Jimquisition: The Best Looking Game of This Generation

[Voltano]

Why do people think I am in some sort of arms race with Extra Credits?

They are intellectuals speaking on the gaming industry. So are you. Comparison is natural and inevitable, whether you like it or not. Ditto for Yahtzee.

Comparison, sure, but this idea that I'm in some sort of race with them. You do realize this topic has no deadline, right? It's not like I entered into some Phineas Fogg style wager with Extra Credits to see who could do a graphics episode first. You're acting like I'm "late" to a discussion as if there was a sell-by date on it, which is relatively demented.

I can probably see comparisons with your show and "Extra Credits" for intellectual discussions and seeing where our view falls in the two directions, but that is the only time I would mention them here. I think it might be people favoring one show over the other. Or maybe people prefer to just listen to one view and get confused when more information on an old topic is brought up.

On-topic: I agree that having abstract characters tend to give more "character" and "life" to a game, but I think one reason this is not encouraged so much in these days is due to cost to make games and marketing. I'm taking a Maya class in college and the tool seems like an expensive canvas that has a complicated user interface. Plus, I assume anyone taking a 3D modeling class are only familiar with making the model for a human body. So doing an abstract model like, say, pinatas, are never covered in modeling classes in college.

As for the marketing, most of these games are meant to show how awesome their graphics are in commercials and cutscenes. Since other grim/gritty games like "Call of Duty" sell well, developers will probably mimic that graphical approach to get some profit. This might explain why a lot of "WoW killers" try having the same graphical approach like WoW, but doesn't look original (like 38 Studios' "Project Copernicus" MMORPG).

 

[algalon]

Hm... i go with Mirrors Edge. It worked with blinding whites and bright neon colours to get a, excuse me, fucking sexy visual design. It's a shame the gameplay was a bit lackluster so there probably won't be a sequel.

This. It was realistic without being gritty. It was a completely grime-free game set in a world you can actually imagine walking through at some point. The darks were really dark and brights really bright, with lots of primary colors in between. I especially liked the blur effect as your character's eyes adjusted between being indoors and outdoors. Great, now I want to play it again.

 

[Lord_Gremlin]

Mortal Kombat 10, God of War 3. And Uncharted 2 makes good use of color too.

Also, I think Ninja Gaiden does that well too. This one game spawns every generation though. It was Ninja Gaiden, then Ninja Gaiden Black, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, finally Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus. Still, very colorful game that got visual and content updates with every iteration. We'll see Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus Extreme next gen, that much is certain.

But seriously - Mortal Kombat 10. To hell with Viva Pinata.

 

[wooty]

I agree with you here Jim, games like Final Fantasy XIII/2, Eternal Sonata, Star Ocean, Blazblue and Valkyria Chronicles all look great in HD.....I've also noticed a pattern there too.

 

[Eevee]

Ah... Yes... Viva Pinata!
I remember when I first received an Xbox 360, my mother rented it, it looked amazing back then to my eyes. And seeing this video just reminds me of how beautiful it still is. The creatures are adorable, and I remember spending hours hitting pinatas with a shovel because they weren't the canine variety or some sort of disease ridden manifestation... Or something. It was like 6 years ago, sorry.

But, morbid shovel bashing aside... I have to say, and I'm sort of sure Jim and others here will agree that the "realistic" games are beautiful in their own right... Graphics, game play, or even just the simple cherished memories!
And even other games not mentioned by him I also was reminded of... Namely, my favorite game of all time... Okami, for the Play Station 2. Despite buying it only just last year, I fell in love with it.

But... Rambling aside, I must say I agree and respect Jim's opinion (Call me a kiss ass all you want), as well as everyone else's.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

No love for Okami in your last gen section?

Stylised graphics will always age better than titles going for photo-realism.

That's why Journey will still look awesome in 10 year, and MGS 4 won't

 

[Gallium]

While it might not be the "best" of the generation, I'd rate World of Goo very highly.
The power available in the current generation allows you to basically display a old school Disney animation in real time and I'm always surprised at how few people do it. There is room in this world for Wallace and Gromit as well as the latest action blockbuster.
If you need a timeless feel, go 2D.

 

[Casual Shinji]

No Little Big Planet? That was honestly the first game this gen where the visuals truly captivated me. It had a realistic texture to the fabric and wood, but it was colourful and vibrant.

For me personally, the movie that utilized blu-ray the best was Planet Earth. Especially when a flock of over 100.000 snow geese fly by, or when you see a shark jump out of the water in slo-mo.

 

[Falseprophet]

Preach on, Jim. I'm so sick of "gritty photorealism". It's even affected the manga art-stylings of Japanese games, for the love of Tezuka!

Oh, COME ON Jim. You may not be the sharpest knife in the draw, but normally you aren't beaten to what you're saying by extra credits by *this* much. http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/graphics-vs.-aesthetics

See that? Season 2, episode 16. Over 50 weeks ago. 50 weeks! Almost a year. Ab-surd. *sigh* Oh well. Guess the actual content wasn't bad though. Even if extra credits did do it better.

EDIT: look at this! Yahtzee managed this in 2009 http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/6372-The-Conduit

Not saying Jim's point isn't relevant, but this really is leaving it late.

And MovieBob beat Yahtzee to the punch by a few months as the Game Overthinker [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k5l223D7aM]. But so what? In three years, does the problem still exist? It certainly does. And if all the gaming pundits and commentators want to offer their personal opinions on an issue that is still hugely relevant to the industry, they should definitely feel free to do so. It's interesting to see where they agree, where they differ, and why.

 

[Hazy992]

Couldn't agree more. Games like Rayman Origins and Trine 2 look far more impressive and beautiful than a gritty, realistic FPS IMO. Seriously, I was playing Rayman Origins the other day and I couldn't get over how stunning it looked.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Oh, COME ON Jim. You may not be the sharpest knife in the draw, but normally you aren't beaten to what you're saying by extra credits by *this* much. http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/graphics-vs.-aesthetics

See that? Season 2, episode 16. Over 50 weeks ago. 50 weeks! Almost a year. Ab-surd. *sigh* Oh well. Guess the actual content wasn't bad though. Even if extra credits did do it better.

EDIT: look at this! Yahtzee managed this in 2009 http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/6372-The-Conduit

Not saying Jim's point isn't relevant, but this really is leaving it late.

Why do people think I am in some sort of arms race with Extra Credits?

We cover similar topics. Overlap is inevitable, and I don't really watch their show regularly so I don't know what they cover. In any case, just because one series may have touched on a topic that doesn't automatically disqualify every other series in the world from covering it too.

Seriously, this whole, "oh mah gawd Extra Credits did this" thing is just ... weird.

Well, lets look at it this way. For, (at the very very least), the past few years we have had many game journalists talk about this issue, but it is still a problem.

This would indicate that it warrants revisiting to keep it fresh in the minds of the public.
Just because something was discussed before, that doesn't mean we can't talk about it later if it is still relevant, and it ultimately just means that each time we do talk about issues like this we come closer to a solution.

 

[mrc390]

Ever hear of Crysis?

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

Oh, COME ON Jim. You may not be the sharpest knife in the draw, but normally you aren't beaten to what you're saying by extra credits by *this* much. http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/graphics-vs.-aesthetics

See that? Season 2, episode 16. Over 50 weeks ago. 50 weeks! Almost a year. Ab-surd. *sigh* Oh well. Guess the actual content wasn't bad though. Even if extra credits did do it better.

EDIT: look at this! Yahtzee managed this in 2009 http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/6372-The-Conduit

Not saying Jim's point isn't relevant, but this really is leaving it late.

Why do people think I am in some sort of arms race with Extra Credits?

We cover similar topics. Overlap is inevitable, and I don't really watch their show regularly so I don't know what they cover. In any case, just because one series may have touched on a topic that doesn't automatically disqualify every other series in the world from covering it too.

Seriously, this whole, "oh mah gawd Extra Credits did this" thing is just ... weird.

Well, lets look at it this way. For, (at the very very least), the past few years we have had many game journalists talk about this issue, but it is still a problem.

This would indicate that it warrants revisiting to keep it fresh in the minds of the public.
Just because something was discussed before, that doesn't mean we can't talk about it later if it is still relevant, and it ultimately just means that each time we do talk about issues like this we come closer to a solution.

Exactly that. What the Hell does "leaving it late" even mean? Where was this deadline I missed? When did this subject become irrelevant? It's a pretty evergreen topic and it's beyond silly to say it's "late" when we're not talking about a current affairs issue.

 

[getoffmycloud]

Couldn't agree more Jim I think its a shame that the viva pinata games were never that successful

Viva Pinata had few squeals and a kids TV show on 4kids(BTW it was a great show)

so it did well but it doesn't get talked about much because its a kids game and not its not COD or BF3.

Well it only got 1 proper sequel wasn't the other one a collection of party games or something?

I wouldn't really say it's a kids game it is like pokemon simple on the surface but quite complicated once you get into it.

 

[Imthatguy]

Thumbs up for the Rocky shoutout

 

[guitarsniper]

Hm... i go with Mirrors Edge. It worked with blinding whites and bright neon colours to get a, excuse me, fucking sexy visual design. It's a shame the gameplay was a bit lackluster so there probably won't be a sequel.

I'm gonna back you up on this one. Combines awesome pretty realistic graphics, as well as a really cool aesthetic.

 

[Jonny49]

Everything was fantastic about XIII.

EVERYTHING!!

 

[Frostbite3789]

Why do people think I am in some sort of arms race with Extra Credits?

We cover similar topics. Overlap is inevitable, and I don't really watch their show regularly so I don't know what they cover. In any case, just because one series may have touched on a topic that doesn't automatically disqualify every other series in the world from covering it too.

Seriously, this whole, "oh mah gawd Extra Credits did this" thing is just ... weird.

People have to make everything into a war. Can consoles co-exist? Sure, but people can't deal with that. They have to compete!

Now you must climb into a pit with EC and battle it out.

 

[ASnogarD]

Not a mention of Witcher 2 on the PC , that game has a lot of nice colours and looks awesome without going the uber colourfull cartoon effect... more realistic without going brown, and colourfull without looking like a cartoon ( not that cartoony games are bad, but you dont need to be a cartoon to have colour ).

... Dead Island is also pretty colourfull as well, and doesnt look bad.
I suppose if all you compared was CoD or BF3 with Pinata ( which I cant play , no 360 ) then Pinata does look more interesting.

 

[Zac Smith]

what was the game with the purple/blue ninja in this episode? I remember playing it when I was younger but can't for the life of me remember what it was called!