Yes, it’s another article about stylized graphics. Perhaps I could just say “Stylized graphics age better than graphics that attempt to be photorealistic” and end this article here.

Naah.

I think I’ll show you some comparative screenshots to prove a point that likely doesn’t need a strong argument anyway.

Firstly, let’s start with games from this year. Red Faction: Guerilla, and Borderlands. Borderlands is obviously very cartoony, whereas Red Faction was going for the more common photorealistic look. They both look good. Of course they do. They’re both brand new. But how will they look to us in another five years? Ten?

Let’s look at some older games for perspective.

Both Okami and Tomb Raider: Legend came out for the Playstation 2 in 2006. By this screenshot, they both look pretty good, although I feel that the full-motion cartoon graphics in Okami really would make this example stand out more than it does in a still shot.

Both Psychonauts and Jade Empire came out in 2005. At this point, you can really see that an attempt at photorealism that came only five years ago really looks dated compared to Uncharted 2 or Resident Evil 5. Psychonauts, in contrast, looks like exactly the same cartoony image it always has. It simply holds up better. Click on the image for the big version. You’ll see.

Lastly, let’s go back more than a decade to 1998.

The cartoon images in Grim Fandango sometimes look a big jaggy, but overall they look good. Take a look at poor Eli Vance and Dr. Kleiner in the shot on the right. There was a big leap in graphics between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, wasn’t there?

Yes, my point didn’t really need any proof. But here’s the proof.