Last time you were impressed by graphics?

[floppylobster]

I was just considering giving my HD capable TV to my mother because I'm happy with my old standard TV to play games, and I realized that graphics have not meant much for me for a while. I wondered if it's just an age thing or that game graphics have just plateaued.

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.

Back in the day I remember being impressed by Rastan Saga, Mortal Kombat II and Killer Instinct. More recently I enjoyed Pikmin, Rogue Leader, Panzer Dragoon Zwei. But the last time I remember actually thinking something was graphically impressive was riding down a hill toward a big city in Assassin's Creed. That was 2007.

It seems these days I'm only impressed by art direction (Rez, Shadow of the Colossus, Halo 2, Parappa the Rapper, Katamari Damacy, Mass Effect 2, Team Fortress 2, Minecraft, Left for Dead 2). But actual graphics... not since 2007.

EDIT (for those that asked) - I do have consoles, almost all of them through the years. I've also done a lot of PC gaming (was impressed by Myst, and Doom II back in the day (not so much Quake or Rise of the Robots)). I worked for a PC company at one point and we had access to top of the line gaming PCs. But I'm starting to think it's an age thing for me. I used to be impressed by nearly every game. I would show them to my friends or just marvel at simple things like moths around a streetlight in the background of a game. These days I'm only concerned by art direction (aesthetics) or gameplay. (It's also an age thing that I don't have as many friends any more).

 

[Vegosiux]

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!)

 

[tippy2k2]

Rage.

I just got Rage a few days ago and it is a very pretty game...also, the physics/animations of people getting shot is pretty freaking sweet.

I didn't buy the game for that reason but it's still ever so sweet looking.

 

[distortedreality]

Witcher 2 - stunning looking game.

Skyrim (despite the low rez textures) still looks great when you climb to the top of a mountain and look around view maxed settings.

 

[isometry]

In the OP it sounds like you are talking about consoles, then at the end it says "haven't been impressed since 2007...", which is coincidentally near the beginning of this console generation. It kind of makes sense that "graphics have plateaued" if you've been on the same console for 5 years.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Skyrim after I tweaked it a bit. That game can be absolutely stunning.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Uh... Can we please get a definition between graphics and aesthetics down here kthx? I don't get impressed by graphics "Oh shit look at the fucking L33T texture quality on that wall! That shit is hype yo!"

/dick mode

Okami, Persona 4 and Deus Ex: Human Resources are the ones that spring to mind. Okami's awesome watercolours on the PS2 are far more impressive than most of the stuff on current gen console/PCs

Persona 4 is Persona 4, I don't need to gush over it here. Epic Yellow activate

[sub]Apologies to anyone who has been blinded by this post[/sub]

And Deus Ex's gold/black palette is cool but might start to get old for quite a few people. Gold and black are quite odd colours to base an entire game around I think.

 

[Still Life]

Rage is one of the best looking games I've played. Period. It's a combination of artistic design and the raw power of the technology behind it.

 

[skywolfblue]

Mass Effect 3, jaw-dropping vistas that left me stunned.

Or do you mean purely from a technical standpoint? Crysis 2 then I guess?

 

[arnoldthebird]

Witcher 2, on High setting it looked better than all of my other games.

Skyrim, in terms of sheer scale not much can topple it, if anything

 

[Palademon]

Ocarina of Time 3D...
Just look at the difference.

It's gorgeous. And sun rises and sunsets and playing songs are beautiful [HEADING=3]IN 3D![/HEADING]

 

[Zeh Don]

In terms of visuasl that impressed me, I'd say the following games in rough reverse-order:

Resident Evil: Revelations
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Super Street Fight IV 3D
Crysis 2

The problem people have today is that they expect to be blown away by "good graphics" to the same degree that Metal Gear Solid, Super Mario 64 or Resident Evil blew them away. It's impossible.
The last time I was utterly left speechless by visuals was Doom 3 when it was first shown off. That those kinds of shadows and effects were possible left me breathless; bump mapping, realtime lighting, blur effects - Doom 3 did things I thought we'd never see.

Now, I know we'll get to photorealistic levels eventually. It's just a matter of time. While graphics might be "good", they'll be "Doom 3 good" to me again. It's a once in a life time moment - and after it, you can be impressed, but never blown away.

 

[Starik20X6]

I'm not so much impressed by graphics as I am by interesting art styles. Oh sure, I recognise that a photo-realistic game is an amazing technical achievement, but I'm much more drawn to things like Wind Waker, de Blob, 3D Dot Game Heroes... Things that look unique.

If it is pure graphical horsepower you're after though, the last game to make me gasp on graphics alone was Little Big Planet 2. The textures in that game are beautifully done.

 

[Smooth Operator]

With actual graphical fidelity... that would be Crysis 1, the rest was a yawn fest but those graphics were jawbusting, everyone that came after just made a decent attempt to reach their crown.

But overall aesthetics the last would be Journey, so clear, so fluid, so beautiful.
They just really went all out to make every moment look like a canvas painting.

 

[Waffle_Man]

Half-life 2 is one of the few games that I can think of where my immediate reaction was less "it looks good, but not as good as people seem to be making it out" and more "wow, that actually is pretty good."

 

[DanielBrown]

I'll go with the Rage card as well. Short and repetative game, but fuck me was it great looking.

 

[GimpyGimli]

Battlefield 3? Anyone? Anyone at all? No?

 

[The Madman]

The last two games I played that blew me away in terms of visuals were both sequels, go figure, and they were:

Trine 2 and The Witcher 2

Absolutely gorgeous, both of them. Trine 2 left me stunned pretty much the entire time I was playing it with my friends, and Witcher 2 was amazing enough that even on the medium settings I was playing on I was constantly stopping just to stare in awe at the games environments and character models.

 

[distortedreality]

Battlefield 3? Anyone? Anyone at all? No?

I was amazingly unimpressed by the beta, so haven't actually got the full game yet. It didn't look anywhere near as pretty as I expected.

Am not sure if that changed dramatically in the full game.

Btw, another vote for DXHR art style wise. Really great aesthetically.