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Stunning environments in games (56k no)

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Not the best example, but god damn those places looked great. Town in particular.

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I want to live here someday.

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So cohesive.

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The environments in this game gave it this really... romantic feel. I don't know why. Maybe because it's usually night.

I always explore every nook in all games, though.
 
Well, it's certainly an unrivalled sense of scale in terms of forum posts, I'll give you that. I'm viewing those pics on a 1920x1200 monitor and they're still huuuuuge.
 
Huuuuge screens!! It felt like being in a desert trying to find out where the images begin and end :lol

DMC certainly looked awesome with its gothic style at the time.

That ice place in Uncharted 2 looks incredible wow!
 
The last game that really blew me away with its environment must be GTA4. Not that it's the best looking game or whatever (that said it must be the best looking sand box game, Assassin's Creed 2 will certainly correct that soon though). But they've done tons of stuff to make it feel alive, be it the sounds, the adds (and the internet/TV/radios), etc...

But not only does it look great and feel alive, but the overall layout of the city is fantastic too. The are great axes everywhere, the city feels natural and organic, it's by far the best city I've had the chance to play in a video game. I love how every island, every district, (and almost every street too) feels unique, it almost feel like being in a 10 hours short linear game where every inch of the game has been polished, except it's a huge city. Some of the older game where either completely puzzling (GTA3, but I guess that the lack of map fucked my brain :lol ) some other were too flat or repetitive/boring (Vice City), but the new Liberty City is just plain awesome.
 
As jaggy as ODST is, some of the backdrops are literally breath-taking. As with all games, sometimes it pays to stop and have a look around.
 
BobsRevenge said:
I think Prince of Persia is easily one of the most stunning game released this generation in regards to environments. It is on an entirely different level than the vast majority of games. The imagination, quality, and execution of it is astonishing. Truly stunning. The artfulness of it eclipses pretty much everything else out there.

And sadly was about the only thing awesome about the game....unbelievably repetitive....
 
user friendly said:
killzone 2

While the graphics are great, I wouldn't call that a 'stunning environment'. Stay on topic, people.

GAF never manages to do these threads properly, always ends up being a bunch of unrelated pictures of favorite games.
 
I wish we could use photomode in singleplayer in UC2 :(

Just in the ice/snow sections alone there are many more vistas I'd love to share. Not to mention bits from the rest of the game too.
 
Not so much in terms of eye candy, but in terms of 3d world building. I haven't played many games that have even come close to the huge 3d worlds that Piranha Bytes have developed in the Gothic series of games. They're full of places to explore, have tons of 'hidden' content, and if your hardware is up to it a lot of great scenic vistas to look out over. I still remember going back to Gothic 1 years after I first played it so that I could climb to the top of the tower in the central keep and look out over the entire landscape with a view distance hack and a graphic card that could handle it.
 
CAN WE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP WITH THE 56K SHIT...

No one who uses the web regularly can possibly be still using it... even less so the type of people likely to be frequenting GAF.
 
NinjaFusion said:
CAN WE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP WITH THE 56K SHIT...

No one who uses the web regularly can possibly be still using it... even less so the type of people likely to be frequenting GAF.
Overreact some more.
 
NinjaFusion said:
CAN WE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP WITH THE 56K SHIT...

No one who uses the web regularly can possibly be still using it... even less so the type of people likely to be frequenting GAF.
Well it's not supposed to be taken literally anymore. It's just a way to say that there'll lots of images inside.

Nice post BruceLeeRoy, I would like to see more of MGS2 environment, unfortunately I haven't played it beyond a couple of hours :(
 
NinjaFusion said:
CAN WE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP WITH THE 56K SHIT...

No one who uses the web regularly can possibly be still using it... even less so the type of people likely to be frequenting GAF.

I am regularly visiting GAF via mobile phone. So I do care about huge images.
 
Truant said:
While the graphics are great, I wouldn't call that a 'stunning environment'. Stay on topic, people.

GAF never manages to do these threads properly, always ends up being a bunch of unrelated pictures of favorite games.
Not completely about the graphics but this is a stunning environments thread and I happen to find that one level in particular to be very stunning. Mainly the atmosphere, so much happening in that section. It may not be the prettiest environment out there but that's what draws me to it. So damn gritty, hostile. Like you're on a different planet.

But yeah, sorry to bother you like that.
 
Metroid Killer said:
Nice post BruceLeeRoy, I would like to see more of MGS2 environment, unfortunately I haven't played it beyond a couple of hours :(
It doesn't really change much. That bridge during the cutscene is the most expansive-looking part of the game. Most of it is in metallic, indoor military buildings.

That last fight where
Raiden fights Solidus in New York
looks great though.
 
The 56k warnings are actually pretty useful, especially for people who are browsing through cell phones and the like.

On topic: Kingdom of Zeal from Chrono Trigger. When you first step into it, it really does feel magical and utopian.

Crysis Warhead had some pretty amazing environments too. It's particularly breathtaking when it deliberately throws you into a totally different environment - like the train level where you come out of a tunnel into a lush jungle, and then graze past the
ice dome
.
 
I remember going up this mountain trail in Far Cry 2 and looking out over the landscape. I said wow. Also that huge room in Mirror's Edge with green lighting was the most aesthetically pleasing sight I've ever seen in a game, still is. I don't have either installed atm or I'd take pics. Stalker 2009 complete has its moments.
 
lordy88 said:
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You see those giant things in the distance? Yeah, You go there.


Nothing will top this, no single game can come close to this particular section of a game. This section of the game is like when you see the best set of tits or ass you have ever seen, nothing will top it. Other tits or asses may be more technologically advanced, but they will never beat that one set of tits or that one ass that is timeless.
 
Lots of good entires in this thread. My favs by catagory:

Realism - Crysis/Fallout 3 (Fallout 3 being a sci-fi game, but 95% of the environment is realistic)
Stylized Realism - Uncharted Franchise (go saturated colours!)
Sci-Fi - Metriod Franchise
Fantasy - WoW
Architechture - Soul Reaver 2
 
There are like, five examples that actually fit the thread title's promise and that sadly doesn't include the OP.

Ratchet & Clank - yeah those environments look gorgeous.
Mario Galaxy - the stylisation is just nailed.
Halo - ditching the escape pod on the ring was amazing the first time, and every outdoors environment was a joy to play in.
Homeworld 2 - even today those sky
/space?
boxes evoke just the right emotional response.
Mass Effect - Ilos, The Citadel, Virmire... wow.

Seriously, Metroid?
 
Sir Fragula said:
There are like, five examples that actually fit the thread title's promise and that sadly doesn't include the OP.

Ratchet & Clank - yeah those environments look gorgeous.
Mario Galaxy - the stylisation is just nailed.
Halo - ditching the escape pod on the ring was amazing the first time, and every outdoors environment was a joy to play in.
Homeworld 2 - even today those sky
/space?
boxes evoke just the right emotional response.
Mass Effect - Ilos, The Citadel, Virmire... wow.

Seriously, Metroid?
I found a lot of environment screenshots for the Metroid Prime games and wanted to make the thread, it would have taken ages if I had included other games... which is why I created a thread so others can(and have ) do so.
 
Metroid Killer said:
I found a lot of environment screenshots for the Metroid Prime games and wanted to make the thread, it would have taken ages if I had included other games... which is why I created a thread so others can(and have ) do so.
Dont worry, you chose the best game for the op anyway. That said, the end section of MGS3 where you
fight in the field of white flowers(and boss uses those flowers as camo)
literally blew my mind the first time I saw it
 
There is this part in Twilight Princess, where you are in the valley, and in the background, very far away, you see the bridge where you fought that troll. It was very, very awesome to realize that you could ride Epona all the way back there.
 
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