The dramatic improvement in graphics brought about by the 6th gen allowed devs to flex their muscles with new effects such as water, advanced lighting, and physics. But at the same time it was all done in an era before the generic photorealistic look took over, and locales still had to be interpreted by an artist first and foremost, which resulted in a lot of iconic, wholesome beach levels. As games began chasing realism, we lost that magic. Now, everything aims to look as close to real life as possible, and that dreamlike, slightly exaggerated charm has faded away.

In those games, you can see a mixture of tech and genuine love for the planet with hopes for the future. We will never see such optimism again.