Rockstar games with great graphics (for their era)

Key takeaways

  • Rockstar Games pushed the graphical boundaries in games like GTA 4, Red Dead 2, and GTA 5, setting new standards.
  • Grand Theft Auto 3 revolutionized open-world gaming by changing the course of the franchise, moving from 2D to 3D.
  • LA Noire introduced face scan technology, influencing motion capture in gaming history.



Rockstar Games is one of the most famous game development studios around for good reason. Their games constantly push the boundaries, especially when it comes to the all-important graphics that bring their open worlds to life.

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Whether it's jumping into 3D or elevating those 3D graphics to unprecedented levels of realism, Rockstar has released many games with incredible graphics for their era.

Some of these games don't hold up well by modern standards, but that's okay. These are games that were great for their time. The list will also take account of games published by Rockstar.


7 Grand Theft Auto 4

Liberty City was released


issued
April 29, 2008

OpenCritic rating
the mighty

In terms of graphical leaps, the jump from the PS2/Xbox generation to the PS3/Xbox 360 generation was huge, making not only large-scale open worlds possible (as seen in the advent of games in that genre), but also. Making those worlds feel more real.

Grand Theft Auto 4 Did it before, and probably did it well enough to find many hidden details and secrets. Although the game has a somewhat divisive reputation due to Liberty City's admittedly drab vision, it was unprecedented in the realism it offered, holding up well to this day. Rockstar proved just how powerful their open worlds could be by leveraging every ounce of power in the consoles they had to work with.

6 Red Dead Redemption 2

The Blazing Wild West


issued
October 26, 2018

OpenCritic rating
the mighty

As the 2010s progressed, it became more and more apparent that Rockstar's output in terms of games was declining, meaning that each new entry in whatever franchise they were targeting would likely be a big jump, which was very true. Red Dead Redemption 2.

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Rockstar, the first game made for the PS4/Xbox One generation (if not remasters of older games), Red Dead Redemption 2 Channel all of Rockstar's efforts into unparalleled realism, creating a vision of the West that looks straight out of romantic paintings, filled with hidden and rare encounters, with even more exquisite attention to detail. It's very possible that the Wild West has been seen in video games, and it's not likely to pass any time soon.

5 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grove Street, house


issued
October 26, 2004

While Rockstar's products are known to be slow these days, in the early/mid 2000s, they were pumping out games very quickly, including a trilogy of Grand Theft Auto games released just a few years apart: 3 , Vice City , and San Andreas .

While each has its fans, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Not only were there loving homages to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, but the culmination of Rockstar's efforts was filled with countryside never seen before in a Grand Theft Auto game. It seems dated these days, but for its time, it was a stunning achievement, especially since it somehow had to feature an entire open world on PS2/Xbox hardware.

4 Grand Theft Auto 5

Los Santos like never before


issued
September 17, 2013

developer(s)
Rockstar Answers

OpenCritic rating
the mighty

In Rockstar's long and storied history, it's probably fair to say that Grand Theft Auto 5 It was the most important game they ever made, forever changing the way they operate their business model and quality standards, seemingly a definitive vision of what the fictional state of San Andreas looks like full of hideouts.

How amazing it is on earth to this day Grand Theft Auto 5 Ran on PS3/Xbox 360 hardware, especially not too long ago Grand Theft Auto 4. However, the machines handled it, and the game became a smash hit for the time with incredible graphics that only got better with subsequent remasters for new consoles.

3 Max Payne

Visceral bullet-time


However Max Payne While it doesn't seem like much these days, it's important to remember that coming out in 2001, long after the PS2/Xbox generation began, it not only inspired a whole suite of third-person shooters but also set the standard for graphical fidelity. And delightfully aging in the process.

This is probably best seen in the model of the hero Max. Famously, Remedy used a facial scan of now-gaming-darling Sam Lake to portray the character, which, while a bit silly by today's standards, was an incredible leap forward in character models for the time.

2 LA Noire

Truth, Doubt, Lies


issued
17 May 2011

developer(s)
Team Bundy

If any game in the Rockstar catalog deserved a better ending, it was the work of Team Bondi LA NoireA detective game set in Los Angeles shortly after WW2, where players take control of Cole Phelps as he solves a litany of cases in the city of sin.

What really set it apart was its revolutionary facial scan technology for the time. This was necessary to create cutscenes of the game where players had to figure out if the interviewed suspects and witnesses were lying or telling the truth. While it's true that some of those scans look a little silly by today's standards, it was a tangible and impressive leap that clearly had a huge impact on the best motion capture performances in all of gaming history.

1 Grand Theft Auto 3

3D revolution


issued
October 23, 2001

However Grand Theft Auto 3 Rarely mentioned these days when it comes to the likes of the franchise, this entry is incredibly important for transposing the world of 2D to 3D and launching the franchise into a commercial juggernaut.

before grand theft auto 3, The games were top-down car-based mayhem simulators that were fun arcade experiences but nowhere near the depth that would come in the franchise. Grand Theft Auto 3 Somehow turned the page and single-handedly revolutionized the entire open-world genre, laying the foundations for all of Rockstar's success that would soon follow, pulling off a technical masterclass in rendering open worlds in 3D on underpowered hardware.

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