“Man the graphics in Tomb Raider III are just incredible. How can it get any better than this!?”

This was exactly the thought process of your humble writer way way back in the rather special Christmas-time of 1998. This festive holiday was pretty darn special in the Kennedy household for a few reasons. A) My grandmother had passed away the previous month and my family was fighting hard to come to terms with losing such a loving member. B) Man it was friggin’ Christmas! Come that time of year, even the elder members of the clan all lose any ability to appear adult. I suppose coming across as responsible or sensible is kinda hard to do with a bright green party hat sitting atop your silly little head!

Y’see, I did genuinely think that the evolution of computer game graphics had come full-circle with the latest release in the “Tomb Raider” franchise from publishers “Eidos” and the now-defunct “Core Design” development team. The thought that things could get any better or, dare I say it, realistic was simply ridiculous. How in the name of Lara Croft’s gigantic square booblybits could ANYONE improve on this!? From her rather lifelike facial expressions to her erm…uh…natural erm…movements (Yes, movements!), there was simply no way on earth that yours truly figured this could be improved upon.

Boy oh boy, was I ever wrong. I know, there’s a shocker. No doubt that back in 1992, when the original “Flashback” platformer hit shelves – there were flocks of like-minded gamers confidently proclaiming that the visuals would never be bested, just as I would years later with Miss. Croft’s third stab at charming teenage boys. It’s probably quite a common line of thinking actually, that the current generation of games will always contain within them the absolute pinnacle of graphical representation. What I would like to know however, is just how far can developers and those who make our beautiful videogames go before things suddenly come to a screeching, grinding halt? Surely there must be a line out there somewhere which simply cannot be crossed, a moment when computer gaming visuals will reach such a stage that they really just cannot be bettered?

It makes for quite an interesting debate, mainly due to what was mentioned above. With each console which has burst onto the gaming market over the years, there’s always been this obsession with making everything bigger, better and, perhaps more importantly, prettier. Console manufacturers have even based entire rivalries (for a better share of the consumer market) on this very premise; that their machine is capable of producing richer graphics than the competition. Take Nintendo for example. The enormous company produced many televised adverts which didn’t focus on anything other than the fact that their new “Super Nintendo Entertainment System” games console ran faster and had better graphics than the SEGA-produced “SEGA Mega Drive”. Quality of games available for the system, the actual price of the unit and other factors were happily pushed aside as the fascination with more realistic and colourful video pictures only grew and grew. That happening is probably one of the biggest examples available to hand in terms of putting this argument, for lack of a better word, into context.

Of course, the general gaming population en masse have not been fooled by all of this drive for better graphics. Sure, if games are more pleasing on the eye then it could be argued that they are far more enjoyable to play. However, there are still many gamers out there who put gameplay and even story above what a game looks like. To these people, graphics take a back seat to what is actually within the game. Gameplay is certainly paramount for a lot of folks.

Thankfully then, a large number of developers have managed to find that sweet spot between satisfying both the need for good looking games and also making then damn fun to play. A good reference point for this would be the recent Western-shooter “Red Dead Redemption”. This game had some absolutely stunning visuals, especially when standing atop a cliff-top and taking in the scenic views of the Mexican desert. It’s no small feat to create a game with an art style which rivals some of the best, but to marry this with gameplay which is a sheer joy to play is to make a true classic.

Among others which have managed to hit a home run in the both the presentation and gameplay stakes, “Ready At Dawn” and “Clover Studios” artistic belter “Okami” drew gamers into a charming world stuffed full of colour and interesting gameplay mechanics. That the former developer only managed to improve upon the template laid down by the former when porting the Playstation 2 edition over to the Nintendo Wii is nothing short of terrific. Using the Wii remote to control the celestial paint-brush on hand here only made the game more fun to play through and allowed the player to relax and take in the beautiful water-colour pictures gracefully adorning their screens.

Of course, the above examples are few among many in the gaming world. Good graphics really have become almost the norm in the modern era and the standard of realism is at an all-time high. It’s interesting to note then that there are many who play videogames that yearn for the days of “Sonic The Hedgehog” or “Contra”. There seems to be a desire for retro flooding today’s gaming market, no more evident than in the forthcoming reboot of the aforementioned Sonic series. The many retro and ‘Arcade’ titles which take centre stage on the Playstation Network and Xbox Live formats truly show us how graphical superiority can sometimes have little to no significance when it comes to just having fun playing a computer game.

Many gamers are even going so far as to look for titles which employ an older graphical style and there is even a small number looking to push away from the harrowing realism of a “Modern Warfare” or “FIFA 10” and dive headfirst back into the bursting-with-colour worlds of yesteryear. It’ll certainly be an interesting ride to see where games end up. Is there room for both graphical evolution and also cheerfully un-realistic visuals on the gaming scene?

I’d like to know YOUR opinions on this my friends. Are you one who allows graphics to take pride of place or do you prefer your games to merely play well, not caring necessarily what the thing looks like? Maybe you’re like me and love when both aspects come together, giving us all a product really worth celebrating. I can be reached on the lovely GamerRage forums or contacted via email at Jamie@GamerRage.co.uk ! One thing’s for sure, I’ll respond to any and all messages sent to my inbox! Talking to you about gaming is exactly why I’m here and your opinions are definitely as valuable as my own! Until next time..