Best graphics in 2009
- Thread starter Delta9
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All low dynamic range.
All low dynamic range.
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7391/1244894383293.jpg
Not a fan of the colour palette of KZ2, but Uncharted 2 is probably more my type... guess I'll see soon enough...
RE5 takes the cake with the characters. I haven't really played many games that came out this year though... Fight Night 4 most likely wins, but I suppose it'll depend on "considerations".
The lighting in Killzone 2 is great. But Uncharted 2 is a more complete package in terms of everything related to visuals. Also Uncharted 2's world feels alive. More than I could have ever imagined. Easily above anything I have ever played
I agree with the characterization.
KZ2 is exquisite and extremely consistent through and through (landscape, oh-my-god animation, character and vehicle design, art style, lighting, post processing, ...). Helps to hold the immersion, and fool the cinema audience.
U2 shines with its unique colorful painting look, plus grand moving/interactive environment set pieces.
I give the overall visual experience award to KZ2 even without HDR (It's simulated with bloom).
However, "nothing" touches the beauty of U2 Chapter 16. And U2 is a better game, considering the character charm, Indiana Jones inspired story, framerate, MP, etc. That Chapter 16 alone almost made me cry.
No, it came out last year.
I was pretty impressed with Dunia. I hope a better game can be made from the engine.
All considered, I'd go with KZ2, though I have to admit I am extremely impressed with U2. I guess what tips it in the favour of KZ2 for me is just about everything, from the AI, the post processing, lighting, lots of explosions and effects, many number of players onscreen at the same time and the great IMO art-diretion that comes together nicely.
Uncharted 2 impressed me from a different angle - superb texturing, very impressive scenery, attention to detail and just how dynamic everything feels - like the train level or just finding yourself in scenes where you're coming down in a building or on a cliff breaking off and you're still in the middle of gameplay (where as in other games, you'd probably be just watching this as a cut-scene).
Uncharted 2 impressed me from a different angle - superb texturing, very impressive scenery, attention to detail and just how dynamic everything feels - like the train level or just finding yourself in scenes where you're coming down in a building or on a cliff breaking off and you're still in the middle of gameplay (where as in other games, you'd probably be just watching this as a cut-scene).
KZ2 and UC2 both are by far the most impressive this year. I get a feeling they'll still be holding their heads high at the end of 2010 as well!
Subtle... I was planning to get here before you did but I see my concern wasn't warranted.
I personally don't get the love for Killzone 2. Generally uninteresting geometry, low res textures, mainly dull character models (as in seeing the exact same Helgast trooper hundreds of times), blurry and an overall "indistinct" quality to the visuals that caused me eyestrain over time. Sure, there are some nice explosions, and I'm sure the tech behind the game is very clever, but for me as a "visual treat" it was more "trick" than "treat".
So it wouldn't even make my top 5.
So what would?
1) Uncharted 2. An exceptionally pretty corridor shooter with wonderful attention to detail. It's a shame that most of what is so good looking falls outside of the corridor, but when it's that pretty does it really matter?
2) Assassin's Creed 2. There are a couple of issues that bugged me at first, such as occasional pop-in and the shadow mip line, but the animation, beautifully realised environments, dozens and dozens of NPC's on screen at once, lovely texture work and a day/night cycle that really changes the way the game looks.... it was almost my No. 1
3) Dirt 2. The best looking Codies racer yet. Great and interesting environments, fantastic environmental effects, stunning damage models, their best arcade handling model yet, good physics and overall good looking car models (though a little low-res in the texture department).
4) Fight Night 4. I honestly don't think this game has gotten the recognition it deserves for the way it looks. The rings and stadia look great, the physics model for the boxers is superlative. No fighting game before it has managed to accurately simulate movement physics, rather using canned animations with the inevitable clipping and collision detection problems, but FN4 pretty much pulls it off. The muscle flex, sweat, blood, etc means that the game just looks stunning.
5) Batman: Arkham Asylum. No, the game doesn't have pre-pixel radialised motion spondolies with added hot sauce. What it does have is a beautifully realised playground that manages to almost become a NPC in itself. With a number of distinct areas each having their own look, while maintaining an overall feel that means no place in the gameworld feels out of place or tacked on, the (relatively small) playworld is a testament to the coherent vision of the design team. While there is a little too much repetition in the "cattle" NPC's, the main characters are beautifully realised, paying homage to the comic book versions without becoming characatures. Topping everything off is the great animation.
Honourable mentions:
Forza 3. While the car models are not up to the standards of the masters at PD, they are still damn good and manage to not look quite so "showroom" in the actual game. However, the very pretty tracks more than make up for that, along with the masses of customisation options, fantastic handling model and beautiful lighting. No, it's not photorealistic, but it looks great and after dozens of hours playing I've yet to notice a framerate glitch. The downsides for me are the crash physics and diminished environmental effects, such as dust.
GTA4: Ballad of Gay Tony. GTA4 is another game that I personally don't believe got the credit that it deserved for it's graphics. A Huge city, seamlessly streamed with uniqueness in every nook and cranny, the more colourful look of Gay Tony just highlights to me what a wonderfully realised world it is. Just like a few years ago when I used to suffer insomnia and I'd drive down the embankment alongside the River Thames in my Alfa Spider, just taking in the atmosphere, in GTA4 I can just get in a car (of my own choosing) and cruise the streets, safe in the knowledge that I would get a different experience from the last time I drove down it and also unlikely to see a canned animation.
Edit
Rock Band: Beatles. Meant to write this before. RB: Beatles is proof that there is life in the Rhythm Band-type game yet. It's not that the graphics are impressive in the "blowshituphugeexplosion" way, it's that they are impressive in creating a look at feel that perfectly complements the game and subject at hand. It evokes an era that I'm a little too young to remember, but that I feel part of when playing the game. Very impressive stuff.
Well, that's it for me
So it wouldn't even make my top 5.
So what would?
1) Uncharted 2. An exceptionally pretty corridor shooter with wonderful attention to detail. It's a shame that most of what is so good looking falls outside of the corridor, but when it's that pretty does it really matter?
2) Assassin's Creed 2. There are a couple of issues that bugged me at first, such as occasional pop-in and the shadow mip line, but the animation, beautifully realised environments, dozens and dozens of NPC's on screen at once, lovely texture work and a day/night cycle that really changes the way the game looks.... it was almost my No. 1
3) Dirt 2. The best looking Codies racer yet. Great and interesting environments, fantastic environmental effects, stunning damage models, their best arcade handling model yet, good physics and overall good looking car models (though a little low-res in the texture department).
4) Fight Night 4. I honestly don't think this game has gotten the recognition it deserves for the way it looks. The rings and stadia look great, the physics model for the boxers is superlative. No fighting game before it has managed to accurately simulate movement physics, rather using canned animations with the inevitable clipping and collision detection problems, but FN4 pretty much pulls it off. The muscle flex, sweat, blood, etc means that the game just looks stunning.
5) Batman: Arkham Asylum. No, the game doesn't have pre-pixel radialised motion spondolies with added hot sauce. What it does have is a beautifully realised playground that manages to almost become a NPC in itself. With a number of distinct areas each having their own look, while maintaining an overall feel that means no place in the gameworld feels out of place or tacked on, the (relatively small) playworld is a testament to the coherent vision of the design team. While there is a little too much repetition in the "cattle" NPC's, the main characters are beautifully realised, paying homage to the comic book versions without becoming characatures. Topping everything off is the great animation.
Honourable mentions:
Forza 3. While the car models are not up to the standards of the masters at PD, they are still damn good and manage to not look quite so "showroom" in the actual game. However, the very pretty tracks more than make up for that, along with the masses of customisation options, fantastic handling model and beautiful lighting. No, it's not photorealistic, but it looks great and after dozens of hours playing I've yet to notice a framerate glitch. The downsides for me are the crash physics and diminished environmental effects, such as dust.
GTA4: Ballad of Gay Tony. GTA4 is another game that I personally don't believe got the credit that it deserved for it's graphics. A Huge city, seamlessly streamed with uniqueness in every nook and cranny, the more colourful look of Gay Tony just highlights to me what a wonderfully realised world it is. Just like a few years ago when I used to suffer insomnia and I'd drive down the embankment alongside the River Thames in my Alfa Spider, just taking in the atmosphere, in GTA4 I can just get in a car (of my own choosing
) and cruise the streets, safe in the knowledge that I would get a different experience from the last time I drove down it and also unlikely to see a canned animation.Edit
Rock Band: Beatles. Meant to write this before. RB: Beatles is proof that there is life in the Rhythm Band-type game yet. It's not that the graphics are impressive in the "blowshituphugeexplosion" way, it's that they are impressive in creating a look at feel that perfectly complements the game and subject at hand. It evokes an era that I'm a little too young to remember, but that I feel part of when playing the game. Very impressive stuff.
Well, that's it for me
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well, the graphics is consist of data(from the artist) and tech(from the programmer).
on the tech, I think uncharted2 is better than others, multiple lighting solution(similar with KZ2), high quality SSAO(unique&outstanding), PostFx...
on data side, I will choose MW2, it's damn good, and the tech is pretty good too, it's crossplatform, 60fps target(although ps3 is a little lower).
on the tech, I think uncharted2 is better than others, multiple lighting solution(similar with KZ2), high quality SSAO(unique&outstanding), PostFx...
on data side, I will choose MW2, it's damn good, and the tech is pretty good too, it's crossplatform, 60fps target(although ps3 is a little lower).
This discussion is pointless, and it's all subjective.
I don't know what games people were playing when they said MW2 looked "alive". The environments are stale and lifeless. No ambeint sounds, no creatures, nothing interesting. Uncharted 1 was more "alive" than MW2. Hell, MGS3 on PS2 was significantly more "alive" than MW2. Maybe some people need to expand their catalog of games to play.
I think it really boils down to strengths, weaknesses, and the type of "look" they are going for. Being technically proficient doesn't mean it's the best looking. I'd say Critter Crunch, Braid, or even Valkyria Chronicles were all amazing looking, because of their art style, not their technical accomplishments.
Graphics are subjective, and talking about "light sources" or "HDR lighting" or "texture work" is all pretty pointless, and really just illustrates your knowledge of a rendering engine and the various techniques employed, not necessarily how "good" the overall package looks.
I don't know what games people were playing when they said MW2 looked "alive". The environments are stale and lifeless. No ambeint sounds, no creatures, nothing interesting. Uncharted 1 was more "alive" than MW2. Hell, MGS3 on PS2 was significantly more "alive" than MW2. Maybe some people need to expand their catalog of games to play.
I think it really boils down to strengths, weaknesses, and the type of "look" they are going for. Being technically proficient doesn't mean it's the best looking. I'd say Critter Crunch, Braid, or even Valkyria Chronicles were all amazing looking, because of their art style, not their technical accomplishments.
Graphics are subjective, and talking about "light sources" or "HDR lighting" or "texture work" is all pretty pointless, and really just illustrates your knowledge of a rendering engine and the various techniques employed, not necessarily how "good" the overall package looks.
Dude i have played MGS4 and MW2 and in MY OPINION MW2 is more lively. If you feel that MGS4 is more lively, well good for you, that is your opinion.
L. Scofield
Veteran
RE5. Just like RE4, it is an excellent blend of art and technology. Every scene looks like it coud actually exist. Also the realtime cutscenes are fantastic
AC2 is also a good candidate with it's huge environments, dozens of NPCs on screen at once and the completely realtime lighting (for outdoor scenes).
AC2 is also a good candidate with it's huge environments, dozens of NPCs on screen at once and the completely realtime lighting (for outdoor scenes).
Isn't this a VS thread??????
Completely meaningless subjective discussions.
Completely meaningless subjective discussions.
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