (And pretty explosions. Pretty Pretty explosions)

 

[onewheeled]

Every single time I boot up Burnout Paradise for Xbox 360, when I start driving, I just sit there, dumbstruck at how good the game looks in motion.

Even having come out a couple years ago, Burnout Paradise still looks incredible in the city. All the movement is so smooth, the carnage is absolutely spectacular, and the models look excellent. It's just amazing.

 

[SoranMBane]

Half-Life 2 has some absolutely gorgeous vistas and some of the best animation I've seen in any game.

Whenever Dead Space leaves the dark, dirty corridors behind and lets you look out a window, the experience is almost breathtaking.

I seriously want to hang some of the Crysis 2 screenshots on my wall. They're just that beautiful.

Mirror's Edge may not be the most fun to actually play, but the stark graphics were some of the prettiest I've ever seen.

The Assassin's Creed games are simply gorgeous all-around. The first one is especially notable for managing to make the environments feel dry and dusty without opting for a brown filter like some games I could mention (Fallout 3).

The colossi from SotC and the kitten-gryphon thing from The Last Guardian prove that Team Ico is just really good at rendering giant creatures.

 

[FallenTraveler]

mostly I don't care how the good the Graphics are
I mean all my favorite games are on the PS2
but sometimes you just need to sit back and stare wide-eyed at the screen with your mouth hanging open

Same here, my favorite games (except for TF2) have been on ps1/ps2/xbox good stuff

 

[Veylon]

I've had this feeling twice. The first time was when I saw the opening to Final Fantasy 7. I have the feeling that that long, dramatic swoop alone is responsible for a good chunk of the esteem in which this game is held.

The second time was just recently seeing the Guild Wars II trailer. That is...amazing. I've gotten used to the increasingly rarefied shows that Square puts on, but this is something hard-hitting and visceral; that dragon at the end was about as evil-looing and badass as they come. I want this game. I know nothing of it beyond the trailer, and yet I want it. It's been a looong time since I've a had a feeling like that. And I'm not even a graphics person.

 

[Mikeyfell]

mostly I don't care how the good the Graphics are
I mean all my favorite games are on the PS2
but sometimes you just need to sit back and stare wide-eyed at the screen with your mouth hanging open

Same here, my favorite games (except for TF2) have been on ps1/ps2/xbox good stuff

I know. good stuff