That's why it'll never work!

Nah; I'm not talking about the system requirements for Crysis, but rather spurring a discussion on gaming environments. As in, when's the first time you really realised that landscapes in games could be aesthetically beautiful, if at all? My first time was probably actually stepping out onto the huge, grassy plains of Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time, or going to that planet on Jet Force Gemini where it is constantly lit by the setting sun behind some ruins; grand stuff. Of late, vistas from both Half Life 2: Episode Two and Halo 3 have surprised me in their grandeur.

How about you?

Sonic The Hedgehog 2. At the time, the graphics astounded me.

Apologies for the absolute lack of cool, and for not playing the original first.

Probably the Havana level of Driver 2 on the PlayStation. The scale (at the time) and diversity of it were outstanding.

Going way back in time I remember thinking Secret of Mana was a beautiful game. It didn't have sweeping vistas, but it was a nice world that I enjoyed exporing. Plus the opening with the forest and the pink birds was really beautiful.

Even though it had problems, Final Fantasy X was probably the most beautiful FF. However, all FF games fit into this category because Square has always given a lot of attention to aesthetics.

Although I wasn't nuts about the game, Giants: Citizen Kabuto was really beautiful.

Oblivion when I first fired it up and went exploring was jaw-dropping. The moment you're free to explore, the world astounded me.

I agree with FF. I only played a demo of Shadow of the colossus but that is beautiful and so is ICO.

Prince of Persia had a nice aesthetic as did Assasins Creed. I love anything that has a unique form of architecture showing a form of culture, civilization, life in the world of the game.

For me, I think it was Morrowind. The first time I saw the giant mushrooms and the far off call of the stility strider, it honest to goodness inspired a sense of wonder.

The first time I looked at the sky in Morrowind, well I was in love.

First of all, could we stop using the word "aesthetic" as if it were synonymous with gorgeous?

I can't really say there was any one point that I finally saw games as finally being able to produce beautiful graphics, because I had that experience for pretty much every generation of games.

I think the most memorable of these, though, would be playing Warcraft III and thinking back to the original and how ugly it seemed in comparison.

Never been really stunned by beautiful landscape (cept in crysis once or twice) but i can still be surprised by the effort to make it realistic, or at least fancy looking, so i suppose some of the look in morrowind were good although most of the game was just too dark and bad graphics in comparison

Lvl 64 Klutz:
could we stop using the word "aesthetic" as if it were synonymous with gorgeous?

Can't stop what's not happening.

The Metroid Prime games have some awe-inspiring environments.

Hey Joe:
Oblivion when I first fired it up and went exploring was jaw-dropping. The moment you're free to explore, the world astounded me.

Same. Not my first but I loved it the first time I ran in the country side. It was at night and I was looking at the ground. When I looked up I realised I'd scared some dear who were running away in front, so realistically. Then I looked up at the stars and it was amazing. I just kept running taking it all in. The first game though... Maybe Tomb Raider 3. My first PS1 game. Loved the exotic locals. More recently Shadow of the Colossus blew me away. "Charge horse-y. Weeeee"

I'd have to say King's Quest VI. Sure, it wasn't exactly 3d.. but it was beautiful. Then again, I was young and prone to finding the world beautiful at the time.

Heavenly Swords, Twilight Princess, Half-life 2. They're so pretty...

The first game that really wowed me with graphics was, sadly enough, Oracle of Seasons. Why? Because it was the first game I played that wasn't NES or a dualtone Pokemon game, and bright, varied colors have a way of making 12-year-old girls happy.

However, the first games to really knock me on my ass in awe of their positively gorgeous graphics and scenery were certainly FFX and Golden Sun. In very different ways, of course- FFX, as was already mentioned several times, had beautiful landscapes and the usual attention to aesthetics. Golden Sun was more "fuck you, GBA, you're going to look awesome and you're going to LIKE IT."

In the nicest way possible.

MindBullets:
The Metroid Prime games have some awe-inspiring environments.

How could I have forgotten the first time I saw Talon Overworld! Shame!

I apologise for posting twice.

Ill go with the first time I took a parachute ride over the jungles of Just Cause. Sadly, the trees are probibly the most interesting thing about that game...

Shadow of the Collosus, mainly because that was all there was. I used to ride my horse all around the place and find the lizards to boost my grip/health and i would just look in the distance and say "That is my challange, that is the beauty of it" (I don't even know what that was about O.o)

The first time a game wowed me? I guess RE, only because the pre rendered graphic's totally tricked me when I was a kid.

Also, when Oblivion launched that was quite the jaw dropper. COD4 was nothing to snuff at either.

Theres probably a million honourable mentions, and this post does not have the capacity to compliment them all, or more specifically, I dont.

Mass Effect, anyone who remembers the first time they saw the Citadel, or the final battle between Sovereign and the Citadel Fleet will know what I'm talking about.

Riven: The Sequel to Myst. It blew me away like nothing but the subsequent Myst III: Exile and Myst IV: Revelation could. End of Ages and Uru? Not so much. As for the original Myst, it was rather ugly by the time I played it, but must have been awe-inspiring during its time.

Shadow of the Colossus is the single game that comes to mind when the phrase beautiful game is spoken.

ocarina of time then oblivion

Shadow of Colossus is a given. Assassins Creed (minus the occasional glitches) and Lost Odyssey had the best scenery, but Motorstorm had the best over all.

If we're talking the very first time, I guess it was Zaxxon's isometric view that blew my mind first. But that's going way back, and that's not necessarily from beauty come to think of it.

I guess the first time the graphics of a game awed me with their beauty was the tumbling Halo title screen when I first fired up Halo PC, at which I stared for a disturbingly long time in retrospect, and then upon first exiting the lifeboat after landing on Halo and gawking at the leaf diffraction and shimmering tidal flats so long the Covenant dropship almost landed on my head. Mind you, that was the first A-list title I played on this computer and my older computer was a cheap hunk of junk. Had I not been exceedingly broke in the mid-'90s it's likely another title would've grabbed the honour first.

-- Steve

how could anyone not mention bioshock? sweet jesus. from the very beginning it's beautiful, take a look at the water, the plane, the fire, and the building off in the distance. it gets even better once inside rapture. Possibly the most jaw dropping environment ever.

Shadow of the Colossus (obviously), the PS2 Final Fantasy's (Fantasies?), Ocarina of Time, and Super Mario Sunshine, specifically, that level by a hotel at sunset.

The first time I turned on my brand new PS2 when I was just a little kid was pretty awe-inspiring. Recently however, Company of Heroes has pretty astounding graphics for an RTS, and the water effects in Bioshock where very nice.

Mario 64, the environments were seemed huge and seemed like anything could happen.

Twilight Princess' revamped Hyrule field. Just gawjus.

Over an entire game though, I'd have to say Metal Gear Solid 3 has a great balance of scenery that's at the same time beautiful/functional/individual.

So far as awesome environments go, despite the fact you're probably ploughing through them too fast to get a proper look at them without crashing, Panzer Dragoon Orta and R-Type Delta look amazing.

And an honourable mention goes to Sonic Rush Adventure on the DS. The environments look really good, while still bearing many of the earmarks of a classic Sonic level.

Once I climbed the Cathedral(Tallest building in the whole game) in Acre on AC.The view was epic.

rusty_cage:
Mario 64, the environments were seemed huge and seemed like anything could happen.

Yeah, I agree. I was still a pimply teen, but I remember I got to borrow a pre-release N64 with Mario 64 (it was through my sister's boyfriend, I should ask him how he got it). The first time I played Mario 64 it was a real revelation for me. The flying and jumping was too beautiful.