This was written while sick and sleepless. It's long, OCD, nerdy, and unedited. Hope you enjoy and would like to get your feedback whether you agree or disagree with me.

GAMES- gears of war3, god of war3, uncharted3, batman arkham city, call of duty black ops, skyrim, rage, halo:reach, killzone 3, metal gear solid 4, and possibly a couple more

These games represent the best of this generation of consoles. They are characterized mainly by high level of visual fidelity compared w/previous generations. It is not so much a matter of revolution in terms of gameplay mechanics but, with the increased processing power has come some evolution in gameplay. Once again, if there is revolution it has come in graphics. Compared with last generation the games are simply gorgeous to look at. Througought the consolues lifespan there have been significant improvements in graphics. However, the intitial leap from last gen to the early crop of games at the beginning of the lifecycle of these consoles is more salient then the gradual steps that has brought us to what we have today in the aforementioned games. Again, gameplay wise a game like gears of war would have been possible last generation, but a game like that is only done justice because of the brutality and effects that these consoles have afforded us.

Looking at the list of these amazing games, there are really only a couple that are in the same league visually as the rest, and yet were stil released beginning or soon after the midway point of the consoles. They are gears of war1 and two (not listed because gears 3 has taken visuals to an even higher plateau, god of war3, batman arkham asylum(again not listed) and call of duty modern warfare (the prequel to black ops), finally metal gear 4. Of this group god of war 3 is easily the most impressive in terms of art direction and pure number crunching. This game is gorgeous and stands up to the very best. Metal gear 4 is another ps3 exclusive which is gorgeous as well but owes its delight more to art direction than visual effects. That is not to take away from the power of the ps3 as displayed in this game. Its got its share of bump mapping, lighting, ai, and particle effects, its just not on par with the other games (w/the exception of call of duty. Another game not listed that was a true feast artistically and visually is uncharted 2 which is also a ps3 exclusive. It came out after metal gear and very near the time of god of war 3 and is like sex for the eyes. One should take note that these games which have broken the mold have been ps3 exclusives, except for gears 1 and two. This is probably not due to any big significance between the consoles because numerous multiplatform games have shown that differences in the games are negligible. In fact, a greater percentage of xbox games look better. The questions will remain; could uncharted have been done on xbox? Could it have been done better? We'll never know. Now lets compare the exclusives on each console.

It boils down to halo and gears versus uncharted, god of war, and metal gear. Its sad that out of the best of the best games there are only 5 that are exclusive to each console. Uncharted and Gears of war have somewhat similar play mechanics so they can be directly compared in terms of both graphics and gameplay but the other 3 are all dissimilar so they will have to be thrown out of the comparison. Gears of War is probably the defining game of this generation on any console. In a market seeminly dominated by fps's this game is a hybrid between third person and second person. That is you see your character on screen but he can take cover and when you aim it switches to an over the shoulder view which makes aiming very precise. Make no mistake about it this game is a shooter through and through. But its different than any first person shooter and is truly innovative in how your character can smoothly slide into and out of cover and navigate the environment. Skilled players can do this w/remarkable accuracy and speed which makes moving around fun. You can't jump but you can charge and roll which makes for intense one on one gunfights as well as shooting from a distance, because of the zoom mechanic. It was good from the first game but the smoothness of movement and reliability of the controls of gears of war 3 is just perfection. The key factor of the games gameplay is that while players can deftly move around their environment, long range weapons and skilled shooters can also induce death from a distance. This is gameplay 101 and without great gameplay , graphics can only take us so far. One more thing which before I discuss the graphics is that this game has surpassed the fps genre in terms of movement. FPS games have a sprint, some let you take cover, but none has the quickness of gears of war. Halo , a beautifully artistic game has tried to evolve the gameplay by adding a sprint, jetpack, armor or invisibility loadout. Other shooters like killzone let you take cover. The question remains, have shooters reached their limit. If one is to be honest shooters basically all play the same, just as any game using a system of movement like gears of war would basically play the same. Now, lets move on.

Graphically, gears of war one set a milestone. Powered by the unreal engine, no other game at the time, pc or console, came close. Art style, bump mapping, particle effects, detail and explosions were the best. It wasn't until killzone 2 was released that it had competition. Other games tried to knock it off its perch, but games the likes of halo 3, call of duty modern warfare came up short. It wasn't until the first uncharted game that gears had competition and there was debate at the time as to which one looked better. They were both beautiful games in their own right. These games w ere finally bested with the release of god of war 3, whose art style is as good and unique as any. God of war 3 was simply mindblowing and still is. So then why is uncharted such an important focal point and historically significant for the ps3, its because its graphics jumped way beyone its prequel and the leap was bigger than gears to gears 2. It also borrowed heavily from gears of wars cover and over the shoulder shooting mechanic, along with borrowing ideas from many other games. While all games borrow ideas from other games dating back to the earliest systems I feel like naughty dog should be paying royalties to certain series. The one unique mechanic it has on gears is that aside from being a shooter its also a platformer with a good deal of puzzle solving. We'll save the exceptional story line and audio for another time. The cover mechanic and movement system is slower than gears and getting into cover is not as satisfying as the lock and thud sound that gears makes, yet it is more realistic in terms of how people move. In short, its really really good, and the platforming adds a nice element to change up the pace of play, whereas gears really just has one speed. This is an advantage that unchartedhas in single player, yet gears has the better multiplayer .

So what made uncharted so damn good looking. It's a combination of raw processing power and a beautiful labor of love in art design. This was the first game that at times felt like you were literally playing a movie. They did some very creative cinematics and it looks like they're going to take this a step further in uncharted 3. I feel like they could have pushed this playing a movie element slightly further though, as the third looks like an evolved uncharted 2. Uncharted two surpassed gears of war 2 slightly with its polish and unprecedented cinematics. Gears two was no slouch though. Now that gears of war 3 is out and is in my opinion the best looking console game to date, the next debate will rage on between it and uncharted 3. Gears of War 3 is a masterpiece graphically and in the multiplayer. The only hiccup was with the single player. I feel like they could have innovated more instead of being a better playing and looking gears 2, they could have taken a page from uncharted's books and gone for a more cinema lke experience. However, gears 3 is pure eye candy. They have made quite a jump from gears 2 particularly with the best in the business lighting system. Particle effects and animation are awswome. Detail is everywhere and its got the best best fire and some rocksteady artificial intelligence. Other games do some things well graphically, gears does it all and with a unique and cohesive art style. The multiplayer experience reminds me of when halo2 hit the big time. At the time no game had the polish, options, stats, and matchmaking system that these games do, with the top contenders being halo reach and call of ut black ops. I want to note that gears is hands down better looking than halo reach in the technical department. Art style is more of a preference than is number crunching but it is very clear that there is a lot more under the hood of gears than reach.

I want to talk about reach though because this is still one of my favourite nad best looking games out there. Halo 2 on the xbox was the best looking game of that generation. It's biggest competition being the metal gear series on the ps3 and resident evil 4 on the gamecube. One thing that set halo and the xbox apart though was its ability to bump map graphics for the first time. This is what gives games a three dimensional texture. You could now feel the grass that you walked on, adding a layer of realism and newness to games. Bump mapping continues to be one of the most important elements to amazing graphics. Now, lets get back to reach. Bungie, like epic is primarily owned by xbox. They have access to the best tools and knowledge of their system, just as uncharted and god of war have with the playstation. Considering that halo has been on the original xbox since day one you'd think halo would have maintained its amazing art direction but also be pushing the most pure processing power. This hasn't turned out to be the case but the game is amazing to look at none the less. Great lighting and beautiful vistas mesh with some of the best designs, color, map size and mayhem. The only downside is the average character models, something that was completely out of place in halo 3 and really detracted from the game. In reach, they work and maintain cohesion in the game. Reaches strongsuit is in its huge outdoor environments with many enemies programmed with amazing artificial intelligence. A.I. is like the graphics that you can't freeze frame and say "look at that" but make no mistake about it they add to the visuals of a game. A.I. has always been an element of games but is more important now than ever because most games have good a.i. A.I. is a deal breaker in this day in age. The games with the best ai are usually the most fun and intriguing. Halo has perhaps the best. Another great example is a game that just popped on the horizon, Rage. It's a pretty game running at a whopping 60 frames per second (black ops only truly amazing strong point). Frame rate is what makes a game look sharp and smooth and play great. A minimum of 30 fps is acceptable for games and sometimes a game pushes its iimits to far and experiences slowdown. Unfortunately, this is an annoyance in Reach. I feel like no game, especially the xbox's flagship franchise should have this. Halo holds a special place in my heart and reach was a fitting farewell goodbye for bungie.

The other game that is multiplatform that is currently in the conversation for spectacular visuals is batman arkum city. Sporting the unreal 3 engine, you will find similarities in textures, effects and character models between this and gears. The developers for batman though are completely separate from those at epic and they have let their unique talents shine. This game looks amazing. It sports incredible attention to detail, perhaps only possible on the unreal engine. Every texture is bumpmapped and water, fire and guns are on par w/gears. Where this game really shines though is its atmosphere. It is the single best comic book game to date. This is one game that I just can't wait to play. The gameplay looks phenomial with batman soaring through the city and smooth and fun looking fight sequences. It's a very unique game and perhaps a masterpiece along w/gears and uncharted. Its lacking a multiplayer however.

Uncharted 3 has the potential to be the new heavy weight. The sand and rain are already the best looking on any platform. Of other gams not yet rleased that are sure to be amazing graphically are battlefield and skyrim. Battlefield on the pc is probably the best looking game ever made. Its art style is not the greatest though, but its still really nice. Its war and its been done a thousand times. It's technical achievement is unrivaled. It has the best animation and lighting by a long shot. Its got it all and it does it better. The big question is how will it look on the consoles. My guess is it wont be anywhere near what we're hoping for. Finally, we have Skyrim. I'm very excited for this game as it's the prenultimate rpg of this generation. This type of rpg was around last gen but this is the first time a generation of systems has done the game justice. Just look at fallout and oblivion. Massive games where you basically just live in them and ones that you wouldn't mind living in either. And by live in I mean enjoy the pictues, nobody would want to live in post nuclear wasteland. With skyrim they have clearly taken this genre up another level. The world is huge and beautiful it contains some of the most amazing creatures you'll ever see as well including giants and dragons. I've never really been into these games but it just looks too damn good to pass up.

My eyes are blurry as hell but I hope you have enjoyed my obsessive compulsive rant about my love of video game graphics. I would like to thank the guy who when I was age 7 or 8 gleefully commented to my parents about how castlevania's ''graphics'' were awesome. For some reason that word stuck with me and never left and the obsession continues to this day. After all videogames when broken down means visual games. We will always see improvements to the visual aspect we like to call graphics and this is one thing that keeps me coming back for more.