What Are "Great Graphics" Anyway?

RespawnAction writes: "Whenever you think of great graphics, the first few games to come to mind are Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid, Gears of War, and of course Haze (gotcha!). But when it comes to saying a game has great graphics, what exactly are we looking for? What about when a gaming site is awarding the "Graphics of the Year" to a particular game? What is the criteria in which you can say a game has great graphics? Is it the realism? The creativity? What do you personally look for?"

[ActionBastard]

Those games are easy to spot. They're the ones that say "Only on PlayStation" on the cover.

[respawnaction]

I'll steer clear of this debate with the N4G ppl.

[SasanovaS1987]

lool bubbles for ZEH OP

[Troll_Police]

So true, the games with the best graphics are only on PS3.

[Saaking]

You won't know the answer to that unless you own a PS3 or a really, really good PC to run Crysis on max.

[Blaze929]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[mal_tez92]

-High polygon count
-High resolution textures
-Good effects
-Good lighting
-Good animation doesn't hurt either

Question answered

@above: will my 5770 do that?

[NewZealander]

tech and art for sure, for me personally i love good art, great character design and animation are essential.

[Darkstorn]

Great graphics aren't limited to games with good technology. A great art style for a game can mean the graphics are just as good, if not better, than a more 'realistic' game. For example, Brutal Legend may not have the best technical graphics, but the art style is among the best I've seen.

[Darkstorn]

@1.0-
The PC still churns out the best graphics out there. It may be more fashionable to be a console owner, but computers will always have the largest technical capacity, if only because of their upgradability.

[sikbeta]

"What Are "Great Graphics" Anyway?"

IDK, ask to xboyz:

"The Multiplatz have da bezt graghic eva..."

/jk

Who cares Pal, Games are Awesome anyway

[SilentNegotiator]

HD era?? It was sub-HD without AA...

[mikeslemonade]

Great graphics for me is a game that matches or comes close to the current game that has the best graphics.

[SoX FireBlade]

every console has games with good graphics

can you say that MGS 3 or GT4 have horrible graphics now ?

[ape007]

tech + art direction, both are important to me

art style is the face of the game, it is what make uncharted look special, mgs, gta, cod, kz, zelda, bioshock, I see hundreds of hundreds comparisons between kz2 and halo reach, 90% of the comments fails to understand the impact of art, they just like, master chief got more textures than garza

both are important

[PoSTedUP]

I like realistic, high rez textures along with realistic lighting. But games like flower and battlefield 1943 all have great graphics because everything is so polished and the art style is beautyful.

Great graphics= not much jaggies, attractive artstyle, well polished.

MAG compared to other fps doesn't seem to have great graphics but the art style is there (sort of like warhawk) and it is decent for what it is doing (256 players), if it wasen't as massive and the graphics were the same, the game would most likely fail when you're comparing it to battlefieldBC2 and medal of honor: reboot.

[respawnaction]

1943 and Flower are also great examples. MAG is good too, b/c for what it is doing the game is impressive imo.

[NateCole]

MC has more textures that Graza?. Is that a joke?.

[badz149]

something that stands out from the crowds! something that you can clearly say better than the others! although the PC fans are likely to come in here to claim the graphics crown, IMO I still think KZ2 and Uncharted 2 are looking better than most PC games out there despite only 720p! and this is from someone who have a decent PC to run most games @ 1080p on PC! many times, we can agree that higher resolutions will give crispier graphics but sometimes, it's not all about the 'p', but how to utilize limited spec to produce gorgeous graphic! the 2 games I've mentioned above are the proof of this!

[GrandDragon]

Final Fantasy 13 have some amazing graphics for a multiplatform game that is so huge. Also the design and imagination are mind boggling

Uncharted 2 also has an amazing Art direction. In fact most Good RPG games and Action orientated titles awesome Designers and Artists

[NateCole]

Its textures, shaders, lightning, environments, particle effects, scale, environments, character models amongst others.

[HOSe]

zelda wind waker, what will be god of war 3, all dreamcast games, and

not mw2

[Troll_Police]

Uncharted 1, Uncharted 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2, MLB 09: The Show, Flower, Heavy Rain, God of War III, Gran Turismo 5 and the list goes on.

[Darkstorn]

I realize you're trying to make a fanboy statement, but you left out an insane amount of games, especially if you're going back to the last gen.

[Arnon]

Great graphics = the person's subjective opinion. In a technological aspect, it goes to PC, though.

[ape007]

pretty and simple explanation

bubble up

[djfullshred]

Great graphics is all relevent to your experience. I have been playing video games since the very early days. Because I remember where things came from all the way back to Pong, most games look good to me in the HDTV era with current game consoles.

[Silly gameAr]

Maybe I jumped the gun. If graphics really matter as much as they do today, Chrono Trigger or Link to the Past wouldn't still be 2 of my favorite games of all time today. To me, story and gameplay still matter more than graphics.

My bad about my first comment.

Edit: LOL It's all good man.

[respawnaction]

thats ok sir. I was surprised, for I am merely asking a question. Not flaming, bashing a particular game, or taking a console side.

[Immortal321]

stop it we are a generation where good gameplay and good story is require. Good graphics is becoming the norm.

stop complaining or just stop gaming it's simple

[Silly gameAr]

what? I wasn't born in the 70's for one thing, and another, you're going to have to do a better job of getting your point across, because I have no idea what you are trying to say.

[Whoooop]

Great graphics are looking at Uncharted 2 and saying: HOLY MOTHER OF F*CKING CHRIST thoughout the whole damn game.

[mattygamefreak]

Article is flamebait but OP hit the spot.

[respawnaction]

Flamebait how? I am simply asking a question as to what we as a gaming community ask for in "great graphics". I do not bash any game what so ever, nor do I take the side of one console. Flamebait is the last thing to call this thing. I am asking a legitimate question. The 260 degree VGArabia article is flame. About Reach and GOW 3.

[Bathyj]

I think lighting is one of the most important things. Textures are overrated. No one plays a game with their nose against the wall. But a low rez texture wont even bother you if the lighting is solid.

Art direction is very important. I belive the XB is 90% maxed out from a technical level but I always maintain theres no end to creativity when it comes to art. And a game doesnt even have to be that impressive technically if the art direction is good. Okami would be a good example.

At the end of the day but, to be truely gorgeous you need the overall package. Lighting, animation, textures, physics, the lot.

[HOSe]

we need more money for more better graphics

:) i think Rage will set a new standard for FPS games - graphically wizeeee

[FwanK]

What are?

Are called Uncharted 2, God of War 3 and Killzone 2

[The BS Police]

Apparently great graphics means one thing... BROWN, BROWN, BROWN, BROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you see that nice green jungle over there? Make it look like a giant took a dump all over it!

It's one of the reasons why I still prefer Halo over other FPS franchises.

[Bathyj]

You must have loved XIII then, I know I did.

I see what you mean, the browns and grey can get a bit much but I still think KZ has the best graphics so I wouldnt discount a game because of colour. In truth it helps with games going for realism when alot of them are in crappy wartorn environments.

Does Katamari have better graphics than Gears? I think not.

PS
For every rule, there are exceptions, Uncharted 2 proves wartorn can still be colourful, it depends on the setting.

[ape007]

heheh lol , I was just giving an example of their pointless argument

[NateCole]

That Gears bullshot fooled alot of x360 fans.

[thewhoopimen]

Here's how I differentiate between good and great graphics:

When I look at circular objects with polygon count: Good graphics games use a 6-8 sided polygon. Great Games use 12 or even raytrace like GT5 where you can't see the angles at all period.

With water effects: Good is recognizing that water splashes so they use sprites or a 2d texture to simulate splash everytime a character walks. Great graphics (haven't seen this yet) is water that splashes up realistically, lands, and causes ripples (Uncharted 2 uses ripples but only 2D splashes)

With objects falling: Good Graphics (99% of 360 Games) When a building blows up, rather than blowing outward, you see it crumble like a stack of jenga blocks. No bounce. You also see objects fly straight into the ground b/c they are culling out heavy computing tasks. Great Graphics (Killzone 2) Building blow outward, chunks fly, land AND bounce, and spin with next to no clipping.

With characters (graphics in motion): Good Graphics: Realistic animation or rudimentary mo-cap with choppy transitions. No transition animations when pulling or holstering weapons, etc. Great Graphics (Uncharted 2 or KZ2) Full blended mo-cap with little to no stuttery transitions.

[Immortal321]

great graphics mean to me is a real life replica in a videos game with detail to look more like real life.

physics
animation
color

[realism]

[maniacf40]

only with MGS4, uncharted, uncharted 2, killzone 2 which are truly exclusive to what???

[Figboy]

granted, there are some games with AMAZING art direction that also have lots of polys being pushed around.

for example, God of War 3 has great art design. it also has a lot of graphics calculations being run.

on the flip side, Flower is a game i think has great graphics, but it has minimalistic art design.

naturally, God of War 3 is more graphically impressive on a technical level than Flower, but Flower is no less graphically stunning when seen on an HDTV.

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time has phenomenal graphics, with great character animations, texture detail, and post processing effects.

Uncharted 2 also has phenomenal graphics, great character animations, texture detail, and post processing effects.

which one looks better is difficult to say. they have different art direction and art design.

Folklore has amazing art design and creature design, and i think it's a beautiful looking game, but some wouldn't think it stands next to games like UC2 and Ratchet.

as i said before, i think art direction/design is a key factor to what makes graphics "great" moreso than just sheer polygon pushing and number crunching. sometimes is a healthy amalgamation of the two.

Killzone 2 looks amazing because it mixes great art design and processing power to staggeringly impressive effect, despite it have a rather drab, gritty visual aesthetic.

Heavy Rain doesn't have much in the way of art design (in the "fantastical" sense; it is attempting to portray a more realistic world than Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2), but it possesses incredibly technical prowess when rendering it's characters and environments that result in it's wow factor graphics.

it's simply not as black and white as the gaming media wants to make it out to be.

the same thing goes for the "graphics vs gameplay" argument. both are vital to a medium that is both visual and interactive. instead of viewing them as separate elements warring for the gamer's attention, the best games marry the two and achieve wonderful results (see: Shadow of the Colossus; graphics AND gameplay; see Uncharted 2: graphics AND gameplay, etc, etc).

[Nathan Drake2]

what are "great graphics anyway"?

something you can't see on x360.

[killedinaction9]

gears of war 2 for me :)
played the story mode last week after my kick ass U2410 arrived and the graphics were amazing.Until now i was playing on my 37inch plasma but there really is no comparison.If you want the most out of your 360/PS3 i highly recommend a 24inch monitor(less input lag as well).
The most thing i really like is probably the art direction,the levels all look really impressive and the locust look badass :)

[jalen247]

I think we all know which games have great graphics. No need to list them. All I am going to say is a PS3 is needed to play these games.

[aaron5829]

are pleasent to my eyes.. good graphics are playable...

Uncharted and Killzone = awesome graphics.

:)

Crysis.. now that's one hell of a super graphics.