[General Discussion] Gamings best ever backgrounds

The first time I really noticed backgrounds in a game was in Marathon 2. I had no idea how the engine worked, so I thought that the massive alien skyscraper rising out of the distant clouds was actually rendered and that I could get to it if I knew how.

Along those same lines, the Nar Shaddaa backgound in Dark Forces was really terrific; it really gave the feeling of a city endlessly spiraling downwards.

Starcraft's briefing backgrounds and status screens were very evocative; wide shots of planets with ships in low orbit, shots of claustrophobic Terran technology, and my personal favorite, a mammoth Carrier hovering over a tiny Protoss settlement.

More recently, I've been very impressed with some of Squeenix's backgrounds. Besaid Island in FFX has a terrific sky, complete with a distant, flowing bank of storm clouds. The KH series has been particularly impressive in this regard: the starry background of Traverse Town (which is surprisingly detailed), the stunning sunset in Twilight Town, and the distant purple mountains, wreathed with fog, in Hollow Bastion.

By the bye, does anyone know anything about ripping/capturing backgrounds from game engines without resorting to screenshot taking? I'm always on the lookout for more to use as desktop wallpaper.

Jam it back in, in the dark.