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[GameCat]

RE4 definitely has the best fire, explosion and smoke effects I've ever seen in a video game. Just after you enter the castle the

Spoiler

catapult fireballs

are AWESOME and so is the lighting of the smoke at the end of chapter 2-3. If you look closely you'll notice the tricks they've used but the whole point is how all the little tricks and cheats come together to form this very believable awesome whole, so you don't tend to look closely you just sit there with your mouth open.

 

[Koshiro]

From pure bleeding-edge display of hardware power, the Team Ninja XBox games overpower RE4. Regardless of any "plastic" or anime look, Ninja Gaiden and DoA2U are powerhouse examples. MGS3 and GT4 are also up there taking into account the PS2's hardware. I also gotta buck the trend and say Zelda: The Wind Waker probably deserves to be up there for technical quality because it has just the best and most technically impressive use of its graphic techniques out there. And some parts are amazing by any standards, such as the Dragon Roost Island dungeon and boss battle.

This post is the post of the thread. The fluidity of animation in some of TWW is unmatched. That dragon especially, a clear sign of a high poly count and accurate modelling techniques is how smoothly they could animate the object, and that dragon is damn near liquid. It's like a Disney cartoon in real time.

 

[Redbeard]

Actually I think art direction includes all of the above. Does not the rug and wall textures have color palette that the artists rendered by hand? Thats art. Even the way the jewelry and treasure is beautifully crafted is art.

The picture he took I thought was ok given that RE4 has close to Zero pictures of its most artisticly beautiful areas.

Yes, you're right. The rug and other details are a part of the overall art direction, but they aren't it. To suggest that a game like Riddick has bad art direction because it lacks the particular stylistic details that are suited to a completely different game in a completely different environment is silly.

 

[Kiriku]

Yes, you're right. The rug and other details are a part of the overall art direction, but they aren't it. To suggest that a game like Riddick has bad art direction because it lacks the particular stylistic details that are suited to a completely different game in a completely different environment is silly.

Agreed, the rug and other details are pieces of art, but they are not the art direction. Art direction is the whole package, to be able to coordinate the graphics (lighting, modelling, texture art, color balance) and make it all fit together in the way intended.
Slapping a beautiful, colorful and detailed texture on one of those boxes in the Riddick screen posted before would perhaps be nice art, but bad art direction since it would stand out a lot compared to the rest of the environments. Not all games have to look like paintings and/or contain lots of details and/or rich colors and so on to fully realize an intended art direction. That's my view of it, at least.

 

[dark10x]

except you contradict yourself here quite a bit, unless it wasnt actually prince of persia sot/ww that i played on my gamecube.

Well, to be fair, I doubt he would be talking about the GC releases of those games since they are inferior to the other versions (especially WW). They look pretty bad on GC...

Still, even at their best, they do not technically exceed RE4. Art preference may be different, though.

 

[Axsider]

GT4

 

[Auron]

Resident Evil 4 looks better than anything else this generation simply due to the insane level of detail present thoughout the entire game. While there are some impressive games out there, most of them have that "clean" look to them that comes across as artificial. In RE4, everything from the effects ,the environment, the character models, wind blowing through the trees, it's all just incredible. We all came into this generation expection amazing visuals to complement compelling gameplay, and Capcom has delivered in spades!

 

[dark10x]

Resident Evil 4 looks better than anything else this generation simply due to the insane level of detail present thoughout the entire game. While there are some impressive games out there, most of them have that "clean" look to them that comes across as artificial. In RE4, everything from the effects ,the environment, the character models, wind blowing through the trees, it's all just incredible. We all came into this generation expection amazing visuals to complement compelling gameplay, and Capcom has delivered in spades!

The clean look can be good, though. I still think MGS2 looks amazing due to its ultra streamlined, effects heavy appearance. The geometry is complex enough where it needs to be, but everything has a very sleek and well lit appearance (plus the framerate is 60 fps).

 

[Gorey]

Can't comment on RE4 because I haven't played it (yet, damn you GAF hype). However, having played Riddick and Ninja Gaiden....I can't see how anyone could claim Gaiden looks more 'plastic' than Riddick. That honestly blows my mind. Riddick looked artificial and then some, in my opinion. Then again...I never really understood the Riddick hype.

 

[shantyman]

RE4 actaully proves Cube games can look just as good as Xbox games. With that in mind I dont think RE4 would look better on the Xbox.

I really havent seen anything thats pushing as many polys as RE4, its amazing how they done in real time.

No, it doesn't. If you want to talk about technically, the whole letterboxing issue throws this out the window. They had to cheat to get it to push so many polys at an acceptable framerate.

 

[GameCat]

Letterboxing doesn't affect how many polys you can push. It saves fill rate which is needed for the smoke and fog effects.

 

[Speevy]

The scene with the water pouring over the dam structure is the finest thing I've seen this generation.

 

[dark10x]

Letterboxing doesn't affect how many polys you can push. It saves fill rate which is needed for the smoke and fog effects.

The letterbox issue is nothing compared to the low color depth, though (which is a very big problem)...

 

[Miburou]

Man, does everything Nintendo related have to do be the best looking or the most innovative for you guys to enjoy it?

 

[Mrbob]

Man, does everything Nintendo related have to do be the best looking or the most innovative for you guys to enjoy it?

Yeah, I noticed that too.

 

[Celicar]

Yes. Nintendo wins. w00t!

 

[_Angelus_]

The letterbox issue is nothing compared to the low color depth, though (which is a very big problem)...

Thats the one thing that I noticed too. Though all I've played is a demo,does the rest of the game have that problem?

 

[dark10x]

Thats the one thing that I noticed too. Though all I've played is a demo,does the rest of the game have that problem?

Yes, and it gets MUCH worse. The demo only has dithering issues, but the final game has large patches of flashing triangles and such in dark corners. Some areas are worse than others, but it can be very ugly at times...

 

[_Angelus_]

Thanks for the insight Dark10X. I'm not one to break down the games techincally,just judge by what my eyes see. The game looks pretty good,but yeah I can see little things that bring it down abit.

For you guys that are up on all this stuff,if Capcom would have given this game more color,would they have had to cut back in other areas for the game? Or was it just a prefered look for the game and nothing more?

 

[Justin Bailey]

Thank God I'm not a graphics whore.

 

[drohne]

Man, does everything Nintendo related have to do be the best looking or the most innovative for you guys to enjoy it?

yeah. i don't know whether to be happy that the nintendo crowd has latched onto a good game for once, or sad that they're going to smother it with fat superlatives. perhaps a ridiculous little game like metroid prime needs to be anointed and adorned and enshrined before anyone will take notice. but re4 has its own clear merits, and your embellishments only obscure them.

 

[Justin Bailey]

yeah. i don't know whether to be happy that the nintendo crowd has latched onto a good game for once, or sad that they're going to smother it with fat superlatives. perhaps a ridiculous little game like metroid prime needs to be anointed and adorned and enshrined before anyone will take notice. but re4 has its own clear merits, and your embellishments only obscure them.

You really, really hate Metroid Prime don't you?

 

[ge-man]

You really, really hate Metroid Prime don't you?

His jabs at the game and most other things related to Nintendo is nearly as bad as the attempts at proping RE4 up to ridiculous levels by other posters.

 

[Justin Bailey]

His jabs at the game and most other things related to Nintendo is nearly as bad as the attempts at proping RE4 up to ridiculous levels by other posters.

Ahhhhh yes, that balances everything out now doesn't it? It's like watching an episode of Crossfire.

 

[Odnetnin]

Thanks for the insight Dark10X. I'm not one to break down the games techincally,just judge by what my eyes see. The game looks pretty good,but yeah I can see little things that bring it down abit.

For you guys that are up on all this stuff,if Capcom would have given this game more color,would they have had to cut back in other areas for the game? Or was it just a prefered look for the game and nothing more?

you do realise that DARK10X is the ONLY poster so far who constantly has a problem with the visuals in RE4 - read that massive thread. Some people have problems with gameplay but Dark10x has problems with the visuals and he won't stop posting about it. I'd say it's his tv - looked great on both my tvs.

 

[SolidSnakex]

you do realise that DARK10X is the ONLY poster so far who constantly has a problem with the visuals in RE4 - read that massive thread. Some people have problems with gameplay but Dark10x has problems with the visuals and he won't stop posting about it. I'd say it's his tv - looked great on both my tvs.

He's not the only one. Several people have pointed out the color issue in the game being very strange.

 

[Stinkles]

Back to the original post. It makes no sense. People on this board are having a subjective discussion about an objective term. Which console games have technically better graphics?

Dozens, thanks to higher frame rates, resolutions, better lighting, higher poly counts and more texture bit depth. Resident Evil wouldn't make it into the top twenty in objective terms. And that's just on present gen consoles.


So let's just admit the discussion, under the veneer, is really about art, not technology. In which case, I renominate Otogi 2.

 

[kIdMuScLe]

to me re4 looks great in the cut-scene but very blah during gameplay except for some areas. and was it a intentional look for the grainy and weird coloring the game has?

 

[Father_Brain]

Well, there are other GC titles that have issues with color depth. MP2 looks great most of the time, but there are some ugly color-banding effects with the dust effects and some of the underwater areas.

 

[J2 Cool]

I don't give a crap about technical graphics. I like a game to look good, however they do it. RE4 is a fantastic looking game. The best? Not sure. Definetly towards the top. I have a bias towards MGS3's artistry though. My favorite character models in a game and just some beautiful scenes(flowers). Anyway, some great looking stuff

*fap* *fap* *fap*

 

[olimario]

Here's the thing...
I'm on Disc 2 of RE4 and I've never seen anything like this game. Resident Evil 4, tricks or not, is unmatched on consoles graphically and as an overall package is unmatched on the PC, too.

It's a perfect blend... Really... After disc 2 I have to say that nothing comes close.

 

[eso76]

haven't had the chance to play RE4 yet, but while evaluating its graphics from a technical p.o.v. it should be noted that its faked widescreen spares the GC a big portion of the screen, thus a lot of pixels and polys. That surely helps the engine's performance.

 

[Ryudo]

Here's the thing...
I'm on Disc 2 of RE4 and I've never seen anything like this game. Resident Evil 4, tricks or not, is unmatched on consoles graphically and as an overall package is unmatched on the PC, too.

It's a perfect blend... Really... After disc 2 I have to say that nothing comes close.

PDO is unmatched, no tricks, all wonderfull art and graphics.

 

[RonaldoSan]

I don't care about technical stuff. Resident Evil 4 looks better than Doom 3 for what I care.

Ninja Gaiden is visually boring. Techmo's visuals has this clean look to them. It's like those stylish chess boards with pieces shaped in glass.

It's all subjective but as an end result I think Resident Evil 4 visually comes out strongest and most believable.

 

[dark10x]

you do realise that DARK10X is the ONLY poster so far who constantly has a problem with the visuals in RE4 - read that massive thread. Some people have problems with gameplay but Dark10x has problems with the visuals and he won't stop posting about it. I'd say it's his tv - looked great on both my tvs.

Other people have noticed it as well...

However, consider this...

If you are NOT seeing it, then it's either your TV or your eyes, 'cuz it's there. If it was my TV, would I have been able to capture a shot of the flaw using my PC? I think not...

 

[norinrad21]

Absolutely nothing in MGS2, Silent Hill 2 nor MGS3 even comes close to the greatness of RE4....but hey i'm sure people will find ways to declare the shitty port of Re4 on the PS2 which comes a year from now as far superior than the GC version.

Hating Nintendo and anything good on Nintendo systems is IN these days.

hell people even find ways to bitch about Metroid prime which is probably the only game that comes close to RE4

 

[Socreges]

Absolutely nothing in MGS2, Silent Hill 2 nor MGS3 even comes close to the greatness of RE4....but hey i'm sure people will find ways to declare the shitty port of Re4 on the PS2 which comes a year from now as far superior than the GC version.

Hating Nintendo and anything good on Nintendo systems is IN these days.

hell people even find ways to bitch about Metroid prime which is probably the only game that comes close to RE4

You need a dose of reality, my friend.

Other people have noticed it as well...

He did specify: "constantly have a problem"

...as some people will mention one thing or another.... and then get over it. Not so much with you.

 

[ge-man]

He did specify: "constantly have a problem"

...as some people will mention one thing or another.... and then get over it. Not so much with you.

Bingo! I'm really sick of hearing about these problems. You can't talk them away and in the end every game fall shorts of representing reality. You can always use more polys, better lighting, better design, etc. Zeroing in on RE4 is a waste, especially because the GC's design has lead to a lot of its other games having to run in 16 bit color. If the bit depth gets to you, you need to stick with the PS2 or Xbox.

 

[doncale]

For those who have not played RE4 someone needs to post pictures preferably movies of 3 particular sections of the game. Ice Room in the Labratory, The Blue Cave with the moonlight coming from the top and of course the cou de gra the Lava Room. The game has many other beautiful places but graphically those 3 places beat EVERY console game that has yet to come out in visuals with zero slowdown. Some parts of the game are definitely not as great looking as others but those 3 parts are untouched as far as I'm concerned. And its even more impressive given the game runs in mere 16-bit color.

I love RE4's look. best looking Gamecube game by far and one of the best 5 looking console games ever.

but there is plenty of slowdown in the Lave Room, and a few other areas.

 

[jimbo]

RE4 is deffinitely one of the best all around looking games I've seen or played. But I wouldn't go as far as saying "blow away". People love to exaggerate. It deffinitely could have benefited from some Splinter Cell-like lighting and shadowing. You can really tell that in Chapter 4 when you use the nitro tanks to freeze whatever the hell that guy's name is.

 

[TeTr1C]

Riddick is one, although it looks like shit when there's a lot going on. :lol

 

[Ranger X]

As ALL those kind of threads, alot of people mix "technique" and "art" or can't seem to make a difference. I won't go into explications because we'll all fall asleep.
But to answer the maker of this thread, there's quite a couple of games beating RE4 on the Xbox technically. There's also some PS2 games like that also shit all over it like the one made out of that Naugthy Dog / Insomniac engine. (Jak series, Rachet series)

Artistically, i'm impressed by RE4, the game is really well done and the tone of the colors is very special and fit perfectly to create an ambiance. RE4 is one of the most beautifull game artistically. But technically it's almost common stuff.

 

[tedtropy]

From a technical graphical perspective, Resident Evil 4 isn't doing anything amazing, it's how the developers worked within the confines of what the system is capable of, the art direction, the animation, and, oh yeah, the incredible gameplay that really set it apart. The game does an amazing job of creating a balls-to-the-wall action environment, and some fairly creepy scenes (the darker, rainy moments) to boot. Graphically, yes, the game has flaws. Probably the most annoying one to me is the flickering polygon seems you can sometimes see (generally bits of white that show through at the seams of polys, which is especially annoying in darker scenes). I can't say the color depth has really bothered me, although like a lot of people, I've noticed a fugly texture or two, especially outside the castle. None of the textures in the game are very high res or detailed, but the game still looks great despite them. I think all of the character models and animation look great. This game seems to get nit-picked alot, which honestly, is testament to how great it is overall

 

[sammy]

RE4 has some amazing art direction.. but they take some shortcuts, the game really looks like poo running in progressive-scan in 16bit color.... I'm certainly spoiled on how crisp a lot of GC games (metroid, paper mario, WW, VJ) are in pro-scan too...

Speaking in Technical Art-Direction, a lot of things pass RE4 ... hell I even think Pikmin 2 has much more convincing natural landscapes, and doesn't need a fake letterbox to keep the framerate up...
You could go on and on and on about games that run better than RE4.

But when it boils back down to nice tastefull art-direction RE4 is certainly near the top.

 

[BuckRobotron]

The Halos, Ninja Gaiden, Panzer Dragoon Orta, REMake/Zero, Riddick, ZOE2, Silent Hill 3. Plenty there that were NOT blown away by RE4, but in turn do NOT blow it away.

Each has specific merits, different approaches to what the graphics convey, style considerations, how much action is shown, etc. Of those, most direct comparison in general gritty realistic intent with RE4 would be Riddick.

 

[bionic77]

Why do people give a shit about a game from a technical standpoint? Who gives a shit if a game pushes 10 million polygons a second or has a tremendous fillrate if the the end result looks like garbage.

I always thought from a graphics standpoint you just look at two games and decide which one looks better. If that is Ico to you then I think that is cool to say that has the best graphics this gen. There are some games one all three systems that push their systems to their limits, but what does it matter if the end result doesnt' look good?

 

[nightez]

Most people seem to think Resident Evil isnt very good graphically because it doesnt have bump mapping and per pixel lighting.
But RE4 is pushing far more polys than those games that do, far more complex characters, great animation and artistically on an entirely new level. Character design and animation, cut scenes, environment detail and atmosphere.
- technically it comes into its own.