Realism in games -- your opinion?

[Alter-Fox]

What do you think about realism in video games?
Would you rather have highly realistic games, semi-realistic games, or just plain bizarre games?
I think it would be interesting to find out what this community thinks about realism -- considering right now it's based around Trackmania, and it would be very interesting to find out if the opinions shift after Shootmania and Questmania (if there's an influx of new people, for example). And who knows, this could be useful information for Nadeo as well .

Personally I'm against realism in games.
The reason can be stated simply, and as a question:
Why would I want my escape from reality to look and feel (etc) like the reality that I'm trying to escape?

I prefer when games let me experience something directly that I could never possibly experience in reality, especially if it's something that reality could never have imagined in its wildest dreams. This is a big part of what attracted me to Trackmania, and a big part of the reason it's still so addictive for me and why I keep coming back to it.
Unfortunately for me, the current trend toward realism in games means there are very few other games that I buy nowadays.

[Trackmaniack]

For me, it all is context-sensitive, ya know? For example, Trackmania's nuttiness mixed with these insanely photorealistic graphics is perfect. But, conversely, if you did, say, Mario, in a realistic style, probably no one would buy it. Because Mario's not meant to be realistic--it's cartoony and cute. However, on the flip side of that coin, you can't make any game cartoony and have it hit the same high points. You could turn TM into cel-shaded madness, and it would probably still rock, but not quite as hard, at least for me...

[Mandark]

I like games with realistic graphics (but ofc. graphics are not all) but with plain bizare action. Just like TM2! Or SM

[haenry]

I don't care that much about realism. What I want is pure gameplay and fun. The graphics should only be not ugly.

[timothyl]

I actually do not like to play games that emulate real life. If that is the case, then why not do it in real life to make you feel more. I play because I want to play, and not something else.

It applies to the same concept when you are staying at a hotel. Some advertise that it would feel like home, so if you want to feel like you are at home, then why not stay at home and save some dough. Just some food for taught.

[.Seki13]

I don't care that much about realism. What I want is pure gameplay and fun. The graphics should only be not ugly.

It's what you all say but I'm sure you're also someone that is drooling watching Battlefield 3 trailers which will be a fail game copied from CoD series. So in fact, I rather play Pac Man than Fear 3.

[smwforever45]

As Trackmaniack said already, it depends on the kind of game you're playing. Something like Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, Pac-Man etc. needs to be cartoony, while a shooter game like Call of Duty or Battlefield has to be realistic. I'm playing both realistic and unrealistic games, though I like the unrealistic games more because they're just much more fun in my opinion. And you can't escape from the reality, like you can do it in realistic games.

[Trackmaniack]

I don't care that much about realism. What I want is pure gameplay and fun. The graphics should only be not ugly.

It's what you all say but I'm sure you're also someone that is drooling watching Battlefield 3 trailers which will be a fail game copied from CoD series. So in fact, I rather play Pac Man than Fear 3.

Okay...wait a second. Battlefield is a fail game copied from CoD? I don't know where you get your data, but 1) the Battlefield series came first, 2) the Battlefield series is a much better game and 3) their servers aren't populated by a surplus of the failers of gaming--hackers, kiddies, and noobs. And further, I've yet to see a decent SP mod for the CoD franchise, however, there are several for BF2.

[metoxys]

For me, it all is context-sensitive, ya know? For example, Trackmania's nuttiness mixed with these insanely photorealistic graphics is perfect. But, conversely, if you did, say, Mario, in a realistic style, probably no one would buy it. Because Mario's not meant to be realistic--it's cartoony and cute. However, on the flip side of that coin, you can't make any game cartoony and have it hit the same high points.

This.

I like games with realistic physics engines and realistic graphics though (GTA IV <3)

[Wormii]

Realism is nice if its the point of the game (like GT5 driving) but I think the best games are still pure imagination (like TM driving).