Tech Report: Anti-Aliasing In God Of War 3

Looking at any of the full resolution screenshots from the final release code of God Or War 3, you could be forgiven for thinking that what you are seeing is nothing more than supersampled bullshots, shots created for the purpose of making the game look good when blown up several times its original size for magazine printing. However you’d be very wrong indeed, because although some have speculated that these latest direct-feed grabs of GoW3 are downsampled images like most of the screens released for the demo, we at IQGamer can confirm that they in fact showcase the game’s unique Anti-Aliasing method in action.

That method in question is MLAA, or Morphological Anti-Aliasing, another form of edge smoothing done using the SPUs on the PS3 rather than the RSX GPU. We only heard about the game’s somewhat exciting AA solution a couple of weeks ago, after it was revealed in an online interview with one of the developers working on the title. It seems that whilst the original plan was to use the usual 2xMSAA method of jaggies reduction – and that was present in the recent PSN demo – that all changed at some point this year, in which a programmer at Sony’s Santa Monica Studio found a way of performing a much better method of AA on the CELL, whilst in turn saving the use of precious GPU and memory cycles in the process.


Just take a look at the screenshot above. The AA is absolutely amazing, far better than anything the 4xMSAA 360’s GPU can manage, and in some places matching perhaps what you expect from a high end PC gaming rig performing 16xMSAA. Either way, it is the best example of Anti-Aliasing on any console game to date, bar none.

In addition, the developers themselves at Sony’s Santa Monica Studio stated that they managed to increase both performance and quality of the AA used, along with other effects in the game, by offloading tasks normally done on the GPU to the SPUs on CELL.

“AA on the cpu is MLAA Morphological Antialising. We saved 5-6 miliseconds by moving it off the cpu's. Many props to our coder Cedric for making this happen and it looks way better!”

Of course the benefits of having better AA isn’t just dealing with jaggies reduction, but also reducing aliasing caused by certain shaders, such as specular aliasing for reflections and transparencies, whilst also eliminating texture shimmering caused by a lack of AA, bringing a stability and smoothness to the image allowing the art design to really shine. Its importance is usually only ever compromised due to the lack of available memory and bandwidth available on both systems. On 360 it’s having to fit the final framebuffer into the 10MB EDRAM, while on PS3 it’s dealing with just a lack of available bandwidth altogether. The use of MLAA can alleviate some of these issues providing a more even split of resources, which can then be used to improve other graphical aspects of the game.


The above screenshot demonstrates how well this use of MLAA works on gameplay scenarios. Notice that every single pixel in the shot is covered by the AA, without any extensive blurring of the detailed textures, even smoothing off edges that are small and far off into the distance. Everything remains clean and sharp, minus the parts of the scene which feature the engine's depth-of-field effect, used only on specific areas of the scene. You can see this happening on the botton left of the image, in which the scene is slightly blurred, whilst on the right, just above Kratos, all details are sharp and clear as day, even in the distance.

Another recent release, Metro 2033, due out this Friday, also uses a custom form of AA done specifically on the CPU, but this time on Xbox 360. It’s called AAA, Analytical Anti-Aliasing, and works by finding all the pixel edges, rendering samples of them in a higher resolution, before then downsampling those samples for use in the final 720p framebuffer. Effectively the only performance hit you get, is a slight one caused by having to render a small amount of pixels in a higher resolution, and the end result is another AA solution which allows for the same effect as using 16xMSAA. However the developers still managed to save 11MB of memory by using this technique instead of regular MSAA, which was their original choice, memory used for other visual effects taking up precious space in the framebuffer.

So God Of War 3’s impressive use of AA is just one of an increasing amount of games looking for a more flexible AA solution than the out of the box MSAA fix found on both consoles GPUs. By exploring these other areas, and by doing things differently they can ultimately drive forward better image quality, whilst focusing more on things such as art design, which has always been more important that raw technical prowess.

Lighting is another area in which GoW3 proves this notion of thinking.

“We built our engine around being able to use up to 20 dynamic lights per game object. The light can be big or small, it doesn't matter. In the end, I believe we support up to 50 dynamic lights per game object. We are not using a differed lighting scheme. Our lead programmer Vassily came up with this amazing system during pre-production, us artists love it!!! We can place lights in Maya and have them update in realtime in the game on the PS3, its like being able to paint with lights.”


Again, this is Santa Monica Studio thinking up a solution that isn’t right out of the box, but is technically at the forefront whilst also being very much in consideration with just what their artists were looking for. It’s exactly this kind of attitude and understanding that is driving forward the use of alternative AA solutions, at the same time providing increased graphical fidelity, whilst saving on performance, and making development easier for future titles. This is especially important with regards to memory related issues, which generally keep coming up in every console generation, and in which working smarter, not harder is really the only way in pushing forward console performance years after launch.

From a developers point of view, now has never been a more exicting time to be involved in console gaming, in which both tools and innovation are coming together setting the new standard of videogames production. Anti-Aliasing is of course just one part of the picture, but in GoW3's case, it could be its defining one.

IQGamer will be performing our in-depth technical analysis on God Of War 3 this weekend just after the game’s release. Be sure you check it out, as it will be filled with interesting technological reveals about some of the development process behind the game, and the ever more innovative steps that developers are taking to push the visual envelope forward.

Tech Analysis: Final Fantasy XIII (PS3 vs 360)

Final Fantasy XIII has been having a rough ride in the press recently, with both fans and journalists alike quick to critise the linear and almost on-rails nature of the majority of the game. And while we much of their criticism is well justified, we can’t hep but feel that the new Paradigm Shift mechanic, combined with a faster variant of the Active Timer Battle system, make up for the tightly controlled nature delivered in the first 25-30 hrs of gameplay.

One area in which we feel deserves all the criticism being flung towards it, is with regards to Square Enix’s pitiful attempt at cross platform development, simply quick porting across the PS3 code to the 360 without any optimisations, or consideration for the hardware. In that respect FFXIII is nothing short of a travesty, and a disservice to not only Xbox 360 owners everywhere, but also the development community as a whole. Given that the release date for both North America and Europe was pushed back significantly in order to allow for a 360 version to be available on the same day as the PS3, we have every right to expect a far better conversion than what we eventually got.


Also, for this latest Technical Analysis come Head-to-Head feature, we at IQGamer, have decided to cut the fat down just a little, feeling that our exemplary Bioshock 2 analysis was far too long winded for it’s own good. So in that respect, for our latest tech feature, we’re going to be far more concise and straight to the point. All the details of course will still be present and correct, picked over with the same fine toothcomb as before. But unlike in the past, it’s not going to be presented in the way of a 3000 plus word dissertation on the subject. More like our quick, clear, and thoroughly in depth Halo Reach analysis.

As always, we’ll start by stating the rendering resolutions used for both versions of FFXIII, before moving on to cover texture filtering, use of framebuffer effects, etc. You know the drill by now.

Final Fantasy XIII renders in full 720p (1280x720) on the PS3, using 2xMSAA (Multi-Sample Anti Aliasing), whilst on 360 it renders in a meagre 1024x576p, also using 2xMSAA. The outcome of this has a devastating effect on overall image quality and screen clarity, hiding away some of the more detailed textures used, whilst blurring the entire image.

On the 360 version the game renders in little more than Standard Definition resolution, and then is upscaled by the internal game engine to 720p, with the HUD elements being added after the scene has been completed. The scaling on offer is slightly worse than found in upscaling original Xbox games via the 360, creating mildly fuzzy edges on geometry, and blurring many of the finer details clearly visible in the PS3 game. Why Square Enix (SQE) didn’t decide on using the internal scaler found on the Xenos GPU is beyond me, as it definitely does a better job of things. Maybe they were using that particular part of the GPU for something else, or found that it was simply easier to use their own engine for the task.


720p 2xMSAA


576p 2xMSAA

In the above two screenshots you can see those differences we’ve just mentioned and the effect it has on the final look of the game. The PS3 game remains pin sharp, as it’s native 720p with nothing else going on, whereas the 360 game is significantly blurrier as a result of upscaling from 576p. The only consolation is that the use of 2xMSAA on the 360 version allows it to be upscaled with fewer jaggies being visible than if no AA was present, giving cleaner looking edges with less artefacting.

It seems that SQE has resorted to using 576p on the 360 in order to fit the framebuffer into the 10mb EDRAM available whilst still using MSAA, and to avoid titling multiples of that 10mb into main system RAM. Having the game render in 720p with 2xMSAA would mean titling to system memory, whilst incurring additional performance hits with regards to objects present in both titles, so to speak.

With regards to texture filtering, both versions are identical. Neither one uses any kind of AF (Anisotropic Filtering) solution, instead going for the more common Trilinear approach. No doubt this was done to converse the memory footprint so precious when working with the PS3. Although since PS3 effectively features nearly double the amount of texture units on its GPU than compared to 360 – meaning that AF is almost a free commodity – it’s somewhat surprising to the a lack of AF being present on that build.


In addition, the PS3 version appears to not only have more detailed textures than the 360 game, it also features additional texturing not found anywhere in Microsoft’s butchered port. The next screenshot further down shows exactly what is missing in some scenes, and all signs point to it being more than just a case of poor upscaling of a lower resolution image. Although, we did find that many textures are also identical across both platforms, with the 360’s upscaled image hiding some of the detail.

To test out this theory of additional texturing, we actually played the same sections on the PS3 with the console’s video output set to 576p over HDMI, letting our Plasma do the upscaling work. The result was although we had a blurrier image than the 360 game – due to the 360 upscaling the game better than the TV – we also could see that the textures were still more detailed on the PS3 despite the poorer quality upscale.


One area however, which is like for like across both platforms, is the use of Alpha to Coverage (A2C) for transparency effects and particles. When using A2C in order to render transparencies, instead of rendering a whole transparent texture, the A2C produces an interlacing style effect, creating an almost dithered look to things. It’s kind of like a mild screen door type effect, used to half the amount of bandwidth needed for such effects. The advantage is that you can render full resolution transparencies with lower cost than if you were rendering them as a whole solid effect.

All of the transparent elements of characters facial hair, except eyebrows are rendered using A2C, including the hair on their heads, and even eyelashes too. Also, numerous particle, and smoke effects are rendered this way, though not all, to keep bandwidth under control.

The screenshot below shows the A2C at work on both version of the game.


Unfortunately, the 360 version not only uses A2C in order to fit the framebuffer into EDRAM, it also renders lower resolution transparencies as well, due to the reduced overall rendering resolution, making the effects look even worse on that build than they should. The PS3 has no such issues, other than the interlacing style look to anything see-through, because all these effects are rendered in 720p. Quite how SQE couldn’t take advantage of the 360’s near limitless amount of bandwidth to deliver full resolution transparent effects is unknown, but we feel it’s a case of why bother, rather than how, given the short conversion time and rushed approach to 360 development.

In terms of framerate, both versions manage to stay at a mostly stable 30fps. However, it is the 360 build which has a slight advantage here, with us noticing less drops than with the PS3 game. While both drop down to around 20fps at times – without any equipment to measure framerate, we can’t be any more specific – it’s the 360 version which seems to maintain 30fps in close-ups during the in-game engine cut-scenes, whereas the PS3 version tends to slow down slightly. Both versions seem to slow down at similar points in battle sequences, though again, the PS3 slows down slightly more.

Any differences we found between the two were very slight, certainly the PS3 game, when it drops, does so by only a few frames more at worst than the 360 game. This seems to be the only area in which I would say the 360 version hits parity with the PS3 one. Oh that, and the use of 2xMSAA.

Despite these issues, Final Fantasy XIII actually manages to be a very pretty game. In some situations it looks almost stunning to behold, with various HDR lighting effects, reflections, and particles being pushed around on screen. Plus at the same time, featuring some of the most detailed gigantic creatures we’ve ever seen in a game. Lost Planet aside, obviously. In this regard SQE have produced a visual wonderment in which art design is equally important as technical precision, and that goes a long way in constructing its visual impact. Naturally the 360 version also benefits from this too, as the post processing, lighting effects, and beautiful art style, helps in keeping the image clean whilst being upscaled to 720p.

Moving on from in game assets, and into the realm of CGI cinematics, I honestly didn’t expect the 360 version to fair as badly as it did against the PS3 game. After all, if you’re gonna be putting the game on multiple discs, then surely you’d have enough space for some high quality video sequences. Unfortunately not, and SQE have once again taken the quick and easy route in porting the meticulously produced, almost Blu-Ray quality CGI video sequences and transcoded them rather poorly.

Seeing as the both the 360 and the PS3 have full support for allowing for HQ video encoding, it’s a complete mystery to me as to why they didn’t take advantage of that fact. Instead they’ve gone down the route of using much lower bit-rate compression, resulting in a rather poor image. During quick pans, and overall fast motion, the 360’s CGI sequences are filled with macro-blocking and other artefacts, dissolving any fine details to be found.

At least the CGI cut-scenes are rendered in 720p on the 360, which is more than could be said for the actual game itself, although they don’t feel that way.

By contrast the PS3 version features what looks like full 1080p (1920x1080) cinematics, all encoded using far better compression schemes. And whilst they aren’t quite BR quality, due to the lower bit-rate used, they don’t suffer from any of the issues facing the same footage on 360. In fact, on PS3 detail is superbly clean and sharp, with no artefacting.

Arguably, it’s such a shame to see such a disrespect taking place with regards to keeping FFXIII’s trademark cinematics at a high quality. If nothing else, all those long-winded CGI cut-scenes are as much the lifeblood of the franchise, as are the actual turn-based battles, or resilient level grinding seen throughout much of the series. And to see them here, butchered up to make way for a quick and easy multiplatform port, isn’t really fair to the fans, which are ultimately the ones who allow the series to carry on flourishing.


In the end, it’s the PS3 version of Final Fantasy XIII that shines in every area, losing absolutely nothing over the badly butchered 360 port. Not so surprisingly, I’d put 360 FFXIII alongside Tekken 6 and Bayonetta on the PS3, as one of the worst multiplatform developments released by a Japanese software house to date.

However, despite all the technical shortcomings, Final Fantasy XIII is still the same game on 360 as it is on PS3. You’ve still got the lovingly crafted, and utterly captivating storyline to get your teeth into. The battle system, whilst being geared towards newcomers to the RPG genre, also contains numerous depth, making up for the faster pace, and linearity of much of the game. In addition, you also have what could be considered the most polished of all the JRPG’s released so far this generation, especially on the 360, which has seen it’s fair share of failed attempts to reinvigorate the genre.

Even if you only have the option in picking up the 360 version, it is definitely worth doing so, as all those graphical shortcomings won’t tarnish the overall experience for most people, and there’s a whole lot more to Final Fantasy XIII than just how it looks.

Given the choice though, the PS3 version is the one to get, any day of the week. Its full resolution, 720p output, makes it a far more accomplished animal graphically, allowing its art to shine far brighter than on Microsoft’s console. Also, when you are talking about a game that relies so much on visual presentation to carry everything else that goes along with it, you don’t really want to be making any compromises with that on a visual level.

Hopefully, Square Enix will be able to move on from this debacle, putting a greater emphasis on future cross-platform development, whilst taking their time to creating decent multiplatform tools and a versatile engine to go along with them. Because by the looks of it, this is where the industry is heading, and you either keep up or get left behind.

For a rather unorthodox look at Final Fantasy XIII, head over to Beames on Games. It's not quite what you'd expect, making for an entertaining read.

PlayStation Move: The Complete Report

Motion controls are definitely being seen as the next big thing to embrace videogaming this decade. Driven by the success of Nintendo’s Wii, both Sony and Microsoft are now attempting to steal away some of the Big N’s dedicated fan base with their own attempts at motion control. While Microsoft are pursuing a controller less system of body and movement tracking, Sony are playing the head to head game with Nintendo, featuring a wand-style controller design, along with head tracking and more advanced movement in conjunction with using their PS Eye camera.

At GDC10, Sony revealed a near finished version of what they are now calling the PlayStation Move, previously known by the codenames of Gem, or more recently PlayStation Arc, and originally referred to as simply, the ‘PlayStation Motion Controller’. Two individual parts making up a complete set of controls for the device was shown, one recognising various movements and actual screen positioning, and the other used as a secondary option for games also requiring more traditional controls in addition to motion recognition. Both serve as Sony’s higher end tech approach to Nintendo’s Wii Remote and Nunchuck.

Sony first showed off the ‘Move’ at E3 2009, in which audiences were presented with a device not too dissimilar from the Wii Remote, but featuring a more curved ergonomic shape, and a round glowing ball on the end. On first impressions the Move looks much like a highly modified Microphone controller for use with Singstar, but with the glowing Ping Pong ball attached. However the device is flatter on the underside, and features an array of buttons found on the Dual Shock 3 and Sixaxis controllers. The controller also features the full rumbling capabilities of the Dual Shock 3, and vastly superior motion handling compared to the Sixaxis.


On the underside of the Move, near the end, you have one analogue trigger, whilst on the front you have the main ‘Move’ button, surrounded by the ‘square’ and ‘cross’ buttons on one side, and ‘triangle’ and ‘circle’ on the other. Below this sits the iconic ‘home’ button with the familiar ‘PS’ logo on it. Further down sees a Sony logo placed above the small and familiar, square-shaped red light, used to indicate power and connection of the controller with the PS3. The Move itself is fully wireless, featuring a built in battery just like the standard Official PS3 controllers, and is charged by using the same USB cable as those. The port for this sits underneath the bottom of the Move controller directly, just where on the Wii Remote the Nunchuck would plug into.

Using different sphere colours for each controller, up to four Move controllers can be tracked at once with the PlayStation Eye. At the GDC Sony showed off demos for the PlayStation Move using one Move motion controller, as well as some which used two motion controllers, where the user hold one in each hand. Initially, Sony has stated that all launch titles for the device would be playable with just a single Move controller, with additional options for use with multiple motion controllers. This is being done to minimize the cost for the user, to make it more appealing for the casual gamer, and to allow a faster uptake of the device, otherwise hindered by an additional expense of buying several controllers.

The other part of the Move experience is the Sub-Controller, which looks very similar to the Move itself, having almost the same rounded, ergonomically designed shape, but featuring a slight downwards curve on the underside at the front. The Sub-Controller is essentially Sony’s Nunchuck companion to the main Move device, and is used to facilitate the duties usually carried out by the Dual Shock 3 controller.


Around the font, and at the top of the controller, sits a single Dual Shock 3 style analogue stick. Below this sits the ‘cross’ and ‘circle’ buttons, whilst a traditional d-pad is situated directly below these. Just down from this is the ‘home’ button, marked again by the ‘PS’ wording printed on top. Like with the Move controller the ’Sub’ also features a printed Sony logo at the bottom, along with the power and sync light. Lastly, on the underside of the unit, situated at the front, you’ll find both an L1 button, and L2 analogue trigger. Unlike the Move controller the Sub has no rumble or motion handling capabilities. It is unclear whether this is the case due to either a lack of software using these features, or simply, that the controller just lacks these abilities outright.

These two separate parts, and the use of the PS Eye make up the complete overall motion experience that is PlayStation Move. In many ways usage of this system should be almost identical o that of Nintendo’s Wii. Certainly judging by the early reports from GDC 10, this seems to be the case, although one single element sticks out from Ninty’s system, and also borrows a chunk right out of Natal. This is the Move’s ability for accurate body and face recognition features in addition to the standard motion controls available.

By using the PS Eye camera’s ability to track head movements in combination with the sensors inside the Move, and through the ball on the end, allows the system to track basic body movements in a 3D space, much like how Natal does. However the Move and the PS Eye system in combination can operate within just 1 or 2 frames of additional lag, meaning that at best only around 66ms of lag will be present on the console side of things. Most decent HDTV’s will add around 15 to 38ms of lag on top of that, which in total is on roughly on par with what games like Halo 3 are providing, minus additional lag via the TV. In worst case scenarios total lag is likely to be around 150ms including HDTV lag, in a fully optimised title. This however is still much better than the kind of lag most Natal titles are having to deal with, but sadly, there was nothing software-wise remotely finished enough at GDC to make any solid technical statements to back these up, other than the raw factual data about how the Move operates.


So the Move can handle at least basic body recognition, and is extremely accurate with very little control lag. But how does it do this, and why does it have the potential to work so well?

Well, we’ll start off by explaining how the actual Move wand works itself. The glowing ball on the end of the controller glows in a range of colours using the built-in RGB LEDs, these colours serve as a marker of sorts in which the PS Eye can track along in its image plane. The rounded shape of the ball, and the size of the light, allows the PS3 to determine the distance of the controller from the PS Eye via the light’s image size, enabling the controller’s position to be tracked in three dimensions, with a great deal of accuracy. This sphere-based calculation method, allows the controller to operate with minimal processing lag compared to other ways of image processing via the camera. Which is why there is expected to be slightly more lag when using the PS Eye to help track body movements, even though is likely to be no more than around 2 or 3 fames at most.

In addition to this, the Move also features a range of internal sensors to also help with movement and position tracking, especially in situations in which the device is hidden from the PS Eye camera. A pair of inertial sensors inside the controller, along with a three-axis linear accelerometer, and a three-axis angular rate sensor, are used to track rotation and overall motion of the device. In addition to this, an internal magnetometer is used for calibrating the controller against the Earth’s magnetic field to aid in correcting cumulative errors, or drift, if you will, in the inertial sensors. All these sensors can be used to track the position of the controller when obscured from the camera, such as when held behind the player’s back, or behind another player in the same room. Meaning that the Move isn’t completely reliant on the PS Eye in order to function correctly at all times.

In terms of the level of precision this system provides, Eye Toy creator Richard Marks stated that “the sphere's position along the camera's image plane can be resolved at a really sub-pixel level”, which in terms of accuracy, allows for some pin-point adjustments and subtleties not available to either Natal or the Wii Remote with Motion Plus enabled. This means that one-to-one recognition will be available as standard, and will be easier to achieve than on Nintendo’s Wii Remote and Motion Plus. Also, that this kind of accuracy should be available when talking about the full body tracking made possible by using the PS Eye.


More information was forthcoming at Sony's GDC press conference, with David Coombes, and Anton Mikhailov showcasing a number of technical demonstrations, many of which showed audiences the Move's pinpoint precision and low latency. Along with these, they also discussed how the Move supports full body tracking, showing a demo of an on-screen puppet being controller by the use of the Move and PS Eye, not unlike similar demos for Natal.

Like I mentioned earlier, body tracking is made possible by the combined use of the Move and the PS Eye’s head tracking abilities. According to the GDC presentation, the PS3 will also be able to detect faces, identifying individuals through face contour and feature detection. It will also be able to recognize gender, age, smiles and when eyes open and close, in addition to tracking movement. All of this is also done with minimal processing lag, hopefully allowing maximum responsiveness on the users end.

Coombes explained during the presentation, that all the calculations to do with the image processing are done by the Cell CPU, which is perfectly suited to the high levels of floating point calculations needed for such a task. Apparently the raw data taken from the Move and PS Eye can be processed in “under a frame” in optimum circumstances to around one to two fames in most others. The amount of memory usage for the whole process is also only around 1-2MB of system memory, which Mikhailov described as being truly “insignificant”.

Essentially what this means, is that the Move when used with the camera, can not only handle direct one-to-one motion tracking, but also what amounts to augmented reality applications too, all with extremely high levels of accuracy, without too much impact on user control or fluidity. Of course it will be down to the software, and developers to make sure everything is implemented and optimised in a way in which to take advantage of these advanced features. If they do so, the Move could well be an impressive solution to handling some of the controller less type games so integral to the Natal experience, whilst also providing a platform for ‘core’ gamers to enjoy the benefits of motion control.

Unfortunately, Sony failed to show off any unique, or particularly polished software at their GDC press conference. Most of the titles simply featured merely serviceable levels of motion control, with noticeable lag being present, or in some cases a complete lack of on-to-one motion handling at all. Some of the Sports titles displayed seemed to rely more on gesture-based systems than the high end tracking available with Move.


However Sony did manage to demonstrate two or three games, which used the Move in the precise ways shown in their technical demos. The first of these was the newly revealed SOCOM 4, which used the Move in combination with the Sub-Controller exactly like Resident Evil 4, or Metroid Prime 3 on the Wii. The Move device handled all the aiming and shooting, while the Sub-Controller was used for moving your character around amongst other things. Sony showed a demo of SOCOM 4 in action, using the two-controller set-up. The difference being that the pointer precision was far more accurate than on Nintendo’s console, and the motion detection seemed to have a greater range of sensitivity; The second was another in-house Sony product, titled Motion Fighters, a boxing game showing off the full body tracking capable by the Move, and lastly, camera-enabled real time 3D interaction in Move Party. For each of these demos the Move was shown to be incredibly accurate, with regards to response time and tracking. However the software had a number of glitches, and Move support was obviously very early, leading to problems with lag and calibration issues.

So far, what has been revealed, shows off a tantalizing potential for Sony's Move device, producing a one-fits-all controller which could well become the new standard in motion-based gaming. However despite this, Sony had very little in the way of real polished software, certainly nothing screaming out as essential as to buying the Move, plus, as of now, there are still far too many questions left unanswered. We still don’t know if the Sub-Controller has any motion capabilities, and nothing concrete was revealed on the pricing structure, or if any solid bundles featuring the PS3 and the complete Move package would be available at launch.

Sony did confirm that they were looking into providing something along these lines, though obviously subject to change at the moment.

- A basic starter kit, which includes a PlayStation Move controller, along with a PlayStation Eye and a demo disc, for no more than $100. This seems to be the basic entry package.

- A pack which includes a PlayStation 3 console, DualShock 3, PlayStation Eye, and PlayStation Move motion controller.

- Lastly, a bundle with a PlayStation Move controller with selected games.

Other than the rough $100 entry package, no other specific pricing details were revealed, and disappointingly there was no mention of a complete package with a Sub-Controller, leading me to believe that you may well have to buy it separately. On top of the above options, you can expect to be able to buy extra Move controllers, and Sub-Controllers separately. Though again, no pricing details were announced at this time.

It is believed that Sony will be making a full unveiling of the PlayStation Move, along with pricing and more polished software at this year’s E3 expo. There we shall be able to see if they’re on target to deliver some of the initial promises of actually having the most accurate, and most responsive motion control system this generation. We shall also will be able to see how the Move stacks up against Microsoft’s Natal, and to see which one provides the user with a greater range of motion controlled gaming experiences.

You can expect a fully featured tech article at IQGamer later on in the year, along with a full hands-on with both Controllers. Until then, we’ll be sure to fill you in on any details passing our way.

Capcom Shows Off Super Street Fighter IV At GDC

The odd and rather eccentric cast of characters in the forthcoming Super Street Fighter IV is about to get a whole lot weirder, as today at the GDC, Capcom unveiled yet another wacky addition to the line up of pugilists. Along with revealing a new character, they also showed off a brand new trailer for the game, featuring footage of new stages, new moves and of course, Hakan, the somewhat oily new addition to the established cast.

Hailing from Turkey, with a ruby-red skin complex, hulking great biceps, and a mean streak to boot, comes Hakan, the latest in a long line of grapple-based Street Fighters. This latest addition to the SF roster is bizarrely, a Turkish oil wrestler, a character who loves nothing more than to lube himself up with the slimy liquid, before using it to quickly slide around evading capture, whilst squeezing the seven shades out of anyone who stands in his way. Pretty odd you might think, but is that any different from the Rufus, whose size and sheer BMI does little to slow him down, making him a deadly contender to come up against.

It’s no surprise then, to hear that Yoshinori Ono went out deliberately looking for such a strange style of fighting when given the task of creating another new Street Fighting addition. His team whilst working on finishing the game actually spent time searching around on the Internet in order to come up with ideas for this latest creation, settling for an interesting and rather amusing fighting style. What’s more peculiar, is that Oil Wrestling is a recognised martial art common place in Turkey, and has been the inspiration for many over-the-top fight scenes in various action movies over the years – The Transporter easily coming to mind.


If you still think that the potential for such a character was a little off the wall, then wait until you see him battle it out in the game. Hakan is primarily a grapple-based fighter, but that doesn’t mean to say that he’s slow, or lacking in stamina. This guy can not only move but has the ability to use his oiliness (what a word eh?) to escape from throws and holds, even using one of his Ultra’s purely for defensive purposes. His range of moves is also completely affected by just how oily he is, with players being able to add more oil to his body by pulling off a Dragon Punch style motion in combination with any of the kick buttons. Unique? Bloody awesome I’d say.

In terms of moves, Hakan has a total of four Specials available, one Super, and Two Ultras, one of which is completely different to any other we’ve seen before. His basic Specials consists of mainly throws, the first being the Oil Rocket (performed via a full 360 degree stick movement plus a punch button), which then sees Hakan grabbing his foe in a bear hug, before squeezing ever tighter until they slip out of his clutches; following up is the Oil Dive, in which Hakan will grab his opponent before using them as a sledge across the ground; and finally we have the Oil Slide, a move which is used to knock opponents on to the ground by seeing Hakan slide across the floor, after which he can perform a body slam by the player hitting a punch button at the end of the slide. With this particular move, how oily you are determines the speed and force of movement, creating more damage the faster you connect.


His Super move, the Flying Oil Spin, sees him running towards his opponent at close range, before finishing up with a brutal, heavy-hitting combination attack, looking like an extension of several of his Special moves, just vastly powered up.

Moving on to Ultra’s, Hakan has one Ultra primarily for offence, and one used for totally for defensive purposes, something usually found in SNK’s King Of Fighters series with regular Special moves. The Oil Coaster, for example is designed for maximum damage, and is done in the same outrageously OTT approach as all his other moves. When performing it, the opponent is grabbed, thrown in the air, and then slid around Hakan’s body almost like a heavy-handed towel rub - because too much oil is never good for the skin; While his second Ultra, the Oil Combination Hold, sees him fall flat on his back, waiting for an unsuspecting opponent to jump in for the kill. When they do, they find themselves slipping and falling straight on his stomach, before bouncing off onto the ground. Afterwards Hakan, gets up and jumps right on them, proceeding to squeeze as hard as he can, before shooting them out through between his legs, and across the screen.


So far this has to be the funniest off-the-wall character to grace the Street Fighter world, it’s a brilliant choice, packed with tons of personality and a completely different style, in which I can see plenty of high level players adopting. Also, as an alternative to Rufus and Zangief, Hakan features plenty of potential, and will no doubt teach those dime-a-dozen Ryu and Ken players a thing or two. So forget trying to spam everyone with those fireballs.

Super Street Fighter IV is being released on the 30th, April 2010 for both PS3 and Xbox 360 systems. The game will feature ten more characters new to SFIV, including some completely new faces, along with new backgrounds, an expanded online mode, a more robust replay feature, plus a return of those car-smashing and barrel-breaking bonus games first sighted in Street Fighter II.

Expect to see loads more coverage of Super Street Fighter IV at IQGamer, every step of the way.

Download the full HQ 720 Trailer right here.

Review: Mega Man 10 (Wii)

Mega Man 10 is a throwback to the 8bit games of old, built around the constant repetition of learning enemy attack patterns and level layouts, merciless in its difficulty, and utterly unforgiving to anyone devoid of such prior experience. It harks back to the days where the term ‘hardcore’ referred to as many gamers as today’s mainstream generation, and in which steep learning curves, and the desire to be the best at the game was everything. In short, it could be described as the perfect title to describe what it means to be a ‘hardcore’ gamer, whilst also showing how far removed today’s games have become.

Available for a pretty reasonable £7 on PSN, XBL and Wii Ware, Mega Man 10 is a brand new, rip-roaring, blast from the past platform shooter, based on the same highly-loved design blueprint so finely crafted in the NES classic, Mega Man 2. It follows on from last years 8bit inspired Mega Man 9, continuing in the same style as that title, whilst providing additional extras to extend replay value and keep an air of freshness about the proceedings. It’s also bloody hard, so much so, that many gamers of today just won’t be prepared to face what awaits them. At least there’s an Easy Mode, which although is no cakewalk, provides a reasonable challenge in which to enjoy the game without wanting to throw your controller at the TV screen.


Going through Mega Man 2 for the first time, after opening up the packaging with all the wonderment in the world, as you did when you were still only knee high, was an extremely exciting, and often infuriating experience, despite the fact that most games back then required quick reactions and exemplary gaming skills to play properly. It was a tough trial and error type of gaming, something that coming from the likes of Super Mario Bros, I was completely unused to, but in which I learned to persevere and gain precious enjoyment from.

Fast forward some twenty years or so, and I can barely make it through the first stage of that very same game without dying dozens of times, or without screaming out at how unfair the god damn game is. A little strange then that only a few years after going back to Mega Man 2, that I was blasting my way though most of Ikaruga on the GameCube relishing the challenge. I guess that my opinion of shumps differs radically to what a good platform shooter should consist of, or maybe I’ve just been made a little too soft by the games of today. So when it came to actually buying Mega Man 10 for review, I was somewhat apprehensive as to whether I could garner any enjoyment at all from the game. It turns out my fears were misplaced, as although incredibly tough at times, MM 10 is a vastly enjoyable ride, full of satisfaction when you finally blast your way past ‘that’ initially impossible to beat stage.

Right off the bat you can tell that the level designs and methods of creating a tough, but fair challenge are straight out of Mega Man 2, the most popular title in the series. You are yet again presented with a choice of eight Robot Masters to defeat. Selecting each one takes you to the game’s one of eight selectable levels, after which you are faced with some predetermined end stages. All of these last levels are incredibly tough, much tougher than any of the ones before, requiring both skill and patience to persevere, and maybe a bit of luck too. After finishing a level you are given the option to buy extra lives and other upgrades at a post-level shop, along with the ability to save your progress, including any lives or power ups that you’ve bought. This does make the game a bit easier, and at least means that you don’t have to start over when you lose all your lives, just from the begging of the next level you choose to do.

Like in Mega Man 2, our main hero, Mega Man, is equipped with only his trusty triple shot arm-mounted Mega Buster, and his cool robot dog companion, Rush. Rush has special abilities to help you, such as transforming into the springboard-like Rush Coil mode, and later, the aerial based, Rush Jet mode, available after clearing four stages of the game. There’s no slide option from the likes of Mega Man 3, or the ability to charge up his Mega Buster shots as found in Mega Man 4 either. It’s strictly back to the basics, which tightly held together the highly rated second game. It also means that you have to rely more on raw skill than fancy abilities to get through the game, increasing challenge, but also keeping things straightforward.


However, after beating each of the individual stage bosses, the Robot Masters, you do actually unlock a new weapon, which can help you defeat the boss of another stage. Which stage of course, is a mystery, and it’s only after playing through a variety of stages first, can you see which new weapon works best against which boss. At first I didn’t use any of these powered up additions, instead resorting solely using my Mega Buster, making the task at hand much more difficult. Although, after trying out one of these upgrades I found some of the later bosses much easier to take down, and the overall battles far more rewarding to play through. This is something that Mega Man 10 thoroughly gives you credit for, skill, strategy and extremely quick reflexes, perfectly representing the majority of games from the 8bit era.

For those of you who miss the extra depth afforded by the additional moves Mega Man 3&4 provided, Capcom have included Proto Man as an additional character to play as right off the bat. Playing as this alternative hero adds much replay value to the title, allowing you to go through the entire game again in what seems like a fresh experience, with a greater amount of strategy and challenge.

Proto Man, for those who aren’t versed in Mega Man lore, is actually Mega Man’s brother, created by Dr Light, and first appearing in Mega Man 3 as Break Man, one of the stage bosses found in that title. Proto Man, like Mega Man in the later games in the series, has the ability to both slide along the ground, and use charging shots from his arm-cannon. He also carries along with him a shield, which protects against small shots and certain projectiles, whilst using individual items to simulate Mega Man’s Rush Coil and Jet Rush. In order to keep the game’s difficulty balanced, Proto Man can only fire two shots at one time, instead of three, and is receptive to twice as much damage as Mega Man, at the same time being knocked back twice as far when hit.

In addition to the two fully playable characters, Mega Man 10 also has a few modes to keep you occupied after completing the main game. These consist of a Time Attack Mode, in which players work their way through any unlocked stages, posting their times to an online leader board, and a Challenge Mode, containing 88 different challenges ranging from defeating end bosses without getting hit, to finishing a stage in a certain time. Most of these are unlocked as you play through the game on Normal difficulty, but the ones which are not, can still be unlocked by finishing the game on any of the three, Easy, Normal or Hard Difficulty levels. Suffice to say, the Challenge Mode will certainly provide hardcore gamers with a reason to keep playing Mega Man 10, especially when doing so increases your overall rating at the end. Again it all goes back to having something to show off to the online community, or simply to prove that you’ve still got what it takes.


Visually, you know what to expect from Mega Man 10. The game is done in the same 8bit inspired design as with Mega Man 9, accurately resembling the look and style of the classic NES instalments, right down to the sprite limitations and limited screen movement. There’s also the option of switching on Legacy Mode too, which basically adds sprite flicker to areas of the screen with various overlapping graphics. The style is definitely basic, but charming all the same, and is most representative of the Mega Man character as a whole.

Personally, I would have preferred to see a sequel developed with 16bit graphics and sensibilities in mind, rather than another 8bit instalment. However after giving the game a chance, I have to say that that the NES style does no harm, and only helps enhance that nostalgic feeling when playing through the game.

Another cool touch, this time outside of the actual game itself, is that Capcom have seen fit to create brand new artwork for the title, a parody of the god-awful package art donning those original NES classics, acknowledging the many failed attempts at Americanising the design of the character through much of the late eighties and early nineties. You might have noticed this odd looking piece of artwork used right at the beginning of the review, and is cause for much hilarity at IQGamer, especially as it hardly represents the game or it’s characters accurately in anyway. Good times, and great to see Capcom is having as much fun indulging with it's history, as we are remembering all those horrid cases from yesteryear.

One thing I wasn’t initially so pleased about though, is the resolution Mega Man 10 is rendered in.

Sadly the Wii version of MM 10 doesn’t display in 240p, instead being displayed in either upscalled 480i/p modes, resulting in either a mildly pixelated image, or a slightly blurry one. The 480i mode at least has flicker reduction to prevent the usual interlacing flicker from becoming too noticeable, though 240p would have provided a sharper more stable option, whilst being authentic to how the game would have originally looked. Despite this, the game still looks great for what it is, and I didn’t find the resolution issues a hindrance to my enjoyment of the title, instead being drawn in to the look and feel of what was in offer.


Along with the authentic 8bit graphics, you also have NES inspired theme tunes, sound effects and music. Much of the music is incredibly catchy, and perfectly suits the tone of the game. At many points during the game the high tempo beats, and eclectic electronica, served only to heighten the tension felt whilst trying to blast my way through to the end. It’s particularly nice to have such an effort made to producing these kinds of sounds. Although basic and repetitive at times, there creation is an art form long since lost with the advent of CD-based midi soundtracks.

Overall Mega Man 10 is an awesome retro-styled return for the titular blue hero, packed full of challenging and addicting gameplay that will certainly separate the unsuspecting casual player from the hardcore. It’s a throwback to the pure unrelenting simplicity of the past, and one which works so well today, as it has done some twenty years before. Sure, you could argue that some of the ways the game creates its infuriating challenge is decidedly cheap – for example when the game respawns downed enemies because you’ve moved the screen forwards a little, only for you to return and realise you have to kill them all again – but that’s just part of the limitations of the old NES hardware, and part of the charm in playing a brand new 8bit instalment of a much loved franchise.

My time with Mega Man 10 has been an exciting, fun, and frustrating one, a solid learning experience towards honing back in that skill and determination needed in conquering such a title. At the same time reaffirming what it takes to be a hardcore gamer, and reminding us all that sometimes simple games can be more involving than the latest 40 hour blockbuster. It certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes, and I’d recommend anyone new to the franchise to download the demo on PSN and XBL first, as the challenge and impact is pretty intense straight on in. However I do feel that most should be able to enjoy the moderate challenge on Easy Mode, and will quickly get used to the cheap, rinse and repeat nature of the game.


As a sequel to Mega Man 9, and the entire legacy cast down by the NES series as a whole, Mega Man 10 is a complete success. It’s perhaps only held back by being yet another sequel based on the design left by Mega Man 2, a title whose blueprint is in danger of becoming slightly worn out. But still, it’s a highly fun, challenging experience, in which fans of the franchise, and aging hardcore gamers won’t want to miss. And for those waiting for a true 16bit Super NES style sequel? I’d say, show your support by purchasing Mega Man 10, as Capcom are currently mulling over taking these retro updates in such a direction.

VERDICT: 8/10

Feature: Hands-On Nintendo DSi XL

Perhaps I should’ve known better, but after launching the DSi I didn’t expect Nintendo to be releasing another version of their ultra successful NDS range of handhelds so soon. Counting up the various revisions brings the current total up to four, including the latest DSi XL, and exceeding variations available for both the original GameBoy and the GameBoy Advance. Whilst most of these updates have resulted in a smaller, more compact edition being released, with the DSi XL Nintendo have gone down the opposite route and given us the biggest DS yet.

Surely people aren’t going to fall for yet another version of the same thing, especially one which is simply larger than all the others, and features a small amount of built in software?


Well judging by sales of the new console in Japan, and by the pre-order numbers here in the UK, it looks like Nintendo have another hit on their hands, albeit a much smaller one that with the DS lite. At the same time with the XL, Nintendo don’t seem to be aiming the system at everyone - how many times have you heard grandma, or one of your aunties talk about using ‘that’ touch screen handheld at home; “I’ve just finished the Professor Layton game” or “that new brain game is what I’m going to be after next” along with “never thought I’d be into this, but it’s really quite fun” type scenarios - these are the kinds of people that Nintendo are pushing the system towards, ones that spend more time playing their DS’s at home rather than taking them out anywhere.

With that idea in mind, Nintendo have made the DSi XL the largest version of the DS yet, with what they are calling 93% bigger screens, though the logic isn’t quite so sound, but more on that later. Also, they’ve seen fit to include two bite-size pieces of software to keep the masses entertained for a little while after they first turn on the system. For Europe we’ve been given Dr. Kawashima’s: Little Bit of Brain Training: Arts Edition and Dictionary 6 in 1 with Camera Function, along with the enhanced DSi Browser, all of which come pre-installed on the machine. Again, showcasing the intended target audience outside regular gamers, and younger folk.


Nintendo’s DSi XL is available in two different colours here in the UK, with the options being a two-toned Dark Brown system, or a red one, referred to as Wine Red. The red XL lacks the two-tone coloured appearance of the brown but does feature the dual glossy top, shiny matte sides and bottom surfaces.

The overall look of both XL’s is immediately much sleeker than with the previous DSi models, featuring a stylish, glossy and smooth reflective finish on top, with shiny matte finish around the screen and on the undersides of both systems. However the Dark Brown model features a two-toned appearance, using a slightly lighter colour for the matte finish around the sides and underneath. This choice is slightly odd, but in my opinion makes the Dark Brown version appear more like a premium product, looking rather stylish, though some people at work strongly disagree, thinking it looks cheap as a result.

The XL measures 161 x 91.4 x 21.2 mm, and weighs 314 grams, compared to the DS Lite's 218g and the original DS's 300g, so it’s sizably weightier in addition to being a noticeably larger handheld.

The screens measure 4.2 inches diagonally across (3.36" x 2.52"), whilst the DSi's screens are 3.25 inches, and the DS Lite's screens are 3 inches respectively, making the XL screen size 93% larger than DS Lite's. However this official measurement uses an eschewed but legitimate method when working out the increased screen size, as the XL’s screen isn’t nearly twice as large as the DS Lite’ s, but instead being more like 50% physically bigger, which is exactly as it looks on the life-size comparison picture on the XL’s packaging, and when both machines are side by side.


The resolution of the XL’s screen is exactly the same as the ones found in all three of the other DS’s, a mere 256×192, which unfortunately due to the much larger screen size, creates a noticeably blockier look to games running on the XL when compared to the DSi or DS Lite. Effectively the pixel size is larger and more noticeable than before, giving off a screen-door effect to everything that is being displayed. What this means is that although things are larger and sometimes easier to see, they aren’t always as sharp or as clear. However this isn’t likely to be a problem for older audiences who mostly play titles such as Brain Training, or the Professor Layton style investigative type games, in which text is easier to read and the overall sense of scale increased, making it a more comfortable affair for longer sessions.

At least the screens are still native resolution, as having a higher resolution would require upscaling of all DS software, and the effect of this would be much worse than what we are seeing with the XL. To be honest, the DSi also suffered from the same problem due to having a larger screen also, however the issue was far subtler compared to what we are seeing here, and in the end most people won’t notice, or really care all that much. For pure clarity and sharpness though, nothing beats the good old DS lite.

In terms of d-pad, face buttons, and placement, the DSi XL features the same sturdier buttons and pad found on the DSi, feeling more plasticky than the ones used on the Lite, although they do seem slightly looser and more responsive than before, which is a nice improvement and makes playing the likes of Mario Kart easier, whilst not quite reaching the DS Lite level of comfort. All the buttons and d-pad sizes are exactly the same as with the DSi and DS Lite, although the DSi style power button has been given a smooth and shiny finish, which feels good when you press down on it.

The only complaint that comes to my mind with the current design, is that given the much larger size of the XL, the buttons feel so small in comparison to the rest of the system and would have benefited from being just a tad bigger. Doing this would have made the system even bigger, and I’m not sure that anybody would want that.

Despite a few issues and improvements, the DSi XL feels pretty comfortable to hold, and the larger screen size makes playing certain games a lot more fun, even with the blockier look, which I have to say has the opposite effect some games. The XL doesn’t feel like it weights too much, and given its size is perfect to rest on the edge of a sofa whilst playing if it becomes too heavy. I can see this being perfect for casual gamers who want something larger and easier to use at home, whilst still having their DSi or DS Lite for when out and about.


Like all the other DS’s that have gone before, the DSi XL features a stylus that slots into the unit itself, which is 4mm longer than the stylus on the DSi; so pretty much the same overall, in addition to a much chunkier, 129.3mm-long pen-shaped stylus, which can be tied onto the back of the XL if need be.

The DSi XL also comes with the same AC adaptor that changed the standard DSi, the first time that any of the NDS models have shared the same charger. Also Nintendo claims that the battery life in a fully-charged DSi XL with out last the DSi on both the lowest and the highest brightness settings. You can expect around 13-17 hours of playtime on the lowest brightness setting, compared to 9-14 on the DSi, and around 4-5 hours on the highest setting, one hour more than the DSi.

Overall, the DSi XL is a very nice addition to the NDS family of systems, weighing the same amount as the original DS, whilst looking considerably sleeker, packing more built-in features, and at the same time, increasing usability for anyone having trouble before due to the more compact nature of the handheld. There are some negatives though; mainly the blockier looking picture you get with the bigger screen, which looses some clarity in the process, and the fact that having the pen stylus attached to the back of the system feels a little awkward. However these concerns aren’t likely to be felt by most, who arguably just want something larger and easier to hold for prolonged sessions around the house. In which case the DSi XL succeeds.


For those looking to upgrade from an old DS Lite, that has maybe seen a little too much use, then I would probably recommend picking up the DSi instead, seeing as that particular system has similar screen quality to the Lite, whilst being compact enough to easily take with you on short notice journeys. The DSi XL on the other hand, represents a good investment for those looking to have two DS systems, one for extended home use, and one for travelling and outdoors, but not as a replacement for a standard DS system.

Either way it seems that Nintendo have once again caught the public’s imagination via another incremental upgrade to a now aging five year old handheld. Though I’d argue the point that maybe it’s time for them to be taking the next step, showing off a true successor to the NDS at some point later this year, one which has full backwards compatibility with the current systems, whilst bringing in a new style of gameplay and much better graphics. It’s not like they can get way with ‘another’ revision of the existing DS’s, especially since they have practically covered all bases.