370°

Digital Foundry's full face-off for The Evil Within

Eurogamer:
"The Evil Within is a good game, possibly even a great one, but what's clear after a few days' testing is that it suffers from technical issues which prevent it reaching its full potential. Despite being built using id Tech 5, an engine conceived to deliver 60fps on all formats, the game has genuine issues even hitting 30fps - and that's factoring in the mammoth 'cinematic' borders that vacuum up almost 30 per cent of the screen real estate."

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eurogamer.net
moegooner883901d ago (Edited 3901d ago )

" Does The Evil Within manage to rise above its performance issues and live up to its potential? Well, yes, it's a solid and interesting game. Of the two console builds, PS4 gets the nod - the higher resolution is welcome and the game simulation is more closely linked to the renderer, meaning less stutter than the Xbox One version. However, while improved over the Microsoft console, the PS4 game still feels highly under-optimised. Indeed, as things stand, with the possible exception of Thief, The Evil Within probably has more performance issues than any other title we've tested on the new wave of consoles - and that's a real shame, as there's a remarkably good game here let down by its surrounding technology."

Pretty much what I expected, will pick up the game when it's cheaper. Game could have used more development time, at least for the current gen versions.

darthv723901d ago

this part from the article really stands out to me...

"That being the case, those looking for something closer to the best possible experience should really opt for the PC version, provided you have the requisite hardware to at least match and exceed PS4 performance - a modern Core i3 processor matched with something like a Radeon R9 270 or a GeForce GTX 660 should get you to 1080p30 with a consistent performance level."

An i3 is a dual core CPU and yet both the XB1 and PS4 have an 8 core CPU. So why is it that these games are not being developed with the 8 cores in mind (let alone 4 of the 8 cores)?

How long until we truly see a game that is optimized to take advantage of the multicore designs of the current platforms?

Darkwatchman3901d ago

And to add even more insult to injury, the game is running on IdTech5 which is engine that's supposed to optimized for 60fps on consoles and yet they can't even do that. Rage on last gen did a pretty good job of meeting its 60fps target. It could dip, but never went lower than I believe the mid 40's

vishmarx3901d ago (Edited 3901d ago )

i want a sequel that isnt on a bloody fps engine , especially not on one that isnt great at fps's either.

the game itself is a masterpiece but theres no denying that using idech 5 was a terrible choice , whether it was bethesda'a or tango's i do not know. though i doubt mikami ever had a say in this and happily agreed to make a 3rd person survival horror that will be insanely heavy on real time lighting and shadows on an engine meant to run first person shooters at 60fps .(fyi wolfenstien tno used bake lighting and it still dint manage to run at 1080p at all times whilst looking like a ps3 game on ps4 and a ps2 game on ps3)

EXVirtual3901d ago

That's a good question.
My first thought is that the 8 cores are not utilized for the following reasons.
A- It's a cross gen game so devs can be a bit more lax.
B- It's barely the first year.
Most of the time, I would think it would be A.
Some devs know what they're doing though. Konami for example.
http://n4g.com/news/1531528...

NukaCola3901d ago

honestly asking.. Is this a crossgen issue?

Ult iMate3900d ago

@darthv72

Evil Within is a cross-gen game. So this game cannot take full advantage of current-gen architecture because it was developed with PS3 and X360 in mind. I think it's not quite right to say that Core i3/R9 270 is a match for PS4 capabilities.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3900d ago
starchild3901d ago (Edited 3901d ago )

The game does run pretty well on PC, although it seems too demanding relative to how it looks.

Still, just being able to get a steady 30fps with good anti-aliasing and higher resolutions is a huge improvement. And the game isn't at all CPU bound, so 60fps is definitely possible with the right graphics card.

It seems that a lot of Japanese devs aren't too good at modern game development, particularly the technical aspects. It's too bad that it isn't better optimized.

jc123900d ago

this is one of the few times i can actually see a difference between the two versions: the PS4 version is noticeably sharper and crisp.

Walker3901d ago

These articles gonna be pointless :/ PS4 is way more powerfull than xbone and better performance for PS4's version of multipatform titles is obvious !

Corpser3901d ago

You spelled PC wrong

"That being the case, those looking for something closer to the best possible experience should really opt for the PC version"

Ezz20133901d ago

but he's talking about consoles

he didn't say any thing about PC

DoctorJones3900d ago (Edited 3900d ago )

Yeah, it's best played on pc.

EDIT:Before the 'Not everyone has a pc capable of playing it, mnngh!!' brigade comes crawling along, I mean a gaming pc capable of playing it. Which is in the hands of a LOT of people.

Mine for example. If you or someone else doesn't have one, well that sucks, best get one that can play it, they don't cost much.

breakpad3901d ago (Edited 3901d ago )

PS4 surpasses even maxPC spec in some scenes (water and effects)...it is the best overall version

Protoss3900d ago (Edited 3900d ago )

That was a good joke. Do you read that to yourself before you sleep just to try and make it feel legit?

Haru3900d ago

Yeah I just checked the screens and you're right, some scenes really do look better on PS4 than on PC.

kingduqc3901d ago (Edited 3901d ago )

To be fair, the ps4 is far from being the better version. 4k downsampling, native 1440p advance aa, actually smooth fps, no black bars and the list goes on for the pc version. It's also cheaper.

Ghost_Nappa3901d ago

Let's not kid ourselves, the borders are there so the 360/ps3 version run better.

BattleTorn3901d ago (Edited 3901d ago )

Then why'd the PS4/X1 have them?

starchild3901d ago

To help them run better too. Fewer pixels to render makes it easier to run.

Mr Tretton3901d ago

Yes there black bars on the PC version, though can remove them with console command

Haru3900d ago

Removing the black bars make the game look bad and blurry, read the article and check the screens

DoctorJones3900d ago (Edited 3900d ago )

No it doesn't Haru, check the screens - http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

http://abload.de/img/2xqlg2...

Get a clue mate, you're not fooling anyone.

Yokan3901d ago

Such a beast of a game! Love it!

People have always asked for a survival horror game, well here it is! And for some reason it is getting low scores, this game is nothing short of a 9. Awesome game.

The Pheen-X3901d ago

This is what every survival horror fan wants in a game, yet I hear not a lot of people are buying it! So stupid, this is the AAA horror everyone has been waiting for!

1nsomniac3901d ago (Edited 3901d ago )

Lol no it's not. At all. Have you even played the game or are you just spreading rubbish. The game is not AAA at all. By any stretch of the imagination no matter how deluded you are in fact im sure it would be happy to be considered to be a C/D rated game!

GetSomeLoGiK3901d ago

Honestly, if you buy games based off reviews, you're retarded. Everyone has different taste. If I like the way the game looks and plays, I'm gonna get it. Also The Evil Within has gotten mostly good scores, only a few gave it a bad score.

spacedelete3901d ago

why does this game have borders ? its more "cinematic" when i can see the whole screen. borders are very lazy design.

DigitalRaptor3900d ago (Edited 3900d ago )

I don't mind a different approach and I don't mind black borders, but The Last of Us was one of the most intense, amazing and incredibly cinematic games I've played in the past decade.

You don't need borders and I don't think having them makes it more cinematic, but I don't think it makes the dev lazy either.

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80°

The Evil Within Deserved More: A Great Horror Series Left Behind

The Outerhaven writes: While I hold Bethesda's The Evil Within series as some of the best Survival Horror games available, it's clear that Bethesda has no intention of revisiting the series. While Capcom is still working on its Resident Evil series, I look back at the now-dead survival horror series from Bethesda, wondering why the series was left wide open, and yet still not revisited.

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theouterhaven.net
SimpleSlave7d ago

An OK horror series left behind. It had some great ideas, but it never knew how to play to its strengths. Instead, it came out like just another RE4 clone.

I would love for a third entry to come out, but it needs to learn to lean in on the psychological aspect and move away from the generic "pew pew" ideology at the center of the gameplay loop. It doesn't need to abandon it; it just needs to put it into better context, is all.

Also, try a first-person perspective instead. Too many 3rd-person games with nothing to offer but an avatar taking precious screen space. At least make it an actual option and not that janky-ass mess the second game pretended to have.

Venoxn4g6d ago

Love both games, hope that we will get third game

gold_drake6d ago (Edited 6d ago )

i really didnt like the 2nd game.

first game was fantastic

120°

Tango Was Working On New Evil Within Content & Had 6 Months Old Hi-Fi Rush 2 Build Before Closure

Tango Gameworks was working on new The Evil Within content & had a 6 months old prototype of Hi-Fi Rush 2 in the works prior to closure.

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twistedvoxel.com
darthv72263d ago

...they didn't close, they changed owners. As far as i know HFR2 is still in the works.

Lightning77263d ago

Hifi 2 is still in development. The devs themselves said what they wanted to do with the sequel.

jznrpg84d ago (Edited 84d ago )

They closed then got new owners

-Foxtrot263d ago

The Evil Within Anniversary Edition?

Good God. We were robbed.

I would imagine they would have improved the graphics and animations to bring them more in line with the second game. Wishful thinking but it would have been really cool if they redid the voice lines from the first game aswell with the same actors from the second, I felt they had more personality in the sequel. The only person I thought gave it a bit more than the others was Jennifer Carpenter as Kidman but the sequels voice actress did a great job aswell.

Microsoft is going to do f*** all with the IP and we'll never see a second Ruvik and Seb showdown.

I hope Krafton goes back and gets it after Hi-Fi Rush 2 if it was only because they didn't want the initial purchase to get complicated.

Neonridr263d ago

I preferred the first game to the second to be honest.

-Foxtrot263d ago

I wasn't really making a point at what game was overall better, just the voices were so flat in the first one and it would be nice if the animations and the like would be improved upon.

FinalFantasyFanatic262d ago

I really got to get around to playing the first one, I really liked the second game.

Venoxn4g262d ago

It hurts so bad knowing that there might have been new content for Evil Within..love those games

CrimsonWing69262d ago

This is one of those things I’ll never forgive Xbox for.

127maXimus262d ago

What a stupid, short sided move by Microsoft. Comparatively it would have been cheap for them to hang onto their only Japanese studio, with actually good games that people want to play. I struggle to understand how Phil Spencer is still employed. At this point it is Kathleen Kennedy levels of failure.

BlackIceJoe262d ago

Well said about him being Microsoft's version of Kathleen Kennedy.

All he has been doing is to destroy Xbox and it is unbelievable he falls upwards.

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330°

Tango Gameworks employee shares pictures from the Xbox studio's final day

The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush studio has closed its doors.

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videogameschronicle.com
Einhander1972373d ago

This shouldn't have happened.

Who's next..

JEECE373d ago

Ninja Theory, most likely.

tay8701373d ago

Ninja theory. Others will follow as well. The smaller studios MS owns should all be worried. Maybe MS will try and release some of their games day and date on ps5 to save some of these studios.

jznrpg373d ago

I can see Ninja Theory. At least Tango made a game that was reviewed well. Ninja Theory spent a lot of years to release a tech demo that didn’t do well at all.

repsahj372d ago

I get it that Hellblade 2 is a boring game, but I hope they are not the next to be closed.

ABizzel1372d ago

@repssahj

Ninja Theory is likely on the chopping block too. They released Bleeding Edge which bombed, took 4 years to release Hellbalde 2 which doesn’t seem to be doing well, and still have Project Mara in limbo. They’re high on the chopping block.

MS was likely expecting their God of War / Uncharted quality game from NT based on Heavenly Sword, Enslaved, DmC, and to an extent Hellblade 1, but NT hasn’t delivered since Hellblade 1 which was 7 years ago.

Sonic1881372d ago

And Obsidian after Avowed releases

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 372d ago
Petebloodyonion373d ago

I rarely agree with you but on this I do!

PRIMORDUS373d ago

3 trillion MS is worth, yet they do this, well Phil the shit bag did. No studio needed to be let go, when you are worth this much.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 372d ago
anast373d ago

Sad, but I see characters and posters of either less than average or barely average games.

LoveSpuds373d ago

Have to disagree here duder, with respect. Evil Within was a good game and the sequel was fantastic, as was HiFi Rush. I'd concede Ghostwire was pretty average but regardless, shuttering a studio which just put out MS best game in donkeys years was complete shithousery on XBox' part.

Einhander1972373d ago (Edited 373d ago )

Microsoft paid 8B to buy Zenimax then fired well over 1000 people from Zenimax between the time they closed the deal and they announced these shut downs.

People talk about the 1900 they fired most recently, but that was only one wave of three sets of layoffs from their gaming division so far this generation totalling around 5000 people this generation. Not counting the dozen plus studios they canned last gen including Lionhead the original Fable developers.

anast373d ago

By every real metric HiFi was an average game. I don't see an Evil within poster in the thumb, which is a shame, because if they threw their weight behind that IP, they might have still been around.

LoveSpuds373d ago

I don't understand how you can say it was average in every metric when it garnered the reviews it did?

373d ago
Fonsecap373d ago

Working people paying the price for leadership bad decisions, so unfair...

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