Impressive games for their time.

A

Abap41

Hi all, long time lurker who finally decided to sign up.
What games impressed you the most when released from a graphical and/or technical point.
I'll start with just a few.

Sacrifice (pc, 2000) loved the art style!

Metal gear solid 2 (ps2, 2001) The opening on the ship with the rain blew me away, general level of attention to detail too.

Dead or alive 3 (xbox, 2001) The fluidity of it all, characters and some of the stages looked gorgeous.

What games stood out most to you at the time? Cheers.
 
Welcome to Beyond3d!

Well, some games that impressed me the first time I saw them were Tomb Raider II, WipeOut, Ridge Racer Type 4, Gex: Enter the gekko, Abe's Oddysee, Outcast, Soul Calibur...
 
WipeOut: This game for me still holds incredibly well. The art direction was the best in the series. It blended incredibly well realism/present elements with futuristic elements so the environments were believable. The track design was incredible. Each provided a different type of challenges and played differently with the ship physics. The ships even though were hovering, they had weight. The camera work was also innovative, The ships were off centered when they approached the sides of the tracks and the camera was kind of finding an average between the path and the ship's position. The sound was incredible. The music tracks were a perfect fit. Sound effects and music were affected by the environment. If you entered a tunnel or were surrounded by large metallic walls a reverb or some kind of echo was applied. Sound effects were spectacular and stylish.

Panzer Dragoon Zwei: What can I say? The fluidity and art direction were unmatched. The art direction is actually so good that it is somewhat pleasant to play even today. The dragon's animations and physics can be relevant by today's standards in my book. Sega was like Naughty Dog. Incredible attention to detail. The game overall was above and beyond anything for years to come.

Sega Rally Championship: The visuals were super realistic and no game could much the physics for years to come. Despite the Saturn's shortcomings no developer could capture or intimidate the quality of the experience. Colin McRae and V Rally kind of approached it, but it was until many years after that there was an experience on the PS1 that could offer a rally experience of that quality and that was Gran Turismo 2's Rally mode.

Toshinden: Even though it does not hold perfectly today, it was a marvelous demonstration of 3D graphics. The backgrounds were fully 3D with incredible effects, characters could sidestep into the background and some stages like Gaia's boss stage was a marvelous to watch.

Soul Blade: This took Toshinden even further. The backgrounds were alive, animated, and were subject to the dynamic day time. For example Siegfried stage: Towers would fall in the background and during the night the fortress would be covered in flames. Character shadows would dynamically change positions according to time of day. Lighting effects were top. Characters could lose their weapons if blocking too much and some move sets could be cancelled with the use of the block button to immediately change your attack.

Soul Reaver: No visible loading times, incredibly detailed visuals, environments could morph on the fly.

Resident Evil: Atmosphere. The soundtrack was incredibly deep and extremely well thought. Actually the experience was defined by the sound.

There are more but later on that
 
Some great games listed so far, wipeout was certainly a great game.
Soldier of fortune is another game that impressed me, especially the damage model which is still ahead of most games I know of today. Countless hours dismembering the enemies.... The good old days :).
 
Metal Gear Solid 1: What can I say? It pushed the PS1 to it's very limits. Hideo Kojima thought of no compromises. The game although short it was packed with content. Every section was memorable. The AI was unlike anything on the PS1. The game had an unorthodox yet welcoming approach. While other games put you in right into action with a weapon, you only had a pack of cigarettes. The shift of camera angles based on what you wanted to do was smart. It was the most cinematic experience you could get. The game had many innovative ideas (like the Psycho Mantis reading your "mind" (gameplay data, Konami games from your memory card etc), it broke the forth wall constantly, the plot was fleshed out like no other game prior to it, the themes were serious and had many messages. I found it amazing how it used real life events to, not just feed the game's plot, but to also convey it's real life messages. It was an attempt that tried to present video games as an equally important medium to movies and novels. It respected the gamer and hence treated him beyond a mindless individual. The use of sound was also well done. The music beautifully changed according to what was going on. Overall this game changed the course of game design, and many modern elements we take for granted today, MGS did it first and inspired the rest.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Continued the legacy of MGS1 properly into the PS2. The game was nothing short of perfection. Everything the PS2 was hyped for, Kojima implemented it in MGS2. Facial expressions, realistic weather effcts, incredible physics, water effects, incredible AI, dynamic shadows, crazy use of particles, interactive environments etc everything was there. To top it off, MGS2 dared to go beyond MGS1 in terms of plot twists and serious themes. It wanted to look and sound absurd, it challenged the very beliefs of the player and "fooled" us all just to prove a point. MGS2 was like Plato's allegory of the cave. Kojima knew that some would view it as an epiphany while others probably would view it as ridiculous. It is a game that didn't care what others will think because it believed in itself that it had something meaningful ad important to say as a medium. For me it was the Matrix of Video Games.
 
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Recent ones but I'd say
  • The Witcher 3, pretty much set the standard of what an open world game should be this gen and is still not topped in terms of world building and quest design imho.
  • Halo 3 was amazing, so many customization and options in multiplayer, while at the same time offering the entire single player campaign for 4 player online or local co-op. The high point of the entire franchise imo
  • Crysis is another one, pushed new boundaries both as a game and for graphics.
  • Gears of War, pretty much defined the entire genre of TPS shooters for the previous gen.
  • Uncharted 2, one of the most polished gaming experiences from start to finish. Made character driven games popular to the masses. Also the reason I bought a Ps3 :p
  • Bloodborne because I'm biased and I love Blooborne, but also because it is Souls at its best. Amazing boss fights, soundtrack, weapon gameplay and map design etc. you get the point :p
HL2, Portal, Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, PGR4 and the list goes on... :)
 
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Virtua Fighter 2: Gameplay depth. Animation was very advanced and above every fighting game that was released for quite some time. Sega made the characters change foot stance according to the performed move which most developers at the time considered pointless. But for Sega that was a touch of realism that mimicked a real martial art. The gameplay was very strategic. Timing and distance were super crucial but added the element of space and angle. The players had to account for the arena and their positioning in it to either push the opponent out or to avoid getting out.

GoW3: I am still amazed how SM pulled that off on a PS3. It was such a breathtaking and good looking experience, it was unbelievable it was running on a PS3. It was like playing on a PS4 or a beefed up PC.

Uncharted 2: Another similarly breathtaking experience. The visuals were perfect. The game had great pacing, and when you thought you got enough, the game surprised you with more variety and impressive visuals. Every aspect of the game was super polished.

These two games where for the PS3 what MGS2 was for PS2 in my eyes. They met the expectations I had for the PS3 when it was first revealed. These two titles defined the previous generation for me. They were the peak.

Shadow of The Colossus: Despite its unstable framreate the experience was rich and vivid. The game incorporated techniques that mimicked what you would expect from the later generation. The per object and camera based motion blur was the first implementation on the PS2 that looked properly. The HDR effects added atmosphere. The animation was fluid and realistic. The interaction between the character and the colossi was very advanced for a PS2 game and I can't recall a game prior to that on the PS2 that featured animation combined physics of that quality. Next gen games were released on the 360 at that time with better framerates, high res visuals, more polygons etc but they were the same experience last gen experience packaged in a fancier sexier package, whereas Shadow of the Colossus offered a newer, immersive, believable experience that made the player wonder if it should have belonged on the next generation of consoles. I was experiencing it literally like a next gen title. It was epic.
 
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Virtua Fighter 2 - loved VF1 in the arcades and the home port of 2 just blew me away. The higher resolution was noticeable as the game looked sharper and cleaner than any other 3D fighter I've played to that point.

Panzer Dragoon Saga - PD1 and 2 were amazing but PDS took the series to another level. Large, open levels, transparencies, colored lighting, great water effects, and a nice variety in textures. It's one of the few JRPGs that I can play through again and again.

Wipeout XL - the first Wipeout looked great but the sequel blew away my expectations. Impressive level design, a plethora of effects, and an amazing soundtrack made love to my senses.

Soul Reaver - this was very impressive considering the PS1 hardware. Large levels that could morph when you go to the spectral plane, fluid animation, and an impressive streaming implementation that masked the loading.

Honorable mention: Shenmue on the Saturn - I know it never officially released but what we have seen is amazing. Would have liked to see how the final product would've turned out.
 
Virtual fighter/racing (arcade), going from 2d to 3d was simply amazing, Daytona/vf2 to follow up as textured was also something to behold, neither console but just so far advanced of what I had seen before.

Console:

Soul calibre on the Dreamcast was certainly impressive.

Star wars rogue squadron 2 on the GameCube I think is also worth a mention for technical merit. From recollection it pushes the system really hard, 60fps and a pretty neat game in itself.

Virtua fighter kids on the Saturn as it was one of the few games with transparency.
 
Donkey Kong Country. I think I got a SNES when I was about 9 and thought this game was endlessly impressive. Still looks great today.

Soul Reaver. Not just the graphics but the music, storytelling and atmosphere really got to me. Unfortunately never finished it.

Far cry. At the time I was really looking forward to hl2 just like everybody else but then far cry came out and just blew me away. At the time I thought it looked better than hl2 though the latter looks better today.

Contact (DS). Technically not impressive but this game just had something that really grabbed me.

Those are probably the games that really stuck with me as something special at the time I played them. Probably should include NFS2/3/4 as well.

Now that I'm a bit older I don't really get that wow feeling anymore.
 
X-Wing / Tie Fighter: Most of the rival games at the time were using sprites and X-Wing went full 3D, sure space combat is almost a best case scenario for 3D but the smoothness was notable even on my 386 SX at the time. Then Tie Fighter came along with the extra loveliness of Gouraud Shading too also bonus points for supporting my Gravis Ultrasound properly and not making me use the nasty FM based Sound Blaster mode
 
Far cry as mentioned in a previous post was very nice looking when it came out. I think it was the first game I got to see hdr via a patch on my geforce 6800 gtx.
Running the doom 3 alpha blew my mind too, I was so hyped for the full release after that, I did enjoy the game but it didn't live up to my sky high expectations.
Another game I was really impressed with when I played it was "ready to rumble". Think I played it at a local blockbuster either before or not long after the release of the Dreamcast. It seemed a huge step up from the knockout kings series on PlayStation (which I loved).
 
Starfox on SuperNES. Real 3D on a 16bit system, thx to the Super FX chip. And it was a very fun game.

Wave Race en N64 blew my mind with the water, and, 1080 snowboarding for the snow "feeling", was awesome too for me.
 
It's not a console game, but Blade of Darkness (aka Severance) was very impressive overall when it released. The demo came out in 2000 and there was really nothing comparable at the time. And it's not just one element of the game that wowed. The textures, the models, the lighting/shadows were all great. But it also had a well-implemented weapon combat system that was more elaborate than just "click to attack", without falling into the trap of Die By The Sword's oddball mechanics.

Also, Stalker.
 
Games that I have enjoyed, still play occasionally, and believe that has defined gaming in one way or another.

Top Ten PC
1. Castle Wolfenstein (PC, 1981): Got me into PC gaming.
2. Lode Runner (PC, 1983): Addictive and fast paced.
3. Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (PC, 1985): Great memories traversing the world, trying to solve events and gathering clues on capturing Carmen and her V.I.L.E. comrades.
4. Doom (PC, 1993): Scary fun and fast paced.
5. Myst (PC, 1993): First drop-dead gorgeous game for me, and well written story.
6. Unreal (PC, 1998): Simply gorgeous and jaw dropping graphics.
7. Grand Theft Auto III (PC, 2002): The game that redefined open-world gaming IMHO, and had the attitude and story to match.
8. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC, 2004): The best GTA game within the series, and my all time favorite PC game to date. Sometimes it's the little things that makes a game memorable and long lasting.
9. BloodRayne (PC, 2007): A sexy vampiress killing Nazis - period!
10. Crysis (PC, 2007): The Godfather of unbridled graphics, and not giving 2 fuck'z about PC hardware limitations.

Top Ten Console Games
1. Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985): It's Mario, what else needs to be said!?
2. Splatterhouse (TG16, 1988): The game that made me purchase a TurboGrafx-16.
3. Magician Lord (Neo-Geo, 1990): Challenging and addictive, the Demon Soul's of it's time.
4. Sonic the Hedgehog (SG, 1991): BLAST PROCESSING!!!!! Seriously, fast paced and beautiful graphics.
5. Gran Turismo (PS1,1997): The game that redefined what a racing/driving simulation should be.
6. Metal Gear Solid (PS1, 1998): Still the best Metal Gear game within the series.
7. Resident Evil – Code: Veronica (Dreamcast, 2000): Hands down the best game of the Resident Evil series.
8. God of War (PS2, 2005): The game that started it all. The game that showed how capable the PS2 hardware was.
9. Gears of War (XB360, 2006): Hands down the game that brought many PC gamers over to console gaming, as a valid alternative choice to PC gaming. Gorgeous graphics and awesome gameplay mechanics.
10. The Last of Us (PS3, 2013): The best PS3 game of all time.

Top Ten of Modern Gaming
1. God of War (PS4, 2018): Simply an astounding game with gorgeous graphics to boot.
2. Far Cry 5 (PC, 2018): Amazing forestry environments and scenery.
3. Wolfenstein II The New Colossus (PC, 2017): Great story and awesome gameplay.
4. Resident Evil VII (PC, 2017): Finally, a good Resident Evil game with nice visuals, good gameplay, and actual scares.
5. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands (PC, 2017): Gorgeous environments and the staggering map size.
6. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PC, 2017): Very, very, gorgeous looking game and interesting gameplay.
7. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4, 2016): Naughty God's levels of graphics and story telling.
8. Detroit: Become Human (PS4, 2018): Jaw dropping CG like graphics in real-time.
9. Assassin's Creed Origins (PC, 2017): Best game of the AC series.
10. Cuphead (PC, XBOX, 2017): The best looking cartoon animation and design in a game of it's kind.
 
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Crysis blew many minds, more so then any other game i think (i know i shouldnt say this on a forum where most like Sony :p), but MGS2 sure is close if not a match, still have my MGS2 and PS2, played not long ago just to experience it, and it wasnt an eye sore like many games can be after almost 18 years.

Doom 3 impressed with its advanced graphics, shadows where on a next level for that time, as all the other effects (particles, mapping).

Half Life 2, the 2003 tech demo was mouth watering, gobsmacked many, this can be heard on this youtube video. HL2's physiscs for its time....


Thinking the OG xbox got a exeptional good port of Doom 3 and HL2 ran quit well on it too, thats something impressive too. Showed how powerfull the console was against the ps2 and gc.

Far Cry for its water and open world style of gameplay, and big lush jungles. Also an xbox port here, while in my eyes not as impressive as the D3 and HL2 port, it even had some graphical features the PC version didnt have.

Transformers PS2, the one that the austratians did, it might come close to any of the above, or even other ps2 games, but that scale and 60fps, on the weakest console of the 6th gen that launched in 2000, was thinking back then already, how did they did this.

SSX, the first one that launched with the PS2 in october 2000, somehow it impressed me, dont know why though :p



Shortbread said:
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC, 2004): The best GTA game within the series, and my all time favorite PC game to date. Sometimes it's the little things that makes a game memorable and long lasting.
Click to expand...

San Andreas pc was 2005 :p Actually the PS2 version had the better graphics, as the pc version was a bad port, many things went missing in the transition, as of modern times one can get the full PS2 experience on pc with mods.

 
vipa899 said:
San Andreas pc was 2005 :p Actually the PS2 version had the better graphics, as the pc version was a bad port, many things went missing in the transition, as of modern times one can get the full PS2 experience on pc with mods.

Click to expand...

You know better, diehard PC gamers never go nilla. Never go full vanilla! :nope::mrgreen:
 
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