5 Games That Definitely Did Get a Graphical Downgrade
Halo 2
The stakes were high for developer Bungie before the release of Halo 2, the follow-up to one of the best first-person shooters of all time. Not only did they have fans clamoring for more of what they’d come to love from the developer’s work, but Microsoft had invested a hefty amount into their creation of a sequel, with the final total establishing Halo 2 as one of the most expensive video games to have ever been produced. With that in mind, it’s no surprise they tried to make as strong of an impression as possible with their early E3 showings, offering demos and trailers which previewed a title that had made graphical leaps and bounds from its predecessor.
Come the final release though, some were confused to find the final product had experienced a graphical downgrade from what they’d seen. Characters were blockier, textures on the alien foliage and constructs didn’t pop the way it had before and character animations were more stilted than they had once appeared to be. Luckily for Bungie, this controversy was quickly overwhelmed by outrage over the game’s cliffhanger ending, and most don’t even remember it even occurred.
What are some of your go-to examples of a graphical downgrade in gaming? Let us know in the comments, and check out some of our other lists such as a breakdown of details in the latest Spider-Man game you might have missed.
