With great rendering power comes great responsibility, and thus, over the years, gaming has matured in all sorts of directions. We've seen facial detail get way more realistic (and creepy), full bodies either hand-animated or motion-captured used to portray everything from brutal stabbings to intense love scenes, and the medium itself attempt to craft stories that should illicit reactions from the entire emotional spectrum. That said, it's been a rocky road to get to this point, and honestly - we're yet to reach completely smooth ground. You have to admire the work of guys like David Cage and titles like Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, as at least people like Cage are daring to dream, daring to craft something that isn't just another shooter or another 2D side-scroller. They might fall flat on their faces, but influence is inevitably still seen across future games, who in turn try their best to do the same. Cutscenes and in-engine animation took a noticeable step up across the 2000s, as developer ambitions matched perfectly with production budgets and the sheer possibility of what games could be. It was a truly prosperous time and has gone on to be regarded as one of the most defining periods in gaming history, but for all the industry has achieved, there have been some monumental missteps...
