Nextgame Gets Hands-on With Killzone 2

The Italian Gaming Site Nextgame.it in a recent Killzone 2 hand-on claims:
"We have the feeling that even Killzone 2 will have the usual fault that now seems very typical in many games - even important ones - of this generation of consoles: an excellent look, even exciting in long distance shots, but with textures and details that cannot stand comparison during closer shots. We hope to be proved wrong, but almost all the PS3 titles presented at PlayStation Day 2008 (the new MotorStorm in primis) had, more or less, this kind of problems".

[Zhuk]

What can you expect? with an inferior GPU like the RSX and the fact that the console is being choked to death with a mere 256mb of RAM available for the GPU, textures always look inferior on the PlayStation 3.

My prescription for this? to jump into 512mb of Unified memory heaven, where both the GPU and CPU are free and liberated to create the ultimate in high fidelity entertainment experiences only available on Xbox 360

[Fishy Fingers]

The difference between the GPU's is seriously minor, and frankly it is a ridiculous argument, Performance is achieved through a juggling act of the CPU and GPU. Not just a singular component.

The Cell processor once fully unutilized more than makes up for the GPU difference.

I'm a proud owner of both systems but I'm not blinded by either, the PS3 over time will begin to do things the 360 can't. If you want to let your bias cloud your judgement, thats fine but it's you that will be missing out in the future.

[Shaka2K6]

And tears of short 1.5 to feature “Usual Cartoons Fault”.

[AngryXbot]

looks beyond anything the 360 can pull off.

You know, last year, it became evident that PS3 was much more powerfull. But back then, it could have still been argued that some things were also possible on the 360 (albeit truly overheating that console). But KZ2 is just not possible on the 360. Not possible at all.

Its beyond the 360 hardware. Thats why we, PS3 owners, call PS3 "PLAY BEYOND".

[AbdullaMTR]

Great and ifationat (Sorry 4 my lunguge) codes never know limit in ram PS3 games have to be coded More ifationat and really smart to it run more Smooth and best graphics So Killzone 2 still in devlopment its not the final product still 9 month more then enough to they put everything like it must to be. Smart codes can make PS3 run at its full with 256 Ram the most important is how to make all 1ppu, 8 Spe and the RSX working at its full then u will see the diffrent in all games

[gambare]

an article from Xbots to Xbots, they need to believe in something because they are falling in despair

[wulan]

http://www.gamersyde.com/ne...

GAYERS2 cant eeven come close to KZ2

[Tmac]

If the PS3 is so inferior, why is it producing graphics that the Xbox 360 hasn't produced in its nearly year and a half head start?

[4D Zangief]

The pathetic limitations of the PS3 are already surfacing this soon in the consoles lifecycle.

The weakness of only 256mb of ram was also a hindrance in GTA IV where the Xbox 360 version was able to run in True HD at 720P, but Rockstar had to gimp down the PS3 version to only 640P to run at an acceptable framerate bc of the crippled cell+RSX architecture. Not to mention opting for mandatory install to facilitate acceptable load times bc of the incredibly slow read speeds of the 2X Blu-ray drive.

Perhaps Guerilla Games can add the blurring filter to Killzone like Rockstar did to GTA IV to hide all the visual imperfections bc the PS3 isn't competant at Anti-aliasing.

If game creators wish to partake in their true creative vision they are best off dropping the PS3 version and solely focusing on the more powerful hardware of Xbox 360.

Pray Beyond

[Fishy Fingers]

"Perhaps Guerilla Games can add the blurring filter to Killzone like Rockstar did to GTA IV to hide all the visual imperfections"

What? Like Gears of War 2 you mean?

[4D Zangief]

Then can 'YOU' tell me why one of the biggest releases of 2008 (GTA IV) is running at a lower resolution on the 'MIGHTY PS3.' It doesn't take much common sense to realize that they lowered the resolution to increase the framerate to something acceptible bc of the limitations of the PS3.

And the pics of Gears of War 2 you bring up were never even proven to be true. Looked like a photoshop job.

So tell me Einstein why did Rockstar drop the resolution if the POS3 is so 'powerful..?'

[Fishy Fingers]

Oh now I understand your logic, because R* used a blur effect so will KZ2, oh and as R* reduced the Res so will GG even though they have confirmed 720p.

You seem to also forget R* had the 360 to play with for a whole year before the PS3, guess that doesn't make a difference huh? Its just the unstoppable power of the 360 right? Nothing to do with its easy arcitecture or $50 million from MS.

What R* does/achieves has no bearing on what GG will.

Tell you what mate, you go ahead and use anything you can to make you feel better about not getting KZ, I'll look forward to your excuses when its is critically acclaimed as visually the greatest console game to date.

[AbdullaMTR]

GTA IV was ported from the stuped 360 to the ps3 this why it look like Gta sa, GTA V will be way better if it be a PS3 explosive Do u think GTA 25 GB will max the Ps3 25 uncharted used same and looks better Wardevil Run at 1080P 60fps because it explosive if it was multiplatform they will downgrade it to 720p 30fps cause of the weakness in 360 harwares

Never compare Multiplatform games, compare exvlosives only in term of graphics bcz it uses the most from the system power geow 100% 360 power uncharted 30% ps3 power by the way Gears really ugly

Halo 3 with KZ2.

[Meresin]

720p isn't "true HD." 1080p is. The accepted norm for consoles doesn't define what makes true HD...The maximum potential resolution of available televisions and media does.

[karlostomy]

God I thought it was obvious...

PS3 GTAIV=640p
360 GTAIV=720p

Does it get any more obvious? Does it?

---->No it doesn't get more obvious: The ps3 just doesn't cut the mustard.

[wulan]

u forgot that???

GTA4 was ported from x360 to PS3

GTA4 looks better on PS3 too

[karlostomy]

God I thought it was obvious...

PS3 GTAIV=640p
360 GTAIV=720p

Does it get any more obvious? Does it?

The ps3 just doesn't cut the mustard.

[Varsarus]

You do know, that patches can update resolutions, rendering etc, it's like with the Oblivion 360 patch, which only improved lod texture landscape nothing else.

[leon76]

Killzone 2 = Best Shooter of all times!!!!!!!
4D zassgief = Major @sshole!!!!!!!!!

[sonarus]

Despite all this, KZ2 is still the best looking game on consoles. I wonder how they managed that with such little RAM. I hope it wasn't magic or god forbid 4d technology.

Edit: By the way zhuk still waiting for your Grid impressions. What did you think of the demo

[poos3]

so says this spassticated sony fanboy hahah gears looks better than killzone go check the screen i submiited from the xbox liver version

[catchnvampire]

"I wonder how they managed that with such little RAM"

I dont understand why people keep saying little RAM....
The CELL along with its 256 MB has access to another 256MB of RAM from the RSX and vice versa, not to mentioned the enormous bandwidth for data transfer between the two.

[Kleptic]

^^the Ps3 has 256megs of XDR server class ram piped to the CPU...it has 256megs of GDDR3 ram for the RSX...

its known as 'semi-dedicated'...in that its not fully unified like the 360 (which, despite what 360 fans will tell you, is NOT better...fully unified setups are what come with crappy cheap laptops that have integrated graphics chips)...the RSX GPU can use XDR memory if need be...but the Cell can only use the high bandwidth XDR memory (it can't borrow any GDDR3 from the RSX bank)...

and besides all that...whats really great is how the Gears 2 first gameplay thread was filled with 360 fanatics whining about PS3 owners being in there saying it looked like a UT3 mod...yet ignored the fact that there were 360 idiots in the KZ2 threads before Gears2 gameplay even came out...look above...this thread begins with some of the dumbest kids on the internet...

thats the difference...the problems developers had between these two consoles were entirely related to the ps3's processor...not memory...they have the same amount of memory...the Cell is completely different than whatever thing the 360 has...and, based on comparisons of recent games, the PS3 is definitely starting to take the edge...

[sonarus]

The game looks good from afar but apparently up close, the textures aren't that great?

Considering the amount of dev time left, i am not really concerned about a couple of poor textures

Edit: I also like how no one is reporting the story for changing title.

Yesterday ps3 article with the interview that said 2 unannounced exclusives are coming got reported by some of the ppl (who shall remain nameless) approving this story. Report was apparently title change.

On the other hand this story title has clearly been changed and worse the title focuses on pretty much the only negative thing in the preview and was actually only a sentence or two.

The correct title should be killzone preview by Italian magazine but thats ok. Then these same people approving the story go on n4g forums talking about how n4g is ps3 biased because +ve ps3 stories get approved too quickly.

[Saint Sony]

"Considering the amount of dev time left, i am not really concerned about a couple of poor textures"

I am pretty sure it does not mean just "couple of".. there's loads and loads of texture work done in game like Killzone2. Huge environments and details need textures. If they all lack the quality, it is not that small issue.

[rushbd]

there are none.

[gEnKiE]

.....some people spend to much time on this site.

[badz149]

apparently they're trying from every F**king possible angle to bash KZ2!! what's about all the hate? I didn't see anyone saying that CoD4 looks like crap when seen up close! or even the newly shown GeoW2 improved only a little bit from the 1st one(I think GeoW1 on PC with high setting looks better) in terms of graphic! or did I missed anything? come on!! nobody plays games and watching just 2 inches from the display - not even on PSP, DS or even on older GB! this is so LAME!!

[ScentlessApprentice7]

I know why there is so much apparant hate for KZ2.

Its because its on the Playstation 3. If Killzone 2 was for the xbox 360 or, dare I say it, for the Wii everyone would be shoving their hands up their butts in excitement. But since hating on the Playstation 3 is so sheek nowadays some people are probably dumb enough to think that hating on the PS3 is so hip.

[Blademask]

o_o

[Fishy Fingers]

Still in development. Article fails.

[Adamalicious]

For realz - the current build is Pre-Alpha. Do they even have texture streaming in yet?

[Lord Anubis]

there were some pauses during loading/switching missions which in turn means the streaming engine is still being implemented.

I wonder why people are focusing on the campaign and not the multi plyr

[P4KY B]

It has 8-9 months of dev time remaining.

Even the Mona Lisa looks crap at 100x zoom.

[jkhan]

Any and every game sucks when you look at it up close, Call of Duty 4 had the same thing. Graphics isn't the only thing this game has, the frenetic firefights, so many things happening on screen at once, superb animations, this game has everything right for a pre-alpha game. Its still 9 months away from release. People will still nitpick when the game does gets released, just because its a ps3 exclusive. They gave Halo 3 a 10, what about its graphics?

[Dark_Vendetta]

In games like these (CoD4, Killzone etc.) do you actually stop to see if there are some bad looking textures? Well I do not

[jkhan]

Exactly my point. People have started to focus too much on graphics in this gen.

[Genki]

Why is it ok for the whole world to rave about the graphics of a game...no excuses for that, yet when someone make a criticism or voices a negative opinion...all of a sudden graphics don't matter?

So it's ok to speak highly of something you favor...yet when someone says otherwise, it never mattered in the first place? I'm gettin' tired of that.

Enough double standards. Gamers abound need to stop taking ownership in games and snap back to reality...this is just a hobby folks...no need to defend stuff like it's family.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

its not that graphic never mattered..... its just that its an AMAZINGLY STUPID THING to criticize a game's textures UPCLOSE with almost a full year of development left.... especially given that the game they are criticizing looks miles ahead of anything we've seen on CONSOLES.

IF they thought it was F*CKING ready, they would of released it now... but instead they pushed it back right.... SO WTF are those ITALIANS talking about. It's like you write a whole article explaining how GOD HIMSELF f*cked up because, 6 months into our mother's wound , our lungs arent capable of providing us with oxygen in the outside world..... its purely dumb..... if we were ready to be out, we'd have lungs, and our mothers would get f*cking contraction.

im so tired of dumbf*cks from both sides of this IDIOTIC WAR, no one can take a damn thing for what it trully is.... ITS A F*CKING WORK IN PROGRESS, and NOTHING MORE.

when MS SPENDS 50 million on DLC, it is hailed at brilliant by those same idiots, BUT WHEN SONY spend 60 million on the one of the MOST IMPROVED SEQUELS EVER, it's suffers from "GOOD TEXTURE" that is "NOT GREAT". OH REALLY? I could've i've sworn that they've just delayed the game in order to FINE TUNE IT......

on a final note, SEEMS LIKE Microsoft's pockets speaks ITALIAN now....
a feat only thought possible with MARIO and LUIGI.....

edit: also one more proof that GOD might have F*CKED UP... if you read a book at arm's length, then the words are legible, but hold the same book at 2 inches away from your eyes, then you can't make up the words anymore...so i have 3 people to blame, either GOD, my mother, or SONY. SO im going to start a damn website, this gaming journalism thing is so EASY, just pull Sh!t out of my ssa, and we've got something to criticize sony about.

[Genki]

but I will say this.

In all fairness, I agree with many that it's not even worth mentioning if it's as the article says...the usual graphical "fault" as they say...but the problem with people here is that they label this as a criticism. I think a more accurate term would be a simple observation. Big deal. I think most people would agree that it's there, but at the same time, probably doesn't affect them much because it's so widespread.

Ultimately my point was that I'm sick of people only listening to praise and dismissing criticism. It's ridiculous. People have emotions and thoughts for a reason. Whatever perception, notion, or feeling one person may have, there is and will ALWAYS BE an opposite side to this. No amount of false logic and pretentious reasoning can change that, yet here we all are, trying our d*mnedest to tell each other why we're wrong for having different opinions. It's ridiculous.

Like I said, to nitpick such a thing would be akin to nitpicking the Nintendo for not pushing polygons...as this seems like an inherent factor in the architecture of todays machines. Regardless, I don't think it's a crime to simply point it out, and I think it's positively ridiculous for people to keep making excuses for this game.

Pre-alpha this, 9 months left that. I heard the same bullcrap excuses for games like Lair, Kane and Lynch, NBA 2K8, GTA4(my GOD that never ended...), and many, many others. As if certain games are above criticism in the eyes of some...

I'm looking forward to this game more than likely a lot more than some of the most hardcore fanboys, I look for new info and media almost daily...but I have my head on straight, so despite my feelings, I'm not gonna sit here and make excuses and just expect that everything will be a-ok com release. All I can say is that I HOPE that things look better by release, but in all honesty, I'd have taken this game at the drop of a hat with how it looked LAST YEAR, so eat it up fanboys...all you're doing is disillusioning yourselves.

[xboxftw]

Time to put ps3 out of its misery and release a games console.

[Xlll]

the only thing that needs to be put down is that trashbox you have. It can't render anything close to KZ2. Take a look at smears of war and you'll see what i mean.

[InMyOpinion]

I find this weird. Halo 1 used some graphic twerks that made textures on trees, stones etc look really sharp even at a close range. And that was last gen.

[King_many_layers]

Strange, because judging by the videos and screens ( direct feed I'm talking about) the textures upclose look bloody good. they're better than any other I've seen. the only way we'll see textures that great up close is the end of the cycle and on PC's

Talk about trying to pick at anything just to give a bit of negativity. But I suppose that in the long run the more negativity there is now, the more the developers will go. well we'll show them, which is exactly what has been done in the jump from E3 07 to GD 08

[Prismo_Fillusion]

...I was all excited to snipe walls and rocks. This really might take all the fun out of that.

[mesh1]

AHHH KILLZONE THE PS2,5 Game with lame detail and texture covered with great shaders and post filters to make it look decent hahah this game reminds me of the old cod games on the xbox 1 when u start offthe beach assult the are tonsssssss of scripted events then after that your left with a linear bland lookign game after seeing gears 2 footage killzone fails to impresss it just looks plain with great shaders lets not evem talk about the gameplay HAHAHAHA WHAT A JOKE gears has 6 ,months left in dev and looks better at this stage compared to killzone,U HEARD THAT SONG FROM WHYCLEF YOU BETTER WAIT TILL NOVEMBER

[juuken]

This article is full of baloney and for it to come from google is a damn shame.

[Fishy Fingers]

It doesn't come from Google, it's just Translated through Google.

[juuken]

Even worse.

[1stKnighT]

Their is still 8 to 9 months left for this game. Please be patient, this game has only been in development for about 15 years.

[Fishy Fingers]

Shame to start your comment well only to trail off into the usual rubbish.

Still, how long did Gears 1 take to develop, if you factor in the time it took Epic to create the UE3?
GG have made what is probably the most advanced console engine out, that takes time.

[Michael Jackson]

15 years.. a lot older than you. don't worry, i'll bribe your mommy and daddy again to let me rent you for another night. teehee.

[kingboy]

Their is still 8 to 9 months left for this game. Please be patient, Too Human has only been in development for about 15 years.

Nothing new here considering 95% of games ever made have always suffer from such blurred textures

[justgamez]

with envy.

Can't help but LOL when all I read is how this N4G is over run with Sony fanboys yet look at who submits this article, changes the title and who approves it. Then your same known 360 trouble makers spewing their normal nonsense in the comment area.

I just wish everyone would stop being hypocrites and admit this place, like every forum and group on the net, has more then their share of fanboys spewing crap from both sides.

Complaining about a games textures up close?
This just absolutely boggles my mind. I have yet to see a game that looks good when you zoom in. I don't think one exist and I wouldn't care or enjoy it more or less if it did.

[beavis4play]

you're thinking of "too human"

[gEnKiE]

Nothing like judging games in their pre-alpha stages....

[dale1]

dan houser stated ps3 was better at anti-aliasing,now that kind of blows your statement out of the window,he could be wrong,now please tell me what game your working on as rockstar may need your help to get the 360 up to par

[Meresin]

That's one of the biggest reasons I like the PS3. The games all look incredibly smooth and crisp.

[pp]

kill zone 2 = flop

[THE TERMINATOR]

pp = Retard

[360 Revolution]

BALLIN

[pshizle]

i have to agree with you

[Jdoki]

If you appreciate a good painting you may see a great piece of art. Get up close and you may see a few rough brush strokes. Are you honestly going to care?

If people are expecting any console this generation to produce amazing up close textures in a fast moving game they are idiots.

Call of Duty 4 has some appalling textures when you get close - does anyone care? I sure don't. The game looks amazing.

If people really cared about up-close texture quality not a single Wii would have been sold!! :)

This nit picking, pixel counting, 400x magnifying to find flaws in graphics thing that fanboys have got going is just so sad!

[LinuxGuru]

Bioshock was absolutely atrocious when you looked at textures from 10 feet or closer....how is this story actually informing us of anything at all, when this is common knowledge and we know it affects ALL games?

[xfrgtr]

Xbots are so desperate that they have to look for italian news.LOL

[Big Jim]

I'm a sony fan, but I have to admit that I've been worried about textures on the PS3 for a long time now. COD4's textures were awful and almost ruined the game for me, and I'm starting to think that maybe, for some reason, the PS3 simply cannot make good textures at all. Uncharted and R&C looked incredible, but they were third person games, so you could never really see the textures up close the way you can with a first person game. I hope games like killzone 2 and resistance 2 prove that the PS3 can produce good textures, I really do.

[xfrgtr]

COD4 looks better on the ps3,and it looks great.Something wrong with your TV or your eyes

[yanikins111]

And no it didnt. No gamer would complain that cod4 graphics nearly ruined the game. Anyone who has put decent time into uncharted has seen the texture problems, not up close but in the background sprites that hide behind the first like, 6 layers of rendered foliage.

[justgamez]

so I gather you are being totally honest in your opinion and I too sometimes wonder about the PS3 capabilities when it comes to textures but I think it's more of a development issues learning to use the PS3 architecture as opposed to the systems capabilities. It is known that the PS3 does not have an exceptional graphics card but then again Sony wants devs to utilize the Cell for graphics.

The games you mentioned (R&C and Uncharted) have amazing visuals and really good textures. Another incredible looking title for the PS3 is GT5P. No other racer has the level of graphics or detail of GT5P and I have played them all on both consoles including GRID <--- which is laughable when some "try" to compare it to GT5P.

Maybe it's just a matter of the system being harder to program for that only a handful of games have the level of visuals that R&C, Uncharted and GT5P. Hopefully this trend will continue with games like MGS4, LBP, Killzone 2, Resistance 2, Final Fantasy, etc....

If you look at games like COD4, GRID, DMC4, Burnout Paradise and quite a few other recent multiplatform games, there is very little if any differences between them on both consoles. I think it's only going to get better and better for the PS3 visually.

One area the PS3 already has it nailed down is in sound. Without question their unit has superior sound with True HD 7.1. When I play multiplatform games on both systems I can crank my sound up considerably on the PS3 without any ear fatigue. It has incredible clarity, imaging and bass output.

[beavis4play]

i looked at big jims post history too. and he sounds like a whiny crybaby.(not someone with an "honest opinion".

and to answer both of your texture concern: who buys a game they have been looking forward to and stands and stares at textures?---yes, if, in the context of playing the game textures become distracting then it's an issue, but i haven't noticed it. some games (kane and lynch or army of two) have been huge letdowns, but that is because of the game, not the system it's on. but, when games such as uncharted, ratchet, GT5, MGS4,KZ2 are available; i wouldn't worry about the ps3s ability. but i think you're wrong on big jim. check out more of his posts--just a whiny crybaby.

[justgamez]

BigJim is definitely overly critical but he doesn't appear to take sides or be a blatant fanboy. So I took what he said as him trying to just give an honest opinion.

I'd rather someone overly critical (or a whiny crybaby as you referred to him) then a blatant fanboy or troll trying to derail an article with the usual fanboy nonsense.

[pp]

and i was looking forward of getting kill zone 2 i'll suppose i'll better exchange my ps3 for xbox360 now

[Fishy Fingers]

"Killzone 2 will have the usual fault that now seems very typical"

Yep, like a lot of other games we have to deal with the trolling game deprived fanboys.... Thats the fault you meant right?

And please, all you ever do is bad mouth the PS3, you don't own one and if you did perhaps you should trade it in, the Live demagraphic would probably more to your taste... or age range.

[AbdullaMTR]

4 u know its not the final product So Dont take by any stuped artcul like this still 9 month the game will be like perfect and u'll enjoy it more then u espect it

[Xlll]

ok you said you already sold your PS3 twice in the past 2 weeks. So you are clearly A) Talking sh!t B) Retarded and C)upset smears of war doesn't look as good as KZ2.

[gambare]

There are official articles by pro magazines like IGN or Gamespot that praise K2 and then there suddenly someone publish a dark unknown article from some Xbot and all the Xbots suddenly feels relieved?

L O L

BTW pee pee , didn't you sold your PS3 sometime ago among all your friends? didn't you already have a 360? pffff... I think we are dealing with a liar kid or a retard

[twoface]

sell your ps3, and buy a brain. now that seems typical

[THE TERMINATOR]

Who cares when the game looks like this?
http://talkplaystation.com/...
Completely destroys anything on the 360 or PC for that matter.

[ar]

Stand against a wall with your nose almost touching it and tell me it's not blurry.

[GutZ31]

Wait, with or with out glasses?

[ar]

Do both and post a comparison video for us later!

[Bigbangbing]

We have the feeling that even Killzone 2 will have the usual fault

?????????????

i have to trust your feeling?

and btw its PRE ALPHA so meet me after 9 month

[yanikins111]

Killzone can defend itself in the graphics department.

[SL1M DADDY]

Sorry, but the game is just shy of a year away and they are already saying crap like this about it? Come on...

[Kraken]

It looks better than the 2005 CGI teaser. Going to own Gears 2 all the way.

[Meresin]

The textures look fine to me for what they're supposed to portray...Ruin. Killzone 2's world is ugly because it is supposed to be. In the newer game footage, the texture detail is actually fairly solid for being mostly dirt and rocks. It looks almost as good as Uncharted's environments, honestly, but with a very different color focus. ;)

For the record, I tend to prefer smoothness in action and picture (pixelation is ebil) over high texture detail in a shooter anyway. Good-looking environments are a big plus, but I'm watching the guy I'm trying to kill, not the dirt under his feet or the rock he's hiding behind.

Resistance: Fall of Man is a fine example of a game with fairly low texture detail in some environments, yet the game looked pretty good. The texture detail on structures looked great because it is fairly easy to skin something that's pretty uniform, like buildings, vehicles, ships, and character models. Dirt, foliage, and trees aren't, so outdoor environments weren't as hot. However, you generally don't notice that much unless you're looking for it.

Do I think Killzone 2 has some graphical room for improvement? Sure. So does any game. Lower detail textures don't make me any less excited about it, though. The animation and style of the game are really impressive, and it has improved leaps and bounds over the videos from E3 '07, so expect an even better looking game by February.

[titntin]

Its not only a sentence taken completely out of context, but it also suggests a complete misunderstanding of what a game engine does or is capable off.

Theres nothing wrong with the textures in this or any other game, and they are in fact very high resolution. But - as is the case with every game, they are obviously a fixed resolution, meaning if you can get the camera directly next to a surface, you will start to notice the resolution of the texture applied to it.
This will always be an issue for any game which has a freely controllable camera. The only time you can avoid it completely is when you have a fixed camera, as you can then choose texture resolutions for each surface based on where you know it will be viewed from.
The only other method to avoid this would be to be using procedurally generated textures, but this is unlikely as so many devs and artists have skills based in the techniques currently employed.

Its not so much a criticism of this game, or this platform, but it is an issue for any 3D game with a free camera.

[Meresin]

I'm sure video memory constraints don't help, either.

[titntin]

In so much as there is always an upper limit - yes.

Both the 360 and the PS3 have 512 meg available (albeit accessed differently), so both machines need to ensure an entire levels textures can be scaled to work within that limitation.

If there were unlimited memory, you could have texture sizes that ensured you'd always get a better than 1 to 1 pixel ratio no matter how close you are. In reality of course, that data size all needs to be processed and fit through the pipelines, so the memory would not be the only constraint to processing and outputting amazingly high texture resolutions, as such textures would easily consume more data bandwidth per second than the architectures data pipelines could shift.

As with anything in real time graphics, its about 'balance'.

[coffehater]

Hello everybody..
I'm italian, and in the past had the opportunity to collaborate with some videogames'on-line magazines here in my Conutry...now, for the sake of clarity, everybody here knows perfectly who are the people moving behind the scenes of the console war... Often, someone gave me the task to write a preview, or a "hands-on" article with, for example, the following premises: "This multiplatform game must be said to be better on X360 rather than PS3, no matter if it's untrue", or, "WE (as a magazine) don't like at all this particular software house or this console, so take it in account when you'll write the article".
At the beginning I did think it was a problem concerning the onesty of a single magazine... but after two years, my idea is completely different... You too understand perfectly that more than the 90% of the things you read on your favourite magazine/blog/forum is far from an impartial point of view, right? No matter how many times a reviewer will remark his/her independence or his/her impartiality...the truth is that all this people knows what to write about a game BEFORE they try it; sometimes they're fanboys in disguise, sometimes they're simply warned by their editors or their sponsor, sometimes they simply decide that writing that a game or a console is a piece of s**t make them original "journalists".
Personally, when I decide to buy a game, I only rely on demos, friends' suggestions or even Youtube... It's often much better than trust the opinions of some "professionists"...

[Meresin]

Very true. Like it or not, everyone is at least a little biased. For this reason, I put no stock in written reviews, especially if they tend to disagree with what I've actually seen for myself. That happens fairly often...But maybe I just like terrible games. :P

[beavis4play]

bubbles for your well-written post.

[GRiMLiNX]

Are these guys morons.... i mean they wrote pre-alpha on the presentation for a reason, oh wait didn't bother to read did ya, and to think these people are professionals.. bah!

[Martini]

If you are so observant can you explain what pre-alpha means ??

[AngryTypingGuy]

Killzone 2 will look stunning, but Gears 2 will be better.

[Xlll]

LOL! Smears will be better? thats pretty funny.

[rubarb23]

read my post dude http://www.n4g.com/NewsCom-...

now please tell me why this game has you and every ps fanboy out there so excited? i know the graphics are awesome, but it's kinda like getting excited about a rare game - when was the last time they released something actually good?
*
fyi: i'm talking about the developer not the graphics

[RiseOfMonster]

See latest Banjo Threeie scans.

[AngryTypingGuy]

That's true, every game has low text resolutions (most of the time, it's things along a wall, like clocks or doors, stuff like that). I think the article was just claiming that it has the usual faults, and not that it was just a PS3 problem. Then again, I didn't actually read the article :-D.

[grandixximo]

It's a bunch of fanboyz site, i know it, i'm also italian, like the guy who spoke some post up me, i know they prefer to talk bullshit about PS3, Spaziogames.it it's much better, but not perfect no one is IMHO

[notpill]

http://www.n4g.com/up/29885...

every comment from him is full of chilidsh and fanboyism.

[justgamez]

most negative news is usually posted by an opposing fanboy.

[levy]

That's an awesome line up of posts. Every single one of them are about how bad Sony is. And he starts (almost) every post with: "As a PS3 owner (not a fanboy)".

[pickle1234]

This game aint looking as good as gears 2. nowhere near. I predict 8.5 out of 10 max

[justgamez]

I predict you are a immature fanboy that will never mature emotionally or intellectually. Do the world a favor and don't breed.

[Meus Renaissance]

The E3 trailer had alot of this issue, especially in cover, the textures were close to little but the recent video has showed great improvement in this, so if anything else is seen I'm sure they'll work on it in the next 9 months.

I'm sure if any shooter, any game, were to be previewed this early there'd be this issues with it aswell. And I cant believe they're judging the visuals of a game that was 30-40% done in Motorstorm 2. That is immature. Who approved this anyway?

[Genki]

it's not fair to PRAISE the visuals of a game that's only 30% done either, but I've never heard anyone complaining about that...

Enough with the double standards, let people say what they want to say, so long as they're being sincere.

Now, I do think that this piece is a bunch of crap, as it states an issue inherent to all games. As I said earlier, this is akin to hating the Nintendo because it couldn't push polygons.

What I'm saying runs deeper though. All of this pre-alpha, unfinished, blah blah blah mess is just excuses. All of us are judging this game AS IT IS now, nobody has said anything about final product. Therefore, neither should you.

Am I the only one that sees the double standard and false logic here?

[Meus Renaissance]

Your logic fails as visuals can only improve in a game if it is shown to the public. Everything improves otherwise it would ship in it's state. It's like saying a 10 year old boy is weak; wait another few years when he matures and grows bigger. But that doesn't mean every 10 year old boy is weak, but regardless they'll both get stronger in time.

If a developer shows a game, and states on the screen that the visuals are far from then, what worth is it to criticise the visuals? It's like you a job interview next week, and I criticise you today because you haven't taken your job interview. It makes no fricking sense, it's stupid.

[Genki]

First off, using a child as an example just doesn't work. A child will grow by himself, his life and characteristics aren't governed by outside entities. A kid will NATURALLY get stronger as he grows(unless of course, he suffers from muscle atrophy, so even then...). A game, on the other hand, is controlled by folks who must work within the confines and capabilities of the platform it's being designed for...which means COMPROMISE. Do you sincerely believe that it's impossible for a game to look worse upon release than it did at earlier stages? I can point to one that's coming out soon...it's called Haze...but there have been many more before it. Tekken 6 looks like crap compared to it's earlier footage as well, but I digress.

Anyway, enough with that, my beef is with this mentality that certain games only rate praise, while it's ok to diss others. I have a real problem with that. The excuses now are pre-alpha, unfinished, bah blah blah, but wait until release. I heard the same things about games like Lair and Motorstorm, yet the same people, armed with a plethora of brand new excuses, still claimed that their games were above criticism. When does it end? The same folks who are making excuses for these unfinished games will be the same ones who do it later...watch and see.

I don't see anyone using this unfinished excuse for games like Tomb Raider, Madden, and any of the other several games that people love to hate. It's ok to use the pre-alpha excuse for Killzone, but not for Madden. I see. Where are the "alpha police" when folks are dogging games that don't have a strong fanbase? I rest my case. I simply don't believe in the idea that anything should be above criticism, because it fosters that same thought process later on. It's a vicious cycle, and worst of all, it doesn't apply to all games, so it's hypocritical at best. If that still doesn't make sense, think of how you would proofread an essay. Although unfinished, you'd want to highlight what was wrong with it, whether or not there were other redeeming qualities, so at the very least, you could address those issues. Turning a blind eye to problems doesn't solve them, nor does it make them go away...

Let me clarify one thing though, I do believe this to be a stupid gripe, because this is inherent to all games. It's like complaining about the Nintendo because it couldn't push polygons. I'm speaking more generally here, because absolutely any time someone speaks the slightest shred of negativity about games like Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Killzone, or Gears of War, the alpha police come out in full force with the excuses. It's ridiculous.

I'd consider myself one of the biggest Killzone supporters, but I just don't believe in exclusionary criticism. Sure, it's unfinished, but nobody here is judging the Feb '09 Killzone, they're strictly talking about what they see in front of their faces, which is the here and now. I don't think someone is wrong for doing that. Unless someone is saying "Killzone will look like trash when it's released, I know it", then I don't see a problem.

In fact, that doesn't even get to me, because I rarely take trolls(the only people who say crap like that) seriously anymore. What gets my goat is when folks say "Oh, game X will look perfect when it's done, watch and see!" as if they have some crystal ball to see into the future. Roll the clock forward a few months, and lo and behold, the game doesn't look much better. Same thing with GotY. 50 different people "KNOW" that 50 different games will get picked...well it always turns out that about 49 of them end up disappointed. Where are those clairvoyant ones now? Thing is, nobody has no way of knowing such things, all we can do is HOPE.

[JokesOnYou]

I'm glad I decided to bother reading this thread. ha ha its good to see a "Sony FAN" who isn't blinded by the brand. I swear to God if this site had more people like you ON BOTH SIDES it would be a gamers paradise. Yes I make no apology about favoring 360 but I do think I try not to bash the other consoles for no reason, I just hate the overwhelming bias towards the 360 on this site and I know that makes me come off as a xbot, I feel my comments are justified but right or wrong I know it contributes to the problem. Its just refreshing to read a very honest and fair post from someone who may favor the ps3 but doesn't worship sony. btw although I disagree with Meus most of the time I still think he is a reasonable guy. Yes, there are a few. ha ha

JOY

[pickle1234]

i'm simply stating my opinion. it looks like anyother shooter. good graphics but not on same scale as gears2 in terms of graphics and especially gameplay

[beavis4play]

you must like the fog effect in the gears trailer? and did you notice the screen blurred every time marcus shot at something? and gameplay? what they showed was a rails shooter. marcus was "tied" to a derrick and simply shot stuff around him. the human shield stuff? that's been done before. neck breaking? been done before. that's what your basing your comment on? i think gears 2 looks like more of the first game and this isn't a bad thing. but there isn't anything out there that matches KZ2.(although MGS4 may do it) you have a right to your opinion, but at least give the disclaimer that you prefer the 360. there is no way that what your saying makes any logical sense based on footage of both games.

[QuackPot]

The best gaming experience is when you're seated 2 inches from your HD TV.

WTF. Idiot fanboys.

[smurfie4]

I find it funny that some xboxfanboys are still disputing the fact that this game looks incredible. Ill speak from a open-minded perspective even though im a ps3fanboy. Gears was a good-looking game FOR ITS TIME! All these criticisms about the ps3's ram limitations are hilarious. People seem to forget a little game called Uncharted that came out last year. How it managed to look better than any console game out there. Killzone 2 is blooming even in its pre-alpha state. I cant imagine all the hateration it will garner when its complete. Dont let your bias cloud your judgement.

[PS360PCROCKS]

This sounds like a reason to just be negative for the sake of just wanting to be negative, lots of games have this issue. But I did notice the textures are pretty poor from those videos. It's like brown dirt, gray rock, turn, gray rock and brown dirt, their isn't really much variety. and the textures are pretty poor. K now I sound negative. Whatever I think it looks amazing, but I do kinda agree on the texture thing.

[travelguy2k]

and playing the first Metal Gear game made for the PS1 a came to realize how fare games have come. We now complain about the smallest things..."an excellent look, even exciting in long distance shots, but with textures and details that cannot stand comparison during closer shots". GIVE ME A BREAK. I will admit, its not as fun to play Metal Gear (1) with those graphics, but you know what...the story is great and keeps me playing. I refuse to let a few, or even a few dozen bad texture (at close range) spoil my enjoyment of a great game. Anyone that does is never going to be happy.

[DJ]

And the textures and normal maps looked SHARP. Hell, even the entire ground was normal mapped. Now some of the industrial buildings were still using basic geometry and textures, but what was polished actually looked really impressive.

It basically shot down every false rumor that "PS3 can't run games", "RSX can't do good graphics", etc.

[Grimhammer00]

I was under the impression...which may be wrong of course, that the PS3 was WAY more powerful than 360? See, not too long ago PS3 was hella expensive and was being justified by Sony as being capable of extraordinary graphics...the likes of which can't be seen anywhere else. See, my problem with all this silly banter isn't that PS3 is worse than Xbox360 graphically or the fact that PS3 looks great at 630p for GTA4...it's that Sony made a promise that their machine would force my inner nerd to side with them based on their beautifully PS3. So far...and by so far, I mean a quantitative look at facts based on the passing of time...PS3 seems pretty close to dead on with Xbox360. I'm inclined to believe that all this crap about what game looks better...is a developers issue.

So I put forth this: purely as gaming machines...it doesn't matter which one is better at this or that minute detail.

Also, what should disturb us more from a gamers perspective - is how long it takes to get these uber-graphics games out to us gamers! Sure once the engine is created - then we should see game sequels and games based off a certain engine come out faster.

But then we start the other argument I see all over this Zone...innovation. I see alot of pointing and name calling based off of "lack" of innovation...duh! We're playing the same games over an over with slight tweaks and the occasional WOW for decades! And once we get an innovating engine...it's sequels will not be so WOW. It's just the way it is. Of course you could ask for a complete overhaul each sequel, but do you want to wait 3 - 5 yrs for each sequel?

The irony in all this is that we could all be facing a very real problem where the hardware companies (Sony & MS....we'll ignore Nintendo as they aren't in this race)are trying to "beat" the other for marketshare. That's no surprise, that the beast...but MS is (if rumours are to be believed) getting ready to launch Xbox720 or whatever in 2010....which even if it turns out to be 2014, will severely undermine Sony's 10yr plan. And if you were MS...you'd be gunning for 2010...attempting to make the promises that Sony was making from the get go....to create games that were sooooo far graphically ahead of the competition...that you MUST buy their system!

Sure Xbox fans will be pissed - but, for how long? Once the first title (which I'll bet MS has learned a few things) will be a huge title maybe Halo 4? If this happened, Sony will need to show it's cards early...again forced to play second for at least the first little while.

Anyways, none of us want to see games that need 4gb of RAM and quad- cell processors trust me!

[LevDog]

Ok 360s games havent advanced at all in its 3 years.. Gears came out in its first year.. and it looks the same in GeOW2..

There has been No graphically improvments in 3 years from xbox.. even in the first xbox there was no major graphical improvments..

PS brand has always had a history of slow starts and then domination..
Ps1 First year games dont compare to Ps1 final year games..
Ps2 same thing.. The differences are staggering..
PS3 is following the same path.. Everyone always complains about PS brands hard to dev for console.. but end up figuring it out and loving it..
Ps3 has already seen Improvments.. ex MLB the show.. One of the few games that already has 2 games out.. MLB the show 07 was decent but not mind blowing.. MLB the show 08 is amazing and is the best baseball sim out there

PS will always follow a familiar formula.. Why? because it works.. If its easy to dev for like 360 then you figure out how to max it out faster.. For the short term thats great, Long term not soo great.. ask Dreamcast

EEeee kinda similar..

[tk]

So you zoom into a 1x1 pixel... and complain that it looks like... 1 pixel.. Duh...

[TheBronxxx]

I don't know why they are complaining about the textures...it's not the textures. The game looks beautiful. The only thing I'd be concerned about is the gameplay. I think that's the main reason for the delays is that they don't want to make the same mistake they made with Killzone 1 having mediocre gameplay so that's why they're delaying things to make the gameplay in KZ2 match the graphics. The graphics look incredible.

[LinuxGuru]

For god's sake, can the "Gears > Killzone 2" idiots just shut up please?

The ONLY thing the Unreal Engine is good at is producing well-textured character models.

Killzone 2 crushes it in every single other area. Effects, lighting, animation, sound....you know....all the technical areas that actually matter.

[Daz]

WHAts its up with you you say this
For god's sake, can the "Gears > Killzone 2" idiots just shut up please?

THen you go the base unreal engine :P
PEOple of over unreal 3 on ps3 a while because it was might be an exclusive and has mods. now its crap :P

I dont get this site.

[Dacapn]

Haha someone posted a google translated article. A lot of the info will be misinterpreted, but most people here are blind fanboy idiots, so they'll just take everything at face value.

[Daz]

Why cant people take critisam, THey still say its alpha build.

IF people read the artical which its seems most didnt.

Now just chill and wait for the game to realease.

[ScottEFresh]

KILLZOWNED!!!!

[Grannyvukka]

Bottom line is that Killzone 2 looks better than ANY other console shooter graphically. I'd be more worried about the gameplay.