140°

Do Graphics Matter in 2011?

Is gameplay still more important than graphics? Bright Hub looks back on the touchy issue and discusses why technically impressive graphics may be more important now than ever before.

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DigitalRaptor4878d ago

Graphics have always mattered. Why do a select group of people try and downplay graphics or even question it?

They might not be as critical as gameplay, but both come together to form the overall experience. Often, the more realistic or visceral a game is the easier it is to be immersed in the atmosphere of the game. Some games go for style over realism.

If graphics aren't important, why would companies make better hardware year after year?

Anyway, 2011 is bringing new handhelds which of course offer graphically inferior games to what is available on consoles - but that doesn't matter because its about the overall experience.

zeeshan4878d ago

We are paying $60 (excluding tax) this gen. Our current-gen consoles can provide us with both great graphics and gameplay (Uncharted 2, MGS4, Heavy Rain, Mass Effect, Dead Space, Killzone 2/3 and the list goes on...) so I believe the devs should work hard on providing both great graphics and gameplay. However, this is like expecting every Hollywood movie to be a blockbuster and that is simply not going to happen :(

Baka-akaB4878d ago

the whole "graphic whore" "gameplay is more important" is just a poor excuse and line of defense for every game each of us enjoy that have a poor graphical display .

There are to sides to graphics anyway ...
The technical ones , and then the design and art .

When honest with themselves , people will mostly , if not only , forgive a game for being graphically poor if :

- It's only poor in the technical aspect while sporting a good artstyle and design . As now common with many jrpg and japanese games

- It's indeed poor at every visuals aspects , but offer a unique gameplay experience than mitigate and overwhelm the cons .

There is barely any gaming without a modicum of graphics , besides stuff like minecraft , wich are covered in the second categorie anyway .
gamers should stop being so hypocrite , many wouldnt be caught playing text based games .

The only ones that truly dont care , arent "really gamers" yet , and would be the casual crowd from dr Kawashima and co .

AWBrawler4877d ago

it allows for new ways to play.
if we never had better hardware, we'd be playing Atari Colicovision, and frogger. Neither of which I found fun. So that argument is silly.
do you think Mario 64 could have existed on the Atari? God of War? Halo? no! they couldn't cos they would be lame.
Why do so many peole act like graphics are the only reason new consoles are released?

DigitalRaptor4877d ago

It was simply supporting the fact that the evolution graphics and visual fidelity is more important than some people try to imply.

Action GO FIGURE4878d ago

Too... many... games... to... care...

Nicaragua4878d ago

Do graphics matter - YES

Do they take precedent over gameplay - NO

Do good graphics enhance gameplay - YES

Naota4878d ago

I think you said it perfectly.

tablav4878d ago

Simple...and true.

I've replayed old games and the graphics have taken a little away from the experience; but it's not a deal breaker.

a08andan4878d ago

I agree. There will be a point in time where improvement of the graphics is unnecessary and then I think the gameplay will get another meaning. A lot of developers today boast with "Amagad we do tze best grafix" and put out a game with a lot of bugs. *cough* Activision (Black Ops) *cough*

dredgewalker4878d ago

I also agree, anyone who asks "should graphics matter?" should never buy a new console or even upgrade their pc's. PC's and current gen consoles today wouldn't be the graphical powerhouses if graphics didn't matter.

AWBrawler4877d ago

problem with that is I'd miss out on all the new games. now if they keep releasing everything on the Wii, then maybe I wouldn't upgrade unless somebody introduced something new that I can't do on these current consoles.

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Cloudberry4878d ago

.
I still could play great games with average graphics anytime.

Baka-akaB4878d ago

yet notice the key word "average" , not "awful" . And i bet those game still appeals to you thanks to their art and design .

Malebaria4878d ago

Agreed. It's part of a game- just like soundtrack, setting, characters, gameplay, it all boils down to creating this virtual world wherein you feel immersed.
Different people might prefer gameplay to level design but, personally,I'd never neglect the technical side of graphics and its evolution.

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70°

The Best Video Game Opening Levels In Gaming History

The Opening Levels that hooked gamers from the outset.

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wealthofgeeks.com
240°

Ranking Every God of War Game From Worst to Best

Cultured Vultures: Let’s delve into Kratos’ long and rampageous history and find out which games are worth the hype and which are better left buried under the weight of Kratos’s might.

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JL2930222d ago

Both requels over 2 and 3? Clowns. Those are two of the most boring games I've ever played.

Snookies12222d ago

GoW 3 was amazing, but I personally hated just one thing. (This is on me alone, because I was dumb, lol.) I hated that you couldn't skip cutscenes on repeat playthroughs. I had to go back through the game a third time because I missed one trophy accidentally on my way to the platinum... The cutscenes were great the first go round, even the second... But the third was pretty agonizing.

Haven't played Ragnarok, but I still think GoW 4 is a wonderful game in its own right. Not sure how I would stack them up against each other honestly.

Monstieur222d ago (Edited 222d ago )

I don't consider the reboot part of the original series. The original series were high-skill games with combos and rewards for mixing things up.

solideagle221d ago

lol square, square and triangle is the only combo you needed. I have played all of them on the hardest difficulties...

Golfcoachh222d ago

Maybe I’m just old school but I just couldn’t get into the last two. Maybe it’s the slower action and more story telling but the original trilogy was by far my favorite.

Crows90222d ago

It's not that youre old school. They're different genres

JL2930221d ago (Edited 221d ago )

Me either, at all. It's just yap yap yap. They try to be a RPG's instead of being action games like they used to be.

Fluke_Skywalker221d ago

I'd put the two psp games over 3 in terms of story any day. But not over 2.

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TheEnigma313222d ago (Edited 222d ago )

My favorite was part 2 and I think Ragnarok is better that 2018.

Shane Kim222d ago

The newer games are better imo.

ravens52222d ago

There is no worst. Except for Ascension, only cause I didn't play it lol. They are all masterpieces. 1,2,3, 2018 and Ragnarok. 1 of, if not the greatest video game franchise...besides MetalGear.

Snookies12222d ago

Oh wow, I actually forgot that Ascension even existed... I never played it either.

Crows90222d ago

I like ascension. It was different and some interesting combat additions.

darthv72222d ago

If you didnt play it, how could you call it the worst? Its not as bad as the media portrayed it. Honestly the worst are those flash games. they arent even considered true GoW games but in name only. At least Ascension is a real GoW game.

ravens52221d ago

Not saying it's a terrible game. Just mean it's at the bottom of my list. I played a little bit of it. Jus to me, compared to the other main games, it's last.

Fluke_Skywalker221d ago

Ascension is the only GOW game I never finished. Hated it.

Inverno222d ago

Can't agree, older games do so much more than the last two. More weapons, magic abilities, enemies are more varied, level design is also more aesthetically pleasing, and agree with those who say that they shouldn't have removed jumping. Was a time I'd agree, but those old games are so so much better, that they really should've looked into bringing into the reboot/sequels.

Crows90222d ago (Edited 222d ago )

If a game is good then a game is good. Doesn't matter what came before or what comes after.

Inverno222d ago

Of course it matters. If not for what what came before there wouldn't be an after. And if something is great before then you strive to make it just as good if not better, after. I personally don't think there's a fair way to judge the new with the old because the newer games are still essentially a reboot, and went a way different direction. But I still believe the old games did it better. I'm probably bias though since I've been going back to old games and have been finding that they lack all the annoying aspects that devs have shoehorned into new games to fluff out game time.

Crows90221d ago

@Inverno

Im not talking about the passage of time here. Im talking about individual pieces of software. If a game is good then it is good. Thats not a controversial statement. You can compare good with good...sure. But you still end up with good. Now if there is a bad game in the mix and you compare you do end up with some differentials between them...makes sense to compare and see where it went wrong.

But theyre different genres and styles which were individually executed very well.

And no. The new games are not a reboot. Theyre a new direction but simply a continuation.
Tomb raider was a reboot.

Inverno221d ago

The new games are definitely a reboot, and a continuation, it can be both which it is. And a good game might be good, but my point is that if there are things done better before it then there's plenty of room for critiquing and trying to make whatever comes after better rather than just good.

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60°

DC Heroes United and Borderlands Comes To SDCC

This sounds awesome. This afternoon, Genvid Entertainment announced two, all-new interactive streaming series at San Diego-Comic Con: DC Heroes United and Borderlands EchoVision Live.