Are Games Too Realistic?

This is a relatively new game debate that has sparked a lot of controversy and fierce arguments among a lot of industry analysts and experts. On one side, games aim to deliver a more lifelike experience so that players would be able to identify themselves with the characters they are controlling. Things like realistic clothes or environments all become one single experience that needs to be as similar to real life as possible, think a lot of game developers and publishers.

[Mr PS3]

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[uie4rhig]

as long as there aren't any idiots that think it's real life.. who cares if they are realistic?
i'd rather have a realistic game over a unrealistic game..

[Tomdc]

meh its ok, depends what you like don't it. hardly cause for a big debate making this a stupid article. Its like making one about RPG v. FPS, people like both a debate won't change anything, don't bother...

[pain777pas]

Depends on the game but if you adjust the difficulty in Fallout or Oblivion the games are just like yesteryear everything goes boom in a shot or two.

[ThanatosDMC]

I'm not gonna click the link since i dont want to support stupidity but are they gonna argue that zombies are realistic???

[qface64]

i honestly prefer unrealistic games realism is so boring if you ask me if i want realism id just step outside the door

[omodis420]

I hear what you are saying. However with sports games the realisim that we are starting to see this generation is very much appreciated. Honestly I like games that look as realistic as possible. But they need to have a good story to suck me in. So far I can honestly say my favorite game this gen is still The Darkness.

[ape007]

the right way is to make graphics better or more realistic,while IMPROVING GAMEPLAY INSTEAD OF MAKING IT REALISTIC

good examples:mgs 4,gears 2,cod 4,etc....

bad example:GTA IV,they made gameplay realistic,which is wrong

I want amazing graphics and awesome gameplay

[WaR_HaWk]

gears 2??? lol, thats one of the most unrealistic games ever.

[micro_invader]

In what way? He said that GeOW 2 looks realistic but plays like a game should do and I agree with him.

[ChampIDC]

I think we're at the point where focusing on improving graphics is hitting a peak. I don't think we really need to get much better than we are now. Just look at games like Killzone 2. Pretty soon, gameplay will be in much greater focus (it really should be the main focus, but it seems to take a backseat sometimes sadly), and graphics will need hardly any work at all. These are games after all. They don't need to be photorealistic.

I think the only thing that needs work in graphics is expanding the capabilities by doing thing such as eliminating pop-in, improve draw distance, and more going on at one time on the screen. Such things could do wonders to immerse a gamer into the game instead of focusing on every detail of a character's face.

The Wii had the right idea on focusing on gameplay instead of graphics, but I think they jumped to it a generation too soon, as many of their games look pretty choppy. I'll still take a regular controller any day, though.

[SAiOSiN]

I like my games very realistic, especially online. Yet I enjoy a much more creative and sci-fi-ish experience. I hate when people complain that games aren't realistic (shooters in particular). If people care so much about shooters being realistic, then go join the army or something. Pretty much guaranteed it's nothing like a game. All this realistic game talk makes me wanna get Kizzy 2 even more! Agree if it's a day one purchase for you!!!

[MrJack]

I'm waiting for the Daily Mail to run a story about the 'Too Realistic' Killzone 2 causing murders. Well let me tell you this, games don't kill people, nutters do.

[omodis420]

The ESRB just needs to do another media campaign to educate parents on the rating system. American society is not exactly the smartest on our own. Some people still need their hand held. Or better yet why not just change game ratings to the same format as the MPAA, G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17. It is essentially the same thing, but maybe all the brainless morons out there will get it finally.

[sonic989]

i like my games to be realistic and unrealistic
how ?
look at ratchet and clank they are realistic and unrealistic at the same time the physics and the explotions are realistic but the effects and the game play arent realistic but its fun and thats how the game should be other than that ratchet and clank will be a normal shooter ( GEARS)

( PS3 is a MONSTER ) says kojima

[sonic989]

all this articles are there because of killzone 2
and to blame it for everything
and yes games dont kill
but the movies actually are the only type of that responsible for that but who has the courage to say that no body

[MrJack]

20 points for stating the obvious?

[Thump1967]

No games have not made it to that step yet but would love to see war games get closer to reality

[omodis420]

If you don't like it, don't buy it. It's really that simple. If you think your kid has a problem discerning fantasy from reality then don't buy him or her games like GTA. The thing is, the games that everyone gets offended by are always a Mature rating. Parents just need to wake up to that fact that there are games that are for adults only. By now a whole generation of gamers have grown up and naturally so have our tastes. Games are not just for kids anymore. Games have a rating system for a reason, and its all clearly labeled.

[mintaro]

I prefer art-style over technical prowess.

[timmyp53]

some games are just better without being super real... hell even the most realistic games stretch reality a bit. cant be too serious all the time.. you'll lose some of the audience.

[Rocky87]

I think not. There are still to many aspects that make a game a game. But I think the Next-Gen will produce ultra-realistic visuals. It is ridiculous to say that a video game (especially shooters) forces people to kill. They really can decrease the inhibition threshold but you do not turn into a killer. Of course very gory games make some people satisfied and that's very strange but it is still a game. Games about fictitious universe with its story are still not realistic enough to create a real threat. But killing in a video game is still not the problem. There are many other things that must run wrong to kill somebody. In my opinion games shouldn't never be as realistic as life. A game must stay a game.

[omodis420]

This is stupid. I started killing people long before I started playing games.

[Rocky87]

you fail

[peeps]

it depends. some games are good because they are so realistic, whereas other games should try and stick to being 1 thing rather than trying to blend. e.g rainbow six series is gd because its realistic (well not so much recently) but a game like gta was always based on just having alot of fun, now it seems to have got more serious. its still fun, just not the same

[Swarm]

Who cares if it is realistic? Devs will release games with whatever amount of realism they want to (GTA4). We have more then enough games today to pick and choose what we want.

Personally I've always liked realism in my games, but I'm certainly glad there are pure fun who-gives-a-damn games out for when I get bored.

[Radiodread]

that videogames are looking better and better every year, even better looking than movies.

[Magic_The_Celt]

there not realistic enough for me!

i want more more more realism

[pixelsword]

Which plot-line, the one with the plumber going after the Gorilla, or the Serbian-like soldier in "Liberty City" that keeps running over everyone to which the police quits pursuing after a little while?

Maybe the guys fighting space Nazis or the other guys fighting space Communist lizards that take down whole cities on Emergence day. Maybe the aliens who are fighting in War World II era Earth.

For all its realism, I have yet to play a character who got a lady pregnant and had to get a second job to pay child support, or explaining to a child nursing a puppy back to health why the kid will die of cancer because the parents can't afford health care, or be an adult with problems like being a social outcast... or to be deformed; but in love in high school, or have a bed-wetting problem.

You can talk about all of the clothes, sound effects, and AI you want, but no game has even seen the horizon of realism.

[Iceman100]

That's why they suck compared to how they use to be.

[JOEdANGEL]

Realism in fantasy settings e.g. Oblivion is absolutely awesome. The upcoming FFXIII also looks like it has a stunning level of realism. The more realistic the graphics the more immersed someone becomes in the game.

As for real life actions being replicated in a game, leave that stuff out please.

[Sprudling]

There is nothing realistic about FFXIII in the sense that no character or environment can be mistaken for being real in the way they look. This is a good thing in my opinion.

I prefer good art style over realistic graphics, but most importantly I prefer good gameplay.

[Helghast Slayer]

I say not realistic enough.

[Darkfiber]

Meh, I like having the selection of games with a cool art style (new Prince of Persia) and "photo-realistic" games like Crysis. I'm sure there will always be room for both, so I don't see why it matters.

[ambientFLIER]

COD4 is very realistic, that's why I'm addicted to it. Well, on the hardcore modes, anyway. Also, by realism I mean the character animations and the believability of the world. Just watch the sprint animation of your teammates or the reload on the Desert Eagle. Good stuff...