Heavy Rain vs Uncharted 2: Among Thieves HD Screenshot Comparison

GB writes: "In response to an article by nextgn.com, we decided to do high definition screen shot comparison of two of the best looking PlayStation 3 games around. Some might argue that both of these games are different so how are we comparing these games. "

[mjolliffe]

A tough one to judge...

[Bungie]

it's very close buy i have to give it to Uncharted 2 IMO

[sugard0]

Graphics, Animations, or Interaction?
What is he comparing?
In the first comparison he talks about facial expressions and the setting.
In the second he talks about the interaction between the two characters.
In the third he talks about the animations of Drake and how the shop owner in Heavy Rain is not reacting to the gun through facial expressions. The writer doesnt know what is going on in the scene so he cant say his face should be more scared, because you dont know what is being said in the scene.
In the fourth scene he compares the grapics and facial detail of the protagonists in each game. (I would just like to say, you play as 4 different and MAIN protagonists in Heavy Rain and only play as 1 person in Uncharted 2).
I thought in Comparison 4, Heavy Rain's facial detail was better because you could actually see the pores on the detectives skin and freckles on his face, there was also suttle reflection on his face which you would see in real life.

Its a close one but their so different you just cant come to a conclusion. I'd say the only comparison that makes the two games comparable is Comparison 2.

Sorry for my bad English.

[Double07]

Yet you're the guy that leaves this as a comment on the article:

"Well now that i look at them i can clearly say that the PS3 is showing his age , they look bad , really bad textures and low poly . Mabe Japan should get some American tech to achieve high quality visuals like all the masterpieces on the Xbox 360.

Still nice article ty a lot."

You're so incredibly odd.

Anyways, Uncharted 2 for me but they both look great and I have the one and shall be getting the other game this month =D

[FACTUAL evidence]

heavy rain takes the cake. It's just that UC2's colors are more vibrant than heavy rain's. Look at the last photo of uc2, and HR. HR shows the raw power.

P.S.-Bungie get a life you fail troll.

EDIT: UC2 is still an AMAZING looking game, but cmon guys...Look at HR's robbery scene...tell me that doesn't look better than uc2's screens? I will admit, some of the area's look more polished in the screens with uc2, but after i played the HR demo yesterday......phew...i could have sworn that sh!t was real.

[Bungie]

@Double07

lol when did i say that, stop making up lies

EDIT: LMFAO i sware to god that wasn't me...lol this is unbelievable

[UnwanteDreamz]

http://gamingbolt.com/2010/...

#2

Edit:

Well if it didn't sound just like you then maybe you would get the benefit of doubt.

[bujasem_89]

waaaw heavy rain really impressive visually

[sikbeta]

Bungie stop making opinions about PS3 Games, you delusional boy don't have a PS3, you're here just cuz you have nothing to do with your life lol

Unbelievable

HR looks Amazing but UC2 got more stuff going on at the same time and that's Just Huge, IMO The 2 Are Awesome

[zeeshan]

I am starting to believe that Bungie has either a split personality disorder or has gone crazy buying one Xbox360 after another cuz they keep melting!

[UnwanteDreamz]

I couldn't compare the two without HR in my hand. At this point I think that what UC2 did was far more impressive from a graphical standpoint but without having a good idea of how big HR is and how varying the environments are I don't think it is fair to compare yet.

[lukewind]

I think you morons need to realize one thing. Heavy Rain is a game that does not have a complicated fight system, nor does it have huge environments to render. Its a game of quicktime events, not that its a bad thing, but comparing graphics is stupid since they are not anywhere near identical. You could do Heavy Rain on either HD system with no problem.

Dear God you people are dumb!

[goflyakite]

1: UC2
2: HR
3: HR
4: UC2

[CoxMulder]

These Heavy Rain screenshots seem to be from an old preview build, not the retail version. I remember these screens from MONTHS ago.

Still, imo HR has the realism / UC2 has the eye-candy.

[Traveler]

I would have to say that Uncharted 2 still looks better to me. Especially considering all the other processes that Uncharted 2 is doing at the same time.

Like I said in another article, Uncharted 2 is perhaps the most polished game I have ever played. No other game I know of has zero in-game load times, zero screen tearing, super good anti-aliasing, very high resolution textures, full real-time lighting, nearly zero pop-in, extremely detailed character models, and amazing animation all in one game. I honestly don't think there is a single other game that combines so many positive attributes in one game.

Killzone 2 is also one of the best looking games and at certain times can even look a little better than Uncharted 2, but it still has load times before levels and small stutters within levels as the game takes a second to load the next section. It also doesn't have as good of textures as Uncharted 2 and the aliasing is perhaps a bit worse.

Heavy Rain looks amazing. Especially the close ups on character models. But Heavy Rain isn't rendering as much as Uncharted 2 and there isn't as much dynamic movement in the game. Also, Heavy Rain has some screen tearing, while Uncharted 2 has none. Animation is another area where Uncharted 2 is superior to Heavy Rain.

Anyway, that is my case for why I think Uncharted 2 is still the best looking game on consoles.

[shadow2797]

I hate the bloom and DOF effects in Heavy Rain. They look unnatural and remind me of UE games (such as Gears and ME).

To me, Uncharted 2 looks a lot better. Not only in the detail, but also in the natural-ness of everything. The lighting is perfect and nothing looks out of place. I can't say the same for Heavy Rain. I'm excited for it, but visually, I'm unimpressed.

In my opinion, Uncharted 2 looks much much better.

[NewZealander]

just get uncharted 2, it looks better and you dont need to hold down the accelerator button to make drake move.

i know people want to defend heavy rain, but its dull.

[HighDefinition]

I guess I should not buy the game ***I*** enjoyed, because YOU say so.

Do you have any other advice for us?

In the end I`m gonna own both games, just like every other game ***I*** enjoy. Or should I just own one or the other, because YOU say so?

[thewhoopimen]

This comparison felt amateurishly written. There isn't any real discussion of technology involved in the making of the games. Things like texture resolution, anisotropic filtering, SSAO, LOD, art direction. The focus seems to be on mocap expressions ... and how the writer feels about things... ugh.

Look guys, tech wise, Heavy Rain's overall quality is higher. The art direction is drier and certainly nowhere near as colorful or eyecatching as Uncharted 2, but that's where we differ on opinion. I'll be frank. I love Uncharted 2's art direction better. Period. But for tech, and what I can see scrutinizing the screen, Heavy Rain simulates realism far better. Think about it, it doesn't have to handle as many physics calculations or collision detection so the designers can do alot more on the graphics end.

Here's what I learned between reading this article and reading the Mass Effect 2 review earlier on.

Bloodmask = Bungie

They both made the same retarded point of how AMERICA is the BEST game developer because of ME2.

Sorry Bloodmask/Bungie, Bioware is Canadian. Fact. You are absolutely the most retarded troll ever to be born from some sorry part of Stupidville and my eyes bleed everytime I read your comments. Fact.

[Christopher]

THESE GAMES ARE NOT COMPARABLE.

Uncharted 2 vs Gears of War 2? Yes.

Mario Kart vs. Crysis? No.

Heavy Rain vs. Uncharted 2? No.

[Pillage05]

If it were between U2 and the Heavy Rain demo, I'd give it to U2, but that's just me. Although Heavy Rain does have some almost photorealistic facial images when you look at them up close. And the facial animations were outstanding. I still think U2 will be the most impressive overall though.

Can't wait to get my hands on Heavy Rain.

[morganfell]

Because only a PS3 exclusive can compete with a PS3 exclusive...

[Troll_Police]

Ain't that the truth.

[Greywulf]

lol. So sad.

[Hudahudahuda]

As far as consoles go, it's the truth. But people will still hide behind "opinions".

[gamingisnotacrime]

what else is suppossed to be compared with the PS3, microwaves?
how about the latest nvidia cards, yeah great show a 3-4 year old tech with the latest cards
PS3 competes with the 360, and that is that. PC this and that has nothing to do with consoles, and with the amount of great games and visual the PS3 is getting, im more than pleased with the $299 all included console

[DigitalAnalog]

And THEN I'll start comparing..............

-End statement

[GrandDragon]

Umm it's pretty obvious how much better Uncharted 2 looks than HR and unlike QD ND actually know how to make use of the SPU's and don't misuse them.

[GrandDragon]

Anyone who disagrees with me is basically saying Uncharted 2 looks like sh1t which it certainly doesn't.

The most graphically amazing games that are going to be show this year are: L.A Noire, KillZone 3, Resistance 3, Metal Gear Rising, God Of War 3, War Devil: Unleash The Beast Within, MotorStorm 3 & Agent.

Heavy Rain doesn't make it on the list because they had to downgrade the graphical quality of the environments in order to have realistic looking characters. NaughtyDog didn't downgrade their environments for realistic character models so why did Quanatic Dreams do it?

It's because they suck at using the PS3's hardware that's why.

[Gen0ne]

... and half way agree with it. You don't have to be nasty about it. Let's see you code a AAA title.

[TruthBTold]

unlike HR which I have only seen on the internet with mostly bad quality videos. I will have to wait and see.

I would have to disagree with most of your list for best looking games this year since some of the ones you list we have not even seen. I hope you're right but I cant be certain right now. I have never been impressed with R* design in games, they're fun but nothing visually impressive. Insomniac has a better grip on the PS3 but I am still waiting on them to blow me away with R3. Lets hope they do.

[lucifon]

Maybe Uncharted 2's facial animation has spoilt me but I felt after playing the Heavy Rain demo that the Jayden character had a very 'last gen' vibe to just the way he animated and the way his face looks (not from a technical standpoint last gen, clearly!). Shelby however was quite a step up from Jayden. Was this just me?

[Nitrowolf2]

your not the only one, i have to say that second part of the demo, jaden facial is just less better looking then Shelby
For some reason in that demo it felt like 2 seperate builds for me, The first part (not the tut) was impressive with he graphics and everything else but the second part it just seemed the grahics lacked with the character.

[Dnied]

with both.

Nitro ur right about the first part vs the second part. They could quite possibly be two different builds, we'll never know...

I thought the environment in the second part was low too.. the cars looked like they were from GTAIV lol

These screenshots really do both of them justice though, they look absolutely beautiful, makes me wanna play uc2 again while i wait for HR.

[Gen0ne]

Here we go again.

[Immortal321]

I guess it only happens on the Playstation

[infamousinfolite]

The last comparison clearly show UC2 looks better than Heavy Rain

[Milky]

With Heavy Rain the facial detail and body animation is some of the best I have ever seen, however, Uncharted 2 has really good animation AND much more detailed environments. So overall I would say Uncharted 2 has the better graphics.

[Two-Face]

Uncharted 2 looks better than Heavy Rain.

Try harder Quantic Dream

[i_like_ff7]

Can't really compare. Two completly different designed games.

[MajestieBeast]

Lol bloodmask the troll leaves his comment there but he is scared to post it here cause he will lose all his bubbles in 10seconds.

[Dorwrath]

Played the Heavy Rain Demo today. Looks like I'm gonna enjoy it a lot more than Uncharted 2.

[jalen247]

Heavy Rain looks better to me.

[nogolis]

As if there was ever any doubt... Uncharted 2, a real time game that uses real time action at every turn, trounces and tramples all over Heavy Lame... I mean this isn't even close, either. Look how wooden everyone looks in Heavy Lame.

When I got my hands on the demo I wasn't shocked that it sucked so bad... I was shocked I was right all along. The graphics are flat, more so the backdrops. The facial animations are real stiff. The dialogue is horrible.

Uncharted 2 not only looks better, but you can actually play it. It has gameplay you can interact with past simple button presses and controlling your character like a car... Who uses R-2 to walk? What is this, Resident Evil for ps1? Junk bunk Joke.

Even Uncharted 1 looks better than Heavy Lame does. What a waste of resources Sony. You should've learned your lesson on tossing money at no name, talentless companies with Lair and Heavenly sword... But you didn't.

[Two-Face]

Mass Effect 2 looks better than Heavy Rain also.

So sad Quantic Dream.

[UnwanteDreamz]

You have every right to not like HR but the gameplay arguement is useless tripe. All gameplay in videogames ammonts to simple button presses at the appropriate time.

Weather it is the image of your opponent dropping his gaurd that makes you press that combo sequence or the image of a player running across the screen that makes you tilt the analog stick and press R1 to fire. It is all button presses brough on by onscreen displays. Nothing more or less.

The fact that you think HR differes from another game in this department astounds me. Name a game and I can show you how that game had QTEs using ingame action as a prompt instead of pictures of buttons. The thing that sets "regular" gamplay apart from a QTE is the option to press a different button.

DISCLAIMER

This is my opinion and it does not reflect the opinions of people who do not understand how a videogame controller works in tandem with a video screen.

[FACTUAL evidence]

Heavy lame?....was that the best you could conjure up?...LAME! Anyways, uc2 looks incredible, but it's cartoony color vibrant polish isn't touching HR. Well HR looks better but lets just say UC2 breaths down HR's neck in this one....And two-face WTF were you smoking? Can I have some plz? Lets not bring Mass Effect into this...it has no place with the big guys...maybe you should compare ME2 with Resistance 2 or something...these 2 titles get compared to PC titles....

[randomwiz]

I'm sure the game will look a lot better. The demo was in 480i on the tv that i played it on.

Everyone knew the gameplay would be like this. I agree that pressing R2 to walk was different, but by no means annoying. Its just not something that you're used to.

One thing that annoyed me in the demo was when the fight scene happened. I was paying more attention to which buttons to press rather than enjoying the scenario.

[Coolmanrico]

Personally I say Uncharted 2 looks better. Yeah Heavy Rain is a bit more realistic, but I don't know, the characters don't stand out. Look at the last comparison, the guy from Heavy Rain, looks like your typical everyday caucasian male, with no distinct features.

[prettyboy1]

close but id say uc2 sorry qd but its a good runner up

[diggylee]

Let's sit back and compare screenshots for 2 really good games to see which one looks better. After a close look I find that there is no clear winner as both game engines are top notch! I will play and enjoy both Heavy Rain and Uncharted 2 reguardless of which looks better.

[Nitrowolf2]

like some has said IC2 has more game play then HR but that really shouldn't matter which looks better because both are still running in real time. Both games look great reason its hard for me to say which looks better is because of the atmosphere of both games. Also the setting like. UC2 has a more bright color to it and HR has more of the dark color that they would normally use in thriller/suspense settings.
I'm gonna say HR has the best facial detail of a game i have ever seen.
But honestly people saying there is no game play at all, that's just BS, its a different type of game play compare to others. Saying it has no "Game play" it would have to have no interaction with the controller at all HR is constantly using the controller for almost all action taken in the game.

[Nitrowolf2]

For me its a big hard to choose
like some has said IC2 has more game play then HR but that really shouldn't matter which looks better because both are still running in real time. Both games look great reason its hard for me to say which looks better is because of the atmosphere of both games. Also the setting like. UC2 has a more bright color to it and HR has more of the dark color that they would normally use in thriller/suspense settings.
I'm gonna say HR has the best facial detail of a game i have ever seen.
But honestly people saying there is no game play at all, that's just BS, its a different type of game play compare to others. Saying it has no "Game play" it would have to have no interaction with the controller at all HR is constantly using the controller for almost all action taken in the game.

[B00M]

Both look amazing. HR is realistic whilst UC2 is vibrant and crisp. Just finished playing the demo though, the lighting and reflections in HR are simply stunning. The blue and red police lights and the detail of the older cop especially the facial animations are fantastic. I think overall though U2 takes the cake due to its colours and immediate impact and details, but we still havent seen much from Heavy Rain.

[omicron009]

im going to go with heavy rain

[Red Eyed Gamer]

UC2 looks stunning. HR has the realism edge.

[DigitalAnalog]

Games are looking beyond excellent at this point I really don't have an issue which looks better or not (although I belive Heavy Rain has better visuals since more resources can be dedicated to graphics due to the gameplay style). However, Uncharted 2 raised the bar so damn high it really does speak leagues of the game.

**Sigh, I guess only PS3 exclusives can only compete with each other.

-End statement

[free3sixty]

Heavy Buttons looks a little bit better than GTA4 in ACTION.

I tell you, IGN, gamespot wont give HR a high scrore.

[chidori666]

who cares about the garbage review of ign?

only you bots..

[massapeal]

of course heave rain is going look better than UC2 because it not a action game so there not a lot of going on in the game so of course heave rain the player model graphics are going to look better than UC2 but u have to give UC2 graphics the upper hand because it a action game so there a lot of action on screen so i like UC2 BETTER ......

[Dance]

Uncharted 2 wins by landslide,why? because in Uncharted 2 you get to play the actual play the game rather than watch it

[PSNsecrets]

well all i can say for sure is that i,v compared these pics and yes U2 won the best graphics because it has smooth lines but HR has something more then U2 a deep story line you gotta make your own rules in the game you can kill a person that isn't involved in the crime but if you let him live it could hunt you for the rest of the game but if you get the player killed then it could take a turn for the worst but the story for HR almost like that game for ps2 witch was good but HR could have the deepest story for any game..

[fuzion17c]

Man it's awesome to be a PS3 owner!

[clarkdef]

I played the HR demo and the first section of the game looked great! The second didn't, there is too much bloom lighting in HR that spoils it. U2 looks better in motion, also I think HR had the chance to look better as it has a lot less going on but not quite.

[xg-ei8ht]

Bloodmask and bungie, Just accept Graphically the 360 does not come close.

It's ok.

You still got no texture Mass effect 2, and low poly cars of forza3.

I feel for you both, i really do/s

Ok here's what to do about it.

Goto your nearest PS3 seller and grab one ASAP.

Then ring Micro$haft and cancel your xblive accounts.

Grab Some decent games for the PS3, Watch High Quality Movies on Blu-ray and all will be good.

When going out, wrap up. It's cold out.

I almost forgot to add.

UNCHARTED 2 is the best Looking game on the PS3.

Enjoy it. Until 3 comes along.

ND OWN ALL.

[Optical_Matrix]

As much as I think Heavy Rain's graphics are amazing. The characters...they look kind of life less. The animations/character expressions on the character models in Uncharted 2 are vastly superior imho.

[artynerd]

So how many of you are aware that games like Uncharted 2 and Gears Of War use pre-rendered game footage for these cut scenes? You might as well take video footage of live actors and compare them to in-game footage, too.

Comparison fail.

[Immortal321]

have more colors

[memphis2]

here we go again on comparison TWO DIFFERENT games. i don't believe uncharted 2's goals was to make the most realistic game this generation. heavy rain's goal is to make the most realistic game out there.

[Gitaroo]

U2 is still technically better, like it got more advance technology like ambient occlusion etc and a bunch of action and explosion going and and it still mainly a steady frame rate. HR got less tech and some places still looks a bit rough compare to U2 at least in the demo, which is quite disappointing to me. But still looks great.

[artynerd]

@KiRBY3000 - to avoid load times? That's ridiculous, because LOADING a movie, rather than just animations would actually take more time.

Let me say it again, zoom in on the characters' faces IN GAME and you will plainly see they do not look as high detailed as the cut scenes.

This is pretty widely used "trick" to get people thinking the in-game graphics are better than they really are. If you're going to compare graphics, compare GAME PLAY SCREENS, not rendered movies.

[jetlian]

HR looks better than UC as far as realtime is concerned. All these pics are from cutscenes. Its no wonder you think ps3 has the best textures. thinking cutscenes are realtime

[artynerd]

Thank you. At least one other person here sees the fundamental problem with this comparison.

[shadowT]

I love Uncharted 2 and the Heavy Rain Demo impressed me. Comparable game experience? No.

[THE_GLOW]

Got the HR demo and have completed UC2, so it's hard to make full comparisons but based of what i've seen i'm going UC2. This may change once i get HR through my door, but i dont think so.

Uncharted 2 is a so polished it's crazy, no screen tear, no slowdown(from what i remember), good textures, great cut scenes (the cut scenes beat Heavy Rain IMO).

I'm going with UC2. The intearctions between characters on UC2 just come across a lot more natural, the little things they do gives it the edge.

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

4 minutes in from the above clip is what i'm alluding to. Just looks more believable.