Virtual vs. Real - Soon You Won't Know the Difference....

This is tremendously exciting. ABSOLUTELY lifelike virtual reality is finally here. It may be about three to five years before it's incorporated into mainstream entertainment and practical usage, but there's no denying that graphics technology has brought us imagery indistinguishable from the real thing. 

Although the new Assassin's Creed's AnvilNext Engine is truly astonishing, it's not QUITE photorealistic: 

That said, it is, in many ways, more aesthetically pleasing than true photorealism, reminiscent of the soft, muted, warm, understated palette of the colonial neoclassical giants like Gilbert Stuart and the Peale family. 

But as for environments.... well... Poland-based Mimi Group's  Thorskan technology is poised to utterly transform virtual environments forever. Prepare to have your mind blown. The first title to incorporate the technology will be Get Even, due out next year:

The technology also creates amazingly detailed objects

Meanwhile, we've already seen Activision's ultra-realistic real-time character demo from last year:

a few close ups, if you're still unconvinced:

And last, but certainly not least, is Thiago Costa's wonderful Lagoa Multiphysics 1.0 engine:

nVidia may well have bought the rights to this, based on their own tech demo reel:

Within five years, expect some real magic to come out of the games industry.