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Most technically impressive game of the 7th generation?
- Thread starter Phediuk
- Start date
Kagoshima_Luke
Gold Member
GoW3.
Halo 4 runner up.
Edit: Rating these solely on visual achievement. For overall technical achievement, will have to mull that over a bit more.
Halo 4 runner up.
Edit: Rating these solely on visual achievement. For overall technical achievement, will have to mull that over a bit more.
Not to be overly contrarian, but the fact so much discussion is placed purely on visual feedback seems to disregard much of what is technically impressive in games to begin with.
You can look at a game like halo 4, and we can compare it to reach, I would say that neither are technically superior as many of the graphic upgrades come at the cost of other meaningful changes. How often have you backtracked through a level in halo 4? Not much because many of the doors lock on you. How often have you been able to save the location of a sniper-rifle or power weapon in halo 4, and been able to return to it? Not often, this is because the number of assets in the scene is much more limited (just blow up a covie tower and see how many gibs are made and how long they sit around for), and while the base geometry, lighting and other aspects have been improved, it's done so at the cost of scale and gameplay. The maps are more linear, offer less freedom and exploration, are much smaller and so forth. So is it really technically superior? Is there anything superior about diminishing gameplay in favor of graphics in a medium which is defined by gameplay and not visuals?
Perhaps its best to look at other technically impressive accomplishments in games. I think a game like gta5 does an amazing job at offering up a consistent online component in a world with extraordinary scale. A game like minecraft struggles to load chunks of the world for 1-2 players, and rockstar has managed to develop an online infrastructure that allows for several people to all share within one global massive game-space with nearly as many hiccups (and it looks very good to boot). Forza is another game that stands out for me in that it offers an immense amount of physics calculations on the spot, no it doesn't look as good as gran turismo in a realism litmus test but that's besides the point (imo). Another game would be halo 3, not because of of graphics again, but because of its novel lighting method, producing actual dynamic range lighting by rendering 2 separate frame buffers with different lighting configurations then combining it to produce some of the best results, period. Even more impressive is that in split screen co-op, each view gets its own render output running at their own framerate giving you the best results for any home competitive setting. Maybe even something like shadow run which attempted to combine pc and console gamers. Trying to develop drivers and support for pc and console protocols from different devices and configuration of devices on a sinngle pvp system would also be an incredibly tricky feat, not to mention trying to balance the entire game out etc.
if anything, visuals are some of the lesser impressive feats of games. You can make some really amazing looking games with simple tricks and art.
You can look at a game like halo 4, and we can compare it to reach, I would say that neither are technically superior as many of the graphic upgrades come at the cost of other meaningful changes. How often have you backtracked through a level in halo 4? Not much because many of the doors lock on you. How often have you been able to save the location of a sniper-rifle or power weapon in halo 4, and been able to return to it? Not often, this is because the number of assets in the scene is much more limited (just blow up a covie tower and see how many gibs are made and how long they sit around for), and while the base geometry, lighting and other aspects have been improved, it's done so at the cost of scale and gameplay. The maps are more linear, offer less freedom and exploration, are much smaller and so forth. So is it really technically superior? Is there anything superior about diminishing gameplay in favor of graphics in a medium which is defined by gameplay and not visuals?
Perhaps its best to look at other technically impressive accomplishments in games. I think a game like gta5 does an amazing job at offering up a consistent online component in a world with extraordinary scale. A game like minecraft struggles to load chunks of the world for 1-2 players, and rockstar has managed to develop an online infrastructure that allows for several people to all share within one global massive game-space with nearly as many hiccups (and it looks very good to boot). Forza is another game that stands out for me in that it offers an immense amount of physics calculations on the spot, no it doesn't look as good as gran turismo in a realism litmus test but that's besides the point (imo). Another game would be halo 3, not because of of graphics again, but because of its novel lighting method, producing actual dynamic range lighting by rendering 2 separate frame buffers with different lighting configurations then combining it to produce some of the best results, period. Even more impressive is that in split screen co-op, each view gets its own render output running at their own framerate giving you the best results for any home competitive setting. Maybe even something like shadow run which attempted to combine pc and console gamers. Trying to develop drivers and support for pc and console protocols from different devices and configuration of devices on a sinngle pvp system would also be an incredibly tricky feat, not to mention trying to balance the entire game out etc.
if anything, visuals are some of the lesser impressive feats of games. You can make some really amazing looking games with simple tricks and art.
Absolutely this. Extremely well made game. A real achievement!
TheVampire
Banned
Not in texture quality.
Depends on how you define texture quality, because I think the texture quality is impressive considering the texture variety/streaming, especially in an extremely detailed and large open world like this, and on old hardware.
I think this statement is ridiculous as a method of demarcating which titles should qualify. For arguments sake we could keep making arbitrary goalposts. If the game isn't online/multiplayer, is that less technically impressive because they lack a technical component (a complicated one at that)? If anything you've just pointed out the problem of relying strictly on graphics for making a decision. We should be focused on well rounded examples, games that not only perform well, but have to do so under stressful environments or with complex infrastructure of gameplay systems. Even then, is it technically impressive to have a game with 1000 unique animations or is it more technically impressive to have a game with 50 animations combined so that thousands of animations can be generated?
NullPointer
Member
This. Some of the very best IQ on the Xbox, absolutely locked framerate, zero tearing, draw distances that go on for miles and miles, a great physics model with extremely low latency, open world with day/night cycle, rally surfaces and all the usual assorted Forza goodness. An end to end technical achievement that's quality on every level.
I loved a lot of other games on the Xbox and PS3 but none of them set the bar on every level like Horizon. Most have framerate or jaggy issues or are much smaller in scope. Beyond Two Souls for instance looks gobsmacking, but considering just how very little game there is I don't really hold it in all that high esteem.
Glorious_Paradox
Member
Might not the most impressive per se, but I think Super Stardust HD deserves a nod here.
When making the 3D version of the game, they refused to sacrifice the silky-smooth 60fps they already had, so they pushed and optimized the game well enough to run at 120fps instead; 60fps for each eye.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/super-stardust-3d-720p120-confirmed-article
When making the 3D version of the game, they refused to sacrifice the silky-smooth 60fps they already had, so they pushed and optimized the game well enough to run at 120fps instead; 60fps for each eye.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/super-stardust-3d-720p120-confirmed-article
Easily #1 the most impressive.
Is that a wii game? If so lol
LOL. This too x1000
Good call. Housemarque knows their stuff.
That would be Xenoblade, and it definitely counts.
Sometimes it can be a little obvious just how many shortcuts they needed to take to get it running, but it is still technically very impressive. There are more ways to be impressive than just pumping out Crysis 3 graphics.
TriangleMasher
Member
Outside of the aforementioned games already, to spice things up, I feel Yazuka Ishin looks spectacular even on the PS3. Dem facial animations mang. I'm not really sure if I would count that as a 7th gen game though.
nelsonroyale
Member
Beyond Two Souls. Textures, modelling, lighting, effects were all very impressive. In parts definitely looked like it could compete with some of the early next gen games. Other than that I would say Last of Us and God of War 3, maybe Ascension as well.
xenogenesis
Member
TropicanaTwista
Member
Probably Uncharted 2. I just got Beyond not that long ago and it is a beauty, Im just gonna give the edge to U2 because at the time, I think that was more impressive.
Easily #1 the most impressive.
yup. This one is it.
Beautiful-looking games.
I'm going to have to give this another nod, because I'm playing through Xenoblade for the first time at the moment and I just cannot believe what they've managed to squeeze out of the Wii's hardware. There are obviously prettier games out there but technically speaking it is absolutely astonishing.
ProfessorMoran
Member
TLOU or gtav.
...What?
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
No that game is on PS3 exclusively. So cancel that "lol"
Infinite_Daremo
Member
The only games that wowed me were at the beginning of the generation.
Oblivion, exiting the sewers to see the landscape. Only game where i've just stood and smoothly rotated the camera like a tech demo.
Gears Of War. Graphics and great gameplay. Also the only game where multiplayer truly hooked me. I haven't touched multi-player games since this.
God Of War 3. The scale of the boss battles and the overall texture quality was amazing.
Oblivion, exiting the sewers to see the landscape. Only game where i've just stood and smoothly rotated the camera like a tech demo.
Gears Of War. Graphics and great gameplay. Also the only game where multiplayer truly hooked me. I haven't touched multi-player games since this.
God Of War 3. The scale of the boss battles and the overall texture quality was amazing.
If Horizon is an indication I'm sure we'll see some really impressive stuff from Playground this gen.
Both of these games have bad framerates though.
I say GoW3. Still looks great to this day, has better IQ than TLoU or GTA 5 and has a pretty steady framerate.
Thread is heading where I thought it would be: people confusing technically with visually.
illustri0us
Banned
GTA
Bf bc2 online - destruction and scale
Rage - 60 fps game looking nice, nuff said
Have yet to play/see forza horizon properly
Bf bc2 online - destruction and scale
Rage - 60 fps game looking nice, nuff said
Have yet to play/see forza horizon properly
Both of these games have bad framerates though.
I say GoW3. Still looks great to this day, has better IQ than TLoU or GTA 5 and has a pretty steady framerate.
GTAV is impressive because of the scope, though. The thick haze hanging over Los Santos, the mist shrouding the mountains, the sheer enormity of the world and the level of detail that they managed to cram into it. The absolutely perfect warmth of the lighting and attention to shaders.
For all the low IQ and patchy framerate (and frankly I'm kind of staggered they even managed to get something resembling 720p30 out of PS360 in that game), more than any other game I played this generation GTAV felt like a piece of next-gen technology that had somehow been shoehorned into last-gen hardware. I'd buy a 1080p, solid 30fps next-gen edition in a heartbeat.
Chocolate & Vanilla
Fuck Strawberry
From a "wow graphix" perspective I think it's difficult to beat God of War 3 or Beyond.
But from a "I can't believe they managed this considering the technical limitations of the platform" perspective, it has to be Xenoblade.
But from a "I can't believe they managed this considering the technical limitations of the platform" perspective, it has to be Xenoblade.
To be honest, I'm hardly (if at all) impressed by tech engines and graphics since I saw the demo of Splinter Cell Chaos Theory back in early 2005. Yes, I know it is a game from the PS2/Xbox era, but it was close enough to the X360 release and it did such an impact on me, so I cannot just not mention it here. The very first scene of the begging of the mission was literally jawdropping - a small beach in a cloudy night, the moon and only a single lamp post cast great looking lights and shadows, that still holds very well by today's standards.
So if any game of the passing gen have impressed me at least somehow close to SCCT, it was definitely Grand Theft Auto V. The lightning and shaders are really great looking and considering the scale of the world and all the attention to details, it's where my vote goes to.
Not having a PC release of GTAV only makes me angry, because it looks so damn good on PS360 and I can see it how much better it will be on a decent gaming PC...
So if any game of the passing gen have impressed me at least somehow close to SCCT, it was definitely Grand Theft Auto V. The lightning and shaders are really great looking and considering the scale of the world and all the attention to details, it's where my vote goes to.
Not having a PC release of GTAV only makes me angry, because it looks so damn good on PS360 and I can see it how much better it will be on a decent gaming PC...
Keeping the game world limited to mostly outside, which was one thing I was disappointed about - I was hoping for more immersion in that sense as a step-up from GTA IV. Also, a tiny number of people walking around on the streets. I am waiting (endlessly) for the pc version, but I played a tiny bit of it on my flatmate's 360 and I couldn't help but notice just how empty the game world was. GTA V is a hugely impressive game, but let's be real here - sacrifices were made to have it so.
I have a feeling it won't be 1080p which would lead to a lot of sh** on the game... DC comparisons almost a given.