Easy Comes, Easy Goes Graphical Enthusiast on PlayDevil

The European Gaming website "PlayDevil" has posted an interesting article on the graphical difference of multiplatform games on all home-consoles and PC.

Here's a snip:

"There is no best example than the PlayStation 2, which had a slow start with inferior ports from Dreamcast and games that didn't match the graphical prowness promised, but in the end, showed things like 'God of War' and 'Shadow of the Colossus'.

The first console to offer some exclusive benefits to developers, was GameCube, with the indirect texturing unit. It was the beginning of pixel shaders on videogames. God, does anything looks better than Rogue Squadron?"

[WildArmed]

"Now with the Xbox 360, the picture was different, they came before the PlayStation 3, with a superior hardware (yeah, I just said it)"
I lol'd.
Both PS3 n 360 have alot to prove b4 they can be called superior to one another.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Well, as they say, "the proof is in the pudding" and the 360 just isn't showing much graphically these days. Killzone 2 pretty much should of shut down any talk that the 360 is superior in any way in graphics.

Look at the future titles and it looks basically the same for the 360. While when I look at Uncharted 2 my jaw drops and not just visually but technically as well with little framerate drops and tearing, etc.

The 360 is hanging on with Gears of War still years later, it's not even a competition anymore.

[WildArmed]

Uncharted 2 is bar none the best graphics i've seen.
But still, im keeping mi hopes up 4 mass effect 2.
Mass effect on PC was beatiful, so ME2 on 360 might be too

btw, is there another person with that same avatar?

[-MD-]

Killzone 2 looks amazing sure but does it play as good as it looks? Short answer: no.

Real talk graphics don't make a game good it only helps if your game is already fun.

[Dead_Cell]

Because it's one of the best First Person Shooters I've ever played.

[-MD-]

To be totally honest it's probably one of the worst controlling FPS games I've ever played and it's the only game I've ever played that gave me a headache.

Actually just thinking of it kind of makes me ill...

[Dead_Cell]

Plus it's quite easy to get used to the heavier weighty feels of the controls.,I had it figured out in less than twenty minutes.
The cover system is pretty easy to use,the only gripe I have is reloading whilst stuck to cover.
I guess you're just one of those incompetent players who can't adapt to anything new.

[SpoonyRedMage]

Sorry but you can't just say he's incompetent because he doesn't like the controls. Guerilla have patched the controls and still continue to do so so he's not the only person.

[-MD-]

I'm quite competent thank you very much and I'll adapt to anything worth my time. This is just MY opinion I'm sure some people love the game all I'm saying is it isn't for me.

I actually didn't like the first one either I remember renting it and not even finishing the second level.

[N4g_null]

Dead_Cell saying it's the best FPS you have ever played is not saying much, we don't know what you have played and what you haven't and why this game out of all the others should be seen as the best.

Any way the arthur of this BLOG post is hinting at some thing here. It comes down to art and the current production line of games and what is acceptably for the gamers and the publishers.

What the author should talk about is how easily the graphics whore jump ship and abandon gaming. Many of them may not realizing it right now but most graphics whores will chase tech because it gives you better results.

The post also gets the MS influx of PC gamers right but lives out the fact that current hardcore gamers that where maybe console only have been converted to PC gaming and many will not come back to true console gaming again even some franchises will not go back to being console oriented again either.

This is the type of topic more gamers should be talking about rather than the SONY vs MS thing, that is pointless. The gaming culture is changing or has changed.

SONY has become more of the problem and is even being hurt by HD gaming right now I don't see getting beat by the Wii advancing gaming forward. We already had HD games in 2002 we just have consoles copying what has already been done and it's not really growing the fan base either.

Hey but I'm sure I'm hold you guys up from your HD console wars so never mind what I'm talking about, carry on.

[Madgunner]

lets say killzone does suck in gameplay which it doesn't and the mass public doesn't seem to think so either.. whats ur excuse when U2 and GOW III drops. both look amazing and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it will play even better than it looks. what then?... sales...? its an interactive movie, not a game? when 360 has something good going for them I give them their credit.. but please give credit where credit is due.

[Jinxstar]

Controls are... Ok here is what some people prefer. Twitch gaming like halo where you can spin your body like a top and get precise aiming while 50 feet in the air and then spin and make a double kill with a bazooka... KZ2 while not all that realistic has 'Weight" as in if your running full speed down a hall you can't just juke, stop spin like a top on a dime. It's more realistic in physics and either you get used to it and accept it or you don't. This really is a "to each his own" Situation. momentum is taken into account unlike say a valve game like TF2 or Halo or other games. I personally hated Gears "Weighty" feel but after practice i got pretty used to it. It never felt quite right to me but it worked and was different. Same way KZ2 is different. I don't much care for that game either but I respect it's Scale and visuals. however if you jump from a height it's realistic in that "You can't spin on the way down" unlike other games and there is nothing wrong with either but neither has "Failed at controls" and most gamers prefer the twitch. In KZ2 these guys are loaded down with gear. It's like stopping a truck. it takes time. it also takes practice to get good at. You can't just jump in after being used to Left 4 dead and be good at this because your good at other FPS's.

While on the topic of shooters with POS controls why not mention games like Mass Effect or Oblivion. These games get overlooked every time for controls simply because thats not the main focus. Halo's main focus was always controls. It was the first game to get them right on consoles and why it's so remembered. The second was remembered for online and LAN parties. The 3rd... Well it's not as innovative but a great fan service. I guess what I am saying if your gonna give free passes don't be picky. Give them or don't. Regardless of system.

Edit: Forgot to add GTA4 in there for poor control... That however is my opinion but a main focus of the game.

[Lich120]

Gotta say, I was pretty disappointed. The controls at first were unplayable for me. So MurederDolls isn't the only one. I did go back and beat it when the first patch launched that tightened up the look delay. I became much less disappointed when I bought uncharted. In my opinion that game looks better than KZ2, and the second will surely be the highlight (except for maybe GoW3) of console graphics. Plus the gameplay of the first was excellent.

[Milky Joe]

I personally had absolutely no issue with the KZ2 controls. I'm not a big FPS player so the differences may not have been as obvious to me as they would be for an FPS die hard, but all that proves is that the controls weren't rubbish, they were just different. And in fact, the one thing that really appealed to me about the game was the silky, realistic animation of your character as he moves. The camera sways and judders exactly how you'd expect it to and it really helped draw me in.

I suppose the issue is just people struggling to adjust to a different feeling game.

[Vicodin]

"The controls at first were unplayable for me."

LOL!

[Vicodin]

"I suppose the issue is just people struggling to adjust to a different feeling game."

Tens of thousands of people in the multiplayer beta almost universally came away stating Killzone 2 is the greatest, or at least top 3 or so, FPS games they ever played.

It wasn't until some stupid Call of Duty fanboy in the gaming media cried about how Killzone 2 didn't have the kiddie/arcady point and shoot weightless gun on a stick controls that he was used.

That was seized upon by Xbox fans after all the other FUD completely failed to damage the game:

* First it was no game could possibly look that good. Killzone 2 graphics won't be possible until the PS4

* Then it was it's 'too grey' - whoops, a certain Xbox 360 game made that meme go nowhere

* Then it was it's 'generic' - the brilliant clan betting system, the innovative first person cover system, and the incredible non-stop warzone multiplayer mode made a mockery of that FUD meme

* Then it was ok the PS3 actually pulled off graphics everyone claimed were impossible, obvious the game is going to suck because that would be an obvious nightmare scenario for a certain console's fanbase

* Then the multiplayer beta got insanely good feeback, so obviously it was the single player that would obviously suck

* Then the amazing reviews started pouring in

'teh controls' were the final bit of desperation FUD

[raztad]

I love KZ2 controls. Those controls make KZ2 a worthy experience, no twitchy gameplay for me please.

Btw, why this thread became a KZ2 gameplay one? that is OFF-TOPIC. Point is KZ2 still boasts the best graphics on consoles so far. UC2 could dethrone it but in any case UC2 is a PS3 exclusive game, as is GoW3. Those three are MAJOR mature franchises, but R&C:ToD2 is shapping to have even better visuals, effects, physics than ToD1 and that is quite an achievement.

On the 360 side, I see LP2 doing some strides. An amazing in-game trailer was shown recently, but I suspect is running on PC hardware. If the console version is anything close then the 360 got a new graphic king.

[DelbertGrady]

Killzone 2's controls are the best this gen. I hate the preciseness of Halo 3's controls. They are so unrealistic. In real life I suck at aiming, and Killzone 2 does an awesome job of emulating that.

[Bodyboarder_VGamer]

I'm starting to feel like I am an extraterrestrial because I really liked the delay of the controllers in Killzone 2 because it makes the movements less robotic. Most FPS make you to simply put the target on sight and shoot but in KZ2 it is not as easy. It gives the feeling you're pointing a real gun and as you would know is not as easy to just point and shoot with a real gun, you're not always going to get the target.

Why do you think that when there are gun fights between gangs or something there are always casualties around even thought they aren't part of that matter?

Anyway, this delay on KZ2 make you use the cover system because not every bullet is going to get delivered on the target, what makes it even more realistic and different from the other bunch of FPS that all of them play the same but in different situations.

Now go to youtube and watch some Halo 3 gameplay back to back with Killzone 2 to see how different they move. Halo 3 is like you're a robot with wheels on your feet and Killzone 2 is like you were moving a real person in real first person view. Obviously Halo 3 is going to be more precise and that's one of the points to analyze and differentiate both games.

Both are FPS but are quite different but not bad. Some will like it, others not, I think... Just like everything in life. I prefer blue, you prefer red.

[The Lazy One]

"Twitch gaming like halo"

what? halo isn't twitch gaming. If you can play halo like a twitch gamer, you can play anything like a twitch gamer.

@ the article

The biggest reason PS3 exclusives look better than 360 exclusives is because they have longer development cycles, have more money spent on their development, or have more people working on them.

Gears had between 20-30 people working on it at any given time, and a dev budget of 10 million. Killzone 2 cost around 60 million with about 130 people and took the better half of a decade.

Killzone 2 is still the best looking console game this gen and probably will be for a while, but to put it up against games that have a sixth of the budget and 4 times as many people with a development cycle that's length is only really bested by vaporware isn't really a nail in the coffin. Especially when in the same time period, gears of war had already sold more than twice as much.

Rage still looks just as good as most anything on either console, and it's multiplatform.

[raztad]

@Lazy

So you are saying that EPIC is a small development company. Be real bro. Gears got a top notch team of developers behind it, and you cant forget the very engine UE3 was previously developed by EPIC itself, and that took money and time. On the other hand, KZ2 engine was made in-house so the total time of development of KZ2 is engine development + game production. I cant know for sure, but probably Gears investment (excluding ad spending but including UE3 development time and resources) was a bigger than KZ2.

[N4g_null]

OK so does the PS3 fans care more about having a pretty FPS or more people playing this game? I mean sure 10,000 play tester loved it but really is that every one? Also when was it slower to aim a heavier gun? This seems to be a side effect of their version of differed rendering. This is a game where you must shoot people before they shoot you. We all understand not being able to run fast with huge guns but a military trained soldier with aim lag isn't a great feature.

Most FPS player are not buying that
Quake 3
HL2
UT
black
halo
COD
crysis
N64 golden eye
doom any version
the list goes on....

None of these games though it was a good idea to slow down aiming for the skilled player. They all have aiming speed which can be adjustable. I play FPS and even metal gear did not have this lag, many PS3 games did not have this lag. Why is the lag still there with smaller arms (hand guns)?

The game looks great but you have to have more people playing it. The public has spoken and they are not liking it. This is why a game shold not be hype just because of graphics. Imagine some guy see this game and says wow it's almost like crysis. He doesn't even play it and expects crysis like controls or at least standard console FPS controls. If he doesn't get this after paying what he just did for a PS3 then he is going to have nothing but bad comments about the system until it is fixed. He may be a pain to fanboys online but word reaches way more people at the work place than online, think about that for a minute.

[The Lazy One]

I never said that. I said the team that worked on Gears 1 was only between 20-30 people through development. Cliffy B said it in an interview.

[KKanjiAnkh]

PS2, and Dreamcast had different games when they released anyways, stupid article.

[free2game365]

UE3 was designed for the PC first and it shows from being ram heavy, that's not a fault of optimization, it's just of design. That and people only bash UE3 because of how it generally runs better on the 360 because of it being more GPU and memory bound. Which is because of hardware/software differences, again not optimization. Because the directX API favors deferred rendering in many ways and because of the more bloated OS on the PS3 along with a more restrictive memory set up. Then in addition to that the PS3's GPU is worse.

[SpoonyRedMage]

Wow, weird article. MS isn't responsible for the UE3. They don't use it at all.

But yer, it seems making the PS3 harder to develop for actually payed off for once because it means developers really make an effort and have tried to push the hardware. I personally don't think anyone's tried to push the 360, look at games like Halo 3. The Halo 3 engine isn't used to it's full potential at all.

[monkey nuts]

for the ram in the 360. MS were gnoa roll with just 256 and epic pleaded with them to double it. I can remeber major nelson banging on about how it cost Ms an extra billion or so to implement. it was in one of his first podcasts after the 360 launch.

[Harri4444]

ahhhh another article for the fanboys.

[ShabzS]

is constantly heralded for gears ... gears is made on unreal engine guys ... come on .... artistically yes, it looked amazing ... technologically it was still running on a middleware engine....

its as simple as this, Sony is pumping out exclusives of their successfull franchises with custom engines and showing the technological power of ps3... while 360 is still searching for franchises on middleware engines ...

[PotNoodle]

Yeah and sony put together their "Edge" tools using all their best programmers from each of their studios, Killzone 2 was the first to use these edge tools - so imagine in a few years time when sonys first party developers all start using these new edge tools more and more.

The edge tools basically make it 100x easier to use the cell properly, what it is for. Like in killzone 2, they render almost everything on screen using the cell before it even hits the GPU, they can dedicate loads of things to each SPU, physics on one, Ai on the other, etc.

I agree though, microsoft need to invest alot more into their first party, get some of their own technology to use in their first party games - it would be cheaper for them to build on their first party than to keep paying over the odds for third party exclusivity and timed exclusivity.

Side note:_____
But this just proves the point, sony started building their first party support well before microsoft (at least for console development) and microsoft need to catch up in that area.

Microsoft started building xbox live well before sony started building PSN as we know, and sony need to catch up in that area.

[free2game365]

Gears is artistically amazing? Man if that's true the standards must have dropped a lot over the years.

[xg-ei8ht]

Well i had a go earlier, strangely enough of gears of war and gears of war 2.

Gears of War is the better looking game imo.

The lighting looks better, character models look better.

People go on about the engine, but unreal3 runs fine,looks the same as gears, has split screen, and it's smooth. and guess what, it runs on a PS3.

I actually do like the look of some games that use the engine. And some don't work to well.

[jden28]

The author has a point even if he fails to drive it home or give specific examples. What he's basically saying is that in the past with a lack of lots of middleware engines developers were forced to code to the metal of the specific hardware of each console. This often resulted in continous improvement as the developers learned more progrtamming tricks to get the most out of the hardware.

[raztad]

Look guys. UE3 real limitation is when you use it as a multiplatform middleware solution and you dont want to spend time and money making it to take advantages of the hardware.

Lets be realistic, EPIC, yeah EPIC is tha company behind the UE3. If someone knows how to use it, how to enhance it, is EPIC. At making Gears of War EPIC didnt have the limitations of a multiplat development, EPIC in fact did the best they could in order to max out 360 hardware. Gears was quite an achievement, it raised the graphical bar very high (and 360 owners were very proud of it), but then Gears2 was the same graphic-wise. Why is that? EPIC is not capable to improve its own engine in a x360 exclusive game? I very much doubt it.

[SpoonyRedMage]

If your suggesting Gears of War 2 is the highest the 360 can go, you're very wrong because it's been surpassed by several games.

[raztad]

LOL

I'm just stating some facts my friend. In my previous post I mentioned LP2 a possible graphic king candidate (on the 360) if looks any close to the recent trailer.

Why Gears2 is samey is a question I cant answer. May be EPIC was happy with those graphics, knowing that Gears fans will eat the new installment not matter what. Dunno about it. May be UE3 in fact is maxed out, but then why EPIC didnt enhace it?

Well, lets see. If the horror exclusive game from EPIC is real, probably it will be much better graphically than Gears.

BTW, what other games are out there outperforming Gears? on the 360 of course, Im just curious.

[SpoonyRedMage]

Resi 5, Farcry 2, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts just to name a few and there's a few I'm not quite sure of but I personally think look superior like the two game using the Infinite Undiscovery engine(IU and SOIV) but it's hard to compare due to the fact that they're not going for a photorealistic style.

The again I hate the shiny look of Gears....

[jden28]

The ps3 has a superior cpu, that allows it to excell in physics, geometry, and animations, things that requior continueous calculations to be done on a small memory footprint. The x360 has a superior gpu, this will allow it to excell in alpha blending, anti alaising, vertex shading, and larger textures, things that requior huge chunks of ram, or are renderd through the gpu.

Bottom line is that while the ps3 is definetly on top with kz2 and uncharted 2 is on the way with gow3 that doesn't mean we won't see the return of the x360 with some game made on a custom engine that blows us all away. This is why the author is up in arms the ue3 engine made it so easy to get a good looking game(by 2007 standards) up and running on the x360 that few if any 3rd party developers have bothered to custom build an engine on the 360. The few that have have already surpassed what the ue3 engine is capable of; RE5, cod4&5,...etc....

[Antan]

What an incredibly hideous article! Reads as though a six year has written it! Grammar errors everywhere, and more importantly highly questionable content, of which i have no intention of putting right.

[-MoOkS-]

The 360 has the best looking game of this generation - Resident Evil 5

It has many improvements over it's ps3 counterpart such as, better texture's, anti aliasing, more effects and enemies onscreen.

Xbox 360 RE5 - http://images.eurogamer.net...
PS3 RE5 - http://images.eurogamer.net...

The 360 actually version has water reflections and anti aliasing, look at the ps3's blurry texture's LOL

It also has the best looking game in developement, Lost Planet 2 releasing soon.

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

I like you xbots. You guys write the most comically retarded and desperate excuses. It's good reading reading material while I laugh my ass off at work.

[darkzodiac55]

yeah live in your own world, not everyone is normal ;)

[Leafs117]

I've definitely noticed the difference graphically lately. I bought my XBox 360 in 2007 (my warranty is almost done *cry*) and played the hell out of it for two years. Then I began to notice the PS3 was gaining ground in terms of graphics, after seeing the Killzone 2 gameplay trailers I went out and bought a PS3, I haven't looked back since. I think that the PS3 has surpassed the XBox 360 graphically, so from now on, all multi-plat games are getting bought on the 360, except for some games cause of friends on XBL XD

[Traveler]

PS3 has the better looking exclusives, while the 360 has the better looking multiplatform games. I'm glad I have both.