I remember the first time I booted up myNintendo GameCube. The visuals blew me away, particularly with Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. It felt like it was ripped straight from the movie!
Of course, looking back now, that seems silly; today’s graphics are far and away better than anything the 2000s were producing, but that doesn’t mean the aughts didn’t have plenty of impressive-looking games to play. After all, the 2000s gave usCrysis, the game that is rumored to still be testing the limits of PCs today (kidding, of course; you just had to be there, I guess).
Over the past few years, there have been some remasters of beloved 2000s games, such asResident Evil 4andMetroid Prime, that have brought these previously great-looking games into the HD era, making them look better than ever.
It got us thinking: what are the other games from the 2000s that were graphically impressive? We’re talking the titles that made us think that gaming would never look more realistic. After taking a trip down memory lane, here’s what we came up with.
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Yes, It Was Dark, But It Was Also Very Pretty
Doom 3rightfully gets a lot of flak for being less of a Doom game and more of a survival horror experience, but the one thing people have always agreed on is how good the game looks.
Do the modernDoom gamesput this to shame visually? Yes. Was this a technological marvel in 2004? You better believe it.
Sadly, my computer wasn’t up to par back in the day, which meant I had to wait for the Xbox port to play it. Even on console, it was an incredibly impressive-looking game that did a great job of showcasing the power of the Xbox hardware.
With the Xbox 360 a year away, helping to usher in the age of HD graphics, DOOM 3 was able to outperform several launch titles visually.
Can Your PC Run It?
Say the line, Bart: “Can your PC runCrysis?”
Yes, it was meme’d to death in the late 2000s, but for good reason: few games, if any, are as graphically impressive and demanding as the original Crysis was. It’s something that the developers acknowledged in Crysis Remastered, with the PC version’s highest graphical setting literally called “Can it Run Crysis?”
What made Crysis impressive is the fact that, despite launching at the start of a new console generation, it represented a massive leap forward in graphical capabilities. We’ll talk more about some particularly impressive “next gen” games from the 2000s, but Crysis, backed by the CryEngine, puts them all to shame.
It delivers an immersive environment that, when your hardware is up to the task, delivers a visual experience that remains unmatched to this day.
8Far Cry 2
An Unsung Hero
The original Far Cry is a visually appealing game, but let’s be honest: it never really pushed our PC to its limit. The sequel, however, was up to the task.
WhileFar Cry 2wasn’t as demanding as Crysis, the game was still a visual powerhouse. The only real difference between the PC version compared to console releases is the graphics.
Ubisoft took advantage of superior PC hardware to deliver an intense performance that, while demanding, didn’t have super-strict requirements.
I remember being super excited to play Far Cry 2, only to be upset that my computer wasn’t capable of running it effectively. By the time I had the chance to finally check it out after a Steam Sale many years later, I was impressed, too, at how well the graphics had aged into the 2010s.
7Resident Evil 4
Put Respect On The GameCube’s Name
Resident Evil 4
The Nintendo GameCube was never looked upon as a graphic powerhouse of a console, but nobody told Capcom that.
Debuting on the Nintendo console in early 2005, the GameCube version ofResident Evil 4was one of the best-looking games of its generation. It pushes Nintendo’s hardware to the limit, which becomes fully apparent when the PlayStation 2 port was released with inferior graphics. It was a night and day difference between the two.
The fact that this game even runs on the PS2 at all is a miracle.
While Capcom would re-release the game several times over, including a Nintendo Wii version in 2007 and the Ultimate HD Edition in 2014 (pictured above), the one thing that amazed me was how unnecessary it felt, especially the latter. Yes, the HD version gives it a nice polish, but the original was still a great-looking game that defied the odds of how good a GameCube/PS2-era game could look.
10 Underrated GameCube Exclusives
These GameCube titles go under-appreciated, let’s change that.
6Metroid Prime
One Of The Most Beautiful Games Ever Made
Metroid Prime
Speaking of good-looking GameCube games,Metroid Primeremains the gold standard for the console.
I remember playing through Metroid Prime Remastered and being super impressed with its visuals. I had no idea it was possible for a Nintendo Switch game to look that good, but that’s a topic for another day. One thing that also stood out to me was that I always felt like the original Metroid Prime always looked this good.
Obviously, that wasn’t the case; HD visuals weren’t a thing back in the day. Still, Metroid Prime was a visual masterpiece that rivaled the best-looking PC games of the time.
All of this from a console ridiculed for being a small, purple cube with a handle. Who’s laughing now?
5Batman: Arkham Asylum
Makes You Feel Like Batman
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Just look at that image. Look at how good that game looks. It’s better looking than several games released this year alone.
The 2000s were all about delivering immersive experiences, taking advantage of not just improved graphics but also superior presentation.
Batman: Arkham Asylumis the perfect example of how everything can come together visually to create an experience unlike any other. Yes, it’s nowhere near the expansive open-world experience we’d see from something like Grand Theft Auto or The Elder Scrolls, but it’s absolutely a far better-looking game.
Arkham Asylum nails the aesthetic of Gotham City as well. It’s one thing to deliver a good-looking game. It’s another thing to understand the cinematography of Batman, and that’s where Arkham Asylum truly succeeds.
4Half-Life 2
Finally Starting To Show Its Age
Half-Life 2
Twenty years later, we can finally admit thatHalf-Life 2’s visuals are starting to show signs of aging.
Back in the day, though? We didn’t think it would ever get better. Now, obviously, it did; we already talked about how gorgeous Crysis was and how insane the requirements were. Before that, though, Half-Life 2 was pushing systems to their limits.
2004 was a big year for PC gaming; we already sawDoom 3demand the most out of PC rigs, delivering an unparalleled atmospheric experience. Half-Life 2 succeeds not just on the back of its visual prowess, but also on the back of its in-game engine.
Valve’s Havok physics engine is an impressive performance for the early 2000s that does an excellent job of delivering real-life physics alongside its impressive graphics. If you were fortunate enough to have a PC capable of handling Half-Life 2, you were in for a treat.
3Gears of War
The Next-Gen Showcase
Gears of War
While the Xbox 360 was the first HD console to market, its limitations would soon become very apparent. ThePlayStation 3hardware was far superior, and that’s before you account for the fact that those original 360 consoles were built pretty poorly.
That didn’t stopGears of Warfrom being a jaw-dropping visual masterpiece. Even though it sounded like my Xbox 360 was ready to take a Transatlantic flight every time I booted it up, this game ran flawlessly.
The HD visuals pop, showcasing the potential of the next generation. You’d assume that Oblivion would do a better job of displaying the power under the hood of the 360, but it’s Gears of War doing the heavy lifting.
All of this while running buttery smooth. No frame rate issues, no slowdowns, no poor performance, just impressive-looking third-person cover shooter goodness.
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Everyone knows the hits, but how many underrated Xbox 360 exclusives do you remember?
2Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Wait, This Was An Xbox Game?!
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
At first glance, you’ll be forgiven for assumingSplinter Cell: Chaos Theory, like Gears of War, was also an Xbox 360 game. That’s not the case, though, as it was released for the original Xbox in 2005.
It certainly doesn’t look like an Xbox game, though. This thing stands toe-to-toe with the likes of the best-looking PC games on the market.
It may not have the polish you expect from an HD game, but there are so many advanced visual elements at play. The way the game incorporates lighting and shadows is something you would never expect from an Xbox game.
It’s ironic, considering that the original Xbox eventually saw a port of Doom 3 that doesn’t compare to either the original Doom 3 or even Chaos Theory.
1Shadow of the Colossus
A Work Of Art
Shadow of the Colossus
I mentioned earlier that the PS2 port of Resident Evil 4 shouldn’t exist, given how intensive the graphical requirements were for the outdated PS2 hardware.
Shadow of the Colossusputs that to shame. This game is a legitimate work of art that delivers an incredible sense of scope and wonder, despite being severely limited by the PlayStation 2’s hardware capabilities.
While we saw open world games start to become popular by the time Shadow of the Colossus was released, none offered the sense of scale and epic feeling like this. It wasn’t as visually inviting as Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which would be released a few months later, but the game looks surprisingly polished and refined.
I cannot believe not just how well the game looks, but also how smoothly it runs. It’s not the prettiest game on the list, but it’s without a doubt the most demanding.
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