Best PC game graphics of all time

Best PC game graphics of all time

  • Crysis 3

    Votes: 38 26.4%

  • Crysis 1 modded

    Votes: 25 17.4%

  • Battlefield 3

    Votes: 17 11.8%

  • The Witcher 2

    Votes: 10 6.9%

  • GTA4 modded

    Votes: 3 2.1%

  • Skyrim modded

    Votes: 14 9.7%

  • Bioshock Infinite

    Votes: 8 5.6%

  • Tomb Raider

    Votes: 2 1.4%

  • Max Payne 3

    Votes: 1 0.7%

  • Metro 2033 modded

    Votes: 13 9.0%

  • Batman Arkham City

    Votes: 1 0.7%

  • other

    Votes: 12 8.3%
  • Total voters
    144
G

geraltofrivia

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Messages
409
For this poll forget about the distinction between technical excellence and art direction - I think it's clear that both are important and synergistic with each other. Simply put, if you met a hardcore PC gamer who time traveled from 1993 to present day, and you could only show him one game, what game would you show him?

My vote is Bioshock Infinite. The first 30 minutes would absolutely knock the socks off someone coming from Doom, X-Wing, Simcity 2000, etc..
 
If you are talking about the best looking game, relative to when it was released, I would say Soul Calibur for Dreamcast.
 
Hard to say...for me it's somewhere between Crysis 3, BF3, and Metro 2033.
 
There were some games I could think of that were never released, but out of all games that have publicly released up until now I would go with Metro 2033. I also played Bioshock Infinite for the first time and I agree that the first 30 minutes was literally jaw dropping to me but Infinite has a more animated look to it. Metro 2033 had outstanding lighting, texture quality, and did some amazing things with graphics...

This is a really hard to explain. Bioshock Infinite is probably the most beautiful game i've ever seen but if I HAD to show a time traveler from the early 90s one game based entirely on graphics alone I still think it would be Metro even though I thought the gameplay was uninspired and i've only played a couple hours into it. When I first saw Battlefield 3 I was really impressed too. I'll never forget the fighter pilot segment in the single player... the whole walk up to the plane and launching was incredible. As well as the scene where you are crossing the desert in your tank.

There have been a lot of damn find looking games out within the last year and the next year will be even more amazing imo. I could dissect this subject all day.
 
Kryptorchid said:
If you are talking about the best looking game, relative to when it was released...
Click to expand...

That's not what he is talking about at all. He said if you had to show a time traveler from 1993 a game from today, which game would it be.
 
What do you mean "Metro 2033 modded" ? I'm not aware of any graphical mods for that game, voted for it anyway as its my favorite on that list :)

If all modded games are ok to vote I would like to say that Half-Life 2 Cinematic Mod 12.21 is my personal winner, its amazing how that guy achieved such great graphics and nearly photorealistic textures with the old source engine.
 
I'd have to say Crysis 3. I've seen screenshots (from players) that look like concept art.
 
So humble, not even choosing your own game.

This thread is a landmine of opinion based conflict about to explode. However, Tomb Raider, BS:I and GTA IV modded are all top cadidates for me. Though, I could never single one out from the others; as they all appeal to a different sense of 'the best' in the individual expressions of art.
 
zamardii said:
That's not what he is talking about at all. He said if you had to show a time traveler from 1993 a game from today, which game would it be.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know, posted before I could add my poll input. For that I voted for the Witcher 2. I think my question is a much more intriguing though....
 
I vote Far Cry 3. Yeah, I know that there are games that technically look better, but the production values and the acting take it up a few notches. For example, all the characters move and look like real people who are actually talking. For a few cut-scenes, it felt like I was watching a feature film. Metro 2033 looks great, but the actor models look stiff and unnatural.
 
that frostbite engine is a fucking beast. super hard to beat visuals like that.
 
Crysis 3 is the current king of the land technically IMO.

Some of my favorite designs though are in the Lair of the Shadow Broker Mass Effect DLC. Even though it was crash happy...

Shadow_Broker_Base_Engine.png
 
For a person in 1993's mindset just about any current generation game engine would cause that person's jaw to drop. In fact, in a certain sense I feel like we are all jaded by virtue of knowing just how good graphics can get. So we notice the little things.

A handful of jagged edges and a few soft textures can make all the difference to us. But if your baseline is 1993 the contrast between then and now is so stark that I'm not so sure if these details matter at that point, or are even noticeable, until enough time has passed for your baseline to reset.

So I think you need to turn to metrics other than pure graphical fidelity. I too agree that model animations are going to play a huge part in a 1993 gamer's perception. And in that metric I don't believe that any game does a better job at connecting animations to feelings than Bioshock Infinite and it's Elizabeth character.

Which is interesting, because I myself would not consider Bioshock Infinite to have the best graphics out there. But then again I'm from 2013 and not 1993, and I believe that makes all the difference.
 
To really fry a time travelers brain, I would say right now, the top choice is Crysis 3. But seriously, you can pick any game from the last ten years, even one that is considered to have poor graphics, and it would cause a 1993 player's jaw to hit the floor. 1993, I was playing SNES and Wolfenstein 3D on PC. Heck, the first Doom wasn't even out until December of 1993, and we all thought that looked amazing when it came out. Something like the original Half-Life would make a 1993 person eyes bulge out. Showing him Crysis 3 might create a tear in the fabric of space-time!
 
Lair of the Shadow Broker was an example of how all DLC should be. The art direction was great; the Shadow Broker's ship was amazing.
 
Having only played a handful of games on the list, it's hard to say too definitively. But, after playing Tomb Raider, going back to playing Battlefield 3, it looked downright dated. Not that it looked bad, but the characters in Tomb Raider were just spectacular.
 
Bioshock Infinite, it not only looks great at maximum settings, but it runs very well too.

Witcher 2 arguably looked better (with naked chicks too) but it was fairly a slideshow at the highest settings on my main system. Crysis 3 would probably incinerate the brain of the time traveller from 1993 though I think Bioshock Infinite had a much better story.
 
The Witcher 2

It has a grand depth of a fantasy world that I think many 93ers would be blown away with. :)
 
Kryptorchid said:
If you are talking about the best looking game, relative to when it was released, I would say Soul Calibur for Dreamcast.
Click to expand...

That was a stunning game. Probably the best looking fighting game I played ever.
I used to practice for hours. Siegfried and Cervantes were my favs.

But Crysis 3 takes the crown.
 
I have not played Crysis 3 yet, though is it that much better than BF3? The videos I saw look rather similar to Crysis 2 (which is still very good looking), though videos never look as good as actual gameplay. I'll find out for myself eventually.
 
I voted Metro 2033 but I haven't played Crysis 3 or the new Tomb Raider game which both look like potential contenders based on the screen shots I've seen. The Witcher 2 looked very nice as well but the awful shadows ruined it for me and most areas seemed cramped to keep view distance down.
 
I picked BF3 but if I could change my pick I would pick Metro 2033.

Are there any new games coming out that will be the new King of graphics?
 
Skyrim is probably my favorite of the games mentioned just because it is gorgeous on such a large scale. But Metro 2033 is better just really short not as much. Never played Crysis 3 but it does look very pretty.
 
I'm really surprised at all the metro 2033 comments. I'm playing through it now and some of it looks pretty dated.

I think if we're talking pure functionality it would be BF3. Theres a reason why its such a popular benchmarking tool. However I would agree with some that most racing games destroy everything on that list in shear prettiness.
 
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