Last Gen vs. Next Gen Graphics: The Last of Us Trumps Dead Rising 3

Karam Elahi from SpawnFirst writes: "So…I had an idea. To truly test the absolute visual capabilities of the Xbox One against a last-gen system, why not compare the best of last gen with a launch game from the current gen? One would think that the even the best looking games of last gen would be no comparison to the current gen Xbox One games, right?"

[Abriael]

Here's a trick. When you want to compare the graphics of two games, use games that are actually comparable: IE: have similar gameplay, area size, number of models displayed.

"they both have zombies" (actually TLOU's aren't even zombies) isn't ground for a graphical comparison. Fail and pure flamebait.

[Neoninja]

I agree with everything you said.

[BALLBAGS]

@abriael I see your point, but let me play Devils advocate... they are both survival games, both have former humans who now have no mind of their own, and who now bite anyone in their path and have humans running scared, that's maybe why they did the comparison? who knows

anyway just imagine what naughty dog will do on ps4,the mind boggles

[Abriael]

@BALLBAGS: there's no devil's advocate to be playing here. It's a flamebait article to rile the fanboys.

The comparison is on graphics, not on themes, and the theme is the only thing that they have remotely in common.

[BALLBAGS]

@abriael

if it's not on Themes but on graphics then what is the problem? the guy compared a ps3 swansong to an Xbox One Launch game... obviously it would be better if he had compared tlou to a ps4 game but the ps4 hasn't got any third person games.. yet.

dunno maybe it's just me but articles like this don't rile me up unless it's by a bias person who is a fanboy, I know nothing of the author so I don't know.

just my take on it but I do see your point aswell

[TheDrunkenJester]

I agree as well. It should be compared to Ryse: both linear action games. Although, ryse looks better and in some scenes has a lot more going on than TLoU.

[starchild]

It's obviously fanboy flamebait. The comparison doesn't hold up, and to the degree that it does it would hold true for the PS4 launch games as well.

[ThunderSpark]

I'd rather a comparison between Infamous: Second Son and Dead Rising 3. Now that's a story. Or is it?

[hollabox]

On top of that the article here is comparing early DR3 shots to cutscene TLOU shots. Not played DR3 yet but I had TLOU while yes it looked good depending on the level, I felt Uncharted, and God of War games on the PS3 looked better.

Here's video showing undoctured shots, I know Youtube compresses the quality abit but its not that much.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Now if you want to see some graphics GODA looks better than almost all next gen launch titles. The GOD clone Ryse might be the only next gen title I've seen I can say this is next gen. BF4 is a close 2nd but hey its only first gen software.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[fossilfern]

Bit unfair to compare a game that was being developed on ever changing hardware for the final release to a game that was developed on a machine that the developers had a good 7 years with.

[kayoss]

@FossilFern
And yet we still see comparisons like this. Gran turismo 6 is always compared to Forza 5.
However i see what the author is doing. He is obviously a fan of the xbox one but it seems that his only gripe is that the graphics for next gen game is either comparable or not much better then last gen. With the PS2 to PS3 we see a good jump in graphics, see final fantasy 12 on the ps2 vs the graphics of Metal gear solid 4.

[mabreu]

@Abriael I agree. This is another "apples to oranges" comparison. After reading this article, I think the author was making a point that just wasn't clear.

I think the point that was missing is that art direction goes a long way. It is just as important as graphic specs. In this case, Naughty Dog's artist used 7 year old hardware and still managed to make a game that looks incredible.

[Kurylo3d]

You cant compare open world graphics to linear controlled area graphics. You can get away with a lot more with linear and get higher performance.

[UnholyLight]

And don't forget, They've already said that Dead Rising 3 was NOT going to be a super pretty game. That was never the point, the game is supposed to have as much carnage and zombies on screen at one time as possible. From my play time with the game the graphics are pretty meh, they could almost be doable on the Xbox 360...okay maybe not that bad, but after playing games like Battlefield and Killzone on PS4, and Forza on X1 it's clear the intentions of this game were not to be graphically impressive like those games I mentioned

[nycgamer4ever]

For those saying DR3 is a launch game and TLOU is a optimized game and they can't compare cause DR3 has 100s of zombies and TLOU has only 5 zombies.

Here is a relatively close to launch game on PS3 with more characters on screen that looked great.

Heavenly Sword!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8DwR f7Or_w

We really need a sequel. Sigh...

[Sarcasm]

I agree also, and add that tlou is the end of a generation game, and DR3 is a launch title.

Although DR3 really is one of the least graphically impressive games too. It's more about the number of zombies on screen.

Overall is not an apples to apples comparison.

[BALLBAGS]

dr3 has very choppy framerate, a lot of graphical glitches and jagged edges.

but I do have a blast when playing it so much so that you look past the glitches, framerate and jaggies and just have fun

[MarkusMcNugen]

@BALLBAGS

Firstly, terrible but hilarious account name.

Secondly, maybe Im just oblivious to it but Ive collected just about everything there is to collect in DR3 and have barely seen any framerate issues or glitches. At least in single player. I havent tried co-op yet, so that I cant account for.

[MrPerfect813]

I experience one bit of choppiness at during the night of the open world with tons of Zombies running around, aside from that, and i have had it day one, i havent had any issues with it, aside from getting past a launch issue last night.

[Sarcasm]

^Ballbags (lol name)

That's pretty much what people have to do with DR3, while it would have been super nice to have some next-gen visuals, the gameplay actually makes up for a lot of it. People just have to take DR3 for what it's worth, a Zombie Killing fun time.

[Beastforlifenoob]

why does everyone say launch title, launch title.

The only reason why PS 3 launch titles looked worse than their later generation counterparts is becausse devs needed to understand CELL architecture which was extremely complex. Whereas devs have already mastered x86 for years.

[Sarcasm]

^Beast

Because it's not about how hard or easy it is to make the game, it's about meeting a launch window. And most of the time launch games just aren't going to be polished as games that come out when they are actually ready. Not that hard to understand.

[christocolus]

Thank you Abriael..thank you for such a wise comment.

.Flamebait indeed.

[torchic]

i.e. thank you Abriael, thank you for saving Xbox One from embarrassment.

[christocolus]

@torchic

You sad about something troll? Are you hurt?...if you looking for some attention why dont you try some other article where your type can be found. Just saying.

[Ol_G]

Just trying to downplay x1 graphics kinda sad it has come to this the industry is [email protected]#$d these days

[badz149]

pc gamers have been downplaying the consoles' graphic for ages now. so, you really think that this trend is new?

truth is, MS can do a lot more for $500 but they diverted the cost somewhere else, not power. if only the Xbone is more powerful than the PS4, costing $500 is nothing but it's not! people were willing to shell out $600 for the PS3 back then because it promised to be the most powerful console around but the Xbone is not! - cloud this, cloud that...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y...

[BALLBAGS]

anyone who downplays Xbox One graphics just point them to quantum break

[Ol_G]

@ badz149

i was not talking about ps4 but how they try to downplay it against last gen i'm in no way a fan of microsoft and their ever changing policies but people seem to bash it with every chance they get just as happened with wii u

[ThePope]

@badz

I love how you stopped the PS3 comparison before having to point out how much harder it was to work on for devs and how most 3rd party games were better on 360. Fanboy much?

Secondly, if you compare the graphics of the current next gen exclusives (the reason I say that is 9 times out of 10 they look better than multi plats) Ryse is just as good looking (some say better, but that's personal opinion) as Killzone, which has always been Sonys tech demo.

Lastly, we aren't even a full month into the current gen and people like you (I like to call you sheep) follow the same path bashing the cloud, kinect, and the entertainment aspect of the One. Don't know if you've ever played it, but it's awesome. Not perfect, but awesome. I'm two years both consoles will be very different, you better hope the cloud isn't a reality or your going to be sad, because if what they say it can do is real it's going to change everything.

[badz149]

this may be a flamebait article but what the author said is still true to some extend. who ever said that they are impressed/mind blown with the gfx of DR3 is either blind or has only been playing on the PS2 and Wii last gen while skipping the 360 and PS3 altogether!

saying things like TLoU is not open world while DR3 is and has many zombies etc. is really just damage controlling! it's a comparison of games between 2 consoles released 7 years apart! pc from 7 years ago can barely run new games let alone compete in graphics with today's pc! I can even say that GTAV looks better than DR3 even if it's just my opinion!

the jump from PS2 to PS3 is also bigger and was prevalent even in launch titles such as RFoM and Motorstorm. the Xbone and PS4 are supposedly easier to develop for too thanks to their x86 architecture. so? what gives?

[Theangelslayer]

So you tell me That graphics are the same on PS3 and 360 than what they were 7 years ago? Yeah theres a à new gen but they had years to perfection graphics on last one dont expect miracles in month for thé new gen. Give em 7 years and then compare the machines then We'll see. Right now the only comparison possible would be with launch games on PS3 and 360.

[MWong]

@ Theangelslayer
I think what badz149 was trying to get at is since this is next-gen none of their titles should be comparable to last-gen/current gen titles. Especially, when developers say the consoles are easier to develop for.

The thing about this article that most people probably should remember is DR3 was originally going to be an XB360 title (which might explain for the graphic fidelity). Then it got bumped up to the XBO. At least thats what I hope is the reason.

[abzdine]

what are you saying?
if i ask you that Gran Turismo looks better than Streets of Rage 2 you will say no because it's not the same type of game??
easy to compare textures no matter how different games are.

[Volkama]

Kinda funny they chose to compare it to DR3 then, when Ryse is readily available for any comparison?

[starchild]

Why not compare it to Knack then? If we don't have to consider other technical elements, and apples to oranges comparisons are alright, we might as well compare it to Knack.

[abzdine]

yeah why not compare it to Knack? and why not Dead Rising? Knack looks more next gen than most next gen games released already. this just proves you haven't touched it.

[Angerfist]

thank you for commenting before some fanboy did :)

[zerocrossing]

You're wrong Abriael.

We're talking about comparing two games on two separate platforms that are a generation apart.

Regardless of one of them being closed world and the other open world, Dead Rising 3 could have easily looked better than The Last of Us, especially when taking into consideration what the Xbone has under its hood compared to that of the PS3.

DR3 looks inferior to TLOU purely because the developers didn't put the time in to make it look better, it's a shame too as there is no reason as to why it couldn't have

[HammadTheBeast]

Yeah but there's hundreds of zombies in an open world in DR3, while only 10 at most in The Last of Us in a linear world.

By all means, I think TLOU is a better game, but is the comparison really fair?

In that case, God of War, Heavy Rain, MGS4 all beat DR3 in terms of graphics.

[DigitalRaptor]

@ Hammad

InFamous: Second Son looks tons better than Dead Rising 3 and TLOU. And that is a pretty large scale open world game. DR3 really has no excuses other than it being a 360 game they decided to make an Xbone game.

[Hercules189]

@Digital
Infamous also only has a few enemies on screen.

[PFFT]

What Hercules said x1000.
Infamous has a limited amount of enemies on screen.

[Ashby_JC]

Dead Rising 3 and the series as a whole was never about the visuals. Never has any game in the series been trumpeted for its looks.

DR is about the story, the weapon combos, mass amount of zombie killing and fun. Wearing insane outfits with weird combo weapons.

Where as TLOU is a whole different game. Visually its looks stunning.

Comparing the two...without a doubt TLOU beats DR3 in the looks department. Anything else as far as the experience of either game is subjective.

Hell I cant even really say its a fact that TLOU looks better...that is my opinion.

And as far as saying its a shame that the DEVS CAPCOM didnt put more time into making it look better....did it ever occur to you that there goal was what we got with the game??

Not every game has to achieve top visuals. Its a give and take. Even on new hardware. I and many others are having a blast with dead rising 3. Would I like it to look better?? Sure...thats with any game...you want more.

[SITH]

@abriael Right. An example of an adult with a mature response based off of clear observation.
Well said indeed.

[Magicite]

u can compare dead rising 3 to heavenly sword and still DR3 looses.

[ape007]

yeah and MGS 4 still cannot be done on xbox one, cell processor>Esram FACT xD

hhhhhh whatever make u sleep at night folks

[PS3and4_HAS_GAMES]

Good spin but graphics are graphics so try harder next time. Just gets worse and worse for xbone owners lol

[FunkMacNasty]

Yes, I imagine XB1 owners are on the floor crying hysterically in a fetal position over this. They must be devastated right? I'm sure they have hung up their controllers in shame and agony that DR3 looks like utter garbage.. I bet they are all so sad and wishing they all had a ps3 and a copy of The Last of Us, so finally they can acheive gaming nirvana.

Surely they aren't enjoying their brand new Next Gen console and playing games like BF4 and Forza 5. No, of course they are to worried about how poor the graphics are to even focus on a game..

Oh wait, sorry... none of this is true because anyone that recently bought an XB1 (or ps4) gives absolutely ZERO FUCKS about what games looked better from the previous gen.

As Abriel said, this is a pure flaimbait article to bring out the fanboys. Sony fanboys will jump at anything to act like religous fanatics over a corporation.

[Ashby_JC]

After reading this article (I didnt) I sold my XBOX ONE and DEAD RISING 3 and other games....I repurchased TLOU and hooked my PS3 back up. All is well with the world! /S

[-Superman-]

Yet Crysis back in 2007 still looks better than anything on next gen consoles... and Crysis has physic... so YOU FULLY WRONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gigoran]

Well if it's a flamebait article then it seems to have worked on you Abriael. So those subtle differences makes it ok that Dead Rising 3 is the lesser game?

k........

[Totoro17]

I'm The Last of Us' biggest fan. By far my favourite game of the past years. But to compare this to Dead Rising 3 is ludicrous considering the sheer awesome physics of DR3 and the hundreds upon hundreds of zombies on screen at one time. It's friggin' awesome.

That being said, how the hell did they manage to make TLOU look so damn nice and clear when it's in 720 and looks super jagged on my end?

[FunkMacNasty]

how the hell did they manage to make TLOU look so damn nice and clear when it's in 720 and looks super jagged on my end?

really?? It TLoU looks bad graphically to you!? You should get your eyes checked... or upgrade your TV!

[Totoro17]

Yes 720p is garbage. I'm used to running games at minimum 1080p so playing that game hurt my eyes.

[Joe913]

It actually makes sense just by reading the first part without clicking into the article the goal is to take the best of last gen which only game other than TLOU they could compare it to would be GTA5 cause they are as of right now hands down the best looking games of last gen take that and grab any launch title and compare them theme doesn't matter just the graphics it would have been nicer for the fanboys to compare xbox to xbox and not ps3 to xbox I guess lol I do not see any flamebait at all just comparing graphics not saying ps3 is better than xbox one more of anything it just saying launch games are very similar to last gen.

[Old_Prodigy]

So what does all this mean for the T-Virus?

[HammerKong]

the writer of this article is having past of bashing xb1,he's fanboy who just finding ways to bash xb1 so that he can get more views and make more money.
he wrote that he haven't got the feeling of next gen with any game on xb1 so can please some one rent him the bluray of forza 5 and ryse.

[HammerKong]

this journalist does not know that dead rising 3 is an open world and have 100's of zombies once at the screen and is doing afollish comparision from a linear game from the masters of graphics,even dr3 does not aim for true next gen graphics but for a open and very dense world.
same goes for gta 5 ,people use to say tlou looks better than gta 5 which is totaly wrong ,gta5 is an open world with bigger and best graphics ever seen on any open world game so far and also not launching on pc and still beating every pc open world game.
dr3 aims for fun becasue its from good developer and ylou aims for every thing great becasue it is from exellent devlopers.
so for what is this comparison,put dr3 on ps3 is will not be able to deliver 3 zombies with same resolution and graphical effects where dr3 delivers even 400 of zombies at time.

[blackout]

Why not compare it to Ryse, right. Everyone knows DR3 was ment for the 360.

[StrawberryDiesel420]

I did, see my comment below.

[frostypants]

Agreed. I love TLoU...and it is indeed very pretty for a last-gen game...but the basis of this comparison is stupid. DR3 has so much more going on on the screen at any given time. TLoU rarely has more than 9 or 10 animated models being rendered on screen at any given time.

TLoU is by far the superior game, and I'm no big fan of the One, but a BS comparison is a BS comparison.

Stuff like this is for people who don't understand the first thing about computers or programming.

[Visiblemarc]

I dunno man, it just seems like they took one of the more mediocre looking next gen games and showed how one of last gen's best looking games looks, in many respects, better. I guess you could get whipped up into a froth about it, but that seems contrary to your protestation. In other words, if this article is stupid flamebait, then why bite? Just ignore it. Personally I think it's just an article about how hard it's going to be to top last gen's best looking linear games, when producing open world content. Not very scientific, but I don't particularly feel strongly about it. Launch titles are nothing to judge by anyway. Especially ones by studios not really known for their graphical prowess.

[Baccra17]

Truth hurts.

[StrawberryDiesel420]

You're definitely right in terms of scale being DR3 is open world. However, Last of Us is a gorgeous game running with NO SCREEN TEARING and an almost constant 30FPS framerate unlike Ryse which is a comparable game that is full of screen tearing. If a game isn't v-synced with a stable framerate, it has no right to boast about it's graphical fidelity, there are technical deficiencies that allow the POS to even run on console. Gears of War, perfect example. Pretty graphics until you see the rampant screen tearing, the game would run sub20FPS if it was v-synced on 360. THAT's A JOKE, A SIGN OF SHODDY DEVELOPMENT! It's a fact that Uncharted 2 & 3, Last of Us look better than Ryse just because they are technically proficient, no screen tearing and stable framerate, a true sign of development skill. Not just shiny graphics with lines across the screen(Gears of War, Ryse: Son of Rome). I wouldn't expect most people here to understand this concept though, it's a little bit above most "gamers" that comment here.

[ShwankyShpanky]

Tell it to the Xbone fanboy that made the initial comparison on NeoGAF that undoubtedly inspired this "article."

http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

And "wow" at SpawnFirst for actually trying to make an "article" from that thread. Lame.

[mamotte]

Isn't that important if they're zombies or soldiers. The point is the number of models displayed. Dead Rising 3 shows tons and tons of characters, TLOU not. Simple as that.

[ziggurcat]

Actually, abriael, I think the comparison is pretty fair for the reason that they're both 3rd person survival games. Had it been a ridiculous comparison like ryse vs. killzone, you'd have a point. And while there's a disparity in the amount of enemies on screen, one game is actually next gen, so there should be some improvements in the visuals, and the previous gen game shouldn't actually look better when it has access to 1/16th of the amount of power that next gen systems have available.

But I don't expect much from the DR devs since DR2, a game that came out not that long ago, looks like absolute garbage (it looks like a game from 2006).

[Ashby_JC]

Do I even need to read this article. I have DR3 and TLOU (sold it already) and to compare them is ridiculous.

They are made by different devs that set out to achieve a specific goal. And they both succeeded. Graphically DR3 is not on par with other visual feast. BUT the game was never intended to be a graphics powerhouse.

[Gamer666]

Agreed... It is one thing to have a game with zombies in it...

It is yet another thing to render 1,000's of zombies on screen at once, have each one be visually unique and have totally different gameplay focuses.