How much emphasis do you put on graphics?

[Chops]

It seems people always bring in graphics as being a top thing for what makes a game good. So i was wondering just how much emphasis do you put on graphics when decideing on how well youl ike a game. For example: Would you play something with the gameplay of Bubsy 3d if it had the greatest graphics you have ever seen.

I, myself, couldn't care either way about graphics. If they look good, then that's nice, if they don't, I don't feel like it takes anything away from the game or it's gameplay. Just wondering as I have seen a couple posts around here where it seems some people judge a game's overall worth based on how good it looks.

[Mr. Keith]

All depends on with me, while with certain games it certainly is a good treat to have it with*ala Resident Evil remakes, Metroid Prime and Final Fantasy 7 back when those graphics were absolutely stunning*. There are plenty of games I played where I got them mainly for the game play and not for the graphics. Titles such Animal Crossing and Skies of Arcadia come to mind, as those didn't have the finest graphics round, but were some of my favorite games on the Gamecube.

So really, I wouldn't say that great graphics are mandatory to have a good game. But when it comes to certain games they can be a real good candy.

[Glen]

The graphics need to be good enough to make you believe you're a part of the game. Graphics create immersion, and gameplay also contributes to this.

Take my favourite game ever, Interstate 76. While the car models were good, the rest of the graphics pretty bad. Fortunately, the sound, packaging, menus and cutscenes were SO GOOD that it didn't matter to me.

[DanMan]

Graphics in games are important, to a small extent. I play mostly RPGs, where aesthetics won't really make or break the game. In this case the graphics don't need to be exceptional, merely good enough to see what's going on.

A sports or action-style game , on the other hand, requires good graphics. You need to be able to clearly see the ball or something moving around down the hall. It really depends on the type of game.

[Missy]

Though graphics are important to me, story and gameplay are a must. I'd much rather play a game like The Legend of Zelda (I'm talking old school 8-bit NES) for its story and puzzle solving, than Manhunt which has decent graphics but a limited story.

At the same time, if a game has all three -- such as Ico, Ninja Gaiden, and Prince of Persian -- then it's damn near perfect.

[JCC]

Honestly, very little. To me the most important thing is how much fun a game is to play. It's why I'm pretty much down to playing only NES now; the games are much more fun than any of the new ones that are coming out, despite the fact that the graphics are far more primitive. The point of a videogame is to be fun, not to be a work of art.