Hey peepz,
Wanted to share this article with you. The people in GameReactor have finally said what the top 10 best looking games on consoles are (Techniqually and visually). I recall Selnor claiming that GR said that Crysis 2 was the best looking game. No matter how many times I told him, they NEVER said that. He wouldn't listen. Anyhow, I'm sure this prooves my point and also is a pretty good read! ENJOY (Translated!) :
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10th Dead Space 2
What highlights in a game that consists largely of the dark? Light. If there is anything Visceral Games utilized to the max in Dead Space 2 is the interaction between the pitch darkness and intense light. The fact that you threw in the colored light that blinked, flickered and moved irregularly gave a visual impression that is hard to beat. Visceral also managed to mix the cold tones of glass and metal with brown tissue when the space station smats together . Detailed work is hugely impressed with the spectacular surroundings, the death delicious textures and a live, interactive and dynamic game world.
9th Fight Night Champion
The memory from the first time we saw repeated images of a Fight Night Champion opponent's heavy fall to the floor is etched forever. The painfully low tempo hurled cascades of sweat and blood spinning out every time our gloves treated his face like a lump of clay. The whole party was nice wines, like the portraits and the cool animated was clear from the start. But that realism extended into the molecular level was captivating, disturbing, frightening. We immediately wanted more. As if that were not enough, all of the varied environments brilliantly lit with shades darker than the pain that followed.
8th Just Cause 2
Technically, the graphics were in Just Cause 2 editorial jaw-dropping. What made the engine Avalanche Engine 2.0 unique was its ability to render vast areas of high detail, something that is not possible in the same way in the more level-oriented graphics engines such as Unreal. Avalanche Engine 2.0 was tailored by procedural and streaming technologies to create the beautiful freedom of Rico's playful paradise island adventure, and even endowed a delicious weather systems where the weather was determined based on the four parameters: temperature, humidity, air pressure and wind. The results were dazzling.
7th Gears of War 2
When Epic's meat heroes took on the Locust-pack once again was called Unreal Engine 3.0 and the step from the first, already pig-looking Gears of War was a significant step. Above all, the lighting superb, thanks largely to the dynamic shadows is achieved through a new pixel shading technique. Objects and characters looked more realistic, thanks to this, which made the action more present. In Gears of War 2 could be even more characters appear in the image at the same time, the surroundings were destructible and the new monsters were a bit of a visual feast.
6th Colin McRae: Dirt 2
Codemasters has always been proud of his ego-graphics engine with Colin McRae: Dirt 2 showed how a stone could be drawn. This generation's finest wilderness environments rendered with verve while spurted in insane speeds and spread particle effects such as dust and gravel everywhere. Whole Dirt 2 was characterized also by perhaps the hottest sunlight we've ever seen in a game where everything completely drowned in a warm and lovely glow. In this lighting, it was not to mask or hide graphics defects, but it is not necessary when the Dirt 2 was a game that got our chins hitting the living room table on their own premises.
5th Killzone 2
With Killzone 2 proven Guerrilla Games, a once and for all, the PlayStation 3 in the highest degree is able to show better-looking graphics than the rival Xbox 360. To achieve this requires, however, that the game's rendering technology effectively utilize all the various preprocessor limits the PS3 than content. It was this which made it almost bizarrely beautiful lighting in Killzone 2. The birth was fantastic follow the same animations, large, expansive environments and impressive particle effects. Today, Killzone 2 trumps the Killzone 3, but Guerrillas scorching second stands up as one of the absolute nicest console graphics game ever.
4th Crysis 2
When Crytek before the release of Crysis 2 started talking about the perfect scalability of the Cry Engine 3, there were many of us who shook his head. It sounded like an impossibility. The minute we started the review copies of the PlayStation 3 - and the Xbox 360 edition, we understood that Crytek managed, against all odds. SHAMELESS detail, wonderful effects and brilliant animations made Crysis 2 to a neat game. The most well-designed lighting and appreciation of sunlight (HDR) made it one of the top dogs in terms of sheer lightning .
3rd God of War III
Purely graphical game becomes no more epic than God of War III. Titans large as the entire platform tracks was animated in full down on the pigment level, while Kratos climbed along with their back and fought against dozens of enemies at once. Each hit, bite and tug on his part resulted in a bloody violent event of the unhealthy level of detail that made us gasp for breath. It's almost as if we could see tiny beads of sweat formed on top of our PlayStation 3, but still hiccups never framerates as high as during the whole of the majestic adventure. Does this graphic engine come from the mighty Mount Olympus itself?
2nd Killzone 3
The fact that Killzone 2 was extremely cool, we have seen, but with some three had Guerilla two more years to polish his monster graphics. The result was a game that was the straw sharper than its predecessor in every graphical point. Guerilla also showed that they could not just create dystopias in grayscale, but also beautiful surroundings that are easy to empathize with, thanks to extreme detail, elegant particle effects and the best lighting. Combined with the animation so realistic that each sheet and the operating result of pain gives one goose bumps, made it a perfect canvas for the series' dark and violent scenes.
1st Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
It's been a year and a half now, but it still burns in our eyes. The most magnficent graphics engine ever built for a console game, Naughty Dog Game Engine 2.0, took Uncharted 2: Among Thieves to unprecedented levels. Cell processor's SPU: they hugged out as much as a Blu-ray disc game can store and it just took all the artwork on a deadly serious level. Ambitious Motion Capture, superb textures, elegant animations and spectacular lighting meant for us to play magical moments - both wild rail way that peaceful Tibetan villages. Uncharted 2 was, and is, the best looking console game ever and there is no doubt that Uncharted 3 is the only game that stands a chance of changing this at the moment.
Source = http://www.gamereactor.se/artiklar/26926
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There you have it folks! Whilst I'm not too sure about the above part from Part 6->10, Part 1-5 was spot on!
(Uncharted 3) > Uncharted 2 > Killzone 3 > God of War 3 > Crysis 2 > Killzone 2.
I was shocked to see Gears 2 only at 7th place. Since I've played it myself, It sounds about right from what I've seen...
GR Doesn't seem to think Gears of War 3 will stand a chance against Uncharted 3 due to the engines being different. I have no doubt Gears 3 will be a great looker, but it will not beat Uncharted 3 in SP graphics or MP graphics. We have only seen montages and short clips + off camera on Uncharted 3 while if you go and search for Gears 3 beta/MP videos, you'll see quite a lot. HOWEVER, If you look at the SP graphics of Uncharted 3. You might aswell go change pants before you watch the video. Trust me, you'll need it! And if Naughty Dog does one thing right, It's to never use CGI. As in 2008 on the VGA's, the trailer they showed was a part of the game, and an ingame gameplay afterwards. This meaning that Uncharted 3 will probably have a similar thing on the walking around in the desert... oh god BONER!!!!!
:').
