Last time you were impressed by graphics?

[Vivi22]

I generally care a lot more about art style, but I'd be here all day listing games with a great art style that came out recently if I went down that road, and plenty have already mentioned some.

On a purely technical level, the most recent game that blew me away was L4D2. The gibbing in that is really good and I was impressed at the level of detail they managed. Few companies have bothered with gibbing at all it seems since Soldier of Fortune, so I was pleased to see it come back in such a nice way.

I guess there's also the Uncharted series. They do a lot of little graphical tricks, especially in cut scenes which most people will never notice, but that's part of why they're so good. They've got this great technology in there and they use it to subtly build the scene. Small touches can make all the difference.

Beyond that, I think the last stuff to really technically blow me away were Bioshock, Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and MGS3. Metro 2033 looked great as well, but I wouldn't say it blew me away. Felt more like an evolution from other titles.

 

[Sexy Devil]

What was the last game where you were genuinely impressed by the graphics? - to the point where they were almost the main reason you enjoyed the game (or reason you started playing in the first place). Or that they made you want to show the game to a friend.

This will sound kind of weird and cynical, but...every single time I get new glasses. Seriously.

(All you glasses wearing types out there, I know you know this is true!)

First time I put on my first set of glasses I was watching Game of Thrones. My general response was "Holy crap it says the town names on that opening!"

But for me it's Uncharted 3. Some of the stuff is just insanely detailed, like how the sand reacts when you walk on it.

 

[DoPo]

What was the last game where you were genuinely impressed by the graphics? - to the point where they were almost the main reason you enjoyed the game (or reason you started playing in the first place). Or that they made you want to show the game to a friend.

So, you're asking which game impressed us with prettiness.

Call me sceptic or something, but last one was Half-Life 2 and the Source engine in general back when it was showcased in 2003-2004. I know there have been improvements since then, but I do not care - I haven't really been impressed by them, I sort of just accept them.

Well, technically you could say I was impressed with Assassins Creed, since I bought it. And seeing that AC is basically a tech demo you pay for, then yes, I suppose it impressed with me enough to the point I played the game.

Deus Ex: Human Resources

I don't know if that was meant to be a subtle dig at the game or just a mistake. I laughed either way. Just imagine if the human resources department were all cybernetic enhanced.

 

[kommando367]

RAGE. I wouldn't say it was the main reason I enjoyed the game (that would be the pop rockets), but the graphics were really good. Too bad they had to make the game short to make the graphics better.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Kingdoms of Amalur, the character are a bit uncanny valley but the environments will make you puke rainbows.

Skyrim looks pretty gorgeous with all the distance tweaks and the high res texture pack.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

What was the last game where you were genuinely impressed by the graphics? - to the point where they were almost the main reason you enjoyed the game (or reason you started playing in the first place). Or that they made you want to show the game to a friend.

The last game that I thought was so awesomely beautiful I had to show off to people? It had to be the first Mass Effect. I don't remember if I actually showed it off to anybody but I didn't get my HDTV until 2007 (well it isn't true HD but it was better than what I had) so this was the first current gen (then next gen) HD game that I had that was just absolutely stunning to look at and to play. The absolute best part of the game on my TV were the sections where you drive on planets in the Mako. Especially The Moon.

Before that it was Donkey Kong Country on the SNES. The N64 and PSX were fun game systems but they produced some ugly kids (the final fantasy games and, star fox 64 were kind of attractive I guess)

 

[Mr Pantomime]

Graphically, the Witcher 2. My friend showed it to me today. Its pretty spectacular.
I dont really expect too much in terms of graphics for a while. Not till a new batch of consoles. Or when someone can justify building the best looking game in the world as a pc exclusive.

 

[Rude as HECK]

Not so much the graphics per se (although they were good) as the improvement from a previous game, I fell in love when I saw how good the Batarians and Vorcha looked in ME3.

 

[wottabout]

For some reason, the first thing I thought of was Assassin's Creed: Revelations. My roommate recently started playing it, and I keep saying, "Wait! Turn back to that sky! IT'S GORGEOUS." And then she replies with, "What? I'm kind of stabbing people right now." Some people cannot appreciate great art.

I'm impressed by the graphics in most games, though.

Oh, and I just remembered Dear Esther! I loved the skies in that one, too.

 

[redisforever]

Journey. Holy good God.
Also, I'd have to say Red Dead Redemption. Seriously, you can just sit and enjoy the view for hours! The game actually changes the camera angle to a landscape shot if you stand somewhere for a while.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

This will sound kind of weird and cynical, but...every single time I get new glasses. Seriously.

(All you glasses wearing types out there, I know you know this is true!)

So true, so very very true. Also, whenever my glasses get a decent clean it's like a whole new world.

 

[Bvenged]

Battlefield 3? Anyone? Anyone at all? No?

Battlefield 3 videos on youtube about a year ago. Then when the game came out, one mission [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzpISsS6bKg&t=70] took my breath away, and it had been a while since that had happened.


Also, Rayman Origins looked visually stunning when I tried out the demo the other day. Very sharp textures, impressive for something that was drawn from scratch.

Halo Reach environments were fantastic. I still haven't seen sky boxes and distant terrain rendered and drawn so damn well that I could stand there staring for ages. I mean, you've got these things glassing the terrain in the background of a multiplayer map whilst you fight:

 

[The Wykydtron]

What was the last game where you were genuinely impressed by the graphics? - to the point where they were almost the main reason you enjoyed the game (or reason you started playing in the first place). Or that they made you want to show the game to a friend.

So, you're asking which game impressed us with prettiness.

Call me sceptic or something, but last one was Half-Life 2 and the Source engine in general back when it was showcased in 2003-2004. I know there have been improvements since then, but I do not care - I haven't really been impressed by them, I sort of just accept them.

Well, technically you could say I was impressed with Assassins Creed, since I bought it. And seeing that AC is basically a tech demo you pay for, then yes, I suppose it impressed with me enough to the point I played the game.

Deus Ex: Human Resources

I don't know if that was meant to be a subtle dig at the game or just a mistake. I laughed either way. Just imagine if the human resources department were all cybernetic enhanced.

Hey, when anything has HR in the title I consider myself honour bound to make a human resources joke! Plus the dialogue system is so good in that game they may as well have called it that anyway. And Jensen does work for a major corporation, sorts problems and generally manages people, both within the company and from the outside...

Human Resources might be a more apt subtitle than I intially thought XD

 

[Dreadman75]

Journey...need I say more.

That game is goddamn gorgeous! The sand looks and flows just like water!

 

[DrgoFx]

Aside from Journey, Trine 2 really impressed me with it's graphics. Aside from that, nothing really recently accept Iconoclasts was pretty impressive.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Killzone 3. I haven't seen so much detail crammed into one nuked city before. And the Jungle and Arctic levels, oh my god.

 

[BoxCar]

Battlefield 3. God damn, that plane mission.

 

[A Satanic Panda]

No Ace Combat 6? What is this? To this day the graphics Wow me.

 

[|Sith|Eldarion]

Forza 4 was jaw dropping.
Battlefield 3 is another, I just hated the game. Terrible campaign and online pass multiplayer.
Skyrim when I saw the E3 demo. Of course, I was playing Oblivion at the time, but I still love it.
Twilight Princess(I only had a Wii at that point). Still way better looking than Skyward sword, maintained color and art style without making everything seem too cartoonish. Also, Midna is the only Zelda sidekick that I didn't want to eviscerate. Fi can go die.
And yes, Witcher 2. I have to wait for the 360 release though, because the PC version would melt my laptop.

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

This will sound kind of weird and cynical, but...every single time I get new glasses. Seriously.

(All you glasses wearing types out there, I know you know this is true!)

This man speaks the truth! It's a night and day difference.

But in all honesty, the last time I really took notice of the graphics and started actually marveling at them from a technical standpoint would probably be when I got Final Fantasy XIII. I would daresay it looked even better than Avatar, which I had just seen a few weeks before getting FFXIII.

That game is gorgeous. It's a good thing I genuinely like it too.

As for aesthetics, the last game I was truly amazed by was probably Mirror's Edge. I just love the way the city looks so clean with only a few splotches of color. That game's city (Design-wise, anyway. Evil cops, not so much.) is my urban paradise.