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  1. #1
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    PS2 - improved over time

    Who remembers when the PS2 was first released and the number of discussions about "jaggies". And the Dreamcast ports, such as Grandia 2 and Skies of Arcadia, looking near identical but everyone saying the textures just didn't quite look as good as the Dreamcast originals.

    Well how times have changed. Look at the current swan song of releases for the PS2 and then load up an old PS2 game and prepare to be blown away by the difference in quality. The contrast for many games is so big it can be hard to believe both games are running on the same hardware.

    I was catching up on some older RPGs I've missed on the PS2 and got hold of Grandia Xtreme. It was released originally in 2002, so it's now over 4 years old. I loaded it up just to check it worked ok and the first think that hit me was how old, jaggy and blurry the graphics looked. A complete contrast compared to the current wave of RPGs such as Grandia 3, FF12 and Rogue Galaxy.

    This definitely shows that the early PS2 defenders were correct. People saying the PS2 couldn't handly proper 3D anti aliasing and textures well can easily be proved wrong by looking at more recent titles. It has taken a long time to get the most from the PS2 over its long life, but it does go to show just how much power was hidden inside the hardware requiring time to truely learn and perfect.

    Lets hope the PS3 is the same. The first wave of PS3 games already look amazing so if there is still a lot more power to unlock from the hardware as time goes on who knows how amazing the games released in 4 years time will look! I wonder if the High Def games on the next gen systems now will look as old in a couple of years time, as many of the first wave of PS2 games now do.

    Isn't it funny how when gaming hardware is state of the art we are blown away by the visiuals, but 5 years later we look back on the same games with fond memories only to be shocked because the game doesn't look quite as polished and great as it once did. Many PSX games are a good case in point. When the original Playstation was at its height we all thought how great the games looked. Now they look very blocky and old.

    Thank god 2D sprite based games from the past don't age as badly as 3D graphics do. Many Amiga games look just as great as they always have.

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


  2. #2
    Wiseguy Staff Moderator
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    Personally, I hated the look of the early 3d games. I don't just think they look horrible now, I thought they looked horrible back then too. I could never really understand why those clunky 3d figures with their horribly low-res textures could be so much in favour over the slick, smooth 2d graphics we were used to back then.

    I did have the Playstation, but I was never impressed by it's graphics. Impressed by it's technical aspects of being able to push the 3d it did yes, but not by how it actually looked. Of course, gameplay counts for so much more so I thought the machine was awesome nonetheless.

    But in my opinion, only with the following generation with the PS2 and Gamecube did we start to come back to the level of detail and beauty in 3d graphics that was left behind in 2d graphics so many years earlier. I always thought that the Playstation and Nintendo 64 era was a huge step backwards graphics-wise, and I'll always continue to think so.
    Last edited by Teho; 3rd February 2007 at 09:34.

  3. #3
    Vintage gamer and metal head LowercaseE's Avatar
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    I think this is true of any system for the most part. As programmers learn over time how to best exploit a systems power, the games get better. This is quite clear even going back to the Atari and NES.
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  4. #4
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    There is one system that is the exception to that, the N64. Nintendo did such a great job creating Mario 64 and releasing it at the launch of the N64, and no other game really bettered it.

    As for Playstation games looking horrible, it is true that many did look quite ugly, but others looked very impressive too. I thought the first Tomb Raider on the Playstation looked great and I sometimes would stand in areas of a level just looking around at the level design. I doubt the first Tomb Raider would look quite as good to me now if I were to play it again.

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


  5. #5
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    Lol I don't think it would...just like the original Tekken looks disturbing
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  6. #6
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    The first Tekken was horrible. But the second one still looks OK, and the third was a huge improvement.

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


  7. #7
    Burn! Hot Blooded Rhythm Soul! Staff Moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by Harrison View Post
    There is one system that is the exception to that, the N64. Nintendo did such a great job creating Mario 64 and releasing it at the launch of the N64, and no other game really bettered it.
    True, it looked good. But then with a bright, primary coloured fantasy world it was always going to look good despite any technical limitations of the system. I think that game is a good example of art direction and design being worth more to many than the ability to throw a gajillion textured anti aliased polygons and particles about (see also Zelda OoT, and the recent Twilight Princess).

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    I concur JT the twighlight princess is a good example it looks great despite the obvious limitations of Nintendo's system and it will stand the test of time i would imagine.
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  9. #9
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    That is indeed true. Twighlight Princess shows that you can make a great looking game on the Wii, although it does look very similar on the Gamecube!

    This is in stark contrast to many of the first wave of Wii releases with good really bad. Have you seen the Wii version of Farcry? To say it is bad is an understatement. If you didn't know you might think it was running on an N64 it is that bad!

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


  10. #10
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    So Farcry is really bad? I was considering getting that
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