Best Looking Computer Game as of May 2005?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Elcs

Diamond Member
Apr 27, 2002
6,278
6
81
X2 The Threat.

Id love to have a pair of 6800U's in SLI running this baby at 3200x1200 with everything maxxed that is possible. And of course pair it with the appropriate CPU.

It would have to look gorgeous.
 

Elcs

Diamond Member
Apr 27, 2002
6,278
6
81
Originally posted by: MetalMat
Warhammer DOW is the best looking RTS to date.

Homeword/Homeworld 2?

Questionable against DoW.

Sorry bout 2 posts.
 

magomago

Lifer
Sep 28, 2002
10,973
14
76
Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Originally posted by: magomago
Originally posted by: Feneant2
If you can find some Everquest 2 screenshots at all max settings with AA active... it looks superb (and runs at around 5-10 fps on a 6800 Ultra)

WOW....lol now I want to see some EQ2 screenies!!! Does anyone have any at max settings they took for fun?

This is one i took with it on medium detail

lol thats medium? Turn it on max and take a screen shot or two ;)
 

Insomniak

Banned
Sep 11, 2003
4,836
0
0
I personally think HL2 is the best looking game to date. I think Doom 3 is probably the most technically advanced, but it's graphics aren't as...pleasant as HL2's. Many things in Doom 3 look unnatural - that whole "The closer you get to realism, the less believable it becomes" type thing.

FarCry is out done in every way by one or both of the two titles above, but is still a very fun game.


Honorable Mention in Art Direction goes to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for using a LOVELY bloom effect and vibrant colors throughout the entire game to create a beautiful and disbelief-suspending Mid-Eastern/Eastern setting. You can almost feel the sun beating down.
 

Gigadave

Junior Member
Apr 14, 2005
18
0
0
I'd have to vote for Half-Life 2, just because it all looks so darned real! If I had to pick one outside of the big 3 (HL2, D£ & FC) I'd say Lord Of The Rings - The Battle For Middle Earth. The Helms Deep and Pelennor Fields levels look so good!

I'm interested in this 64 bit FarCry though, It looks sweet...
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
Originally posted by: sparkyclarky
Hmm, that makes it more interesting. WoW comes to mind, not from a sheerly technical level (although the technicalities involved in puting together a MMORPG are impressive in and of themselves), but due to the art design and the 'alive' feel of much of the environment.

WoW is easily the ugliest game of 2004. I've seen students do better 3D work.
 

Griffinhart

Golden Member
Dec 7, 2004
1,130
1
76
Originally posted by: Feneant2
If you can find some Everquest 2 screenshots at all max settings with AA active... it looks superb (and runs at around 5-10 fps on a 6800 Ultra)

The ocean effects in the tutorial are amazing. Following the stream in Antonica is great too. Very beautiful effects. Character models arent for everyone, but the environmentals are stunning.
 

Griffinhart

Golden Member
Dec 7, 2004
1,130
1
76
Originally posted by: KruptosAngelos
Originally posted by: sparkyclarky
Hmm, that makes it more interesting. WoW comes to mind, not from a sheerly technical level (although the technicalities involved in puting together a MMORPG are impressive in and of themselves), but due to the art design and the 'alive' feel of much of the environment.

WoW is easily the ugliest game of 2004. I've seen students do better 3D work.


I wouldn't call WoW ugly, it's just a matter of tastes, but, it's graphics aren't cutting edge. they just maximize what they use, but the games doesn't take advantage of a lot of advanced features or use heavy detail because they wanted a very low system requirement.
 

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
Originally posted by: Griffinhart
I wouldn't call WoW ugly, it's just a matter of tastes, but, it's graphics aren't cutting edge. they just maximize what they use, but the games doesn't take advantage of a lot of advanced features or use heavy detail because they wanted a very low system requirement.

If you can't call WoW ugly, then no game is ugly. It has the worst graphics of any released RPG, you just can't debate that. It's ugly as sin.
 

TantrumusMaximus

Senior member
Dec 27, 2004
515
0
0
Chronicles of Riddick is pretty sweet. Farcry is jawdropping especially if you have the hardware to run it at its fullest. But shockingly the graphics of WoW were what kept me from buying it for soooo long, it looked so damn cartoony etc.... but then once my friends talked me into it I was stunned. It isn't the engine, it isn't the features..... it's the art design as someone said earlier that really make it for me.

Can't tell you how many times I was flying on a wind rider and just spun around the view and took screenshots. :)
 

Schadenfroh

Elite Member
Mar 8, 2003
38,416
4
0
Originally posted by: magomago
Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
Originally posted by: magomago
Originally posted by: Feneant2
If you can find some Everquest 2 screenshots at all max settings with AA active... it looks superb (and runs at around 5-10 fps on a 6800 Ultra)

WOW....lol now I want to see some EQ2 screenies!!! Does anyone have any at max settings they took for fun?

This is one i took with it on medium detail

lol thats medium? Turn it on max and take a screen shot or two ;)

That was from last month, i canned my subscription because the game was not as fun as WoW.
 

gbryant

Member
Jan 14, 2005
36
0
0
Originally posted by: sparkyclarky

Also, Rome: Total War is great for achieving an 'epic' quality to its graphics thanks to the sheer scale of what is displayed on the screen.

I'd agree with this one, few games have gotten spectators to "ooooh" as much as a big battle in RTW, especially with some of the MODs that really crank up the graphics. RTW has style and a cinematic flair in its presentation. Doom 3/Far Cry are pretty but the visual design is kinda boring. Look at WoW for how much art design can make even sub-standard tech really shine.
 

luigi1

Senior member
Mar 26, 2005
455
0
0
not to thread jack. All the above games are great as stated. But guild wars overheats my 6800gt when doom3, far cry, eq2 wow etc do not. They all look great in there own way.
 

hans030390

Diamond Member
Feb 3, 2005
7,326
2
76
The first thing i show is 3dmark05...then HL2 for physics and facial animations...soon, Far cry....but mostly, I'm gonna show off the Killzone PS3 trailer because eventually, that's what games will look like :)
 

BespinReactorShaft

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2004
3,190
0
0
Much as I hate the way it trashes my rig performance, I have to admit that the 3dmark05 demos do look pretty good. But if it had to be a game title, then FC takes the cake. It's just too painfully beautiful for an FPS.
 

Noema

Platinum Member
Feb 15, 2005
2,974
0
0
I also agree that WoW is a (mostly) great looking game. The little details, art direction and overall 'feel' of the world are amazing. The other day I was fighting a Murloc and noticed their skin has this wet / slimy look. It's fantastic. The only bad points are some of the horde zones, specially Orgrimmar, as they have this rushed feel to it (most of the horde feels rushed, actually).

I also like how HL2 looks. I am not a great fan of the game itself but the graphics are stunning. I showed it to my brother (who is as big a console fanboy as it gets) and he just couldn't get over how gorgeous the city is.

Doom 3, of course, is worth mentioning. It is interesting, however, that while HL2 runs great at 1024x768 with everything maxed in my rig, I can't get Doom 3 to run decently unless it's on 800x600, and at that resolution it looses much of its polish and looks quite pixelated.