# What are the most graphically stylish games lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 7, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683 "2009-05-07T20:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/21 "2009-05-08T20:24:17Z")
**Super Mario Galaxy**. A beautiful, beautiful game that wouldn’t look out of place on a 360 or PS3. [http://wii.ign.com/dor/objects/748588/mario-wii/videos/mariogalaxyhd\_052306.html](http://wii.ign.com/dor/objects/748588/mario-wii/videos/mariogalaxyhd_052306.html) ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/22 "2009-05-08T20:33:45Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > **Super Mario Galaxy**. A beautiful, beautiful game that wouldn’t look out of place on a 360 or PS3. > [http://wii.ign.com/dor/objects/748588/mario-wii/videos/mariogalaxyhd\_052306.html](http://wii.ign.com/dor/objects/748588/mario-wii/videos/mariogalaxyhd_052306.html) Reminds me a bit of [Kameo](http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/kameo_review_10.jpg). But I am going to have to disagree that it wouldn’t look out of place on a 360 or a PS3, it’s definitely not on par with their graphics capabilities. The design is a great use of the medium available to it, and I don’t say that insultingly, but it doesn’t look anything like the other more advanced consoles. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/23 "2009-05-08T21:11:49Z")
I saw someone (here I believe) accuse Resident Evil 5’s graphics of being too “brown”, but I really enjoyed it aesthetically. Very detailed and realistic horror-survival type game. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/24 "2009-05-09T06:39:41Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > Braid has a gorgeous “moving storybook” style of art. It’s also one of, if not THE, best 2D platformers made in the past ten years. I second this one. Although to be honest I don’t know any 2D platformer games made in the past 10 years PERIOD. Music in **Braid** is phenomenally beautiful too. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/25 "2009-05-09T07:49:01Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > But I am going to have to disagree that it wouldn’t look out of place on a 360 or a PS3, it’s definitely not on par with their graphics capabilities. To each their own. To me, art style trumps technical graphical achievements every time (though the two aren’t always mutually exclusive, obviously), and Mario Galaxy is easily the most visually impressive game I’ve played this generation, and I’ve played a lot of them, being I work in the industry. It’s the first game I had played in years that evoked a feeling of awe from visuals alone (Flower is the only gave I’ve played since that provided a similar sensation). ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/26 "2009-05-09T08:19:52Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Take a look at [Mount & Blade](http://www.taleworlds.com/mb_gallery.html). If only the clouds were dynamic… Seconded, but PLEASE download the 1217 AD mod for this game if you do; the original version is good but that mod makes it 10000 times better! And I will send you a copy of my own custom mod that incorporates all the aesthetic and gameplay elements of the 1217 AD mod, AND add literally hundreds of new armors to the game, if you PM me. M&B is where it’s at, totally…SO addictive! Hacking guys to death on horesback never gets old. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/27 "2009-05-09T08:27:45Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > Bioshock. There’s an interesting mix of drab and vibrant color. And, more importantly, Art Deco and Retro Futurism. _Fallout 3_ isn’t very colourful but the style (Post-Apocalyptic Retro-Futurism) is _very_ cool, IMHO. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/28 "2009-05-09T15:42:01Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > Braid has a gorgeous “moving storybook” style of art. It’s also one of, if not THE, best 2D platformers made in the past ten years. I can’t believe it took 20 posts to mention Braid. It may be one of the most beautiful games I’ve seen(and heard) in recent memory. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/29 "2009-05-09T17:12:16Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > To each their own. To me, art style trumps technical graphical achievements every time (though the two aren’t always mutually exclusive, obviously), and Mario Galaxy is easily the most visually impressive game I’ve played this generation, and I’ve played a lot of them, being I work in the industry. Like I said, it’s a pretty game, but there are some tell-tale aspects of the graphical style that show it as being made for an inferior graphics platform. I definitely agree that the art style trumps technical graphics achievement. I am just saying that it doesn’t cross the boundaries as suggested. > [@](#): > > It’s the first game I had played in years that evoked a feeling of awe from visuals alone (Flower is the only gave I’ve played since that provided a similar sensation). Mirror’s Edge does that for me lately. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/30 "2009-05-09T17:13:17Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > And, more importantly, Art Deco and Retro Futurism. > > _Fallout 3_ isn’t very colourful but the style (Post-Apocalyptic Retro-Futurism) is _very_ cool, IMHO. 🙂 Fallout 3 is a pretty game, too bad it’s so monumentally boring that I didn’t get to see much of it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/31 "2009-05-09T17:15:33Z")
Mad World for the Wii looks amazing. Like a skunk in a blender: black and white and red all over. The game is also a ton of fun, too. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/32 "2009-05-09T17:16:47Z")
Hmm, Braid looks interesting. With all these games people are mentioning with a pseudo-painterly style, I find myself wishing that someone would go all the way. Like if Braid looked like the splash screen on the web site, I’d probably be in love. It seems like an interesting take on the Super Mario Brothers style with a cool design style. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/33 "2009-05-09T17:19:47Z")
Wow just as I mentioned wanting a more painterly style in games, **Snowboarder Bo** posted about Mad World, Wow…it looks like Sin City. I don’t have a Wii but that game is awesome looking. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/34 "2009-05-09T17:42:04Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Like I said, it’s a pretty game, but there are some tell-tale aspects of the graphical style that show it as being made for an inferior graphics platform. And my point is that, despite that (whatever those may be), it’s still more visually impressive than most (if not all, imo) games on those platforms. Higher resolutions and texture quality do not automatically equate to “superior,” just as modern CGI hasn’t necessarily negated the less technically advanced effects of its earlier years. ---
**Author:** ![MJinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MJinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJinks)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/35 "2009-05-09T17:42:16Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Seconded, but PLEASE download the 1217 AD mod for this game if you do; the original version is good but that mod makes it 10000 times better! And I will send you a copy of my own custom mod that incorporates all the aesthetic and gameplay elements of the 1217 AD mod, AND add literally hundreds of new armors to the game, if you PM me. > > M&B is where it’s at, totally…SO addictive! Hacking guys to death on horesback never gets old. I searched on Google but couldn’t find that. Do you mean the 1257 mod? I always meant to mod my M&B but could never decide which ones to use. Your custom mod sounds perfect, if you have it uploaded somewhere I would love to try it out. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/36 "2009-05-09T17:46:04Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > And my point is that, despite that (whatever those may be), it’s still more visually impressive than most (if not all, imo) games on those platforms. I disagree with that, but it’s a good looking game. > [@](#): > > High resolutions and texture quality do not automatically equate to “superior.” I’m not talking about graphics in terms of technical superiority, but in terms of medium, whether one medium looks like another, and I’m saying that it doesn’t look it the other medium not that this makes it inferior stylistically. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/37 "2009-05-09T17:52:18Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I’m not talking about graphics in terms of technical superiority, but in terms of medium, whether one medium looks like another, and I’m saying that it doesn’t look it the other medium not that this makes it inferior stylistically. But technical superiority is the only thing that separates the 360 and PS3 from the Wii, and are a fundamental of the medium. Unless you mean that Mario Galaxy doesn’t look like a shooter? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/38 "2009-05-09T18:13:19Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > But technical superiority is the only thing that separates the 360 and PS3 from the Wii, and are a fundamental of the medium. > > Unless you mean that Mario Galaxy doesn’t look like a shooter? No Mario Galaxy doesn’t look like other games of it’s type like Kameo for instance. Yes, technical superiority is what separates them, but as Braid shows, technical capacity isn’t a limit on creativity. The landscape in Mario Galaxy based on the video you posted is quite boxy. What they have done with their limited resources is definitely neat. I like the jumping from asteroid to asteroid aspect, and how they use the perspective of distance to make it seem quite epic. But the textural limitations are quite obvious. Mario Galaxy looks like an older gen game in terms of it’s surface, and a newer gen game in terms of how it uses the visual space. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/39 "2009-05-09T18:30:29Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Yes, technical superiority is what separates them, but as Braid shows, technical capacity isn’t a limit on creativity. Which was my entire point. > [@mswas](#): > > No Mario Galaxy doesn’t look like other games of it’s type like Kameo for instance. “Of its type”? I’m not even sure what that means. Halo 3 looks nothing like Killzone 2, and I would presume those are of the “same type.” Regardless, I think Mario Galaxy is a better looking game than Kameo–technical merits have nothing to do with this. > [@mswas](#): > > The landscape in Mario Galaxy based on the video you posted is quite boxy. What they have done with their limited resources is definitely neat. I like the jumping from asteroid to asteroid aspect, and how they use the perspective of distance to make it seem quite epic. But the textural limitations are quite obvious. Mario Galaxy looks like an older gen game in terms of it’s surface, and a newer gen game in terms of how it uses the visual space. “Quite boxy”? That seems a bit of an exaggeration. Sure, you can spot where some of the polygons are, but that’s something 360 and PS3 are subject to as well. Halo 3’s environments also look “quite boxy”–does that mean it also doesn’t look like a 360 game? I should also note (though I didn’t think I would have to, otherwise I would have mentioned it earlier) that I merely linked to the first video of the game I found, which was taken from a pre-release version of the game. Having played the final game in full, the off-screen video I linked to doesn’t quite do the game justice. To clarify my original point, I believe if you were to give this game to a typical 360 player and somehow remove Mario from it (as Mario obviously wouldn’t be on 360), the player would be none the wiser that it wasn’t native to the 360 platform. Anyway, I’m not quite sure why we’re still discussing this. I think it’s one of the greatest looking games ever made, you don’t. And it seems there’s no convincing the other, so I’m not sure there’s much more to be said about this. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683/40 "2009-05-10T01:45:22Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Which was my entire point. Yes, it took a while for you to realize I wasn’t disagreeing with you. > [@](#): > > “Of its type”? I’m not even sure what that means. Halo 3 looks nothing like Killzone 2, and I would presume those are of the “same type.” Regardless, I think Mario Galaxy is a better looking game than Kameo–technical merits have nothing to do with this. I disagree that Mario Galaxy is a better looking game than Kameo. But yes, technical merits are not the main consideration. > [@](#): > > “Quite boxy”? That seems a bit of an exaggeration. Sure, you can spot where some of the polygons are, but that’s something 360 and PS3 are subject to as well. Halo 3’s environments also look “quite boxy”–does that mean it also doesn’t look like a 360 game? No, Halo has rolling hills and such. Everything in that level you showed me was pretty much straight pillars or the round asteroids. Not much contour to the landscape. > [@](#): > > I should also note (though I didn’t think I would have to, otherwise I would have mentioned it earlier) that I merely linked to the first video of the game I found, which was taken from a pre-release version of the game. Having played the final game in full, the off-screen video I linked to doesn’t quite do the game justice. Ahh, do you have some better examples? > [@](#): > > To clarify my original point, I believe if you were to give this game to a typical 360 player and somehow remove Mario from it (as Mario obviously wouldn’t be on 360), the player would be none the wiser that it wasn’t native to the 360 platform. Maybe, but there are a lot of games that don’t take full advantage of the platforms capabilities. > [@](#): > > Anyway, I’m not quite sure why we’re still discussing this. I think it’s one of the greatest looking games ever made, you don’t. And it seems there’s no convincing the other, so I’m not sure there’s much more to be said about this. I never said it looked bad. You kind of got defensive about it. I just said it doesn’t look like a 360/PS3 game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-graphically-stylish-games-lately/495683.md?page=3)