The face is the most intricate and detailed area of the body, and this has caused it to be very difficult to animate them effectively in the games we play. Whereas a few pixels would’ve sufficed in the 16 bit generation, we now expect more and more realistic facial animations as the years march on. Here’s a list of the games that capture the ever-expressive face the best.
10. Lost Odyssey
Though a large majority of the protagonists in Mistwalker’s incredible RPG, Lost Odyssey, make a point of looking unemotive, there are definitely exceptions to the rule. Jansen is one of them, as you can see in the clip above. Lost Odyssey is one of the best RPGs of this generation, if not ever, and it was whilst playing it that I realised what our modern hardware was capable of in terms of facial animations. It’s all in the subtle movements
9. Final Fantasy 13
I have issues with FF13. I mean issues with a capital I. For what it lacked in story and gameplay, it looked like the bee’s proverbial knees. It’s one of the best looking games ever made, and this doesn’t stop with the character models. The game’s, often too, emotional storyline shows off a wealth of feelings expressed by the game’s cast, making FF13’s amazing facial animations all the more noticeable.
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops
Naturally, a game with as massive a budget as Call of Duty: Black Ops is going to have some impressively rendered facial features. You could choose any of the more recent Call of Duty titles to be in this list but, with its intense plot and snappy character driven narrative, Black Ops seemed like the most obvious choice. High production values all around.
