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[Mr. B Natural]

Gotta give it to WaveRace because the weather did more than give a place a different look. When you were in a storm, you felt like it, it changed the way you play the game.

In Wind Waker, nothing happened. You're in the middle of the ocean and a storm happens...meh. So what? If I was in a small boat in the middle of an the ocean during a storm, I'd be pooping my pants. But most games are like that. It's there just to be there.

 

[Red]

My votes go to The Witcher 2, GTAIV, RDR, and Fable 2.

 

[Alx]

Shenmue.

Yeah, that. I remember the time I spent looking at the clouds, or watching passers-by popping up their umbrellas when it started raining.

 

[jbueno]

It probably helped that I was playing this game sometime around November of 2007, when the colder weather was finally starting to roll into Florida. I find myself to be in a generally better mood at all times when the typically hot and humid climate in Florida shifts for a measly three months into something much cooler and more pleasant. Feeling the cool air come through my apartment window while running around Bullworth Academy, blanketed by the cool-blue tint that and icy haze than accompanies wintertime in the game, I was completely immersed in this virtual place.

I had a similar experience with Bully, only two years later and on Wii. As a healthcare worker I was granted a week off from work on sick leave as I got a terrible acute viral bronchitis; bear in mind that this was on November 2009 in Mexico, back then we still had some cases of H1N1 Influenza A. Anyways it being cold as hell in real life helped me appreciate the seasonal changes on the game, and I couldn´t put it down for the whole week, I was fully into in the game those days. I hope Rockstar has a sequel planned.

 

[RoboGeorgeForeman]

Sonic R!!

 

[Piercedveil]

Animal Crossing

Yep, first post right again. Can't wait to see the weather in the new one.

 

[Dabanton]

Red Dead Redemption.

 

[lush]

As soon as I saw the thread title Bully, Mafia 2 , and Red Dead Redemption came to mind.

Bully is such a great game. Such a shame we've yet to get a sequel.

 

[Lily]

Oblivion had some cool day/night weather cycles.

 

[Dartastic]

Red Dead Redemption.

This.

 

[TheExodu5]

I'm so sad no one else agrees with me on STALKER.

I gotta find some videos when I get home from work.

 

[dreamfall]

I just can't get over how perfect this was- "Let It Snow" drifting from open windows, people recognizing Vito, and coming back from the war. Serenity at its finest!

 

[giggas]

Throw me in for Animal Crossing, you saw the rain and you knew it was fishing time. The later editions also had some minor alterations to the music during the rain. Same deal for Snow, the GC version got the extra treatment as well for snow music whereas rain got you this every time.
Worth noting that rain was a permanent fixture in the GC version until you turned the game off but later entries had the rain able to start up and die down during the game.

That said any game that can throw a torrential downpour in at any time gets a nod from me.

Gosh the music in the GC version was sooo good. I still think the music is fitting in the DS and Wii versions, but the music from the GC one was just perfect.

 

[PinkCrayon]

red dead gets my vote.

 

[Cat in the Hat]

You haven't lived until you have survived a night in STALKER while a thunderstorm is going. That is some intense shit!

 

[NEOPARADIGM]

http://i.imgur.com/pmKGO.jpg[IMG]

I just can't get over how perfect this was- "Let It Snow" drifting from open windows, people recognizing Vito, and coming back from the war. Serenity at its finest![/QUOTE]

Yeah, I thought about that too. Very memorable moment. All the winter scenes in particular in that game are great. Love how dirty the cars get driving in the snow & street salt.

 

[kamspy]

Another vote for Mafia 2. Most memorable part of the game.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

As the OP says, I would also say Bully.
The weather (the seasons) change drastically how the game looks, and not only that, that is a thing that most games in our days accomplish very well, but also changes how it plays, or at least how playing it feels.
And thats thanks to converting seasons to what they really would feel to a guy in high school. You see the beggining and end of summer, with a sunny feel that characters also interact, then you get autumn, with its fabolous halloween episode, and winter, with snow in the floor (that ou can use as weapon) and lights all around, all with the chirstmas feel.
Its really amazing how it works, and it shits all over things like Persona 3/4 (that uses the same whole year patron) where apart from student changing clothes, it doesnt feel a fucking thing the weather changes.

Of course games like Mafia II and RDR have done winter settings more realistic, and rain in The Witcher 2. But how the game feels with the different seasons, I think Bully takes the crown.

 

[Truth101]

Animal Crossing

First point nailed it.

 

[Red]

You guys are making me want to get Mafia II.

 

[darkpaladinmfc]

persona 3 and 4 cuz in the summer the characters wear summer clothes and in the winter they wear winter clothes and the school theme changes too

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

Animal Crossing is gold.

And while I didn't like Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit very much, the various levels sure felt like their corresponding weather. That opening snow level was amazingly atmospheric. It's static, but the changes were still cool.

Speaking of static weather: Metroid Prime.

 

[cory021]

Project Gotham Racing 4 had some pretty nice weather effects. Sun, fog rain, overcast, and snow were all included. Sometimes, the weather would change during a race and you'd see snow or puddles start to build up around the track or fog would slowly start to creep in.

 

[Lucius86]

I really liked Morrowind when it started raining and thundering, walking next to a river with the fancy effects on the water. Was beautiful.

 

[Data West]

Another vote for Red Dead. The storms are terrifying.

 

[Cat in the Hat]

Jeez did nobody play STALKER?

 

[zkylon]

persona 3 and 4 cuz in the summer the characters wear summer clothes and in the winter they wear winter clothes and the school theme changes too

Good one. Reminds me a bit of Harvest Moon.

For me, STALKER SoC, RDR or maybe the Uncharted series.

 

[Sn4ke_911]

Red Dead Redemption.

aaaand we are done here.

/thread

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Xenoblade Chronicles

Day, afternoon, evening, night time, rain, thunderstorm, heat wave, fog, shooting stars and a aura borealis-like effect. The change in weather also made stronger enemies come out during the night and you'd have to wait to find a specific unique monster to appear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAcj5mzFaMo

Beautiful.

My favourite moment in Xenoblade, is during the night thunderstorm on Gaur Plains. Seeing the Mechonis flash through the darkness during each hit of thunder is something else.

 

[LamerDeluxe]

The storm in MotorStorm Apocalypse is quite impressive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttOj1d_Ewh0

And Bully is indeed a great game, too bad the PC version should have been called "Buggy"until they finally fixed it.

 

[djtiesto]

Rain in The Witcher 2 is fantastic graphically, probably the best weather effect I have seen. And the NPCs react appropriately.

The rain looked so glitchy on my graphics card (GTS 360), made all the characters look like they were dissolving into a lump of polygons.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

persona 3 and 4 cuz in the summer the characters wear summer clothes and in the winter they wear winter clothes and the school theme changes too

Look, thats what I meant when I said Bully blew out of the water things like this.

Come on, I love persona 4 (and like 3) and season changes were lazy as fuck. You dont feel a thing. "Oh wow! people change artwork to summer clothes, oh the music changes into another engrish song!" Yeah right... :\

 

[kittens]

I really hope the outdoor environments in Halo 4 have weather and/or a day/night cycle. Atmosphere up the wazoo.

 

[Lovegooder]

Good weather effects are something that can add a lot to a game's sense of place and believable atmosphere.

Yours is a great post, and I agree with you re: Bully (as well as most of the other games mentioned so far, especially RDR and Animal Crossing).

I think one of the reasons changing weather and day-night transitions in video games is so coveted by gamers is the idea of a sensory experience in which we'd like to find ourselves IRL. We see it onscreen and fantasize about taking part, thrilling to the excitement, fun, and invigoration of actually being there.

For me, I'll always think very fondly of tooling around in the Rancher (Ford Bronco) in GTA:SA, at night, listening to the country music radio station, exploring the countryside and rural areas, hoping for a thunderstorm.

 

[clockpunk]

Fantastic OP for a fantastic title - Bully/Canis Canem Edit (over here) gets my vote as well - the autumnal leaves falling is a wonderful effect - especially when you see the gardener/janitor raking them up!

If only R* had put in the option to kick a pile of leave up, ticking him off and inciting a chase!

... oh how I want that rumoured sequel to be announced! Still my all time favourite game, I think!

 

[odin toelust]

Def not the best, but I have always been partial to the huge crack of thunder that precedes storms in Morrowind

 

[soldat7]

PGR4 and Red Dead Redemption

 

[ThisWreckage]

GT5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IrLmubYQG0

Shenmue I also had great weather.

 

[The Boat]

 

[IMACOMPUTA]

STALKER: Call of Pripyat COMPLETE

 

[Kikarian]

Minecraft.

 

[Syph Medwes]

Red Dead Redemption.

+1

 

[Aguirre]

This GameBoy Advance title featured a solar sensor built into the game cartridge which had a direct impact on your abilities in the game

hideo motherfucking kojima

 

[Risk Breaker]

GT5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IrLmubYQG0

Yeah, this. And Shadow of the Colossus. That one time.

 

[AndyD]

Red Dead Redemption.

I thought the OP was going to be this.

 

[NinjaBoiX]

I just can't get over how perfect this was- "Let It Snow" drifting from open windows, people recognizing Vito, and coming back from the war. Serenity at its finest!

This was a truly fantastic sequence. The cat on the stairs, the domestic dispute from the window, it was so beautifully composed.

 

[Evlar]

Hard Rain in Left 4 Dead 2 is pretty great. The weather develops from gusty when you first disembark the boat to full on fucking hurricane on the way back. Come Hell and High Water indeed.

 

[RiZ III]

Haven't seen it done better than in Shenmue.

 

[Typographenia]

Come on, I love persona 4 (and like 3) and season changes were lazy as fuck. You dont feel a thing. "Oh wow! people change artwork to summer clothes, oh the music changes into another engrish song!" Yeah right... :\

Don't japanese schools actually have a mandated time to change the uniforms?

It wouldn't have been nearly as awkward were it not for the students commenting on "I'm so glad we can wear short sleeves now!"


edit:
To contribute to the thread-

Not necessarily handled "well," but I always loved Click Clock Wood in Banjo Kazooie.
It was really cool seeing how the flower, Eyrie the eagle, the Beaver, the Squirrel, the Hornets, and the appearance of the level in general changed between seasons.

 

[Berksy]

Shenmue used real weather data for the dates of the days you play.