Heading into this generation, we heard from a number of developers who said we shouldn't expect a huge graphical leap.
In other words, if you were anticipating a big jump in graphics between PS3 and PS4 and Xbox 360 and Xbox One, game makers warned that you might be disappointed.
And while everyone is shrieking "graphics don't matter!" (a more irrational comment has never been uttered), we all know that of course, they do matter, even if they always take a back seat to gameplay. The question is, would you say the graphics you've seen thus far this generation have lived up to expectations? And how would you compare this jump to previous generational leaps? For example, I don't think the improvement is anywhere near as big as it was between the PS1 and PS2 eras, right?
We've seen glimpses of absolute visual brilliance. Driveclub is pretty amazing and games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and The Order: 1886 obviously couldn't have been done in the previous generation. But have we really seen everything these new consoles can do? How much further can developers push this hardware? They've said it's easier to work with right out of the gate, so does that mean we won't see a dramatic graphical improvement over the years?
Maybe we have to wait for titles like Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Horizon: Zero Dawn before we can say, "yep, that's beautiful 'next-gen' graphics right there." What do you think?
In my biased eyes I will say the best looking game will be MGS5.
I have to admit that I have not SEEN anything that looks better than Uncharted 4 but truth be told that I have not PLAYED anything that makes me go… WOW. I am not disappointed because it's not that important. i look for great gameplay and story, those are the primary aspects of a game that draw me in and keep me playing..
Last edited by MRSUCCESS on 8/3/2015 10:17:09 PM
My biased eyes also like 60fps in MGS 5, its look so damn smooth…
While MGS5 will no doubt be an incredible looking game (and this is going to be one of my most anticipated as I'm also a big MGS fan), I think it may be just slightly hindered in terms of technical ability simply because it's still appearing on previous-generation consoles. While the gameplay will no doubt be top-notch (if GZ is any indication), the need to develop for two console generations might have "standardized" it. While I'm not expecting lavishly detailed cities and effects, the settings shown in the gameplay demos so far (like Afghanistan and the Forest level) aren't necessarily game changing in terms of setting.
Kojima always has smart level design, though. I won't be looking at how pretty it is, but what secrets and exploits I can partake in 😉
Graphics really don't matter anymore, on a technical level. It's nice when a game does something cool from a pure power standpoint, but art direction is way more important than textures and such, imo.
While I respect your opinion Bio, to most gamers graphics really do matter. Just look at the outrage every time a game's graphics look like they've been downgraded from a demo at E3 or somewhere (Watch_Dogs for example), or if a trailer for a game has unimpressive graphics like Fallout 4, or the Uncharted demo from last december (although that was mostly a result of people not understanding that that was alpha footage).
I get that they matter to a lot of people. I just feel bad for those people as they don't have their priorities straight :p
Well obviously a crap game with good graphics is still a crap game. But a good game can be turned into an amazing game with more immersive graphics. But yeah, top priority should be creating a good game and then worrying about how good it looks.
True, but I think at this point immersion has more to do with atmosphere, art direction and world building than the number of polygons on screen.
Driveclub really impressed me, as did the order. But those are the ones that have really stood out for me. That's not to say other games haven't impressed, witcher 3, AC unity, COD AW, all impressed me but didn't blow me away.
Neither, graphics have been more or less what I expected them to be. Also, cows bark on cotton candy ships that sail across Jupiter. Now a more irrational comment has been uttered.
I've been perfectly satisfied. I think anyone who isn't doesn't realise how good the PS3 really was. When you consider it technically the jump really shouldn't have been much. But based on the ease of development for the PS4 we've seen some pretty impressive things. To this day I'm still super impressed with Knack. The physics in that game with all those moving pieces that Knack was made up of is simply amazing. Not to mention it looked great to. But to the point of ease of development, that is what will set the new generation apart. And with that said, the best is yet to come. But I wouldn't take anything away from what developers have released so far.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 8/3/2015 11:15:04 PM
Nothing has blown me away yet, Bloorborne had some monsters and particular scenery that were very impressive but nothing has really amazed me the same way as say MGS2 did on PS2 or Uncharted 2 did on PS3.
I'm sure that will all change by September though 😉
Uncharted will do it again for you on PS4.
Batman: Arkham Knight and AC Unity have been two incredible graphical tour de forces this generation for me. AK has sheer atmosphere and glossy "next-gen"-ness, while AC Unity's depiction of Paris had me in awe despite the technical problems.
My only hang up with PSX to PS2 was the DC. I'll never forget playing day one Soul Calibur and NFK 2K on DC. When PS2 came there were all kinds of issues with muddy textures and jaggies that made the transition from DC to PS2 somewhat rocky. I remember comparing DOA2 on DC and PS2. There were clear trade-offs. Neither version clearly dominated the other. It took Gran Turismo 3 for me to be truly impressed by PS2.
It took Gears of War for me to be really impressed by the last gen.
I was also mad impressed by Motorstorm. Followed by KZ2.
Anyway, seeing that the PS4 GPU upgrade was a full on generational jump with pretty much every big budget game looking gorgeous I'm not all that concerned about the visual side of things now because the average game looks gorgeous and usually more interesting than what you see in your everyday trip to work.
Games like Order 1886, Drive Club and AC Unity really impress me, even Destiny looks so very nice. Some games like Witcher 3 feel real uneven to me. The outdoor landscapes and vistas are beautiful and vast. The rest of it though generally leaves me less than impressed. This is especially the case when the performance takes a nose dive anytime things get too tense. I bet a lot of games could look better had they settled for 20fps during high stakes action.
The quality of art direction though is really where the biggest pay off happens these days. Everything from setting the lighting, to how the textures are painted, to the craftsmanship of the models pay off in dividends. Games like Rage last-gen look as good as they had not because of technical effects but because of said art based qualities.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 8/4/2015 2:42:21 AM
Quantum Break looks incredible. Glad I got PC or I'd be getting an XO.
What do u do in Quantum Break?
From the looks of it you run around and shoot guns and slowdown time and stuff with neato sfx.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 8/4/2015 9:52:06 PM
I have not been impressed yet. Almost, but no cigar. I'm not saying that I have been disappointed though.
Neither of them. I don't see Uncharted being much better than what has been shown, so what wait? Of course, I could wrong.
Gran Turismo 7 guys. That's the game to wait for, visually.
In my eyes graphics dont matter. You cant polish a tard
You can polish a Lamborghini and make it shine even more.
No one cares if a Lamborghini has water spots, especially if getting rid of them means you had to use a 4 speed automatic transmission instead of a six speed e-gear automated manual.
Last edited by Bio on 8/4/2015 11:44:41 AM
You can polish a retard.
Bio remind me not to go through your car wash…
Hell yea it has, just look at Order 1886 and Witcher 3 and tell me this gen's graphic is still not up to par.
Graphics hardly matter nowadays, games like Skyrim, Dragon Age, Borderlands, Journey, Fallout, Bloodborne and Arkham Knight wouldn't make the top 10 of graphics yet they're some of the best the gaming industry has to offer.
Sure we love our games beautiful, but if they're not fun to play then the graphic means nothing.
Which is interesting that as Ben said, nobody gave much weight to the incredible visuals in The Order.
some of the graphics and visuals have been amazing like alot better than ps3, i'm not sure mind blown is what i was thinking. but like i rember the water effects on black flag i was like guys are you seeing this too i was quite amazed, but not mind blown. so great or amazing yes but not freaking rediculously amazing jaw droping no, not quite that good.
happy gaming
Tiny improvement but hardly impressive. The buttery smoothness of things that would otherwise stutter the PS3 and 360 is great though.
So I just saw the dark souls 3 trailer and that looked impressive, and I'm fairly certain that mgs5 will thoroughly impress
In my biased eyes I will say the best looking game will be MGS5.
I have to admit that I have not SEEN anything that looks better than Uncharted 4 but truth be told that I have not PLAYED anything that makes me go… WOW. I am not disappointed because it's not that important. i look for great gameplay and story, those are the primary aspects of a game that draw me in and keep me playing..
Last edited by MRSUCCESS on 8/3/2015 10:17:09 PM
Nothing has blown me away yet, Bloorborne had some monsters and particular scenery that were very impressive but nothing has really amazed me the same way as say MGS2 did on PS2 or Uncharted 2 did on PS3.
I'm sure that will all change by September though 😉
You can polish a Lamborghini and make it shine even more.
I get that they matter to a lot of people. I just feel bad for those people as they don't have their priorities straight :p
Which is interesting that as Ben said, nobody gave much weight to the incredible visuals in The Order.
What do u do in Quantum Break?
Hell yea it has, just look at Order 1886 and Witcher 3 and tell me this gen's graphic is still not up to par.
Graphics hardly matter nowadays, games like Skyrim, Dragon Age, Borderlands, Journey, Fallout, Bloodborne and Arkham Knight wouldn't make the top 10 of graphics yet they're some of the best the gaming industry has to offer.
Sure we love our games beautiful, but if they're not fun to play then the graphic means nothing.
I have not been impressed yet. Almost, but no cigar. I'm not saying that I have been disappointed though.
In my eyes graphics dont matter. You cant polish a tard
Bio remind me not to go through your car wash…
some of the graphics and visuals have been amazing like alot better than ps3, i'm not sure mind blown is what i was thinking. but like i rember the water effects on black flag i was like guys are you seeing this too i was quite amazed, but not mind blown. so great or amazing yes but not freaking rediculously amazing jaw droping no, not quite that good.
happy gaming
No one cares if a Lamborghini has water spots, especially if getting rid of them means you had to use a 4 speed automatic transmission instead of a six speed e-gear automated manual.
Last edited by Bio on 8/4/2015 11:44:41 AM
From the looks of it you run around and shoot guns and slowdown time and stuff with neato sfx.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 8/4/2015 9:52:06 PM
Neither of them. I don't see Uncharted being much better than what has been shown, so what wait? Of course, I could wrong.
Gran Turismo 7 guys. That's the game to wait for, visually.
Tiny improvement but hardly impressive. The buttery smoothness of things that would otherwise stutter the PS3 and 360 is great though.
My only hang up with PSX to PS2 was the DC. I'll never forget playing day one Soul Calibur and NFK 2K on DC. When PS2 came there were all kinds of issues with muddy textures and jaggies that made the transition from DC to PS2 somewhat rocky. I remember comparing DOA2 on DC and PS2. There were clear trade-offs. Neither version clearly dominated the other. It took Gran Turismo 3 for me to be truly impressed by PS2.
It took Gears of War for me to be really impressed by the last gen.
I was also mad impressed by Motorstorm. Followed by KZ2.
Anyway, seeing that the PS4 GPU upgrade was a full on generational jump with pretty much every big budget game looking gorgeous I'm not all that concerned about the visual side of things now because the average game looks gorgeous and usually more interesting than what you see in your everyday trip to work.
Games like Order 1886, Drive Club and AC Unity really impress me, even Destiny looks so very nice. Some games like Witcher 3 feel real uneven to me. The outdoor landscapes and vistas are beautiful and vast. The rest of it though generally leaves me less than impressed. This is especially the case when the performance takes a nose dive anytime things get too tense. I bet a lot of games could look better had they settled for 20fps during high stakes action.
The quality of art direction though is really where the biggest pay off happens these days. Everything from setting the lighting, to how the textures are painted, to the craftsmanship of the models pay off in dividends. Games like Rage last-gen look as good as they had not because of technical effects but because of said art based qualities.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 8/4/2015 2:42:21 AM
Quantum Break looks incredible. Glad I got PC or I'd be getting an XO.
You can polish a retard.
So I just saw the dark souls 3 trailer and that looked impressive, and I'm fairly certain that mgs5 will thoroughly impress
While MGS5 will no doubt be an incredible looking game (and this is going to be one of my most anticipated as I'm also a big MGS fan), I think it may be just slightly hindered in terms of technical ability simply because it's still appearing on previous-generation consoles. While the gameplay will no doubt be top-notch (if GZ is any indication), the need to develop for two console generations might have "standardized" it. While I'm not expecting lavishly detailed cities and effects, the settings shown in the gameplay demos so far (like Afghanistan and the Forest level) aren't necessarily game changing in terms of setting.
Kojima always has smart level design, though. I won't be looking at how pretty it is, but what secrets and exploits I can partake in 😉