I think the more modern the game, the greater the move to the uncanny valley. Fallout 3 is a good example, everyone looks very nice, good imitation of human appearance (well at least for the humans) but the lack of subtle movements, body language and the like make them stick out like early film bluescreen work where everyone had that haze around them

and don't forget the scary plastic eyes!

this thread title gives me an idea for a sitcom..
McVeal anyone? XD

Uncanny Alley... maybe from the 70s.

If you want a GOOD example of NPC animation, please, do yourself a favor and play Vampire The Masquerade:Bloodlines or, failing that, look at some screenshots of it and ask yourself why the fuck Bethesda can't be bothered to do something like that.

yes, bloodlines was one of the best ones and not just because of the vast array of well presented cleavage

available on Steam!

I find we're not in the valley yet, but we have [passed the first peak and are now really speeding down that slope. Everything is still plastic and zombie like. uck.

a few of the very early 3d games haven't aged so well... mostly the ones on the PS1, where characters were made mostly of triangles.
But i have no problem with a lot of older 3d games. Played hidden and dangerous last year and got really into it. Still think Tie Fighter* looks great. Also still find Half life (or even quake for that matter) to hold up pretty well.
It does sometimes depend on what the developer was trying for. If the game was based PURELY on graphics, it might not age well without them. Or if the dev was going for amazing realism, then it might not have that effect anymore.
But if there is some game to back up the graphics then I find i get sucked in quick.
Its like watching a VHS movie after getting used to DVDS. The first 10 minutes or so are jarring, but if its a good movie you get sucked in, and you don't notice the noise or poor sound after that...
*though i actually prefer the look of the original tie fighter to the re-released one with textures... it has more charm. I often find old games have charm.

In Cold Blood is a good example, it was a transitional stage to 3d and everything was a lot uglier than the previously beautiful 2d but was easier to make and tended to move better. It doesn't look so hot today but damn is it still an awesome game.
The vhs/dvd analogy is a good one, content over graphics every time. I'll take that ancient 'taped from tv onto beta' copy of star wars episode 4 I have over any high def film starring tom cruise.
Then again I'd be tempted to take testicular cancer over any film starring tom cruise...

Speaking of that, have you ever noticed how in unmodded Morrowind all of the female NPCs suffered from "OMG! They stole mah boobs!" syndrome?? Every single female was a carpenter's wet dream in that game....

Except Top Gun of course.... best movie ever made. ;-)
Actually, even after I had the Star Wars DVDs i tended to watch my VHS copies, i preferred the original versions, and the original effects.
I think the games that suffered were the ones that made the transition to 3D PURELY to be in 3D. They lost a lot of the charm of the 2D versions, and gained little benefit.
The ones that were in 3D because they needed to be in 3D are still nice.
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One thing i've noticed is that older graphics meant i used my imagination more. The graphics don't fill in all the details, so my imagination steps up... so in some ways its actually more immersive. New games have so much detail, that you just get the artist's version.
Kinda like reading the novel vs watching the movie i guess...

Gayest movie ever made maybe...
The DVDs I have of Star Wars have both the super uber 'han and greedo shoot at the same time' version and the original theatrical 'HAN SHOOTS FIRST DAMNIT!' version. I quite like the latest remastered version but greedo should have been pwned like the little green n00b he is.

ok then. The best gay movie ever made....
I've lost track of how many times i got conned into buying starwars... and yet i think i still prefer the vhs version. ;-)
Despite having it on VHS, DVD and DVD again i still don't have the version i'd like. (eg: original version, but with cleaned up SFX).
Still, point remains... i'd rather watch a good movie in bad quality than a bad on in good quality.
That's a negative Ghost rider, the pattern is full

The pattern around Maverick's sphincter is full...
Oddly enough, the star wars connection brings us back on topic, the physical aliens & droids were substantally more believable than the CG ones. Probably because you know the ewoks are just midgets in teddy bear outfits but the human (well, half human) element gives the subtle motions that make things more believable. Thats the kind of thing that you rarely, if ever, see in games. The closest you ever get is the timeout/bored animation after nothing has happened for a few seconds