visual effects - whats got the best?

[buddha]

finally got around to getting on xbox live and was really enjoying the effects (especially the rain on the screen) and started to think of other games with great visual effects...

so whats got the best? (list is quite arbitrary so add as you please!)

rain on screen -
rain on environment -
cell shading -
lens flares -
heat haze -
fire -
weapon trails -
impacts -
water -
ice -
fog -
misc effects -
weirdest -
shmup -
smoke -

here's a quick stab off the top of my head..

rain on screen - MotoGP, MGS2
rain on environment - MGS2
cell shading - Zelda - WW
lens flares - 1080 Snowboarding, MotoGP
heat haze - GT3, Zelda (Volcano)
fire - ? stuck on this..... (Splinter Cell?)
weapon trails - Soul Calibur 2
impacts - Dynasty Warriors 3, Soul Calibur 2, Onimusha 2
water - Waverace - Blue Storm, Mario Sunshine, Morrowind
ice - Halo
fog - Silent Hill 2
misc effects - Metroid Prime/Splinter Cell (Heat vision), Silent Hill 2 (film Grain), Ico (over exposure), MotoGP (fun effects in the cheats section)
weirdest - Stretch Panic/Freak Out
shmup - Psyvariar, Ikaruga
smoke - Zelda - WW


buddha

[Canton Province]

rain on screen - MGS2 (PS2)
rain on environment - MGS2 (PS2)
cell shading - Zelda
lens flares - Metroid Prime
heat haze - Metroid Prime
fire - Tekki
weapon trails - Metroid Prime
impacts - Tekki
water - Panzer Dragoon Orta LVL2
ice - Metroid Prime
fog - Tekki
misc effects - Tekki
weirdest -
shmup - Ikaruga/Mars Matrix
smoke - Tekki

[MR_BEN]

One game has all those effect, except Cell Shading. Metroid Prime on the GameCube.

[Vaipon]

One of my fave effects is after-image, as seen in games such as Omega Boost on PS1 and ZOE2 more recently. It's often confused with straight motion blur (like that seen in DMC and MGS2 on the ship at the beginning), but it's not. After image effects are exemplified by games such as Ridge5 with the breaklight trails, or Jehuty's shoulder lights in ZOE2. Old effect, but still one of my faves. [/b]

[acidforblood]

One game has all those effect, except Cell Shading. Metroid Prime on the GameCube.

Indeed....but i'm sure there is a little Cel shading when Samus gets her Phazon suit.

[Ciaran]

For fire, Unreal II has amazing fire effects

[Guest]

Max Payne on a decent graphics card (so you can turn all the effects levels up) has some lovely fire and smoke in it.

For tail-light trails I still think the original Driver has just the right amount of it to look cool.

And on heat haze, you can't beat the mighty Mario Sunshine, who also packs the best water.

[Adam Stone]

Zelda has be wowing me recently. I didn't really appreciate how beautiful it looked while playing through the JAP version for some reason, but now after extensive amounts of play with the both versions, I can literally say i have been gob-smacked. Everything has its own unique look and even 'feel' to it. The wind, the trees, the dust, the fire and especially the water all look unique and special even.

At first I was slightly unconvinced with the water in Zelda, mainly due to being introduced to the amazement that is Sunshine's water, but now it is different. How the water changes in the wind and how the waves rise to immense heights, it is quite a sight.

IMO, Zelda has been the most graphically superior game in recent years, closely followed by Metroid Prime

It is true that Metroid Prime does have almost every graphical effect there is (aside bump mapping) but that isn’t why I hold it so highly. How the world has been crafted so that it appears to be real, or that if we were to travel to a near-by life-invested planet, the world of Metroid Prime is what it would look like. There is so much attention to detail it is quite startling imo. Little things like roots of the trees lingering in the rock faces and moss growing in the cracks of the walls all impress me and add up to make a real gaming world, not too different from our own, yet different enough to look unique.

[SharkAttack]

Yeh the point with a game is how all the components come together to draw you into a believable world. Animal Leader might have some of the worst graphics seen this generation but the combination of animation, style and sound effects really makes you feel like you are taking part in a living, breathing cubic animal world.

[marcus]

My favourite visual effect is the blurring effect when racing at high speed in Moto GP. Not only does it look exceptionally good, but its also expertly used to create a amazing sensation of speed. Racing alongside other riders at top speed with that effect is totally exhilerating.

[ThoseOfTheUnlight]

Well this is a nice suprise so I didnt mention in it my review of the game, so

When you reach a certain rating in Kung Fu Chaos, you unlock a couple of new lens modes, "fifties" or "seventies". These are great visual effects, and really add to the experience!

[Sarkster]

Check out the top of the train early on in resi 0 GC for awesome rain effects. It looks that bleak and miserable it actually made me feel cold.

[Tom Salter]

You still gotta hand it to MGS2 for it's weather effects during that fantastic tanker intro. No other game has portrayed such a "bleak" atmosphere as that part did. And the rain on the screen, that was just amazing.

[YOUWIN]

just gonna mention 1 for now, that jumped into my head as soon as i saw the word water........

ICO - by the windmill, i was stunned first time i saw it

[Firsty]

rain on screen - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
rain on environment - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
cell shading - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
lens flares - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
heat haze - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
fire - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
weapon trails - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
impacts - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
water - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
ice - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
fog - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
misc effects - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
weirdest - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
shmup - Not The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
smoke - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker