I'm unfamiliar with Batman, (will youtube it) just based my list on the ones I've played firsthand.

Crysis 1 with the photo-realism mod. Still haven't seen anything remotely like it.

7th Gen: Beyond Two Souls is Incredible, could pass for next gen :D also God of War 3, Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2 were amazing. Those games thrashed everything else on consoles at the time imo.

Next Gen: Toss up between Killzone and Ryse. Ryse is more life like and realistic while Killzone has an absolutely stunning art style and just looks beautiful as the series always has.

Killzone 1 was a loooong way from beautiful, I'd say.

Lol yea it wasnt the greatest :D  But KZ2 onwards is what i meant.

Can we talk only about already released games?

torok said: Mummelmann said: The Metro games and The Witcher 2. Not only in tech and rendering, but also art direction and overall visual style. Especially Metro 2033 made one helluva impression on me, I'd never seen anything like it on my life. And, unlike Crysis and other possible candidates, it's also a terrific game! Besides all technical prowness, the best thing about Metro games is the attention to details. The ambiente, animations, water on the mask, everything is full of care and attention to every detail. And coming of a studio with less resources, it's almost a miracle.

I know! Kinda the same with The Witcher 1, coming from CD Projekt when they were unknown in the West, they have done some amazing things since, GOG for instance. The sequences where you wear your mask stand out for me with Metro, the whole concept, when you start gasping for air and the mask itself has visible cracks. Also the particle and lighting effects underground with dust and grime glinting and floating in gentle slivers of light, breathtaking work!

This has been a gen where relatively small studios and unknowns have made quite the impression on me. King's Bounty, Mount & Blade and a bunch of awesome Indie titles have made it a worthwhile 7-8 years.

The last of us for the time being

Thanks for the spoilers dude

Exactly that! I think Activision should be ashamed of realising CoD with that visuals even wit all money and developer resources they have when looking at the amazing job these guys are doing. But they are starting to get some attention, with Last Light being included on Steambox prototypes and the PS4 port.