IGN: God of War Collection Faceoff: PS2 vs. PS3

While PlayStation 3 gamers everywhere await the March release of God of War III, Sony Santa Monica Studios and Bluepoint aim to make the wait just a little bit easier with the release of the God of War Collection. The single Blu-ray disc includes both of the original PlayStation 2 games, with both running in 720p at 60fps with 2x anti-aliasing.

While the games haven't been touched in terms of gameplay, textures, models or anything else of this nature, it naturally looks noticeably better running in HD. The lighting is more natural and the framerate boost provides a tangible difference in the smoothness of the controls.

[sahar243]

for me adding anti aliasing makes a very big difference, it looks a lot better.

[AKNAA]

It looks better than some of the actual next gen games out rite now! Haha! But Its kinda sad at the same time...

[sahar243]

it looks on par with a lot of next generation games, incredible.

[raztad]

It's not just AA, the increase in resolution helps a lot to sharpen the graphics.

[hay]

Also texture filtering or just using original, not PS2 optimized textures helped.

Looks real good.

[ABizzel1]

Not a substantial difference, but you can tell there is a difference. Jaggies are pretty much gone in Collection, Lighting looks much better in collection (but it looks like some of the color was lost), but the biggest change should come from the gameplay since it's running at 60fps.

[mal_tez92]

This needs to be done with all the great last gen series.

I would definitely buy a Ratchet and Clank collection, Jak and Daxter collection, SOCOM collection and Metal Gear Solid collection. Old games that were good deserve this kind of updating treatment, don't change the gameplay, just the graphics.

[HolyOrangeCows]

...but what's with the color? Looks a bit less vibrant, am I right?

[DK_Kithuni_71]

Wrong board, junior. We are talking about the God of War series here. Not the Halo series.

[sikbeta]

This is So Amazing, Remastered Masterpieces FTW!!!

[thereapersson]

Is your comment some sort of ironic jab at your own name?

Because ridiculous comments such as yours are exactly that: Mindbogglingly stupid. Then again, you could just be trolling this area out of sheer boredom, so if that is the case, you need to take it to the open zone.

[Mindboggle]

Its just a joke how N4G has changed. A year ago there was a good group of people who would actually discuss games instead of argue over them. Now the whole site is infested with PS3 fanbabys. You say your opinion and you get 100+ disagrees like i did yesterday. The whole site has become a joke.

[Dark General]

I have mixed feelings on how the collection version looks. The AA has boosted the character models and objects but the colors and shadows looks faded which I don't like. When all is said and done though this is a great deal for people who own a Ps3 who missed out on the previous GoW games.

[badz149]

I'll be playing the hell out of it for sure!

[Darkstorn]

Never got a chance to play the originals (I had an original Xbox), so I'm looking forward to this. Definite must-buy.

[Sarcasm]

"Its just a joke how N4G has changed. A year ago there was a good group of people who would actually discuss games instead of argue over them. Now the whole site is infested with PS3 fanbabys. You say your opinion and you get 100+ disagrees like i did yesterday. The whole site has become a joke."

So far everyone was talking about the game, then you put an obviously flamebait comment about polishing a turd.

Mindboggling indeed.

[badz149]

people are indeed still talking about the game here until you came in and talk BS! what turd are you talking about here? GoW I & II were among the best games last gen on PS2 and you're talking about turd? Sony remastered the games to 720p and 60fps and adds trophy supports and will include the GoW III demo with it for $40! compare that with a 5H campaign and repacked maps of a 640p game that cost $60, this is one heck of a deal! the only turd I can see here is YOU! go the hell to Open zone next door where you can smack talk BS all you want! TROLL!

[Orange]

@Mindboggle

No one can give you a serious discussion when your opinion is that it's "a turd...but still a piece of sh!t". You think that should elicit meaningful discussion? It's not even a legitimate opinion. You may feel the story was weak, the camera was annoying, or the graphics were sub-par, but "it's a piece of sh!t"? come on man! you act like you're f'ing thirteen.

[ultimolu]

Mindboggle...may I ask who in the WORLD spat in your food for the past week? PS3 fans are discussing GAMES. In their own section. I better not see ANY, and I mean ANY 360 fan cry about PS3 fans in their articles because your comments were UNCALLED for.

Get a life dude.

[gaffyh]

@Mindboggle- If you feel that way please leave N4G and never return

[jhooty14]

is it jus me or does original looks like it has more depth in color :I

still must have :)

[pippoppow]

Has to be the way video is captured from the PS3 or these sites don't optimize the PS3 output. Some sites show a foggy like filter screen to PS3 vids and pics which I never see on my TV.

@king below
Yeah you probably do not see any games on your PS3 look like these pics. Something is off. Read somewhere that the PS3 for some reason doesn't capture well for some reason or maybe it just isn't set up properly. Either way, PS3 games do not have any type of foggy filter on their games like some sites would have you think.

[Mindboggle]

Yh i blame the video capture aswell. It has to be. And i also blame ign. And i also blame my monitors refresh rate for showing crappy quality images.

[pippoppow]

It's similar to Assassins creed vid and pic comparisons. I had the game and it looked clear on my tv. PS3 owners know the truth.

[Mindboggle]

Wow.....What a disgraceful comment.

[pippoppow]

It's disgraceful how you are always antagonizing posters here? I fail to see how my comment is disgraceful. If the games show clear on my TV then my assumtion is it should look clear on other tvs as well. I know I'm just waisting my time with you but you are part of the problem here. Just looking at your posts here in this thread proves it.

[gamingisnotacrime]

there is a video in the PSN store in HD, and it looks amazing, it challenges MANY good looking current gen games no joke. I saw it last night and immediately became anxious to play this hd version. And i have a PS3 with BC and both GoW games and still the collection looks so much better is awesome.

I know this collection will sell huge, specially among PS3 owners that missed GoW series, they are gonna be pleased, and me also :)

[kingkobra2xxx]

Does IGN have White Balancing turned on when it captured the pics? Otherwise it looks very next gen to me

[Kain81]

specially GOW2 looking amazing on that PICs

[aliens]

Uncharted 2 is a 360 exclusive.

[Chubear]

HAHA!

It actually looks better than Halo ODST lol, wow.

[aliens]

Master Chief looks better than u.

[Nitrowolf2]

BEFORE PEOPLE AGREE WITH POST ONE HERE IS HIS ORIGINAL POST
"Halo Looks better"
lol funny how you changed your comment to Uncharted 2, guess what UC2 PS3 exclusive
@below is that why the 2 replise above and comment below refer the Halo?

[aliens]

No it wasn't. Liar.

[Saaking]

haha, yes it was. Poor bot.

[Rai85]

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

only a 5 years old child

[aliens]

Saakin is the worst droid of the whole website. May he root in hell.

[Saaking]

haha, Why are you mad at me? It's not my fault you're a moron.

[Nitrowolf2]

saaking who do u think this multiple account user is?

[Rai85]

http://h.imagehost.org/0721...

[xcox]

xb!tch's wet dream...
the he wakes up and plays halo... again

lol

[Saaking]

@ Nitrowolf2
He's probably the same guy as Corywebbs and MGR

[ultimolu]

Another moron wanting to get attention with an alternate account...-_-

Stop sniffing that glue bottle, it's not good for you. :T

The mods need to do something about this and fast.

[The_Devil_Hunter]

Whoa. Nice JOB SM. Quite impressive. BTW Im willing to sacrifice my MW2 purchase for a GOW: Collection purchase.

[Mindboggle]

Your insane. Your buying a 4 year old game over this years GOTY : MW2

[DarkArcani]

Maybe, he never played the originals. If that is the case, then this is a good thing to get. 2 games for $40 and they are remastered.

[Ravage27]

well, MW2 is pretty much a 2 year old game with new weapons,maps andddd trophies!

Why don't you go somewhere else seeing that you have nothing good to say about this game?

[gamingisnotacrime]

Oh well, you cant put a limit to enjoying greatness now can we.
GoW the collection Games of the Year! lol

[Wolf873]

have they enable smoothing and upscale options if they are running the originals on PS3? I don't know, when I play originals on Ps3 they look better than those comparison pics.

[DarkArcani]

I believe they are captures from the PS2, and not the PS3. As you said, the originals upscaled do look better than the original pics.

[Wolf873]

I don't get what's with the disagrees, I only asked a question. Seems like you can't even do that or else fans get upset: not cool guys, not cool.

[ultimolu]

Don't worry about them. Some people are really jealous of the PS3 getting tons of games this year.

[Gago]

if the remade the games on ps3 like Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1

you know, update it to PS3 graphics, have it run 60 fps, add new bosses, enemies, and weapons

[ultimolu]

....HIGH FIVE DUDE, HIGH FIVE.

That would be amazing too. But what kinda new bosses? :x

Maybe a Mirai Part II battle or something. o//o

[Neo604]

Xbot should wish Halo reach have upgrade graphic.
Keep ur finger cross.

[Neo604]

GOW is one of the best game in history.

[gamingisnotacrime]

what will happen to GoW after 3 is released?
GoW Kart racing anyone? lol

[jjesso1993]

is it cuz am kaned i dont notice anything different

[Fishy Fingers]

Thumbnails dont show that much difference, enlarge and the difference is clear. Much cleaner with the collection.

[cmrbe]

Well it loooks better now than on my PS3 BC thats for sure.

The framerate is going to make the biggest difference in visuals though.

[Arsenal4Ever]

I just watched all the videos from IGN. They both look fantastic. Can't wait for this to come to EU.

[theDutchFella]

aliens = MGR's new account

FAIL 2.0

[aliens]

You better watch your mouth boy. I am not MetalGearRising, I am Aliens. Watch your mouth, I advice you.

[theDutchFella]

LMAO

look at all the disagrees, bots are putting some overtime in.

[ultimolu]

Lol, I advice you. He's stupider than MGR, lmfao.

[cyclindk]

Colors and shadows seem a bit washed out, but the jaggies and so forth are nowhere to be seen.

[Unicron]

No screen tearing = win.

[gameraxis]

but having just come from the GOW3 demo, HOLY SH**! dare i say i think it looks better than uncharted,

i can't FREAKING WAIT to continue my stampede to fathers chambers and exact revenge for the death of my wife and daughter.... This trickery led by Ares will cause the downfall of Mt Olympus, i swear on this by the Gods...

woops, must have transformed there for a mintue, sorry guys (x

[kaveti6616]

What? Yeah, it looks good, but it doesn't surpass Uncharted 1 in my opinion.

[raztad]

@kevit

I dunno which UC1 did you play, cause the one I played looked good but it has nothing on GoW3, to tell the true I recently finished UC1 and I felt a little underwhelmed by the visuals, game is 2 years old and KZ2 seriusly upped the bar.

Have you really played GoW3 demo? or your opinion is based on videos. Guy above is saying he thinks GoW3 is looking better than UC2 after playing the demo.

[kaveti6616]

I thought he was talking about the GOW1 & 2 collector's edition. Those don't look better than Uncharted 1. I made a mistake. Of course GOW3 looks better than Uncharted 1, and with a bit more work it might surpass Uncharted 2. I'd rather they shoot for 60fps though, so if the graphics don't surpass UC2, I'm still happy with how it looks. BTW, at the end of the demo Kratos flies into the head of that fiery Titan. I thought Kratos and the titans were working together to take down Olympus.

[ray6988]

i can almost guarantee you, if the GOW Collection sells well u better believe that other games will follow.

[Douchefella1]

PS3 < Xbox 360 obviously.

[thereapersson]

When the footage you are showing is 640 x 480.

This sort of comparison would be better suited for Game Trailers, because at least you can view videos in HD without having to pay extra.

IGN = FAIL

[dragonelite]

awesome shame i have to wait in europe before it gets there or even gets there. God of war 3 is like the only reason i bought a ps 3.

[CryWolf]

dragonelite you do have other PS3 games right don't tell everbody your just waiting for one game, I mean if you got a PS3 for God Of War why did you really buy a PS3 then, you should never buy a console for one game thats like I won the world series but it was only one time come on man please tell me that you have more games for your console.

[AllroundGamer]

wow looks really sharp, now do the same with Shadow of the Colossus!!

[JTX]

I'm definitely getting this day one since I've never played the first two before. Only god of war I've played is the new demo and it was amazing so yea I'm really looking forward to this.

P.S. - I would definitely buy this over Modern Warfare 2 if I had to choose between the two.

[CryWolf]

I agree I've never played the original on PS2 either, I am buying God Of War Collection next year the graphics looks Awesome on both PS2 and PS3 can't wait for God Of War 3.

[gamingisnotacrime]

I have both games and a PS3 with BC and still i choose the collection over the rest, even Assasins Creed 2, the collection is just too great

[mastiffchild]

JTX-do IW ward(and esp Activision) deserve our money anyway? They certainly won't be seeing any of mine in the near future after the crap they've been spouting and the needless prive hike in the EU and the way they treated PC gamers-not to mention the ludicrously poorly thought out F.A.G.S video!

Anyway, I'd take any GOW over COD game any day of any week ever. BCBF2 looks like more fun anyway-as well as having better physics and not just being ANOTHER yearly update with basically the same old gameplay that we've had since MW(when some of it was fresh)in 2007. GOTY?Not for me-it's the epitome of playing it safe, imo, and after they were so brave last time that feels really lazy. Even th stabs at courting controversy(like that video and the "play as a terrorist" level-even though you aren't really one anyway)are ham fisted and insult the intelligence of us gamers. IMO IW just started believing their own previous good press and are accordingly acting like asses.

GOW collection looks really good for it' extensive polish, mind, and though, as I'm in the UK, GOW3 will possubly be out by the time it gets here it's still a great oppotunity for those who either love or didn't play the games on PS2.

[CryWolf]

God of war looks better then Halo and Gears even God Of War 1 & 2 looks better on the PS2 then Halo/Gears thats a fact.

[blu_yu_away]

Been waiting for a comparison to see if an upgrade was warranted and I would say it definitely is.

[Briefcase Joe]

No, the agree/disagree system on this site is sh!t. Sometimes it starts acting up.

[JonnyBigBoss]

Damn that looks good. I'll have to decide between this and Demon's Souls to use my $20 Amazon credit toward. Any recommendations?

[gamingisnotacrime]

Demons Souls is great game.
If you have not played GoW, then is a tough call. I have Demons Souls and the only reason i dont play it a lot is because i dont have the time, is so great.
My reccommendation is to go with GoW collection. Its 2 of the greatest games you will ever play in one sweet Blu Ray disc. The good thing about choosing GoW is that is a sure bet, Demons Souls can put off the weak of heart lol

[disposable]

The video looks good, but when comparing to PS2 image by image PS3's pictures look a bit low in contrast perhaps due to the infamous PS3 blur effect.

[The Iron Sheik]

Don't be mad at us bots just because you haven't had one game that is as good as God Of War on your pathetic failure prone console.

[kumashii38]

I watched those in HD.
it looks really good !
it looks a lot sharper.
I pre-ordered this game.

[Figboy]

but the improvement is quite noticeable.

the AA REALLY helps the visual presentation of the game.

it was hard to grasp the real differences between the two (i have a BC PS3, and even being upscaled, the PS2 versions of God of War 1 and 2 look GREAT), but seeing them side by side really sells me on the collection (which i was going to buy anyway).

i'd love to see the same treatment done to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, and 3.

actually, Resident Evil 4 would be really cool too.

the Silent Hill series also. i was just replaying Silent Hill 3 over the Halloween weekend for my wife, and i forgot how amazing the graphics in SH3 are. especially the character models. it's a shame that they look better than the character models in the travesty known as Silent Hill: Homecoming.

i'd snap up a Silent Hill and Fatal Frame Collection in no time.

for the Silent Hill Collection, i'd even pay $60, since you'd be getting Silent Hill 2, 3, and 4. i wouldn't mind an updated Silent Hill either (not this Silent Hill: Shattered Memories business).

Insomniac was coy about an R&C Collection, but i'd snap that up in a heart beat also. the old Ratchets are amazing (not like the PS3 ones aren't, but a remastered Up Your Arsenal would be AWESOME. actually, i'd buy a stand alone Up Your Arsenal remake if it used the Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time engine). for me, my favorite Ratchets are:

1) Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time
2) Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal
3) Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

i wasn't going to pick up God of War Collection next week due to budgeting, but i may have to find a way (ie, bye bye games i don't play).

i'm willing to support this in the hopes of more from Sony.

15 weeks and the results are quite impressive. imagine if with the next collection they decide to go 6-8 months, or even a year?

[YLOD Service Tech]

This game looked like a55 when it first released and it still does on the POS3.

[CernaML]

Must suck owning a 360 then.

[NecrumSlavery]

GOW collection >>> Every 360 game...

Why?

Because innovation wins over "the in thang"

360 is about keeping up with the trends, Sony sets the trends.

[boJABER]

preordered :) but i was expecting better graphics than this.

[Memo-Xen x3100]

Faded colors is a little disappointing but I won't fully judge this until it's on my Bravia.

[jasonpugh]

1.6 - This is great
This needs to be done with all the great last gen series.

I would definitely buy a Ratchet and Clank collection, Jak and Daxter collection, SOCOM collection and Metal Gear Solid collection. Old games that were good deserve this kind of updating treatment, don't change the gameplay, just the graphics.

I agree. It would be great to see some old classics get a facelift. My personal vote would be for the SOCOM series. I wish the last one wouldn't have been multiplayer only.

[saimcheeda]

i think the new one looks sharper but the colors look better in the original!

[roddigamer]

I wish they could do the same for Shadow of the Colossus