God of War 3 has been slated for a 2010 March release, and with its impending release come speculations as to how truly graphically impressive the juggernaut is in comparison to its latest PS2 iteration, God Of War 2 (which, believe it or not, is a current-generation game released near the end of the PS2's lifespan). There are many doubters, and I hope this thread will clarify some points as to why GOW3 will be indeed a significant graphical upgrade to GOW2 (and not just because of HD).
1) HD Goodness. GOW3 is already impressive alone due to the increased resolution it has been bestowed within from its transition between PS2 and PS3 platforms. Less jaggies, less blurry textures, crisper game, cleaner graphics, more vibrant colours due to the increased bandwidth.
2) Increased CPU Power, which equates to increased post-processing effects, increased physics and larger AI scale. GOW3 will feature more enemies, more particle effects, more blood, more post-processing effects than its predecessor, simply due to the more powerful CPU of the PS3 platform.
3) Increased RAM = Larger Scale. More RAM means richer, crispier textures, longer draw distances, more enemies, more of everything.
And GOW Devs know how to maximize the output of Sony's PS3 architecture, due simply to one thing : They are first-party, and Sony First-Party Exclusives seem to be the only titles that know how to maximize the PS3's potential at the time of development up to the time of release. We've seen this with Heavenly Sword, then with Uncharted, then MGS4, Resistance 2's inconceivable scale of simultaneous players and enemies on screen, and with Killzone 2.
And now, let me be the first to say that God of War 3 appears to be at the very least equal, if not, superior to the CG cutscenes of God of War 2. Why? Because of the HD resolution (presumably 1080p, though 720p is good enough).
Native Gameplay 720p is at least equal to prerendered 480p videos.
Simply take a look at these screenshots :
God of War 2 Gameplay Pics (I picked what I deemed the most impressive PS2 screenshots with Kratos up close and personal)
Remarks : As you can see, GOW2 is no weak contender. It is considered by many to be the best looking title on the PS2 platform, even against XBOX titles. Even by today's standards, its visual art****is still going strong, and visually pleasing (as long as you don't play on an HDTV).
Now let's take a look at CG Cutscenes from GOW1 (I couldn't find good quality Kratos CG close-ups from GOW2):
Remarks : Not bad indeed. The CGs from GOW1 and GOW2 were truly impressive, with detailed armor, fine usage of depth of field and usage of shaders along with self-shadowing,
Now for GOW3 Kratos close-up shots (all in-game) :
Remarks 1 : Woah, hang on, WHAT?! That's in-game?! That pretty much looks like prerendered Kratos from his PS2 era right there. He even has self-shadowing and the blades hold glowy shaders, not to mention the reflective arm padding he wields, most probably due to the surrounding lights' ambient HDR lighting.
His face alone seems to possess as many, if not, more polygons than the PS2 in-game Kratos's entire body.
Remarks 2 : Even in combat, Kratos seems as detailed as ever. Note the self-shadowing on his upper torso, as well the incredible lighting used throughout this entire pic. And guess what? This is during sheer combat with more enemies than GOW2 (based on the demo), and the framerate stays at 60FPS!
Remarks 2 cc : Look at the back torchlight by the ruins on the right-side of the screen, near the pillar. It's light is reflecting and adding dynamic shadows to its surrounding.
Take a moment to look back and forth between In-Game GOW3, CG GOW1, and In-game GOW2. The generation gap is remarkable.
There is more to GOW3 than textures and graphics alone, and despite my focus on graphics, you can expect to see GOW3 surpassing its predecessors on all levels, both in story, and gameplay, as this is indeed, the final chapter of Kratos's vengeful journey across the harsh mythological lands of Ancient Greece.
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