Top 10 Video Games With The Best Explosion Effects

When you’re unleashed on a heavily populated city with electrical powers that would make Emperor Palpatine jealous, you better expect a lot of things to go boom. Indeed, Sucker Punch made sure that the open world environment of New Marais had plenty of things for Cole McGrath to blow up. Cars explode with awesome fire and smoke effects, and even Cole’s arsenal of electricity based explosives are fantastic for unleashing one’s inner pyro. Just don’t stand too close to a line of cars when you’re about to blow them up.

Welcome to the mountains, we’ve got rocket launchers and explosive bow and arrows. Ubisoft’s 2014 shooter brought players to a war torn Himalayan country and provided them with an arsenal of weapons to make their destructive mark. This gorgeous game didn’t skimp on the pyrotechnic budget, as evidenced by its glorious assortment of explosions set against the majestic environment, showcasing bright, realistic fire and awesome particle effects. Just don’t stare at them for too long or you might end up engulfed in one.

You’re probably asking yourself, “How good can the explosions in a strategy game really be? You’re not even up close to see them!” Well, let’s see what happens when you drop say, a nuke on some unsuspecting troops. Yeah. Amazingly, C&C 3’s visuals still hold up, and it really excels in the “Things That Go Boom” department. One of the great things about strategy games is the ability to destroy entire armies in one fell swoop, and Tiberium Wars has awesome explosions to compliment total domination in the war against Kane.

When you’ve got an FPS franchise that’s very existence was based around pushing graphics to their absolute limit, you know you’re gonna get some awesome looking explosions. Indeed, the third installment in Crytek’s flagship series provides some of the most breathtaking explosion effects of that console generation. The environment is engulfed in dense black smoke and striking red flame whenever something goes off, in addition to lingering particle effects.

Bet you weren’t expecting to see a space based RTS from 2002 on here, right? Regardless of age, this game still delivers when it comes to things blowing up. Ships explode in a barrage of light, fire, sparks, and particle effects that looked great back then and aren’t too shabby today. And for all you purists who say this shouldn’t even exist because there’s no oxygen in space? Well… it’d be pretty boring if you destroyed a spaceship to see it not go up in flames, right? Oh scientific liberties, what would video games do without you?

A post-apocalyptic wasteland where everyone takes part in ridiculous vehicular combat? Things are gonna get hot. Much like the films this adaptation is based on, the explosions in this game are raw, real, and huge. Tricked out, lethal cars collide and engulf the screen in an epic flash of orange and yellow, leaving behind a rad dose of flame and smoke effects. The destruction and explosions in the game are able to stand toe to toe with the films as some of the best each medium has to offer. Oh what a lovely day, indeed.

It’s an open world game based around nuclear annihilation. You can bet your bottle caps there’s gonna be some epic explosions in this one. Bethesda seemingly perfected their post apocalyptic wasteland in Fallout 3, only to make it more hauntingly gorgeous and destructive with their next installment. Case in point, this is probably the only game series where you can just casually nuke the environment. The Fat Man weapon launches mini-nuclear weapons, where the resulting explosions are devastating, traumatic, and awesome to look at with the mini mushroom clouds they create. The apocalypse has never had better flame effects.

THQ and Volition’s Mars based shooter series truly came into its own once it shifted perspectives from first to third person and added one simple mechanic: Blow up everything. Thankfully, they remembered to make the ensuing explosions pretty to look at, thanks to the entirely destructible environments of the GeoMod Engine. Guerilla’s environmental destruction is like no other, allowing players to blow up anything from the ground, to entire buildings. This is one of our only entries where the explosions can actually effect the way you play the game and the strategies you utilize, and that’s just the bomb.

Already one of the most gorgeous looking games of the Eighth generation, it should come as no surprise that the visual wizards at DICE stuffed the game full of bright, massive, epic explosion effects. The constant barrage of fire and booms really contributes to the atmosphere of war that the game creates, whether they’re coming from destroyed ships, blasters, or explosive devices. Our personal favorite? The thermal imploder weapon, which comes complete with realistic fire and smoke effects, and an epic shockwave when detonated, not to mention DICE’s killer sound design representing the auditory wonder that is the Star Wars universe. I guess you can say the Force is strong with these blasts.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are a couple honorable mentions:

-“Grand Theft Auto V” (2015)

-“Goldeneye 007” (1997)

-“Medal of Honor” Series

A sandbox action game is nothing without the ability to blow things up at your will, and Avalanche Studios understood this when they released the explosion wonderland that was Just Cause 2 in 2010. When it was time for the third game in 2015, would they be able to top themselves? …yes. The environment of JC3 is so abundantly explosive that it’s hard to believe the entire map isn’t doused in kerosene. Not only is there so much stuff to blow up, but the effects that result from them are wild and breathtaking, encouraging players to find multiple ways to blow up that bridge, or that helicopter, or that conveniently placed fuel tank. Why is this so awesome? …eh, just cause.

Do you agree with our list? What games have the coolest looking explosions? For more explosive top tens posted every day be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com