Top 10 games that will blow us away visually in 2012

Games get prettier and prettier each year that's due to the continuous improvements being made to game engines and the great optimization developers do to squeeze more juice out of current consoles. Not only that, PC gaming has shined recently and developers are taking advantage of the ever-evolving PC platform to create visuals that only possible on high end PCs.

[hardcore1912]

Can't wait for the Witcher 2 and Assassin's Creed 3. I think one of them will be the best looking game of 2012.

[ShinMaster]

Witcher 2 came out last year.
Oh the 360 version? No chance, lol.

BioShock Infinite, The Last of Us and Far Cry 3(even though I don't care about the last one).

[dark-hollow]

Not everybody plays on a PC.

[ThanatosDMC]

He means visually since consoles are limited. I wonder if they'll screw the draw distance on consoles.

[Gaming101]

Yeah on PC they'll all be amazing, PS3 exclusive Last of Us made from the Uncharted guys will be amazinggg

[Anon1974]

It's odd. People keep talking about how awesome everything looks on the PC. Games on my PS3 and 360 look a tonne better than anything running on my PC. I tried some recent demos and pretty much every one was an unplayable mess. I don't get what they're talking about. It's almost as if the experience on PC's can somehow differ wildly and not everyone has the same experience. But that can't be. According to N4G's, everything is better on the PC. What am I missing here?

I love how all these PC guys assume everyone has a gaming rig with the exact same specs and can max out all these games. Personally, I finally got fed up with PC gaming. Too expensive, too many updates, too many driver conflicts, too much hacking, too much initial setup and tweaking, too long in my office, too sick of staring at computer monitors, too sick of trying to keep up with hardware changes, sick of keyboards, sick of looking for performance boosts, too little time and patience to mess around with any of that nonsense anymore. There's just no comparison for me when I can relax in my den, kick back, flip on my home theatre system and within seconds I'm gaming. And most of the games I want to play aren't even available on the PC. My gaming time is severely limited and consoles are just too damn convenient. I gamed on computers for two decades. Now that there's an option I'm happy with, I'm never going back for some graphical candy I won't even notice over console games.

[kaveti6616]

"I love how all these PC guys assume everyone has a gaming rig with the exact same specs and can max out all these games."

Don't you have a job? You said you've spent more than 900 dollars on 360 and 360-related games and accessories. And that was a year ago, so who knows how much money you've spent.

Considering you probably have a 500 dollar computer, as they don't get much cheaper, do the math, you could have had a PC that would play most multiplatform games at a higher resolution with higher texturing, shadows, lighting effects, etc, than you would have found on consoles.

It's certainly not a cost-related issue.

If you're averse to technology and want a console maker to feed gimped hardware to you and dictate the terms of service then I can understand the complaints about having a PC. My sister is a fan of Apple products so I've heard all of the arguments before.

And I've also heard console gamers love to play games sitting on a couch with a beer resting on their bellies and they like big television screens, so I can understand that as well. Perhaps in the future if we're lucky, someone will invent a cable that will connect from a PC to a television so we can transmit video and finally sit on a couch while we game.

[badz149]

"Perhaps in the future if we're lucky, someone will invent a cable that will connect from a PC to a television so we can transmit video and finally sit on a couch while we game."

dude, I've been playing my pc games on my big ass TV via HDMI for couple of years now! what are you talking about?

[Matpan]

@badz149...

kaveti was being ironical... do you really think a person who stated all of the above wouldn´t know you can hook up a TV to a PC for quite over a decade now (definition and quality aside)?...

I´m just hopping for wireless joysticks now... so I don´t have to use a 5 meter USB cable from the couch to where the pc is... We´ll get there eventually, I guess... ;) see what I did there? :P

[ShinMaster]

Games aren't cheaper than console games anymore. Skyrim, Battlefield, etc, all go for $60 just like their console counter parts, even on Steam.

And it is true. Not everyone who plays games on PC has the same experience. A game could either look a lot better or a lot worse than the console versions. So yeah, having a PC doesn't automatically give you better graphics, unless you can magically guarantee that every gamer on PC has the same specs and set up.

Speaking of graphics. I, like many people, am satisfied for now with my PC and I'm not planning on making a new upgrades any time soon.
The next step would be to get GTX680 if I could, just to make a statement. Unfortunately I've got more important things to spend $600 on.

[RedDragan]

I paid £35 for Skyrim on Steam. Not even day one. It was pre-order. It cost £50 on console. So the games are still alot cheaper, but then again I suppose it might depend on where you get the games from. £50 was the RRP, and I probably wouldn't be suprised to hear places like Asda and Tesco selling for £40 on Day One and Pre-Order.

I do not think that any console exclusive should appear on the list of graphics related charts, we'll probably have to wait until the next generation until they start competing with PC again. The question then is how long will the console games last before being eclipsed by PC again. It's a never ending race really but console fans can have hope as I expect services like On-Live will become part of consoles, Playstation will probably have SEN-Hub and Xbox Live will probably evolve into something simular.

I say this because now the major industrial nations are going optical for the internet connections. Disc will still be available, but streaming from gaming servers will start moving properly. I expect On-Live to fade away because it will be too hard to compete with Sony's, Nintendo's and Microsoft's equivalents. Games could look freaking redicilously good if streamed along a 50mbps line, let alone the 300mbps line that the EU and USA are starting to push for.

EDIT: Suprised X-Rebirth isn't on the list, unless it has been delayed to 2013.

[MaxXAttaxX]

He's actually right.

http://i43.tinypic.com/2us9...
A full $60.

[THESONYPS3]

Well, being lucky enough to play The Last of Us, I would have to say it's visually the most impressive game i've seen (console).

[Solid_Snake37]

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[OhMyGandhi]

good list.

[hakis86]

Why is Halo 4 on this list? In the screenshots of Halo ODST vs Halo 4, the only clear difference is a different design on the suits which do look somewhat sharper.
That's my honest opinion anyway.

[theeg]

Arma 3 -pc

Metro LAst Light -pc

Tera Online -pc

Guild Wars 2 -pc

Diablo 3 -pc

Comman and Conquer Generals 2 -pc

The Secret World -pc

Far Cry 3 -pc

Assasins Creed 3 -pc

Tomb Raider -pc

Hitman -pc

Rainbow 6 PAtriots -pc

Prey 2 -pc

Medal of Honor Warfighter -pc

Aliens Coloniel Marines -pc

.....there is a pattern here, the only games that will blow anyone with eyes away all year are going to be on pc, unless next gen consoles are out by this november, and I damn well hope they are, there is NOTHING on console that will be visually impressive

you saw the best the consoles could do with Uncharted 2, which looked far better than 3, god of war 3 and Killzone 2, which also looked way better than 3!

[Rambot]

Yes, because it's all about consistent frame rates and anti-aliasing and 2460p, yes...

Of course It's not just about graphical quality and processing power, it's about presentation, art-direction, getting the most out of the hardware you're working on. You're missing the point of the term 'visuals'. It doesn't matter that it's going to look better on PC, it's most likely that the titles on that list will also look great on consoles too. I think a lot of people are going to get blown away by how good Assassins Creed 3 or Bioshock: Infinite will look on the 360 or PS3. I was blown away by how good Uncharted 2-3 looked on the PS3, it didn't require a PC to do that.

Oh yeah, that disagree that you've now got on your comment... That was from me.

[bwazy]

So in that case Guild Wars 2.

[JsonHenry]

Yes Rambot but this article was about visuals, not gameplay. And of course (its not even a fair comparison) all those games will look better on PC and the PC exclusives will look best of all. (like ARMA 3)

[Mikefizzled]

Impressive to say you spouted out 3 names that have no intention of a 2012 release. Generals 2 trailer clearly stated 2013 and R6 Patriots also clearly stated 2013 for intended release. Finally Last light has been pushed back to 2013 abd was, at one point, close to cancellation.
On a similar note Prey was worryingly close to cancellation too.
Assassins Creed is never released on PC alongside its console couterparts and with all the upgrades and updates the Anvil engine has it could mean it coming early 2013 too.
Finally TERA online has already been released in 2011 but only in South Korea.

And to make one last comment, It does cleary say 10. You named 15.

[SnotyTheRocket]

Half of thats on console too.... Elitest

[jthamind]

he was pointing out the PC versions of them, since they'll obviously run better than their console counterparts.

[glennco]

keyword is obvious. as in obvious troll pointing out the obvious just to get a reaction. there would be something seriously wrong with the industry if they didn't look better.
too many immature trolls on this site. it seems to have shifted from PS3 to PC fanboys being douchebags over graphics.

[ShinMaster]

Unless you can guarantee that everyone with a PC has the exact same technical specs and able to run the games at high/max settings, then no.
A lot of people that play games on PC don't even have a set up that's much better than consoles.
_

Also, Uncharted 3 looks better than 2 in SP. Not sure about MP.

[Drake117]

Why is diablo 3 on that list...those games have never been about graphics and the graphics in Diablo 3 aren't impressive at all.

[annus]

And Guild Wars 2, what is he smoking? Both of those games are going to destroy in the gameplay department, but they aren't focusing on graphics nearly as much.

[bwazy]

@annus

Guild Wars 2 has some of the best art style design's ever conceived. They quite literally took their amazing concept art and put it in game. Great thing is, with style as amazing as that, it will age very, VERY slowly, if not at all.

[JsonHenry]

Actually the first two Diablo's had awesome cutting edge graphics during their time. This Diablo looks like a mod of Torchlight.

[t0mmyb0y]

I don't play much PC games anymore (next game will be Takedown;) ), but you are right PC will out slaughter any console graphics at any time. I did know you'd be slaughtered with disagrees too lmfao.

[MysticStrummer]

Yeah I see the pattern. You're a PC gamer. *slow clap*