Games that looked awesome back then, but look terrible nowadays.

[Bad^Hat]

I sorta felt bad about killing the scientists.

Killing the barnies made me feel better, somehow.

 

[Sui]

2D games generally age better than 3D ones, and that's a fact.

This seems to be the general consensus here, but I would have to disagree.

The problem is that we're comparing 2D and 3D games on the same chronological timescale. E.g. we're saying that a 2D game which came out in 1998 is comparable to a 3D game that came out in 1998.

However, this is not really true. When the very first 3D games were coming out it was unexplored territory, and as a result the first wave of three dimensional games were pretty awful. However, at the same time 2D games had been around for years, and developers had perfected the artistic techniques that were required to make believable isometric / side scrolling environments. Therefore we should really compare the first 2D games to the first 3D games if we want to be fair.

 

[AiM]

Splinter Cell:
*snip*

The original screenshot doesn't look terrible by any means. Granted, it's not in the same league as the 'next gen' screenshot but then you're just comparing two games against each other and not the original game by itself.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Therefore we should really compare the first 2D games to the first 3D games if we want to be fair.

Fair point.

 

[kupocake]

The problem is that we're comparing 2D and 3D games on the same chronological timescale. E.g. we're saying that a 2D game which came out in 1998 is comparable to a 3D game that came out in 1998.

It's true, but it's also interesting to see how at the time, people both buying and selling the games believed that because something was 3D it was superior and more realistic. Hindsight often says differently.

Final Fantasy III

I think it has to be said... You must be the only person in the world still calling it that I actually think that FFVI is kind of ugly among SNES titles (Yoshi's Island is a god). Final Fantasy is an interesting case in point, since FFVII did the splits on the stairs of visual advance. The 3D characters were pretty much a 'me too!' exercise in ugliness, but the Playstation, the 3D poster-child actually gave the series the best advance in 2D Backgrounds. I don't know what to make of FFVII's FMVs, because they look absolutely awful but have major storytelling advances for the series. In all, I think between those two games, you have a lot of movement that doesn't really result in any actual progress. They're both ugly.

I'm playing Final Fantasy VIII right now and I think they hit the nail on the head there. The limitations are obvious, but you really get the feeling that they're pushing towards the boundaries. The FMVs are quite good, but bear a mention in this thread, because everyone remembers them as simply phenomenal when actually, they're a little too false looking and imprecisely animated to stand against what people are now used to.

I can't remember how much better Final Fantasy X looked. I think by that point i'd get headaches from the utter banality of the series, and I couldn't concentrate on the art. That and the European conversion was bordered by bars you could drive a juggernaut down.

I hope they remake ALL the early FFs like they're doing on the DS with 3 and 4. Mostly because I just need an excuse to play them.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Final Fantasy X looked absolutely mind-blowing for it's time, especially since it came out early in the PS2's life. I remember being completely dazzled watching a friend play the first five minutes, how detailed the world was, how the FMV melded seamlessly with the world, and the awesome effects of the spells. I kept asking him to cast Demi even when he didn't need to just because it looked so cool.

Now... not so much. Not to mention it's pretty god-awful in most other respects.

 

[Wanted Bob]

snip

Very good point there, all those keyboard based RPGs (I know they arent the oldest but whatever) probably would not hold up against some of the first 3D titles.

 

[Dan]

The more sophisticated media becomes the more discerning and desensitized to it we become over time. It's the same with special effects in films. One of the first big CGI effects in a film was the water tentacle in The Abyss and that scene pretty much blew peoples minds, but now you look at it and it's so blatantly CG it doesn't impress so much.

The Abyss still looks good to me. Same with T2 and Jurassic Park. Beats the heck out of newer CGI like The Mist or the god awful Star Wars CGI.

 

[Naph]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOd58SIQzaQ&feature=related

Favourite game as a child.
First game to feature on line play in the original beta stages. This game made clans.

 

[Narvi]

One of the best games in terms of visual longetivity is Beyond Good And Evil. It still looks good today, and will likely look good ten years from now. Got to love the style.

 

[theotherguy]

Black and White. Thought it looked like sex. Yeah, not so much now.

God how true, I remember just gawking at the *gasp* REFLECTIVE!!! water, and at the amazing detail on the 3d environments when it looked like this:

 

[Krynn72]

Speaking of people gasping about water graphics... Morrowind was one were everyone went apeshit over the water graphics. OMG ITS REFLECTIVE

EDIT: Although it still looks better than a lot of current games.

 

[Letters]

The water in Morrowind is so out of place... it's so good while everything around it... isn't... pretty freaky. Well, the sky's good too.

 

[Lizardizzle]

I'm still impressed by Blizzard's cutseens in Diablo II. I think they were very well done and pretty.

as pretty as a starving, poor, homeless, middle-aged man can be.

 

[Zephos]

Rome: Total War. I thought it looked really awesome back in the day, and though it's still alright today, wasn't as wtfbbq.

 

[Jintor]

God how true, I remember just gawking at the *gasp* REFLECTIVE!!! water, and at the amazing detail on the 3d environments when it looked like this:

3rd Island?

I remember that festering god-damned 3rd island...

 

[hot564231]

Fear Effect looks well for a ps1 game.

(warning noise of video concerning)

[youtube]Fzl_dFnHW7M[/youtube]

 

[Krynn72]

Rome: Total War. I thought it looked really awesome back in the day, and though it's still alright today, wasn't as wtfbbq.

I was always rather impressed with R:TW's graphics. I was playing it up until about 2 months ago. Now ive been playing M2:TW and, looking at that image I didnt realize how big a leap was made in the graphics department.

 

[hungryduck]

definitely black and white......homeworld too. Although homeworld isn't too bad these days....

 

[Narvi]

Homeworld? Naaaah. Very high in the visual fidelity thing, that game. Has to do with all the boxes.

 

[Ravioli]

thought this was badass when it first came...but now its horrible. Low-Poly characters, low res textures, weird lightning, the ground looks weird (pointy) the background is horrible. The hand+gun looks terrible

Not saying that the final verison of hl2 was bad...but this early verison is really horrible and i cant believe i thought it looked great back then.

 

[PvtRyan]

Well, I think both those games aged pretty well.

Yeah, they did. I guess I interpreted the topic wrongly, I was thinking more along the lines of "What games looked absolutely orgasmic to you back then but not anymore". The graphics of Unreal stunned me when it came out.

By the way, I need the name of an old adventure game that I had. It was based in a setting where humans lived among dinosaurs. I remember an old wise Pteradon that you talked to and a gorilla soldier/guard. It had pretty awesome 3D CGI backgrounds. I never got really far in that game because of my poor English back then. I think it was from around 93/94.

 

[Lord Vipes]

Don't hate me for this but...

I prefer gameplay over graffics.

Most of the new games you see lack gameplay, and have outstading graffics. But the olden games have good gameplay, but lack graffics, well at least nowadays. So I guess I play old games alot. But rarely you see a game with both gameplay and graffics. Half Life 2 is a prime example of that. UT2k4 sorta is (But I rather play Unreal Tournament '99). And Exteel is a very good example. But still thoes graffics are outdated, but I rather play a game with thoes graffics, then play a game that makes all the players look like action figures (Halo 3 btw )
Somehow almost all current games are laking the feeling that the old games had.

 

[Jintor]

Don't hate me for this but...

I prefer gameplay over graffics.

That's wonderful, but that's not what the topic's about.

Also Graphics is spelt with a ph.

 

[theotherguy]

Homeworld? Naaaah. Very high in the visual fidelity thing, that game. Has to do with all the boxes.

Space games usually age very well. There really isn't much to do graphics-wise in space, so there's really very little to notice as far as age goes.

Homeworld 1:

Doesn't look much worse than

Homeworld 2:

 

[highlander]

God how true, I remember just gawking at the *gasp* REFLECTIVE!!! water, and at the amazing detail on the 3d environments when it looked like this:

black and white 2 was ramped up a lot graphically, i still think it's beautiful .

 

[kupocake]

thought this was badass when it first came...but now its horrible. Low-Poly characters, low res textures, weird lightning, the ground looks weird (pointy) the background is horrible. The hand+gun looks terrible <snip>

It's worth pointing out that the screenshot is one of the earliest of the early ones that was sent out before the E3 videos that everyone actually remembers (note Combat-Suit Alyx), and they are still pretty sexy.

Black & White was amazing simply because of how much was going on. Appropriate since the Micro-management killed it within a mission or two.

I like Homeworld 1's graphics more for some reason.

 

[Wanted Bob]

Wow, Homeworld does look really nice...

 

[Hazar]

 

[Lucid]

Warcraft 3 looked gorgeous when it first came out, it still does a little but it's showing its age fast.

Serious Sam The Second Encounter looked gorgeous back then but it's looking pretty old now.

Far Cry is getting damn ugly too, with the low resolution polys even with the HDR patch.

Giants Citizen Kabuto had phenomenal graphics back then, not so much now.

Tribes 2 was probably the best looking MP game out there 8 years ago, not any more.
Still looks good but not that much.

I'd post screens if I had time.

 

[Lord Vipes]

Hey, Hazar, where you find the last one?

 

[Solaris]

Thats codename gordon, the free game on steam

 

[Vegeta897]

Codename Gordon? Seriously? But it's meant to look like a retro game...

Unless you meant, it looked like it was going to be awesome, but ended up being terrible. Which is not what the thread is for, but I think you know that.

 

[monkeyclass]

The most epic game ever is not looking as fanzy as it used to. Im talking about tekken 3 of course

Resently Commander keen came to Steam, I bought it (havent played it since 1999) and had a chock!

Also a game that I loved and thoght had fantastic grapich was Driver.. But again I was disapointed

an of course Roller coaster 1 and 2

 

[kupocake]

Tribes 2 was probably the best looking MP game out there 8 years ago, not any more.
Still looks good but not that much.

Really? I always thought Tribes 2 looked fairly unexciting, though the basic sense of 'OMG, big areas!' was quite exciting back in the day.

A game I never played too much tbh. Kind of regret it. My net connection sucked back in the day, and by the time I was going faster, Tribes 2 had kind of died...

 

[Lucid]

Really? I always thought Tribes 2 looked fairly unexciting, though the basic sense of 'OMG, big areas!' was quite exciting back in the day.

A game I never played too much tbh. Kind of regret it. My net connection sucked back in the day, and by the time I was going faster, Tribes 2 had kind of died...

You still have a chance to play it today, although I've been hearing rumors that the master server's gone?

But if you do manage to play and you've never played a Tribes game before, you'll probably get schooled.

 

[Nathan]

Red faction

 

[Apocalypse89]

I remember Syphon Filter looking pretty awesome for its time:

On the other hand, Half-Life 1 aged pretty well...I remember thinking it looked cutting-edge well into the PS2/Xbox era. The only parts that really strike me as horrifically bad nowadays are some of the vehicles and big mountains.

 

[Saturos]

Red faction

Actually, Red Faction wouldn't look so bad if not for the now extremely low-poly character/object models. The environmental surface textures still look pretty good imo. :| I wonder if the PC version of Red Faction has a HDR/Hi-res mod pack? (I've only played it on PS2) That's all Red Faction would need in the way of a visual face-lift besides higher res character models. Is there a mod for that too though however?

 

[Tyguy]

RB6 for the PC was a great game