Killzone 2 Lighting: Right Decision By Guerilla?

The game, despite being poured with praise for its stunning visuals, still had its flaws. Although what has been shown to the public so far has been 'Pre Alpha' according to its developers, many have complained that the game looked "too dark". However, here is a screenshot which compares the exact same scene - in typical Killzone 2 fashion, in darkness, with what seems like the implementation of a technique to add considerable lighting to the scene. Yet it seems that with the addition of Post-processing filters, Guerilla have sacrificed the amount of light to achieve a higher depth in visuals, resulting in the first screenshot image.

Question is; which do you think actually looks better?

[Meus Renaissance]

I actually think the screen looks more intriguing in the first one. There's a bit too much light, it loses its Killzone 2 feel. What do you guys think?

[Violater]

I don't know what the "Killzone 2 feel" is

[Bibto]

Actually, I think the first image is after the post processing filters are added. There was an interview with NGai Croal where the Guerilla team showed him how the post processing filters work.

Without the filters, the game looks more colorful and brightly lit, like it is in full daylight. Then they add post processing filters to deliberately make the game look darker and more menacing. They will also use this to add weather effects and different times of the day. I'll try to find the article.

[Meus Renaissance]

I can believe that, I did say the first did look more interesting and had more depth, but, I still believe that it needs a bit more lighting in some of the scenes we've seen so far because some HDTV's show black colours very poorly.

[Krazy Ken Kutaragi]

Not to worry children. Every single screenshot of Killzone 2 has been PRE-PRE-OMEGA-BETA-PRE-PRE-PRE -PRE-ALPHA-CENTAURI-PRE-BETA-PR E-ALPHA.

[Meus Renaissance]

Lol Ken.

[Gamingisfornerds]

He showed all the stuff the engine does and they actually toggled all the post processing effects on and off like you can see in the screenshots. I too think they need to add a bit more brightness, not too much, but a bit more atleast. It's too dark like it is now.

One thing I'm starting to fear though is that this game won't take place in daylight at all. I seriously hope that isn't the case!

Edit: You can watch/download that 25 min. video presentation here:

http://www.gamespot.com/vid...

[CrashSharc]

it doesn't have to be all colourful and shiny...

Personaly, I would pick the first one. The dark gloomy atmosphere is SO much more artistic, immersive, and exciting...

[sonarus]

they are trying to convey a dark and gritty feel for a new hostile planet. it dosent have to be colorful. if you want color look elsewhere

[richie007bond]

Hmmm yes the killzone 2 feel,lmao WTF is the killzone 2 feel(plonker)

[TheXgamerLive]

It's always a sony fan. There's so such thing as Pre Alpha, unless you count sitting ohn the sh1ter and planning out your game from scratch, or would that be wipe?

[k2d]

I call fake and troll-bait on this one. Is it even an ingame picture?
Please report fake on this.

[Polluted]

@Xgamer: There is such a thing as pre-alpha. The game hadn't gone into the alpha testing phase at the time of the initial demonstration. How is that made up? Guerilla admitted that at the time of the showing.

[deeznuts]

Hmm, Xgamer (random internet dude) who says no such thing as Pre-Alpha vs. Guerilla Games Developer who said their game was Pre-Alpha.

Hmmm ....

I'll think I'll go with Guerilla Games.

[TheXgamerLive]

Alpha means the beginning, Pre means before, so before the beginning? That's when your only writting it, thinking about it while on the crapper, in other words, there is NO Pre Alpha.

These were in the Alpha stage, there's no Pre to it.

Oh yeah, a few of you even said Pre Pre Alpha stage, LOL!!

[Polluted]

@Xgamer: being a rabid fanboy is one thing, I mean you must not have much else going on in your life right now so you focus on belittling people who chose to buy a different gaming console. I get that. Fill your boots. What bugs me is that you're trying to make fun of PS3 owners for using the term pre-alpha which is a generally accepted term in the software development community. I suppose I shouldn't let it get under my skin, but hey, I don't have much else going on at the moment either.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

The "pre-alpha" definition is near the top.

[dantesparda]

I know you must be feeling stupid/embarassed now. Then again you are nothing but a shameless little fanboy, so maybe not

[titntin]

I think they both look dreadful to be honest, and the lighting system will need a lot of work if this is representitive of what its currently doing.
As a games artist myself for over 15 years, I'm not too concerned as I have personally tweaked lighting in many games right up till the final submission, so they have plenty of time to get it right. Having recently been offered a contract to finish the environments on this particular title, I'm well aware that the assets for all the levels are not complete and so final lighting is probably some way off.

[mighty_douche]

i think "dreadful" is a little harsh.

also bear in mind these screen are over 6 months old. i saw these on a developer interview months ago. ill try find the link, its pretty interesting.

EDIT: for link please see "Gamingisfornerds " post a few above. (Gamingisfornerds cheers for saving me a job)

[Kleptic]

yeah we have only been shown one level...they have already confirmed that there will be levels that do not take place at night...during a thunderstorm (interestingly one without rain)...

I think the level they have shown shouldn't look any different in terms of gloom and darkness...the explosions lit stuff up perfectly...the flash of your own gun creating a real time shadow of you and your enemies is second to none (that dimly lit room that Sev runs into that has 2 helghast soldiers in it...all you see are their orange eyes...and then he literally "lights them up"...seriously, nothing touched that yet this generation)...

but I agree I hope there is a good variety between levels...the devs said that there wouldn't be bright tropical levels (a direct coffin nail towards the hapless that were eagerly bugging for a Crysis comparison)...that those types of environments did not exists on the planet...but that there would be overcast afternoons, as well as water plentiful environments...as well as that it would have real time weather changing conditions...

it is too early for anyone to sound trumpets yet...on either side...most are asuming the whole game will look like this one level...when we have already been told that we wouldn't...if you think this level is too dark, its probably safe to say its the darkest of the game...I think its great, but still hope for more variety overall...

not to mention that the demo did have an example of what the engine can do with bright lights...the first 20 seconds or so are all up above the clouds, with impressive volumetrics for the clouds and sun light reflections...its not like the lighting engine isn't capable of creating bright spots, which is sort of what this article is trying to imply...

[fusionboxer]

Now the reason I say this is because the game mixes dynamic lighting with pre rendered. Some spots are already pre determined while other sections aren't. This level is dark to showcase a kind of "mist or fog" caused by the various weather conditions on helghan.

Also the darkness adds a sense of uneasiness and uncertainty about what will come out next. Certain parts in the level are bright and other parts aren't. Also if the stage was already light then you wouldn't get the awesome effect of the flash from the guns lighting up the now battle infested city.

Because in the darker image we're not seeing any fighting, fires, or other details that are bound to make it in. When you add the gunfire, the explosions, and the constant visual fireworks of an all out gunfight you get a remarkable scene showcasing a beauty that's hidden under a layer of something else and to me that's sometimes the best way to reveal beauty.

[dhammalama]

Killzone 2 has pretty complex lighting. Hundreds of dynamic lights, ambient, occlusion, global illumination. From my understanding it's pretty advanced.

If you are judging from those pictures, than I understand if you mean the design or layout of the lighting in the scene needs work, but until you've seen the game in motion you can't really form a fair opinion.

I think that if there's anything these pics show, it's the versatility of the lighting techniques they are using. Well, that and the ridiculous amount of detail in that scene!!! Just think if the possibilities! An alien forest!? oh yeah.

We'll see, I hope it ends up as cool as it could be.

[Bibto]

Here we go:
http://blog.newsweek.com/bl...
Read paragraph 6 and 7. That seems to be exactly what these screenshots are showing.

[Michael Jackson]

Thanks for the link. It's actually a really good read. :)

[scrillakiller]

would u guys just shut up till we see more of the game.no one knows what other levels look like so shut up and stop debating over alpha stage shots.by the way i have a feeling we will see some new stuff very soon.alot of stuff surfacing now

[Rice]

The lighting in this game is great, the graphics are great, now it's all up to gameplay to finish it...

[Chubear]

All this for ONE part of ONE level of a game that'll likely have more then 12 missions and Lord knows how many sub-missions.

People are talking about it like the full game's out already or something. One level on a harsh environment at during a NIGHT invasion is supposed to look like daylight? *Sigh* I don't think logic even exists as an entity in the gmaing community anymore.

[Lord Cheese]

sorry dude, theres a typo in your comment. It should read:

"*Sigh* I don't think logic even exists as an entity in the flaming community anymore."

:O)

[coolfool]

I think what really needs to be considered more is the gameplay. The decision of what lighting techniques, or any graphical technique for that matter, should be used depends on how that technique effects the play of the game.

Does the technique add depth, immersiveness visual appeal or does it just (using lighting as an example) seem too dark so that enemies can't be seen, the full scale of the level can't be appreciated etc. ?

These are creative decisions that have to be made and I think at this point (I guess we all agree that the visuals will be great) Guerilla should be focusing on gameplay and playability. Thats the area that can mainly let them down now.

[amilimos]

it has a more menacing feel, giving you the feel of the helgahn world. An i dont know why there should be complaints about this when this is the only level we've seen. A beach stage like the one in killzone 1 would stop these posts i guess.

[TheMART]

So this should beat the already more then a year old Gears of War on the 360? moahahahaah

By the time KZ2 releases, Gears of War 2 will be looking around the corner also. Chainsawing KZ2's ass seen all the screenshots up till now

[mighty_douche]

whens GOW2 out?
how many screens you seen so far?
infact lets have confirmation its even in production before we claim how good it is.

thats like me says "ha killzone 3 will kick GoW2's ass!" we can all make things up dude.

[mistertwoturbo]

it isn't necessary for this game to beat gears of war graphically. because the ps3's already proved that with UT3. Coming from Mark Rein himself. So please, you go ahead up to mark rein's face and say Gears of War looks better than UT3.

[Cyrus365]

Ummm, Gears of war has been passed, by Uncharted. It's the best looking game on any console to date, and that's not my opinion that's many of the reviewers in the game industry. You might think Gears is better looking, but that's your opinion and definitely now in the minority. Not to say Gear isn't a great game though.

Anyway what I'd find more troubling, or say concerning...Gear of war is Still the best looking game on 360. Isn't that concerning, that a game released in first year of 360, a year later,there is no game that beats it's visuals.

Just the same if by next year there isn't a game on PS3 that beats Uncharted visuals, that'd be troubling too.

[PS3PCFTW]

HAHA.......the mart.....u have about 4 months before you and your beloved are completely upstaged by the sony console.

enjoy it while it lasts.......good riddens to u.

[spandexxking]

the old one looks a hell of a lot better, down to the nitty gritty of war i like it. plus its not a night fight its just the helghast control weather so its cloudy. the trailer shows this when they leave those "mother ships" on them landing craft, quite clearly daytime. although im sure they'l have other scenarios where itl be brighter.

[kingboy]

well so far we`v only been exposed to just a single level and i`m pretty confident there`s plenty more variety along the line

[LinuxGuru]

that this game is set on the home world of apocalyptic, evil, horrible, lightning-loving bastards known as Helghan, and it is DARK! EVIL! BROODING!

It's called ATMOSPHERE, people!

With a dark setting, you can use light to make for some very rich and striking detail. (Doom 3, anyone?)

The first image is AFTER post-processing.

The second image is SANS (without) -post-processing.

Please, no more xbot posts about an incomplete game being too dark on the PS3!

In fact...MANY MANY MANY graphical comparisons have shown the 360 to actually be the darker of the two when it comes to rendering output!

lol...

Why?

Why?

.......Killzone 2 is going to be the most graphically **CORRECT** game you'll have ever seen, and you find some way to WHINE about it?

Dear GOD!

The lighting engine -ALONE-

**SPANKS**

Crysis....do you people know nothing of what this game is going to do for console graphics benchmarks?

This game is going to make gears of war look like "Toy Gears Brought to you by Bob the Builder"

Ugh, I am sick and tired of nitpicking, especially from a PRE-ALPHA build of a game WITHOUT A SET RELEASE DATE.

ORIGINAL POSTER:

SHUT UP.

[2Negativecool]

Your comments SCREAM flamebate. I am as excited about KZ2 as the next guy, but don't ever compare Crysis-
The most visually stunning game as of now and the near future- and not to mention the most computationally taxing game ever that can see slow down on ANY system not specifically tweaked for it-

To a PS3 game.

[DJ]

so much post-processing. I do CG work, and it's a common pitfall for artists in my field to try and "show everything", mainly because so much time and effort was spent building Environment A, or object B, etc. It's important to not get too attached to your work. The first screenshot looks a lot more menacing, and you have to remember the E3 gameplay where the lightning strikes in the distance would illuminate the environment, and explosions and muzzle flashes also have an illumination effect as well.

It's dark, but not permanently. Either way, Guerrilla definitely has the best lighting system in the industry, and they're pushing it to the limits. BTW, you guys are going to LOVE when the sun peeks through the clouds in this game (already saw one screenshot).

[LinuxGuru]

I wanna see the sun peekie peekie!

Where's that screenie at, eh?

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Would you guys stop complaining!

Killzone 2 looks AMAZING! The only people complaining about the darkness are xbox fanboys that can't handle the fact that nothing will ever look this good on the 360.

GET OVER IT!

[HarryEtTubMan]

This is the truth. I've heard IGN, Gameinformer, BBC international News, and more say they ahven't seen ANYTHING look like Killzone 2 on a console. Everyone knows it. Xbots are jealous. Xbots are jealous. Their console isn't the PS3. Xbots are jealous. They don't have anything that look like Ratcvhet and Clank or Uncharted. much lees Killzone 2, Gran Turismo 5, Little Big Planet, FF13. Ignore the jealous bots and take their bubbles. This game lloks amazing and PLEASE REMEMBER....THIS IS NOT THE FINISHED VERSION OR ANYTHING BUT ONE LITTLE PIECE OF THE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T U GUYS UNDERSTAND ITS GOING TO EVEN LOOK BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAVFE SEEN?? IMAGINE THE VAST LASTSCAPES AND ALL THE CRAZINESS OF KILLZONE 2. THEY ARE GOING TO DELIVER. THE XBOTS ARE GONNA BURN.

The first picture looks badass. So sinister and creepy. Killzone 2 for the win. Nothing compares.

[scrillakiller]

geow already got spanked by uncharted graphically.where have u been?lost since uncharted i see

[Malaka]

no... Its too dark. Or is that to hide the bad textures?

[spandexxking]

have you seen the recent screens! the detail on the guns..awesome! hopefully sony learnt from their mistake by showing bogus videos/screens or im gonna look like a twat when it comes out

[Meus Renaissance]

I just got Uncharted and it is without DOUBT the best looking game on the market. Gears does not come close, if you disagree, you have not played Uncharted.

[BIGBAER]

Regarding the screens, I'll wait for the finished product. As of now I don't like either. There is too much blur and too few crisp textures---but that IS expected since it IS in ALPHA stage.

I expect the finished product to really shine, no pun intended. I do like the dark approach though. But really, at this point neither screens impress---objectively speaking.

[Zool 08]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

next joke please

[jiggyjay]

You sony fanboys are funny! you guys were saying before Resistance looked better than gears.. Then it was the crappy Lair.. Then it was HS.. Now its uncharted! face it the 360 is better than your crappy PS3!

[Bolts]

Gears look better than Uncharted? It must be terrible being blind. I own both games and there is no way in hell Gears look better than Uncharted.

http://media.ps3.ign.com/me...

http://media.ps3.ign.com/me...

[Meus Renaissance]

Which do you guys prefer? Which screenshot?

[spandexxking]

IMO the old one! but lets see the new lighting in action before jumping in

[LinuxGuru]

Obviously the post-processed image.

What, are you taking a survey and sending it to Geurilla Games?

Pa-Leeeeaase.

[LinuxGuru]

For YEARS I have been wanting a game that will use muzzle flashes to cast shadows correctly like they should!

When I'm standing close to a guy, and I fire my gun at him, I expect the muzzle flash to cast a big ass shadow behind him!

And I expect HIS gun's flash to create ANOTHER big friggin shadow behind him, just like it should!

This is going to be the first game to get my lighting FANTASIES right!

The first thing I'm gonna do with this game is rub it all over my nutsack and claim it as my very own.

Then, I'll do a naked worship dance in praise of the awesome amount of work that went into it.

Then I'll play the crap out of it, and hope I don't nut in my pants out of sheer excitement while doing so.

This sarcasm (or is it?) brought to you by Coeus frickin' Titan.

[coolfool]

I liked and agree with the first half of your comment.......what happend after that? What went wrong? Any clue to what I am getting at?

[Myth]

Can anyone say Gears of War. That game was dark, but still great. Even Uncharted looks dark but only when your in a dark area. You want dark areas too look dark and bright areas to look bright.

[SmokeyMcBear]

hmmm dark no so much as grey

[felidae]

like all the ps3 exclusives .. this will be one of the best games ever.

can't wait.

i need new stuff - not some old BS like Gaylo 3.

[waitbeyond]

i need new stuff - not some old BS like Gaylo 3.
New stuff like KZ2,FFX,GT5,MGS4 and not some old BS, right? LMAO!!

[LinuxGuru]

Meus Renaissance, in all his intelligence and glory, thinks that something was ADDED to the second image.

When in fact...the lighting engine was stripped away.

HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!

Duh!

"However, here is a screenshot which compares the exact same scene - in typical Killzone 2 fashion, in darkness, with what seems like the implementation of a technique to add considerable lighting to the scene."

You contradict yourself in your own post.

Nice going. Here's a link to an official developers video walkthrough to "enlighten" you.

http://onaxis.blogspot.com/...

*slaps meus' forehead for him again*

[Meus Renaissance]

Read my description again.

"Yet it seems that with the ADDITION of Post-processing filters, Guerilla have sacrificed the amount of light to achieve a higher depth in visuals, resulting in the FIRST screenshot image."

At first glance I thought it was a latter image but whilst writing my description I realised it wasn't. I thought I made that clear. It just seems that there is something added when you look at both screens at first glance; the lighting.

[Capt CHAOS]

I think the game looks great.. And that's from a xbox 360 owner..

[Cogwork]

for honesty and truth!

[PS3n360]

it would be cool if you could change the settings in the game and make everyone happy. Like someone said earlier some HDTV's have poor handling of contrast and blacks(LCD especially)which may make the first screen unplayable. it would be good if you could adjust the lighting in game rather than on your tv for this. I hope this game is good, I am looking forward to it.

[achira]

of course the first one, with filters on, lol, without doubt. anyone who have an idea of this topic knows that. xbots stop falming and go play halo color 3. by the way noone complained about gears of war being so dark. morons.

[Cynical-Gamerzus]

This is obviously a decision given in the direction of the artist involved with the games development.
Im worried about this being the whole look of the game.If so Id pass on it.
If they have varied environments with different lighting and environments (lush green or nature)then I would consider this game a visual masterpiece.
THe lighting would have to change from bright to dark at times to appreciate the graphics, so hopefully they varied the lighting cause it would be a waste if everything was dark all the time...THis isn't doom is it?

[jlytle1234]

to my understanding. the lighting has some significance to it. ive read (now consider this was a while ago) that in multiplayer for instance they were thinking of doing something like an on going war. a map that is always active and when the good guys are in control things are light and colorful and when the bad guys are in control things are drab and dark.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

I wonder just how much the framerate would drop if they added color, 5fps? LOL the box art will have more color than the game. I think "Pong" had more color.

[jlytle1234]

the lighting on this game doesnt change the frame rate. all the details and structures are always there, its just a matter of turning the lighting higher or lower. its not like an explosion or a waterfall.

[Ps3ShellShock]

the 2nd one doesnt capture the sense of war..the first one gives it that feeling that war is grim and ur fghting in a dead city...this game is gonna be soo wicked..

for all the xbots on here - shut up with ur stupid comments...it was ALL of u last year that said " PS3 will never come close to the CGI - its not possible" and u guys got kicked in the cunt...now u guys are saying "oh oh wait until gears 2" or " please this doesnt even compare to gears one"

1st off - its kinda sad that in its 2 years the only game u guys look back on is gears which launched a year ago - kinda shows u the power of the xbox 360 if after one full year after gears no other game has matched its graphics lol

2nd off - gears looked good..but lets take a look at why...less then 4 ppl on screen...not a whole lot happening around u...and it was GLITCHY as fuk..now watch the dev video when he explains whats in KZ2 - lighting - destructable enviroments - react hit system and soooooooo much more...so please..who are u trying 2 fool? u guys are still hanging on to gears after a year hahahaha thats just sad..

and 3rd - HS/Drakes/R&C/COD4 have already washed its a$$ with gears of war - so just face it...things wont get better for the 360 - they will just remain the same and maybe ull get abit more games that run at 720p - just maybe lol

[Probotector]

M.E.D.I.O.C.R.E franchise. Poor PStards.

[BlackIceJoe]

I myself like the dark feel more. But may be there could be a day and night feature added for people that like it more bright. So the longer you stay on that level the better chances to could become day or night.

[Miller]

It's cool to see post-processing effects used properly. The second image (presumably the "original") looks pretty uninteresting, there's no character to it at all. The first image has a darker, creepier feel to it - being able to convey tones or moods visually is a neat trick and hopefully something we'll see more of in games. Light is something so key to the way we perceive a scene that as it's used more effectively things are going to start looking very nice indeed! I love driving in the snow ('Winter Sunset') at the Nurburgring in PGR4, somehow the devs really captured the look and feel of a cold, snowy winter's day - it's awesome.

I wonder how much strain these effects put on the hardware? KZ2 has it's PP effects, Mass Effect has a grain-filter and something else (if I've been told correctly) and COD4 has it's "rag time warfare" & other modes. All this stuff has to be processed on top of the models/AI/physics; maybe it's less strenuous for the consoles to "half make" the picture and give it to another core or SPE to finish off with post-processing while the next frame is being made than for a frame to be finished completely by one core/SPE?

[SmokeyMcBear]

agree... tones and moods of the game.. something uncharted did wonderfully

[AliC]

I like the dark gloomy look, gives the game character you can keep your shiny graphics, I want gloomy.

[s1lens3]

I thought that the second looked a lot more better and I liked it because it has a lot of contrast and you can see a lot more detail but it kind of looks boring too. I pictured the the trailer without the dark feel and didn't feel scary or thrilling at all.

[Killjoy3000]

this game automatically is the best looking console game ever made. hands down.

[Statix]

They used post-processing to make it look darker in this instance. This is in order to set the proper mood. If they so wanted, they could use the post-effects to actually make the scene BRIGHTER.

It's an artistic choice, not a technical limitation imposed by post-processing.

[TheExecutive]

lol you got a disagree for that. It was pry for the "not a technical limitation imposed by post-processing." Some people just dont want to believe that the ps3 can and is a gamers console.

[TheExecutive]

this game has the best lighting of any game to ever hit the market. The reason its so dark is because its under the thickest of clouds. AKA so the sun is completely blocked out, its not at night its just the way the planet is.

What you little b@astards are complaining about is that the lighting is to REAL for your taste. Get over it, this is the 3rd level of the game, so what are the first two? they have to be from a different environment given you are just landing on the helghast planet in the 3rd level. Look to be amazed when you see the first pictures of a sunny level.

My only worry about the graphics is how the stylized realism (gritty war-like atmospheres) will mix with such real lighting. What effect will it give? Will I actually get immersed into the game? all questions that need to be answered.

[Expy]

It's called deferred-rendering. Read about it.

[cyprus]

exact same screenshots a while ago on the ps3 forums. I took it from a killzone 2 video explaining the lighting technique called post processing as some of you guys know.

In my whole hearted opinion, this screenshot looks better with the filters off. But in other areas of the game, I can see the filter making up some beautiful effects. I don't know, hopefully the developers will allows us gamers to toggle some of these lighting effects in game. That would be sweet.

[tfur]

Dev conference pdf...

http://www.develop-conferen...

[PS360PCROCKS]

I like the darker look but the game is by far more impressive lighter because you can see all of the textures, with the darkness it's a big muddy mess, oh well lol I'll play it either way.

[NiteWarrior]

The darker picture looks better to me

[Bull5hifT]

sony should get rockstars opinion on what needs to be fixed' to make it FUN' ......since rockstar's not owned by Micro$ like bungie

or maby ask infinity ward what its lacking .....to assure the best game possible

[mintaro]

to me it looks alot better when it is darker

[Raptors]

360 owner here and personally i think the darkness adds to the mystique of the game. The first shot looks better IMO. THe 2nd one has too much lighting and looks like a tv with its contrast at 100. And to tocuh on the people who say Uncharted looks better than Gears? I disagree. Its not so much that Uncharted graphics aren't good, its simply that when you deal with darker colors there's a certain realism that is achieved better and flaws of the game are hidden better. Gears > Uncharted, and from what I've seen KZ2 > Gears.

[devilhunterx]

To turn the filter on/off. e.g. like the static in Silent Hill games.

Give both options.

[CaliGamer]

I have to disagree, post processing is an artistic choice, and if they allowed you to turn it off then it would undermine the mood or tone they are trying to set for the scene.

If you buy a painting, you don't add trees or extra detail because you think it will look better, you just don't buy the painting. Or better yet, if you buy a CD, or download a song you don't ask the artist to give you the option of turning off the drums or the guitar in the song, that would be ridiculous.

I am sure once the game comes out, all the post processing and digital wizard is revealed in full, the reason for it all will become apparent.

[xg-ei8ht]

Yeah they could have given you the option with the 360 version of gears, they didn't.

But on the pc version they did. And here it is.

http://members.aol.com/xgme...

[Raptors]

lol why are you getting so defensive?

[CaliGamer]

Full PP looks much better. Makes the game evoke the emotions it was supposed to.

[ctzto]

it is definitely better darker. Having lighting like that will take the player away from the game.

[Mr Tretton]

the darker is better as it makes more sense. they are supposed to be on a dark hostle planet.

[no_more_heroes]

they're not on Earth? Thought they were. Oh well, both screenshots look like they can work. As the game is now I wish it was just a little brighter, maybe something between these two shots, for the sake of being able to see where the hell I'm going.

[TwissT]

Yeah the backstory of KZ2 is that the I.S.A invades the Helghasts planet Helghan and Helghan is supposed to have hostile weather patterns

[Rice]

The darkness adds to the atmosphere, resulting the player too be more in the game... i dont know about you, but i like it when im drawn into the game.

[Big Jim]

The dark picture looks awesome, but my TV seems to have trouble showing dark areas. Some games have areas that are so dark I can't see anything on my TV no matter what the TV's settings are on. So I just pray that this game allows you to adjust the brightness. Every game should allow you to adjust the brightness.

[RadientFlux]

hard to say... there is a big difference in seeing a screen shot on your computer and what you end up playing on your tv screen.

[jackdoe]

Not every level will be as dark as the demo. That is why they have all those adjustable light filters.

[djroberts]

Somewhere in between.

[Crazyglues]

Somewhere in-between the two would be nice....

bubbles for you...

[ROCCOZILLA]

WOW!

[Saint Sony]

Darker is more moody, but gotta love the attention to detail which sadly is barely visible in dark version. They should try to find a bit more interesting approach to lighting, dark but detailed world.

Unless of course they need to get rid of the details to make the gameplay smoother, but I don't think they would use lighting excuses for lowering the need of details... or would they?

[zonetrooper5]

I am excited for this game and I will be getting it for the PS3, however I am still waiting to see how good the gameplay is, I don't expect it to do anything innovated and I can tell its pretty linear like most shooters but I don't cae, I love playing FPS's. ^_^

Also there is no such thing as pre pre alpha lol. It goes pre alpha, alpha, pre beta, beta, then its the final months until it goes gold and is sent off to manufactures to print the disks. I do belive that GG is probaly in pre-beta for Killzone 2 seeing as they keep on hinting at a Beta coming soon.

[Darrius Cole]

I can only see one screen shot. Can someone tell me why?

[Meus Renaissance]

http://www.n4g.com/M/8/Imag...

http://www.n4g.com/M/8/Imag...