390°

10 Best Game Engines of This Generation

IGN - "Webster's Dictionary defines a 'game engine' as 'the word you've entered isn't in the dictionary,' but if it were to define it, it would probably explain that a game engine is used as the overall architecture to develop and run a game – it gives developers tools to create the disparate elements of a videogame and then pull them together to create a functioning whole. From the renderer to the physics system, sound architecture, scripting, AI and networking, game engines either natively power every aspect of a game, or they allow other specialised middleware to slot into the game's framework. In any case, game engines are the workhorses of modern videogame development.

As you'd expect, there are plenty of engines out there, from very well-known names like Quake and Unreal, that developers and publishers can license at considerable expense, through to in-house proprietary engines created by studios specifically for their own titles.

Over the following pages we'll take you through the very best engines in next-gen gaming. These are the big guns, proudly championed by their creators and delivering to you the finest gaming experiences on the planet. These are what turn good creative ideas into great gameplay."

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THC CELL5424d ago

no killzone 2 engine
all i can say is this list needs remaking

MGOelite5424d ago

or at least the frostbite engine

Ellessdee5424d ago

are better in the unreal engine.

may be popular and simple, but its also crap unless extremely modified, at which point its pointless to even call it unreal 3 anymore.

its a crutch that too many developers lean on to save a few bucks.

Megaton5424d ago

Maybe it's just me, but I think Frostbite should have placed on this list. I have a blast (lolpun) just sitting in a base and blowing up a building piece by piece in BF:BC and 1943.

a_squirrel5424d ago

yeah, they shoul;d've had BF BC2 up there, which has complete destuctability

Sucks2BU5423d ago

Red Faction blows Battlefield out of the water

socomnick5424d ago

This list needed the frostbite engine and the source engine.

ape0075424d ago

burnout paradise engine and re5\lp2 engine

good list btw

Atomic5424d ago

having an article about top engines and mentioning the unreal engine with no mention of the Killzone engine , article automatically fail.

Sucks2BU5423d ago

KZ2 engine is proprietary, isn't it? Which the list ignored

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ZombieAutopsy5424d ago

needed Killzone 2 engine and the frostbite engine.

donnie-21055424d ago

imo i think uncharted is the best looking game and engine on the next gen consoles BUT unreal3 is defo the most used in games by devs and gears2 shows what amazing results you can get if you have the time budget and expertise.of note i also think codemasters ego engine is great with grid being imo the best looking racer(on 360) this gen plus it can be used on fps etc like the upcoming operation flashpoint.ONLY a dev could tell if killzones engine could be used in other games but i dont think it was worth developing really due to the massive cost and poor sales of k2 ms went the right way with the versatile 360 archeitecture unlike the awkward ps3.

Darkeyes5424d ago (Edited 5424d ago )

But then too the best looking exclusives land only on the PS3.... KZ2 engine is light years more advanced than the UE3... The engine can render 32 players with those graphics on screen without any drop in the frame rate...Ya do that with the UE3.... that is an epic task for any engine. The dynamic HDR lighting, real life particle effect, Deffered rendering, v-sync.... you name it and the engine has it. I would put the KZ2 engine only next to the Naughty Dog engine.... People complaining about how the engine can handle various colors should check the latest map packs....

Cryengine 3 is also impressive, but I will have to see how Crysis 2 looks on consoles... It's time to put UE3 to rest. Even the Capcom engine which produces games like RE5 and Lost Planet 2 is better than UE3.

Tarasque5424d ago

Seriously, i agree that the killzone2 engine is good. Considering there is not realtime shadows and no high res textures. But my biggest complaint especially online is framerate, is is by far to unbearable to play online for me. Get more than 6 guys fighting in a little area it comes to a crawl. Heck even the single player had framerate issues.

Perjoss5424d ago

from what i've seen so far in HD uncharted 2 gameplay videos, the engine handles high polygon counts really well, but it suffers in texture quality, but its a really nice balance, its almost like the opposite of unreal engine 3 where most games are low poly but with crazy amounts work going into the textures.

Darkeyes5424d ago (Edited 5424d ago )

@Tarasque... Either you got a faulty copy of KZ2 or your internet sucks (which is highly unlikely cause no ones internet can suck as mine yet there is no lag)... I have played in matches with more than 20 people at a time and there is no frame rate loss... The only issue I see sometimes is that once you hit someone, sometimes it takes a second before he falls down.. That is the only problem sometimes...

The game might not have realtime shadows, but still regarded as the best looking game to land on a console (well at least until Uncharted 2 drops).

KZ2 engine is regarded as the best by many devs and critics. KZ2 launched and the game hardly had any glitch... Compare that to Gears of War online... The game was absolutely unplayable due to the lack of dedicated servers and various glitches... That is what you get from UE3.

The only reason UE3 is mentioned here is cause it's the most used engine and so features here just to honor it's existence in so many games. This was GG's first shot at the PS3 and they make the best looking game.. Just wait till they make KZ3... Judging the jump from UC1 to 2 was huge, KZ3 will look even more spectacular.

STONEY45424d ago (Edited 5424d ago )

@Darkeyes
"The engine can render 32 players with those graphics on screen without any drop in the frame rate...Ya do that with the UE3"

I have Unreal Tournament 3 on PS3, and while graphics might not be Killzone 2, the lighting is really good and the textures are some of the best, and it only has 16 players. I loaded up a bunch of mods while playing (Titan, PC Speedx2, Excessive Overkill, just to name a few) on a custom map which is in space so you can see every player on the map shooting and stuff, and titans walking around, redeemers rockets going off (basically nukes) and even on splitscreen, the framerate will rarely drop below 30fps. Then again, Killzone 2 can have some pretty crazy stuff going on in 32 player servers.

@Tarasque
I think something is wrong with your PS3...

Darkeyes5424d ago

Ya Ok @Stoney, but KZ2 is far more graphically superior than Unreal Tournament 3. UT3 is an awesome showcase of UE3, but most UE3 games come with a bagful of glitches. The engine was good 2 years back. That is why I am backing Cryengine 3.0 to take UE3's place. I have played gears and the frame rate drops and glitches leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Trust me, even I didn't believe when people first said that you could play with 32 players on KZ2... I said with those graphics, ya right.. Those were my exact words, but the game actually works when I play. The frame rate is rock solid at 30FPS even when explosions go off everywhere.If you haven't played the game, I suggest you do. The game is spectacular.

STONEY45424d ago (Edited 5424d ago )

I thought Killzone 2 would have lag too before I got it. Of all the time I've played it though (I think 25 hours single-player and about 55 hours online) I haven't had any lag or framerate dips apart from the occassional person dying 5 seconds later online. Amazing game. I'm surprised the engine wasn't on that list.

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90°

Two Decades Later, the Original Splinter Cell is Still a Masterpiece

They don't make games like this anymore.

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gamingbolt.com
vgvill5d ago

Too dated in my book. The AI is way too unpredictable to be acceptable today. It's definitely a game of its time.

Jingsing5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Agreed with those sentiments. The quality of the CPU controlled characters make or break a stealth game and they are pretty poor in all the Splinter Cell games by today's standard. This is what led me to playing Spies vs Mercs all the time in later games just to get a better stealth experience from a real person. Arguably Sony are making better stealth games albeit not Tom Clancy stuff.

TheProfessional4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

You should stick with fortnite or one of the countless bloodborne style games then. What a joke.

rlow15d ago

I had a good time with the game. It is a product of its time. But when it came out it was a must have game for a lot of people. I wish Ubisoft would make another game in the series or at least a reboot.

vgvill4d ago

They are making a remake, I think. I loved the original game when it was released, but I tried to play it again in recent years and just couldn't get on with it. The same with the older Hitman games.

PrecursorOrb4d ago

Yeah chaos theory still holds up though I gotta say. If you’re a fan of the series I highly suggest you go back to that one. Ubi has said they are remaking sc for “modern audiences”. I don’t have a lot of faith for the future of that company

Chocoburger4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Due to the lack of modern stealth games, and me constantly playing the MGS series, I've been looking for alternative stealth games to play, and went back and re-played the SC series recently. I wouldn't call SC1 or SC:PT masterpieces, there are AI issues, they're very much trial-and-error games, and that can lead to a lot of frustration. I also found the stories in this series to be boring, uninteresting, and just sloppily told. Cinematics are also of poor quality for both in-game scenes and CG cut-scenes, the soundtrack didn't leave any impression on me either.

Chaos Theory is better, but there was still a lot of room for improvement, and Double Agent (old gen ver.) was a sloppy mess that ended up a regression from CT. But still, at least they tried back then, these days Ubi-junk doesn't even try to make good games!

70°

A Matter Of Trust: What The Game Industry Should Do To Win Gamers Back

Skewed and Reviewed have written an Opinion Piece covering issues in the gaming industry, how current issues were issues years ago, and what can be done to help restore consumer trust.

anast10d ago

Nothing. It's up to the gamers to stop consuming content from companies that they don't agree with.

Garethvk10d ago

How do you know if you agree with it or not unless you play it? Which without conventions forces gamers to rely on trailers. Perhaps Demos should be made more frequently. But companies need to do better as well.

anast10d ago

Wait until release. Watch Gameplay. Exercise patience.

Garethvk10d ago

But is that not what they have now? Tons of gameplay or are you talking about watching actual gamers play it versus the trailers and streams? The big issue is that some companies pay streamers and influencers and they create content but for me; that is hardly a fair, unbiased, and factual look at a game.

1nsomniac10d ago

Get rid of the suits in the industry and job done!!

Garethvk10d ago

They usually are attached to the money sadly. It would be nice to have gamers in charge but you have so much money invested that business people are needed. Hence the issue; you need people who know business but are also gamers who know have an eye to the community. It sounds simple in theory that if you give gamers quality games that they want to play; money will be made. But that is not always so.

60°

From The Last of Us to Baldur's Gate 3: The success of the Game Music Festival

Marie Dealessandri speaks to Borislav Slavov and Gustavo Santaolalla about “the new golden age of games music”.

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