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Best looking PS2 game?

I want to say Shadow of the Colossus for all of the advanced techniques it was using (faked HDR lighting, deforming collision detection, inverse kinematics, fur shaders on giant colossus models, self shadowing... etc.), but I think the overall best in all areas has to be Silent Hill 3. Even today it manages to look polished, modern, and artistically sophisticated. Its cohesive look stands the test of time better than any other PS2 game, IMO.

PS - I'm also on a PS2 kick right now, OP. Best console of all time.
 
Shadow of Rome - Capcom

Genji:Dawn of the Samurai - SCE

Ace Combat:4 Belkan Wars - Namco

God of WarI&II - Sony Santa Monica

Burnout4 - Criterion

Time Splitters Future Perfect: - Free Radical

Gran Turismo:4 - Polyphony Digital

Onimusha 3: Demon Siege - Capcom
 
The apartment in Silent Hill 4 aged pretty gracefully in my opinion. It holds up well in emulation:

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God of War. Helped by the fact that it supported progressive scans (one of the few Ps2 games that did). God of War 2 oddly did not.
 
Can someone post that picture of Valkyrie Profile 2 where the main character is walking in a field of grass for a long time. That one was memorable, I cant find it on google.
 
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Star Ocean 3: Till the end of time.

I'd love to find a screen shot of the final battle, or the Ethereal Queen areas, but I can't find any good screen shots.
 
Never doubted Silent Hill 3 for a second.

Every other game, you look closely enough and you'll find something somewhere that looks off. With SH3 it took the HD collection (ironically) to force that out.
 
BabyFaceKillah said:
black was on ps2 lol?? i thought that was an xbox exclusive.


they need to make a sequel to this game... :(
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Ugh, i remember i really hated it. And wasnt impressed by the graphics

I dont remember anything else. But i wish i could play it again just to see what was so bad about it
 
GrayChild said:
Another vote for Silent Hill 3. The character models and animations look stunning even to this day.

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Yeah, Silent Hill 3 gets my vote as well. I haven't played Downpour, but imo SH3 still could be the best looking game in the franchise which speaks volumes for this technical accomplishment.


Final Fantasy 12 is also very impressive.

Gran Turismo 4 in 1080i was a sight to behold. So impressive.
 
Soul Calibur III from a technical standpoint. Artistically, this is the title that marks the series' nosedive, but the game is ultra-impressive graphically.
 
Damn, looking back on it now.. a lot of these games had no business looking as good as they did. God damn I love this console <3

FF12
GoW 2
DQ8
Okami
Shadow of The Colossus
MGS3
RE4

Those are all the all time best I have played in terms of visuals. But numero uno all time ever? Probably God of War 2. That game ran on pure fucking voodoo/witchcraft.
 
dab0ne said:
Wasn't Body Count kind of a spiritual successor or something?
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yeah i think it was but i didnt really like body count... like at all

cacildo said:
Ugh, i remember i really hated it. And wasnt impressed by the graphics

I dont remember anything else. But i wish i could play it again just to see what was so bad about it
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i was like 13 when i played it and i was just impressed by the damage all the guns did.
 
Silent Hill 3, GOW 2, Shadow of The Colossus, Okami and Resident Evil 4 would be my picks. The first time I played RE4 on PS2, my jaw dropped when the game transitioned to gameplay from the first cutscene in the woods.
 
Zone of the Enders 2, especially when you consider it ran at 60fps. Holy shit it looked amazing! Best explosions I've ever seen, to this day.
 
I don't know if I'd put Radiata Stories above Valkyrie Profile 2 (or SH3), but tri-Ace put out some seriously good-looking games on the PS2. I'm also a big sucker for this game's aesthetic:

pFATsKT.png


I played Radiata Stories at release and it was the first time in a while that I'd stopped and thought whoa this looks good.
 
Snowblind's engine for games Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath was always easy on the eye - supersampling eliminated almost aliasing, framerate was almost always rock solid, lots of polys and nice particle effects. I always wished they had been able to put that engine on the market for other devs to use.
 
Silent Hill 3 was really amazing back in the time. The character models, animation and overall look was breathtaking for the PS2.
Sure SOTC looks good, but with 15-20 fps is not a contender for other great looking games.
 
Final Fantasy XII came out near the end of the PS2 lifecycle and had huge detailed environments and really great textures. It simplified the character models a bit compared to FFX but used the resources to create better textures and more open landscapes.
 
Damn! PS2 had a lot of good looking games.

FF12
MGS3
GOW2
SotC

I remember those being really good looking games, Also Kingdom Hearts 2.

kingdom-hearts-ii-20050428072813388-1104843_640w.jpg
 
JordanN said:
Best animation.
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God. This game blew my fucking mind the first time I played through it. Hell the animation still looks incredible even today. It's probably not pound for pound as visually impressive as GoW2, but I think the overall attention to detail in MGS3 puts it over the top for me

manipulate said:
this thread

EVERYTHING WAS EMULATOR
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LOL. No shit. God what I wouldn't give for BC on PS4 with upscaled graphics :(
 
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