What game would you use to showcase the PC's superior ability?

[Arkitech]

We all have them, a friend who swears that consoles can do anything a PC can. So what game would you use to put the console to shame? And what hardware would be needed to showcase the absolute best graphics a PC is capable of.

So far this screenshot is probably one of the most breath taking things I've seen on the PC. A few more are found here http://deadendthrills.com/?cat=314

However I recently learned that the game is not really playable at that high level of detail. I think the fps is about 1, lol. But just the fact that the PC can even render a screenshot that gorgeous makes me want to shed a tear. It's only a matter of time before games this beautiful will be the norm.

What other games out there on the PC deserve an award in graphical excellence?

 

[PinmasterJay]

no special game needed, and the only hardware needed is a keyboard and mouse

 

[Doppel]

Your friend is nuts. The current consoles are ancient. That screenshot looks very nice.

 

[Stringjam]

Crysis2 + MalDoHD 4.0

IMO, the current benchmark for graphic quality, and totally playable with a good to high-end GPU.

(and I agree with Keyboard+Mouse)


This is one of the more impressive real-time rendered tech demos I've seen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UVX0OUO9ptU

 

[power_hour]

Dump the friend and enjoy your PC.

 

[BladeVenom]

Consoles couldn't even play the first Crysis.

 

[Bman123]

Crysis2 + MalDoHD 4.0

IMO, the current benchmark for graphic quality, and totally playable with a good to high-end GPU.

(and I agree with Keyboard+Mouse)


This is one of the more impressive real-time rendered tech demos I've seen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UVX0OUO9ptU

That's not game play tho. I wouldn't consider a cut scene good to show off anything

 

[Schadenfreude]

The Total War series

/thread

 

[tcG]

Crysis 3 will soon have the best graphics.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Play BF3 on console limited to 24 players then play Planetside 2, showcases it quite well.

 

[Stringjam]

I wouldn't consider a cut scene good to show off anything

It's not just a cut scene. This is not pre-rendered CG, it is rendered real-time.

No, it isn't in-game rendering, or anything close to what is possible right now with playable in-game frame rates....but it is still impressive for what it is, at least IMO.

 

[Zorander]

Any PC games displayed on TV @1080p easily looks better than any console version.

 

[sandorski]

Freecell

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

Dark Souls would probably be a good one, simply because it's useful to demonstrate how much the consoles actually lose to technical limitations. Show the console game, go into blight town. Load up the pc version, do the same thing. Then turn on DSFix, and do it again.

That last step is a doozy, because it doesn't replace any of the art assets. The Dark Souls texture artists clearly put a lot of work and detail into the game, and it just gets lost to the blurry low resolution display. Should throw the technical limitations of the consoles - and what they're actually costing him - into sharp relief.

 

[Martimus]

The Witcher 2 really shows off the PCs superior graphics and UI ability to consoles.

 

[Piotrsama]

Back in the day.... my bro had a friend that used to say that his NES games looked sorta the same as our PC VGA games....

And for your friend... any game rendered at resolutions consoles can't achieve. (even with upscaling).

 

[Red Storm]

Crysis 1 for pure graphics, and something like the Total War series for scale.

 

[BrightCandle]

if its just about showing off hardware then a top end FPS will do the job.

But other games like Minecraft, Sins of a Solar empire and Uplink show very different types of games that are simply not playable on a console at all due to its input interface.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Most multiplatform games at 1440p prove the point easily. Play some Far Cry 3 with SLI GTX 670s at that res maxed with some AA and compare it to an Xbox running the same game.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Battlefield 3 with Premium maps. When I first played on "Scrapmetal" I was in awe.

 

[dragantoe]

edit: RAGE, rage rage rage. Absolutely the best looking game I've ever seen, totally forgot about it, and they weren't able to get the xbox or ps3 to utilize mega-texturing like the pc because of the lack of power. It is the most detailed game that exists and if it weren't for the fact that the gaming world hates pc, we would see more games using this insane megatexturing
also, it's $5 on steam now

 

[Corporate Thug]

Metro 2033 for me.

 

[moonbogg]

The advantage of PCs goes beyond graphics. It would need to be a game that has the graphics, but also a strong sense of community where large player counts can interact which adds to the experience. So, since no game like that exists then i'd have to say BF3.

OR THIS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-9zVjFcpjeA

 

[Kalmah]

The advantage of PCs goes beyond graphics. It would need to be a game that has the graphics, but also a strong sense of community where large player counts can interact which adds to the experience. So, since no game like that exists then i'd have to say BF3.

This. Aside from everything else, PC gaming has community. For example, I can play Baldur's Gate, a game from 1998, and install mods that keep it up-to-date and playable on today's hardware. Go look at the hundreds of thousands of modules for Neverwinter Nights 1. If I want to play a FPS without the kiddos there is a clan for that. Realism mods for BF2 are amazing as well. I can go and play on a Team Fortress 2 server that has admins keeping the server fun instead of random instant-matches. I could probably lists examples all day if I wanted to keep going. Also, (for many instances), you have to be tech savvy for computer gaming which filters out the neanderthals.

 

[sigurros81]

Punch your friend in the face, and when he's bleeding on the ground, say "you're a fucking idiot".