Graphics isn’t the main thing in games, but we all strive for beauty. A wonderful picture attracts the eye and makes the heart beat faster. Over the past three decades, the industry has occasionally given birth to true graphic masterpieces, which are still a joy to watch.
Hard Drivin’
This game was the first realistic car simulator developed by the legendary Atari. In 1989, it had not only detailed physics but also breakthrough graphics with real 3D. So it appeals to those who enjoy racing and cricket betting even these days.
At first, the game was useless to release for home PCs, which used to be more like advanced typewriters those days. That’s why the first version came out for slot machines. Such an automaton looked like a cabin and was equipped with pedals, a steering wheel, and a seat.
Crysis
Crysis is a famous sci-fi action game in which players take on the role of one brave soldier dressed in a nano suit. The game uses the latest engine, which is able to create very realistic physics and graphics. Krysis is a game everyone should play.
Crysis was one of the first PC games to support DirectX 10, and it used a beginner’s API in a way that may not have been exactly expected. Roy Taylor stated that Crysis uses over 85,000 shaders. The use of shaders in games is common these days but in 2007. Shaders were also somehow related to the game’s anti-aliasing support, but the complexity goes far beyond anti-aliasing.
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 is the sequel to the cult fantasy game Half-Life. The main role is still played by the “four-eyed” physicist Gordon Freeman. We will still be at war with an alien life-form.
It all begins with waking up in a train carriage to the soft and quiet voice of G-man. As you remember from the first part, this strange guy, constantly snooping around the underground complex, “hired” us at the very end of the game. After listening to all his chatter, we wake up. Next, we arrive in City 17 (one of the last major cities of mankind, where the assimilation of the human race is in full swing). Already there, we learn that the invasion has succeeded, and the planet has been seized by the Alliance.
The Neverhood
The Neverhood is an original art house quest released by the studio in a highly unusual way. The characters and the entire game environment were made of plasticine and especially animated. All this was competently supplemented with a quality story and pleasant music.
The player has to control the main character with the click of the mouse. Collecting tapes and solving puzzles, you will gradually, piece by piece, assemble the plot until you get to the finale. In the last location is a huge text that tells the backstory of the universe. Remarkably, in the Russian version, it is replaced by a collection of programmer’s jokes.
The primary character named Clayman travels the world, collecting tapes in order to save the universe and defeat the villain Clogg. In the end, the player is given a choice, depending on which one can reach a bad or good ending.
The idea to make the world plasticine came to the developer’s mind much earlier. But the opportunity to realize the project came only shortly before the release of the game. He turned to Steven Spielberg and his studio with a request for assistance and unexpectedly received consent. It took only a year to create the plasticine world, animation, dialogues, and music.