Eight Games That Set New Graphical Benchmarks

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME (N64)

DRAW DISTANCES

The N64 was an absolute powerhouse in its time, far outpacing all the competition of its era. Nowehere else was this as evident as it was in its games’ graphics, which were far and away the best to be found on any system. Nintendo and Rare, especially, could extract every last ounce of power that was hidden under the N64’s hood.

The best examples of games that set graphical benchmars for their time on the N64 would probably would be the two Zelda games that were released for the system- Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, both of which are still widely regarded as the greatest games ever created. Ocarina of Time, in particular, is impressive, not only because of its gameplay mechanics, such as its famous Z targetting, that would influence an entire industry, but also for its impressive draw distances, that were also rendered realistically. And although playing the game now reveals the limitations- the draw distance really wasn’t as impressive, was it?- at that time, the technique employed by Ocarina of Time was mimicked by one and all, and ensured Ocarina would become a graphical benchmark for years to come.

CRYSIS (PC)

MAKING PCs CRY

That image that you see up there folks is from a video game. Yes, it’s not real life.

That game, of course, is Crysis, the original shooter from the folks at Crytek who seem to have taken it upon themselves to make PCs crumble under the graphical weight of their games. While their original game, Far Cry, broke PCs around the world in the early half of the decade, their sophomore effort, Crysis, absolutely wrecked rigs around the world, with most people being unable to play the game properly even today, four years after the game’s release. That’s how ahead of it’s time Crysis was.

To write more would be a waste of time, as Crysis has to be seen to be believed. Therefore, I leave you with this. Warning, the video may make your PC crash. It certainly did so to mine.

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES (PLAYSTATION 3)

Console Beasts

Uncharted 2 looks good, that much is evident. If you deny that, then you’re either blind, or a fanboy, or a blind fanboy. Arguably the greatest looking game ever created, Uncharted 2 does something that no game has done in over two decades of gaming history- putting a home console on par with PCs graphically. Consoles have always been overshadowed, either by arcades or by PCs, when it comes to graphics, and Uncharted 2 puts the PS3 on an even footing. And whereas we all know that these are all just visual tricks that the game employs to look as good as it does, and that Uncharted 2 looking this good is in no way indicative of the PS3 being anywhere near as powerful as even a middle of the line PC these days, there is simply no doubt that damn, is this game a looker. All that hype around this game? Justified once you see it in action.