Xbox 360 graphics through the years

With the inevitable announcement of a new Xbox console on the horizon, its hard not to get a rose-tinted nostalgia about the beloved 360.

The 360 still has a lot of life in it, we know this, but let’s compare how the graphics and visuals have evolved since the early launch titles, to that of the latest upcoming games.

Now we’re not looking at specific graphic technicalities, but rather at just how they’ve changed visually over the 360’s 7-year lifespan.

Gears of War (2006) vs Gears of War 3 (2011)

The original Gear was one of the first truly next-gen titles when initially shown off. The game had a shine and polish that no one had seen before, and debuted the Unreal Engine 3 on Xbox 360.

Fast-forward to 2011 and Gears 3 showed how far Epic Games had some with their design on the series. The third game added a host of vibrancy and colour to it, while upping the scale of vistas and detail significantly.

Gears of War (2006)

Gears of War 3 (2011)

Forza 2 (2007) vs. Forza Motorsport 4 (2011)

Forza 2 was a beautiful game when it launched on the Xbox 360 in 2007, but as the evolution of the genre goes, Forza 4 highlighted how far the racing scene had come.

Forza 4 placed an emphasis not only on the gorgeous car models, but really focused on the detail of the off-track environments.

Forza 4 still has to be one of the most realistic games to do digital car recreations, as early renders and models of the in-game vehicles were hard to distinguish from actual photos.

Forza Motorsport 2 (2007)

Forza Motorsport 4 (2011)

Halo 3 (2007) vs. Halo 4 (2012)

The Halo series, while being incredibly influential, hasn’t always been at the peak of visual wonder, but Halo 4 has been a huge step up for the series.

Halo 4 really feels like the series has embraced the hardware that its running on, offering unbelievable draw-distances, and 343 Industries has added shimmery coat that gives the franchise a new feel.