High definition displays are gaining penetration into the homes of consumers around the world. The same can be said for the three major video game consoles of this generation: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo's lovable Wii.

Where the two markets meet on the long, winding road of home entertainment is marked with ridiculous polygon counts, millions upon millions of on-screen colors, and frame rates that will make you think you're looking through a window into another world (maybe not so much the Wii in that regard). Yet, there are some examples that stand head and shoulders above the rest as the best reason to slap an HD set in that gaming room of yours.

What you are about to read is a roster of games that need — nay, beg — to be played in high definition or not at all. Let's begin.

Dead Rising (Xbox 360)

The Gist - Early in this console generation, Capcom made a promise to (relatively) early adopters of HD television sets that it would be producing its games with high definition in mind. Dead Rising for Xbox 360 shouldered the responsibility of being one of the first children of this new way of thinking. What Capcom produced for gamers was an engaging (if a tad difficult) zombie thriller that many fell in love with.

Why HD? - The game was built from the ground-up for an HD display. When you boot it up on a nice, widescreen set the game looks fantastic. However, when played on a standard definition TV, the game becomes a true horror, complete with text too blurry to read and distant zombies melting together in a mess of pixels. Take our advice and play it in HD if you have any brains.... braaaaaiiiiinnnnssssss.

Gears of War / Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

 

The Gist - The series revolves around a future where evil aliens (are they aliens if they live in the earth?) emerge from beneath our feet in an attempt to remove the human species from the planet. You play as Marcus Fenix, a badass who would like nothing more than to curb-stomp every single one of them.

Why HD? - Sure, the first game came out ages ago in video-game-time, but that's no reason to keep it off your "Must replay in HD" list. Gears of War is one of those rare games where any screen capture could be turned into an oil painting and it would still be impressive. The sequel is only a slight visual improvement over the original, but once you've played either of them in high definition you'll understand why that really isn't an issue. The art style and detail that developer Epic has put into the series is truly mind blowing and you're likely to catch yourself just reading signs and random papers on the ground, slack-jawed at the amount of HD eye candy before you.

Wipeout HD (PlayStation 3)

 

The Gist - A racing series that has its humble beginnings in the roots of the PlayStation brand itself, Wipeout takes a futuristic racing league full of super-advanced, super-fast hovercraft "cars" capable of maneuvers that would break any mortal's neck and puts you behind the wheel (the jury's still out on how these things even work).

Why HD? - Can't you read? It even says "HD" in the title! In all seriousness, the title is just one of the reasons you'll feel dumb playing this drool-fest on a standard definition set. The game was created to run at 1080p at 60 frames per second. Low and behold, that goal was met and Sony has built one of the finest racing experiences of this generation in both looks and substance. One trip around any of Wipeout HD's gorgeous circuits and you'll never settle for anything less than 1080p for rest of your days.

LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation 3)

 

The Gist - You play as a Sackboy (we heard that snicker), a cute little creature who runs around an equally cute world where you'll swing, bounce, and jetpack your way through an endless number of both professional and user-created levels.

Why HD? - While the game itself may not be based in any kind of reality, the graphics certainly could be. Everything in the world is made of materials that you would find right in your own living room, such as fabrics, carpet, etc. The game does a respectable job of portraying this world on a standard definition TV, but in HD you will be blown away by the detail. Stitches that look real enough to touch and tiny balloons that seem to pop right out of the screen are more than enough reason to put this little planet on the big screen.

Fight Night Round 3 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

 

The Gist - You're a boxer. You know what boxers do, right? They beat dudes up.

Why HD? - What's this, a nearly three-year-old game on a sexy games list? Yes, that's exactly what it is, and we'll tell you why: sweat. Fight Night Round 3 was the first game to make sweat a selling point. Sure, other games had tried, but none succeeded until FNR3 came along. When the preview videos were released way back in 2005, gamers around the world stared in astonishment and uttered in one collective voice, "Did you see that sweat?".

Fight Night had a big advantage in this new generation of video games in that it didn't have that much on-screen real estate to worry about. Instead, the developers put all the Xbox 360's processing power into rendering two of the most realistic in-game characters we had ever seen. In fact, they did such a great job that to this day you'll be hard-pressed to find a more accurate representation of any sport, at least in terms of visuals. Watching a round of FNR3 on a standard definition display should be a crime against humanity, punishable by mandatory eye removal surgery. You weren't really using them anyway.

If you have a high definition display in your living room, you owe it to yourself to experience these fine examples of gaming majesty for yourself. Heed our warning though: once you've experienced these titles running in the glory of HD, the "real world" might just not cut it any more.

[Image credit: Header image from Flickr user gothopotam. Used via Creative Commons.]