Thank you answering my question. WAIT

The list of games with the best graphics that I have are as follows:

01) Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
02) Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction
03) Bioshock
04) Halo 3
05) Gears of War
06) Mass Effect
07) Call of Duty 4
08) Overlord
09) The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
10) Resistance: Fall of Man

That's a very good list. (my top 5 are in your top 7). Why did you put Halo at #4? Do really think it looks better then CoD4 or Gears? 

I can't believe anyone could list Halo 3, unless they really like the art style of the game. From a technical standpoint, that game is terrible.

As for GT5 Prologue replay mode, it is different than the gameplay mode. IIRC, during replays, the game runs at 1920x1080 with 4xAA and some added special effect at 30fps. During actual gameplay, the game runs at 1280x1080 with 2xAA at 60fps. Game looks damn good, the best looking racing game I've ever played (and I've played just about all of them).

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Crysis yet. From a technical standpoint that game exceeds just about every other engine. Even the UE3 is playing catch-up to it. Although with the new ambient occlusion they have just added to the UE3, it's definitely looking a lot nicer.

As for artistic value, my vote goes to Folklore. That game is absolutely stunning.

Some other good games for graphical prowess (not in order) are:
Bioshock
Gears of War (still looks good 1.5 years after release)
Ratchet and Clank
Uncharted
GT5 Prologue

I haven't played Mass Effect or Lost Odyssey yet, so I can't comment on those. Although, I've heard that Lost Odyssey has some framerate issues, which is a bad thing in my book. It would be easy to make a great looking game. It's hard to make a great looking game with rock solid framerates. Lair is a good example. The game is pretty visually stunning, but I disregard all it's technical achievements because it has horrible framerates.

what's overlord??

My list would be UT3, uncharted, mass effect. It just amazes me any of you include CoD4, that game is just ugly.

Did you play it? The mission where your flowing the guy around in a gilly (sp?) suit is amazing. Looks like a movie. A few other sceens made me wonder how this game was being done. The mission early on when you defend the tank. I was sitting there playing, wondering how so many thing could be going on all at the same time, and then two helo's blow up a building. The bombing missions looked like something on CNN.

The best graphics I have seen (aside from a few moments in Uncharted). 

Yes i own the game and yes i have played it alot, i have 42,000 kills online. The game may look good from far away but start to explore the levels and you see how the game falls apart, the game has some of the worst textures of any next gen game, they look like the floor/wall textures of killzone2 pre alpha level at last years E3.  CoD4 on the consoles is limited by a xbxo360 resoultion problem, this is why the game is 600P.  While other games are 720P.

You also picked two levels that don't really show to much off, yes the part from the plane, looks like a CNN video, but its all Black and white from way up in the sky. The Sniper level has great level design and plays like a movie but its not a polygon pushing game. The lack of colour in that level allows the game to look like its better then it really is.

You sir, are picky :p

Graphics of a game are nothing more then a trick to make you think your seeing something your not. It's just a bunch of dots on a 2D screen set in a pattern to trick your mind. CoD4 I think tricks my mind into thinking I am see reality better then any other game.

Uncharted, while amazing, always looked like a game. CoD4 at times (and I don't care so much about how they technically did it), portrayed reality at an incredibly high level.

I guess in order to do that, they skimped in areas you consider of high value when comparing what games look like. I don't so much. To each there own I guess :) 

WELL BASED ON WHAT IVE PLAYED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER....

gears of war
fifa 08
call of duty 4
motorstorm
skate.
gears of war
mass effect
forza 2
uncharted

crysis

bahhh cant think of any more

is it just me or do all gta games have terrible graphics on mission briefings?