Games with amazing environments

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Wedge598

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#1 Wedge598
Member since 2003 • 1263 Posts

Everytime I load up Assassin's Creed and GTAIV I'm stunned at how amazing the game environments are. Both games load relatively quickly which is all the more amazing when you see how big the game worlds are. GTAIV is simply incredible. A city as massinve as New York is fully recreated with hundreds if not thousands of cars and people milling about. And when you stop to examine any aspect of either game you find great detail like realistic shadows and textures as well as plenty of trash and odd objects that you'd expect to see.

When you compare those games to something like The Incredible Hulk for example it's almost embarrassing how poor that games city environment is. Liberty city is 3 times as big and doesn't suffer from the aweful draw distance that the Hulk game does. Clearly the limitation is a function of developer and not the hardware.

So I wonder just how much is the Xbox hardware capable of? Can the game world get any bigger and more detailed than what you see in those games?

I suspect FarCry 2 also impressed with the enviroment but I personally haven't played it. Are there any other games that blew you away in terms of the technical achievement of creating the game world?

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fragtech

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#2 fragtech
Member since 2005 • 25 Posts
Game environments that stick out to me would have to be the half life series. I really felt immersed in those games.
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MartinCaillou

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#3 MartinCaillou
Member since 2009 • 84 Posts

Bioshock, fall out 3 and Prince of Persia have great enviroments also.

I think the x-box is capable of detail enviroments, but you have to put a lot of money on the production of the game. And Rockstar did.

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SoAmazingBaby

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#4 SoAmazingBaby
Member since 2009 • 3023 Posts
LOTR: Conquest did it for me. Amazing battlefields.
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SSJ_naruto1997

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#5 SSJ_naruto1997
Member since 2009 • 25 Posts
half life 2 felt too dead. some parts felt lively but everything else felt barren. great environments though and amazing how art can trump 5 year old hardware if an engine like the source engine is good enough. god of war 2 is really good. the environments look amazing for such a crappy system like the ps2. They pushed it hard
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Wedge598

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#6 Wedge598
Member since 2003 • 1263 Posts
[QUOTE="MartinCaillou"]

Bioshock, fall out 3 and Prince of Persia have great enviroments also.

I think the x-box is capable of detail enviroments, but you have to put a lot of money on the production of the game. And Rockstar did.

Good Call, Fallout 3 was also excellent. Fallout 3 was very impressive in that the structures you see half blown up often looked very real. As a structural engineer I really appreciated the details when you saw parts of a building exposed. They really did a great job of making those structures look realistic. Prince of Persia was also very impressive. Lots of detail and very few loading screens. Bioshock/Gears/Half life and most of the FPS games do have their moments where the worlds are amazing. But most of their "levels" are smaller and so it's not as big a surprize to see that kind of detail in those types of games. When you put detail like that in a sandbox game with one massive world it just boggles the mind. You almost feel like you haven't paid enough to make up for the developers unthinkable man-hours spent on the game.
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TOC48

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#7 TOC48
Member since 2008 • 637 Posts
I would have to say overall the best enviorment is Far Cry 2.
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Carbon_Python

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#8 Carbon_Python
Member since 2008 • 168 Posts
Far Cry 2 and Assassin's Creed
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rhinows22

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#9 rhinows22
Member since 2005 • 32 Posts
Metroid Prime for the Gamecube, I know its last gen. but I still love the enviornments in that game
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sinlesswolf

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#10 sinlesswolf
Member since 2006 • 1382 Posts
man.. i've seen alot of amazing environments in a game. hmm. Banjo-kazooie N&B has some great ones though cartoony.
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CodingGenius

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#11 CodingGenius
Member since 2004 • 8118 Posts
On 360, the worlds that I can get lost in are GTA IV, Left 4 Dead, and Fallout 3, but Fable II takes the cake. Although it's stylized, the lighting and the dog really drew me into it.
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bunnyman14

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#12 bunnyman14
Member since 2005 • 605 Posts
Halo and Halo 2 had fantastic campaign maps; there's a lot diversity and it's all done very well. Fable 2 is also a wonder to look at, light scatter galore. Bioshock's Rapture is is pretty cool; it really looks like people lived there. Oblivion's forests are a great place to get lost in; Far Cry 2 is looks great...beautifully realistic, but nothing is funner than getting literally lost and running into random strangers while trying to kill deer.
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N0han

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#13 N0han
Member since 2007 • 982 Posts
lets not forget fallout 2, it has some real intenste moments in which you really feel like your doomed in a nucleair bombed world.
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TX360

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#14 TX360
Member since 2008 • 4051 Posts
GTA IV has amazing environments the city was 10/10 for capturing the feel of a city like new york.
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Slashfan10

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#15 Slashfan10
Member since 2008 • 1242 Posts
Fallout 3 I think would be the one for me.
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Comic_Capers

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#16 Comic_Capers
Member since 2008 • 1701 Posts
Fallout 3 I think would be the one for me.Slashfan10
For the current generation I would say Fable 2 and GTA IV. I think Mercenaries 2 has a shout too IMO. However for previous generation I would say Just Cause (enormous, beautiful island environment that, at the time, was record-breaking), plus Halo 2. I'm yet to play Fallout 3, so my opinion may change...
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sukraj

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#17 sukraj
Member since 2008 • 27859 Posts
Far Cry 2, Fable 2, Saints Row 2
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BiThBhE0

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#18 BiThBhE0
Member since 2008 • 1643 Posts
Bioshock, Dead Space, GTA IV and Fallout 3.
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jamejame

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#19 jamejame
Member since 2005 • 10634 Posts

Definitely Fable 2. Never have I ever felt so much like I was part of a world. Felt as though I was playing a fantasy novel.

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cheez-it_kid

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#20 cheez-it_kid
Member since 2008 • 702 Posts
LOTR: Conquest did it for me. Amazing battlefields.SoAmazingBaby
Are you kidding me? Those weren't good environments compared to other games. I'd have say Fallout, Oblivion, GTA, and Dead Space have great environments.
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nate_c-12

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#21 nate_c-12
Member since 2008 • 3072 Posts
Gears 2, Intestinal Fortitude!
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orb_03_2006

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#22 orb_03_2006
Member since 2006 • 8494 Posts
Bioshock & Far Cry 2 have astonishing environments
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klusps

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#23 klusps
Member since 2005 • 10386 Posts
Bioshock was the most impressive enviroment for me this gen. It felt unique(being it is underwater) and I love the 40s atmosphere. Fallout 3 and GTA4 would be next just because of the epic scope and how closely it resembles(or resembled, Fallout 3) a city.
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Englando_IV

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#24 Englando_IV
Member since 2008 • 4334 Posts
The first underground level in Gears 2 was absolutely beautiful.
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Kaos39

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#25 Kaos39
Member since 2007 • 695 Posts
Bioshock has an amazing environment, and Prince Of Persia's is cool too. The art style is amazing.
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Bobmypants1

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#26 Bobmypants1
Member since 2007 • 76 Posts
This may come as a suprise, but I felt Lost Planet had some of the best enviorements. Traveling through the snow covered mountains felt really cool and the lighting in some parts made it look amazing.
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MFmotion

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#27 MFmotion
Member since 2008 • 176 Posts

Fallout 3 looks amazing, I love when you destroy the heads of the people with the V.A.T.S system, specially with grenades.

_.-_

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PAL360

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#28 PAL360
Member since 2007 • 30570 Posts
Oblivion, Fallout3, Assassins Creed and GTA4
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CoiledNewkirk

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#29 CoiledNewkirk
Member since 2009 • 313 Posts

banjo kazooie Nuts and Bolts all the way, o yea

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voodooline0110

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#30 voodooline0110
Member since 2008 • 452 Posts
i like Condemned 2 Bloodshot and Fallout 3.
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deactivated-5b31d3729c1fa

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#31 deactivated-5b31d3729c1fa
Member since 2007 • 11536 Posts
i like battlefield bad company's enviroment
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DohBoy122

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#32 DohBoy122
Member since 2006 • 429 Posts
have we forgotten about call of duty 4? like really, the two sniping missions stressed the environment heavily and succseeded greatly. That game has superb detail.
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#33 Samslayer
Member since 2005 • 1852 Posts
Dead Space and Bioshock! Loved the environments. I could have stood and watched the beautiful displays through the windows of the Ishurmira on dead space for hours, especially in the zero gravity siutations where the hull has been breached. It's to bad that you have an o2 timer, because those were some of the most beautiful spots in the game.
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cerealkiller8

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#34 cerealkiller8
Member since 2008 • 370 Posts
fallout 3, oblivion, and even World of Warcraft
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#35 doubalfa
Member since 2006 • 7108 Posts
FarCry 2 is really amazing!
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#36 Lanezy
Member since 2004 • 2438 Posts

Hands down GTA IV takes the cake for most impressive environment. I love just cruising around in Liberty City at night, listening to Flashing Lights.

Battlefield: Bad Company had some really great environments too.

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Toxic8

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#37 Toxic8
Member since 2007 • 1653 Posts
I really like Braid.The artwork is done great.It may be a side scrolling type game,but it looks good.
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Dave8D2

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#38 Dave8D2
Member since 2007 • 247 Posts
Oblivion and Fallout 3 are very immersive and you feel as if you are there.
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LordBaphomet

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#39 LordBaphomet
Member since 2006 • 54 Posts
My vote is for Oblivion, although GTA IV is a very close second. Both Far Cry games are very immersive too though, and I've never felt more claustrophobic and afraid than when I play Dead Space.
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iwantasong

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#40 iwantasong
Member since 2008 • 243 Posts

1. GTA IV

2. Gears of War 2

3. Assassins Creed

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Post-Carnage

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#41 Post-Carnage
Member since 2008 • 174 Posts
I remember Shadow of the Colossus on the PS2. That game had great environments.
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Wedge598

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#42 Wedge598
Member since 2003 • 1263 Posts
I remember Shadow of the Colossus on the PS2. That game had great environments.Post-Carnage
No doubt about Shadow of the Colossus. That game world was also huge with no loading screens and that was a major feat for the lowly PS2! That one game still remains one of my all time favorite to play.
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sourcerah

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#43 sourcerah
Member since 2003 • 1214 Posts
I remember the very first time i played gtaIV online and ended up playing on that stage that was modeled after Manahattan. I was like OH $h!t, they actually put Times Square in the game!! That really blew my mind.. I also like Soul Calibur IV's envirnoments... Especialy the Star Wars stage with the jet fighters flying and shooting at each other over and under the platform i'm fighting on..
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shutter_speed

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#44 shutter_speed
Member since 2008 • 111 Posts
i like the environs in mass effect and oblivion, and also overlord - they were very stylised and reminded me some what of a trip to disneyland
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oliver655321

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#45 oliver655321
Member since 2007 • 111 Posts
Doom 3...lets not forget when it came it out it was thee next generation graphics with great enviorments such as pitch black darkness(you had a flash light) with demons and zombies comming at you in a small closed area(space ship) and you were on mars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Alizerothree

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#46 Alizerothree
Member since 2008 • 1043 Posts
Farcry 2's environment, although it felt empty at times, was absolutely beautiful!
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TheBigTicket21

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#47 TheBigTicket21
Member since 2004 • 30875 Posts
if Shadow of the Colossus' environment would load faster, it would easily take the cake.
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Agent_Kaliaver

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#48 Agent_Kaliaver
Member since 2004 • 4722 Posts
man.. i've seen alot of amazing environments in a game. hmm. Banjo-kazooie N&B has some great ones though cartoony. sinlesswolf
Completely agree with you on that one. Now i would also say Oblivion and Mass Effect. I love Virmire.... it looks just so good...
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Alizerothree

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#49 Alizerothree
Member since 2008 • 1043 Posts
Kinda oldschool, but I loved the forest area's in Secret of Mana
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Ghost_702

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#50 Ghost_702
Member since 2006 • 7405 Posts
I think the Assassin's Creed environment was really well done as well.