Top 10 Games That Blew Me Away Graphically

MasonicGamer.com: Ever been blown away by a game graphically? I’m not just talking about the technical aspects of a game but the overall impression it left the first time you saw it running, that moment when you thought to yourself “woah, this is amazing“.

I’d like to think that I’ve been gaming long enough to see a fair amount of these “wow” moments to produce a respectable top ten list. I’m not here to tell you these are the definitive moments in gaming, it’s simply my opinion of what happened to impress me over the years.

[kayoss]

Surprise that Final Fantasy 7 wasnt on that list.

[guitarded77]

Yeah, the pre-rendered backgrounds of that era were awesome. Just saw this on reddit, and it had me thinking about them...

http://imgur.com/a/Jp9AY

[ILive]

Final Fantasy 13, la noire and ascension are on my list.

[SolidStoner]

there was no crysis on that list!!!

that means its plausible.. great list!!

[WeAreLegion]

FF VIII blew me away a lot more with its graphics. Huge upgrade from VII.

[kayoss]

@wearelegion
Agree with you on that point, but FF7 Came out first for the PS1 and that type of graphic was never seen before. First time CG was used and 3D. It pretty much revolutionized gaming in terms of graphics.

[MYSTERIO360]

Wow i am very surprised Half life 2 wasn't mentioned, that game totally blew me away when i first saw it.

[Oh_Yeah]

Previous gens:
Ocarina of Time, Shenmue, Final Fantasy X

This gen:
Uncharteds, Skyrim, Crysis'

[Tommymk2]

Last gen resident evil remake for GameCube still looks great now

[KimiRaikkonen]

1.Assasins creed 2
2.alan wake
3.fable 3
4.gears of war 3
5.forza 3
6.halo reach
7.witcher 2
8.uncharted 3

[WeAreLegion]

Good list! I can't wait to see The Witcher 3!

[Truth]

I think your list is upside down.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

I believe you are going this gen only... But even considering that I couldn't disagree more.

Gear of Was, for instance, blown my mind away the moment I saw the first one, not by the third game... Just the same as Uncharted and Assassin's Creed. Sequels this gen had pretty much the same graphical feeling all around (except for Witcher 2, this one I agree with you).

And Forza 3 looked great but, for racing games, even more than either Forza or GT graphical madness, the destruction in Burnout Paradise easily took the prize IMHO, it was something I never saw before at that moment and left an impression (even though we had all seen better and actual dynamic destruction later).

Also, a current gen mind blown list without Mirror's Edge and Oblivion for me is a no-no. Those games scale and sense of freedom really took my open world concepts (even through Mirror's Edge is not excatly open world) up a notch.

And I also believe Demon's Souls deserve, at least, a honorable mention somewhere, even though not for graphical reasons. When all games were getting easier it decided to go the opposite way, frustrating me a lot and destroying some controllers... It's the kind of game you may not even like but that you'll definetely remember.

[CDbiggen]

Did you only start gaming this gen?

[theaceh]

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991).

[MetalProxy]

I approve this message.

[Tornadobounce]

Donkey kong country.

[WeAreLegion]

Great list! Here are mine, slightly out of order:

- Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
- Donkey Kong Country 1/2/3 (SNES)
- Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, and the Oddworld games (PS1)
- Half-life (PC)
- Metal Gear Solid 2, Shadow of the Colossus, and God of War I/II (PS2)
- Halo: Combat Evolved and Bloodwake (Xbox)
- Resident Evil 4 and Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube)
- Battlefield 2 and Half-Life 2 (PC)
- Gears of War, Splinter Cell: Conviction, and Call of Duty 2(Xbox 360 and PC)
- Motorstorm, Uncharted 2/3, Killzone 2/3, God of War III, Gran Turismo 5, and Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)
- Crysis and Metro 2033 (PC)

[TheFirstClassic]

God of war 3 really blew me away, especially when you got a close up on Kratos. The art design was just amazing, and the scale was incredible, so many jaw dropping moments.

[fsfsxii]

God of war 3, especially the very first 20 minutes

[C L O U D]

The beginning of the PS2 era is definitely where my jaw started to drop...

[Fergusonxplainsall]

Dreamcast 9/9/99 Sonic Adventure. Being chased by that gigantic killer whale. A great game to boot.

Then trying to play Blue Stinger but it was a dud disc that took one week to replace. Sonic Adventure and Soul Calibur all week baby!

[FunkMacNasty]

Far Cry 2 on consoles blew my socks off in 2008. Even against todays best looking console games it looks amazing, the textures on everything were so rich, and the Dunia engine got the lighting about as perfect as I've seen it in any console game since.

Strangely enough, I don't think the more recent Far Cry 3 was as pretty as it's predecessor.

[LAWSON72]

This gen Metro 2033, Crysis 1, 3, Forza 2, and Mass Effect 1.

[LAWSON72]

This gen Metro 2033, Crysis 1, 3, Forza 2, GTA 4, Sleeping Dogs and Mass Effect 1.