An Updated Look At The Visuals Of SSFIV 3DS

More of a quick update than anything else today, but still a decent one at that, concerning the delightful port of Super Street Fighter IV for the 3DS.

A few days ago Capcom released a few new screenshots showing the game in action. These new screens revealed not only a few characters not seen in earlier shots of the 3DS version, but also significant graphical improvements finally putting the game over and above anything the PSP could possibly do. It’s rather impressive!


First on the agenda today is the observation that none of the new screens feature that ink-shading effect seen in the earlier shots released at E3. Previous screens only showed off the game using this effect, which in turn made things look rather flat, albeit also very stylish. It now appears that, like in the PC version of SFIV and in the PS3 and 360 update Super SFIV, that you can turn on and turn off the ink shading as you see fit.



Visually the new shots definitely look more in keeping with the console versions of the game. In particular with the ink shading off the characters display noticeably more in the way of subtle details, and an increase in bump-mapping giving them a greater sense of depth compared to before.


The backgrounds have also been given a subtle overhaul, with a greater use of geometry being visible making things seem even more impressive. But to really appreciate just how good it looks overall you have to see the game being displayed side-by-side with its bigger brother in order to gauge just how close it is.


3DS


PS3/360

It’s pretty clear from the above screenshot comparison that Capcom have managed to get the game looking incredibly similar whilst using only a fraction the polygon power available to them with both the PS3 and Xbox 360. The developers also appear to be using the exact same character models as the two console versions of the game, just scaled back in geometry counts, and using a greater amount of normal mapping to replicate a similar level of detail.

And against the iPhone version of SFIV:


3DS


iPhone

Moving on, in the latest shots of the 3DS game self-shadowing is also still visible, which is nice, along with what looks like some kind of soft shadow filtering giving a smoother appearance to shadow edges.



As to be expected there is no anti-aliasing of any kind to be found in the 3DS version so far, and to be fair it is unlikely that there will be in the future either. Certainly, with the reasonably high geometry counts we are seeing, along with some advanced shader effects, normal mapping, and soft shadowing, it’s going to be hard enough maintaining that essential 60fps update as it is without trying to implement an AA solution in on top of that.

But to the honest they don’t really need to. The sharpness of the visuals, the detail, and the impressive use of various visual effects is outstanding for a first-generation title. It’s also way ahead of the now meagre looking iPhone version of SFIV (which failed to even feature true polygon backgrounds). The only disappointing thing is that we may well have to wait a little longer for the game than expected - Capcom are now saying that it is unlikely that it will be out in time for the 3DS’ launch.

Either way, we’re definitely looking forward to seeing it in action.

Tech Analysis: Singularity (PS3 vs 360)

Singularity is another one of those games which sits directly in between being distinctly average and almost underrated, perhaps veering more towards the former rather than the later. But anyway, Raven Games’ cold war era scientific and supernatural FPS throws around a few interesting ideas, and a cool time dilating mechanic which seemingly should be making a stronger appearance than it does here.

When talking about the game it’s hard not to mention other similar titles such as Bioshock, and Wolfenstien, both of which Singularity seems to take influence from, especially with regards to its dark and gloomy atmosphere and use of warped human-engineered technology. You can also feel touches of Valve’s masterpiece Half-Life 2 flowing through some of the experience too, mostly arriving whenever that time-dilation device is in hand.



Using the popular Unreal Engine 3, Raven games have actually created a technically competent release, one that actually fairs extremely well on both platforms. Usually the PS3 is the one to suffer with titles using the Unreal Engine, often having significant cuts in rendering resolution and alpha buffer size for transparencies and other such graphical effects. But not so with Singularity, which demonstrates that it is possible to almost achieve parity when taking the time and care to do so.

In motion both versions look pretty much identical. Or rather, most of the time they ‘do’ look identical. It’s hard to tell them apart other than from the occasional slightly more jagged edges on PS3, and the loss of a few specular effects in areas with lots of water. That and some performance issues are the only things separating the two versions apart.


Singularity is rendered in 720p (1280x720) on both Xbox 360 and on PS3. As per usual with games released for both formats, and those using the UE3, 360 owners get 2xMSAA while the PS3 gets no anti-aliasing of any kind.

However this isn’t quite as bigger deal as you might think. When in motion the use of 2xMSAA on 360 does very little if anything to set it apart from the PS3 game. The reason behind this is that the AA used in the 360 version is selective. It’s only applied on certain objects and in certain areas in specific conditions, meaning that most of the time it’s barely there at all. We’ve seen the same thing before with the UE3 on both Gears Of War 1&2 which only apply AA on objects without movement, or when you are standing still.

Seeing as the game features very little in the way of high contrasting edges the PS3 version rarely looks to display any more jaggies than the 360 game, and any differences are only really visible when both versions are put side by side in screenshots. So whilst 360 owners can boast about having AA included, in reality it’s more of a checkbox feature here than a real benefit to the graphical quality of the game.



Moving on we can see that texture detail is like for like across both platforms, as is the game’s use of texture filtering. AF levels appear reasonably good, though not exceptional, and just seem to get the job done of displaying clean-ish textures in the distance. Usually it’s the PS3 which commands the advantage in this area with RSX’s larger amount of texturing units, but this is clearly not the case here. In fact it’s the 360 which shows a greater level of AF than usually seen with many multiplatform titles, normally satisfied with going in for a bilinear or trilinear approach.

One area in which the PS3 version does edge ahead of the 360 build however, is with regards to the game’s lighting and shadowing system, which looks slightly more refined. Texture details and certain graphical effects tend to be accentuated, standing out almost like there is some kind of subtle AO going on, even though we know that there isn’t. Shadows are also subtly more defined, creating an added sense of depth to the image.


In terms of particle effects and alpha buffers both versions seem to look identical, with no lower resolution discrepancies to be found anywhere in the PS3 version. The striking similarity between the two can be seen in the screenshot above, where even when a large part of the screen is filled with effects the PS3 still manages to stay par the course along with the 360 every step of the way.

This is in start contrast to Bioshock 2 in which the PS3 build featured lower resolution effects for smoke, fire, water, and electricity, noticeably reducing the game’s overall image quality. Thankfully, for the most part, the same thing doesn’t happen here.


Interestingly the same cannot be said for the use of specular effects and normal maps. Here it’s the 360 build that commands a small but visible lead over the PS3 game. All normal maps in areas that feature water or wet surfaces are dialled back on PS3, and in turn lack the same levels of depth and intensity compared to what you can see on 360. Some areas feature lower resolution normal maps too, further reducing overall quality.

The above screenshots clearly shows off the differences between the two versions. Notice how on the walls in particular the normal mapping is less obvious on PS3, and that the effects creating their shiny wetness are clearly in a slightly lower resolution compared to the rest of the scene.

This is perhaps the biggest difference between the two outside of the PS3’s better use of lighting and shadowing, and the 360’s small commanding lead in overall performance.


So far nether version has really come out on top, with the PS3’s superior lighting being countered by the higher resolution normal mapping found in the 360 game. Instead it’s down to performance to perhaps provide us with the clearest look as to which version is technically superior. After all, frame rate issues and screen tear tend to have far more of an impact during gameplay than some cutback visual effects.

Not so surprisingly the differences apparent here aren’t all that noticeable. In the end the PS3 game does demonstrate more in the way of both screen tear and framerate drops, but also does so more subtly than you might think. Most of the extra tearing that occurs in the Sony version is only really present in the overscan area of the screen, meaning that most people will never see it. Another thing is that although the PS3 game does indeed fare slightly worse than the 360 one overall, the same issues are also present in that version too, just to a lesser extent.

Both versions start off running at 30fps and try to attempt to remain v-synced for the duration. However it is clear that the PS3 losses v-sync more often than the 360 casuing a small increase in screen tear. Surprisingly, even when the PS3 build does lose its command of this, the effect has no bearing on framerate whatsoever. Usually the way it seems to work is that the PS3 version substitutes a consistent framerate in order to maintain v-sync and in turn suffer from less screen tearing as a result. Whilst on 360 most developers favour the approach of dropping v-sync in order to keep a higher framerate.

Here we have a situation where we get more tearing and greater framerate drops on PS3 and less on 360. However, despite this there is very little in between the two when simply playing the game without looking for these things. Yes, some differences are subtly noticeable, but at the same time they are not game breaking or at all intrusive for that matter. Arguably the 360 does maintain a small lead in terms of performance, a lead that in the grand scale of things does very little in making it definitively superior overall; much like the build’s inclusion of anti-aliasing.


In conclusion Singularity is pretty much equal on both platforms. The PS3 game benefits from having slightly better lighting and shadowing, whilst 360 owners get better normal mapping and a small lead in commanding performance. When it comes down to it though, in motion you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart, and many of the things pointed out here I could only see when lining up the games side by side when standing still – not something you’d normally be doing when playing.

Your purchasing decision then solely comes down to which controller layout you prefer, and which of the two systems you like to use the most. Anyone looking to try out the game shouldn’t have any concerns as to which version they choose to buy, as it’s pretty much identical across the board.

Hands-On: Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (PS3)

You know the original Kane & Lynch was another one of those titles I’d rather forget, a game which not only failed to live up to its potential but also seemed oblivious to its failings, almost like it was content with merely being an idea, a proof of concept without proper execution. Coming from the developers of the successful, but slowly fading Hitman series we should have expected something much better, a title that maybe wasn’t so filled with sloppy control issues, poor AI, and repetitive online play.

Perhaps what is so surprising about this sequel, is that it manages to rectify a whole lot of problems found in the original creating a vastly more polished experience overall. Playing the brief demo for Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is quite an eye-opener when you look at just how much has been changed, and that what you have standing right in front of you is a largely different game on the whole.


Rather than resting on their laurels IO Interactive have managed to address many of the issues and concerns we had about K&L whilst also expanding on the atmosphere which worked so well the last time around with a new unique look that is as gritty and grimy as the game’s two lead protagonists. Set deep within the chaos of the Hong Kong underground, the developers have created a more tightly controlled, intense kind of game; a fast-paced third-person shooter reminiscent of a good John Woo actioner, making things all the more enjoyable as a result.

One of the main improvements with this sequel is that it runs a staggering 60 frames per-second most of the time, with only a few expected bouts of slowdown. The use of having such a high frame rate goes beyond making the game look reasonably impressive compared to the original, instead also improving the controller responsiveness and providing faster paced action overall. Upon booting up K&L2 this is immediately obvious; running around and swiftly getting that first headshot is faster and more immediate than before. Your level of control is improved not only in how quickly you can react, but also how accurate you can become at high speed.


Changes to the cover system also help in maintaining this fluidity. It is now possible to quickly move in and out of cover by pushing the ‘Cross’ button, or to move out by pushing on the analogue stick in the opposite direction to whatever your wedged hard up against. The system works pretty well, and is an improvement over the first Kane & Lynch, although isn’t as responsive or as manoeuvrable as the one found in Gears of War and Uncharted 2. I didn’t have any problems getting into cover, and then popping out and blasting a few enemies in the face before running towards the next suitable spot after a few minutes of play. Although things could be improved as there were times when I’d become stuck for a brief second or so in cover after pushing the required button to dislodge myself.

Gameplay-wise K&L2 is a much faster paced affair than the original. It really feels like the developers at IO Interactive have taken a leaf from Call Of Duty’s rulebook, specifically Modern Warfare’s. The way enemies pop up from behind cover and move between areas in order to flank you appears much like in Infinity Ward’s title. The same thing applies when they accurately take aim and attempt to gun you down with varying degrees of success, with foes constantly bestowing damage upon you if you get too careless, adding even more to the game's atmosphere and attempt at realism. Surprisingly, the constant duck and cover, run and gun nature of the game works very well, never feeling tired or strained throughout the limited time offered in the demo.

The action isn’t quite as furious as it is in Infinity Ward’s title, although is very smooth, and incredibly polished at the same time. Originality though is the one thing the game lacks, and in this case there’s very little outside the YouTube style presentation to set it apart from other comparable titles. Except perhaps the framerate, which improves things to no end, fully justifying the steep graphics cutbacks that have occurred in making this possible.


If there is one major complaint to be found however, then it’s with regards to the enemy AI. During various points throughout the demo I had several enemies jump out from behind cover and begin to run circles around Kane, while at the same time I could stay in my current cover position gunning them down as they did so. Not only that, when going around in circles they effectively failed to attack either me or my partner, instead looking like they had gone a little bit mad in the process.

This definitely needs to be cleaned up before release as not only does it make the game look a bit silly, it also breaks some of the atmosphere in the process. What they need to do is keep in some of the cool stuff; like how enemies pop in and out of cover, quickly moving to different spots trying to flush you out, whilst getting rid of the annoying glitches that break the illusion of a intensely staged gunfight.

Some of the NPC’s also suffer from quite stilted and stiff animations. These look rather outdated and much like the kind found in various on-rails arcade shooters. However, both lead characters move with much greater fluidity and rarely suffer from the same problems, with only occasional animations that appear out of place, or a little odd.


Visually, K&L2 looks reasonably impressive with regards to its smooth framerate but also has issues in other areas, mostly surrounding the game’s incredibly soft, and often fuzzy look. It is apparent that in order to achieve 60fps that the developers have sacrificed overall screen resolution, and in that respect the game falls down. K&L2 is decidedly sub-HD, with upscale artefacts being visible at most times and jaggies crawling the many clean lines on display. The varying inclusion of different filters used to create a security camera style look to the game, although a pretty nice touch adding even more atmosphere to the game, also do little to hide the low rendering resolution, and instead make things appear even softer and more undefined.

That said the grimy, understated, YouTube-esque screen presentation of the title fits in well with the characters and world that the developers are trying to create. The shady underworld of Kong Kong isn’t meant to look vivid, saturated and full of colour, its tone instead balanced against two unattractive and vile lead protagonists who would do equally as well at playing the role of the bad guys in this experience. Another cool touch is the ‘buffering’ message displayed when the game is loading, again adding that sense of being in a live surveillance feed of sorts.


So far, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is shaping up to be a huge improvement over the first game, and seems like a largely enjoyable experience from the small sample offered up to us in the demo. The much faster-paced gameplay reminiscent of a third-person Call Of Duty makes the whole package feel tighter and far more exciting than before. While the unexpected decision to target 60fps makes for a smoother, more graphically impressive and responsive game as a result.

A few flaws still remain, such as the dodgy enemy AI, and the stiff animations of the NPC’s, which feel rather outdated. But if both of these issues were ironed out by the time of the game’s release in late August, then there shouldn’t be all that much to complain about. Bar perhaps the low-resolution nature of the game, and the fact that the two lead characters are still initially as unlikeable as ever, spouting a myriad of abuse whilst keeping their stark moral indifference to the world intact.

Hopefully, IO Interactive will surprise us with that last one. This is supposed to be Lynch’s story after all - something far more personal, so we expect to see some kind of humanity to be brought to the surface of the character at some point. After all he isn’t a militarily trained killer like Kane, instead being a far more wild and uncontrolled type. Dare I say more emotional, and arguably this provides at least a good starting point to get underneath and into the inner workings driving him to this kind of lifestyle.

That is of course, if the script writing and characterisation is as good as the gameplay. But I guess we’ll just have to wait in order to find out.

Editorial: Moving On From The NDS

In 2008, when the Nintendo DS was at its peak, nobody really expected a slump in sales to be heading its way. Although in hindsight, all the signs were there, albeit subtly rising to the surface with Nintendo providing the obvious reactionary response by releasing new hardware in the form of another restyled Nintendo DS console.


You could argue that after nearly five years on the market, that it was time for the company to be thinking about new hardware - about replacing the existing NDS with something considerably more powerful whilst also adding in another standout feature, a talking point which could convince existing owners to move over to the new machine; the recently unveiled 3DS.

That feature, and the talking point of the latest machine, is 3D - a format brought back to the attention of the mainstream by movie studios in an attempt to re-invigorate cinema screen ticket sales, whilst also fending off digital downloads and the increasingly popular digital rental market. The very nature of the format makes it far more suitable for gaming than film however, with depth perception being far more important in trying to gauge your next jump, or in making that critical headshot. Interactive content demands high precision and definitively accurate reactions, all of which can be increased via the added depth afforded by 3D.

It’s a natural fit, and one that has the potential to immerse the user into the experience beyond what was possible with current tech, while at the same time giving Nintendo that difference for a second time running. Nobody else has 3D gaming hardware like this. No one else has a portable 3D solution outside of the cell phone.

So, given the large drop in sales and rampant piracy that has plagued the DS in recent years a change in hardware is really for the best, and in that respect not really all that unexpected. 2008 marked the highest point for NDS sales. Riding high after the constantly repeating success of Brain Training and its sequel, New Super Mario Bros, Nintendogs, and various third-party hits like Professor Layton, cracks began to appear in the machine’s previously unblemished record.

Software sales for first and third party titles were down across the board, and despite an initially strong uptake of the new DSi console, sales started to tale off a few months later. Third party publishers for the first time began cutting back on all DS operations, sighting both piracy and a saturation of games being produced for the casual market as the cause of this change. Nintendo themselves had barely released any notable titles for the system outside of the new Layton game, and another instalment in the Mario & Luigi series of RPG’s, instead relying on more sales of existing products and me-too third party clones of its own titles.

But why the sudden drop off in sales, and how come after four straight years of success is the platform slowing down so rapidly?

A number of factors have to be considered. Firstly, the casual market has seen a massive explosion ever since Nintendo struck gold with the likes of Brain Training and Nintendogs, with competing titles covering practically every avenue of potential interest, from pets, to playing doctor, and string of brain teasing games and puzzle-based adventure titles.

A crowded market is rarely a healthy market, especially when consumers are so bogged down with choice that they simply decide to vote using their wallets, by not buying anything, or simply to look elsewhere for entertainment otherwise provided by the DS. This over abundance in choice it seems is equally restrictive in the sense that the choices available are limited to certain genres and titles that casual gamers have grown accustom to appearing on the format. Outside of these genres there is little innovation, and titles aimed at the ‘core’ gaming market are mostly ignored due to a lack of familiarity even if some of those are perfectly suitable.

It appears that the bubble has broken, and that a string of similar experiences simply won’t be enough to sway a vast number of new owners to the platform, especially when there are over a hundred million of them already. Combined with the fact that the world market has just hit a sudden downturn due to the recession, and that leaves consumers vary of splashing out, something that the gaming market, despite early signs pointing otherwise, is not immune to.

The other reason why so many publishers and developers have recently been turning away from the DS, and in turn why consumers find themselves with a lack of imaginative new software is piracy. That old dog is once again up to its old tricks in a re-run of what has happen countless times before with the old gaming platforms of the 1980’s, the original PlayStation, and continuously to this day with the PC market. Like with any popular platform the NDS is far from immune from the problem, instead further feeding the pirates with its gigantic userbase.


Simple piracy in it self isn’t a huge problem for the DS, it’s the widespread scale of the issue, and the fact that it has become a fairly commonplace thing amongst casual gamers, and not just the technologically literate hardcore. Everyone from the little girl next door to parents simply out to save a few quid have turned to illegal downloading and game sharing for the DS. The popularity of many micro SD card readers for the system, such as the infamous R4, has made this phenomenon possible, and the ease of obtaining both the hardware required and the games themselves, so widespread across so many demographics.

Although Nintendo have in recent months begun to heavily crack down on large illegal game distribution operations, and hardware manufacture, they may have inadvertently left it too late. The R4 and other similar devices have too much market share now in order to be effectively combated to a point of no longer being a problem. Plus with the DS platform itself aging rapidly (it’s five years old already) there is little financial sense it trying to salvage and rebuild the success that it has seen over those five years with the same hardware. Instead it makes far more sense to concentrate on a new console altogether, one which will feature much greater protection from the pirates, and that can also instil fresh imagination into the gaming public.

Enter the 3DS.


With the selection of original NDS games quickly depleting, and the machine largely falling out of favour with the hardcore crowd to the less successful PSP, Nintendo have a chance to re-build bridges with that audience as well as provide a platform that doesn’t alienate the current casual consumer. In fact the use of 3D however gimmicky it may at first seem, may just convince those very people to jump aboard and experience a more traditional form of gaming. After all, what is there to loose, you have complete backwards compatibility with the existing DS, making the 3DS more of an upgrade than a complete replacement, along with a whole host of visualy alluring titles. Granny or little Suzie may not see the appeal, but many others will.

Importantly, the 3DS more than anything else will provide a safer development environment for developers away from the piracy ridden confines of the current NDS platform. This new sense of security will also be backed up with a fresh way of looking at handheld titles. Maybe not fresh, in the sense of new gameplay experiences, but fresh in the sense of experiencing PS2-like blockbusters in full 3D anywhere you go, in addition to fan favourites such as Mario, Zelda, Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid.

The NDS has definitely run its course, and now you can so easily see why and where most publishers development resources have gone. The shrinking selves of DS games will surely be replaced with a greater amount of 3DS titles come next year. Some may just be enhanced DS games aimed at the mainstream, whilst most look likely to be titles bread and nurtured for the ‘core’ gamer. It’s no surprise to learn that most Nintendo-based handheld software projects are being lined-up for the 3DS, both from first and third parties, and this in turn represents why DS software has dried up of late.

In the end, while it may seem like the DS is somewhat dying, and in a way it is, the future of the brand remains intact and ready for its second phase. Backwards compatibility ensures that the 3DS won’t alienate the current audience, or destroy the existing DS software chain overnight. But it will ensure the healthy continuation of the platform as a whole.

That is, of course if it becomes successful, although all signs point to it having an initially bright future. The rest, as always is up to the software and marketing, being able to convince the right people that this IS the right product for them. And with Nintendo’s recent track record that shouldn’t be a problem.

Street Fighter X Tekken Unveiled!

Late yesterday afternoon at the Comic-Con in San Diego both Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono, and Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada took to the stage together in order to announce the latest fighting crossover title, Street Fighter X Tekken.


It’s been hotly rumoured over the last couple of weeks that something was in the pipeline between the two companies, with many sources pointing to a ‘Namco Vs Capcom’ of sorts, a collaboration that would see franchises from each company battle it out like never seen before. However, instead of a cast taken from a pool of franchises the developers have decided to work in bringing the two most popular ones together in perhaps the most unexpected and unusual versus game yet. Although don’t call it a ‘vs’ title, as apparently it’s not one of those.

“This is history we're making. Two fighting games that have rivalled each other are finally standing on the same stage. This isn't just a showdown between Tekken and Street Fighter, but a decisive battle for Capcom and Namco Bandai Games. So I'm going to give it my all.”


Developed by a team at Capcom, and using the same engine that powered Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken is the newest in a long line of crossover games created by the company, stretching back to X-Men Vs Street Fighter in 1996 and up to Marvel Vs Capcom 3 (released next year). The game will be rendered in the same 3D hand animated, hand painted art style as SFIV, and will feature the same solid 2D gameplay in keeping with such a title.

The game will feature Traditional ‘Versus’ and ‘Training according to Capcom, although they also plan to introduced new features to these modes in order to bring even more depth to the game. In addition to these enhancements players will be able to go head-to-head in teams of two via a ‘Tag Team’ mode. Like with the ‘Vs’ titles you will be able to combine the two characters special attacks together for stupidly powerful combo strikes, and visually impressive super moves. Things like crossover counters will be possible, along with a range of other team-up and assist moves.


After the announcement a trailer was showcased for the game in the same art style as the ones used for SFIV, along with a proper gameplay demonstration, in which both Yoshinori Ono and Katsuhiro Harada battled it out in a quick tag team match. Impressively the game looked to not only keep in all the signature moves of the four characters used (Ryu, Chun Li, Kazuya Mishima and Nina Williams), but also managed to successfully integrate the Tekken characters into the 2D fighting engine. Naturally Ono went for playing as the Street Fighters, and Harada as the Tekken Zaibatsu.

Interestingly, this Capcom developed instalment in the series might not be the only one we’ll be seeing. Namco have also confirmed that they will be producing their own Tekken X Street Fighter at some point later on down the line, much like with Capcom Vs SNK, and SNK Vs Capcom Chaos, by both Capcom and SNK respectively.

Street Fighter X Tekken is being developed for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 - currently without a release date - and marks the second collaboration between the two companies. The first being the little-known, Japan only RPG Namco X Capcom.

We’ll have more details on the game at IQGamer as soon as they arrive. Until then, why not check out the awesome teaser trailer in HD right here.

Tech Report: A Look At LBP2's Graphical Upgrades

Despite being a platformer with a slightly cutesy disposition, Little Big Planet is no stranger to technical excellence. You might not think that just by looking at it, but under the hood the original LBP was as interesting from a tech point of view as it was from a gameplay perspective.

Little Big Planet 2 then, appears to be much the same in this regard; the characteristic real-world physics of the title so integral to the very core of the game backed up by some impressive, and downright interesting engine enhancements. This is precisely the reason for us to be taking an extended look at the title. What we have here could almost be described as a full tech analysis of sorts, but in reality it’s more of a small glimpse, and dare I say, intriguing update into what media Molecule are doing with this sequel.

The first thing to notice, obviously, when going over the screenshots is the abundance of clean lines and smooth looking edges, or rather the distinct lack of any jaggies spoiling the scene. Now you might be thinking ‘supersampled’ when seeing the quality of the screens, and initially that’s exactly how I felt about the situation. However, this isn’t actually the case as all the screens you see on this page are direct-feed captures rendering in native 720p (1280x720), and are not downsampled from a higher resolution, as is usually the case with most PR shots released to the press.

The reason for the game’s lack of jagged lines and supersampled look then is clear - the use of morphological anti-aliasing has been implemented into the graphics engine.

Although the above anti-aliasing method has been confirmed by Media Molecule themselves you can still see some evidence of sub-pixel based jagged edges, another hint as to the inclusion of MLAA, as with supersampling this just wouldn't occur


MLAA has been featured a few times before here at IQGamer, namely when covering Santa Monica Studio’s God Of War 3, and more recently Guerrilla Games’ Killzone 3. It feels like not a month goes past without some new first-party title using the technique, a technique which is not only cost saving in terms of memory, but also in terms of securing the highest levels of image quality in a console specific release.

From the screens featured on this page it is apparent that the MLAA does far more for the image than what is possible via the more traditional MSAA, only to be beaten by supersampling (SSAA) which isn’t doable, realistically, on consoles due to the additional rendering performance incurred.

In LBP2, like with GOW3 the use of MLAA provides up to 16x MSAA coverage on some surfaces, and better than 4x on most others. The only area in which this form of AA falls down is when dealing with sub-pixel aliasing, where by any polygon edges smaller than the size of a pixel (this is a sub-pixel) receive absolutely no AA coverage at all. The same is true for MSAA as well, but not for supersampling which covers all aspects of the entire image. Regardless, this new form of anti-aliasing is a huge improvement over the 2xMSAA used in the first game.

Of course, the use of MLAA is just one part of many fundamental changes to the underlying graphics engine. For this sequel the developers have also opted for a solely forward rendering approach throughout the entire game, making transparencies and shadowing much easier to do.


Previously the original LBP used a differed solution to rendering lighting and shadowing in the game, which meant issues with displaying certain effects and also a reduction in shadow quality.

By switching to the traditional forward rendering approach this time around, the developers have been able to easily upgrade the shadowing system used in this sequel. Soft shadows are present throughout, which look much nicer than the hard-edged ones used in LPBP1, with shadows being cast for every main light source you can see, now without the need to pre-calculate them as shadowmaps like before. These soft shadows also blend in well with the game’s newly implemented use of screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO), which is performed in real-time along with most of the lighting and shadowing.

This use of SSAO also gives an even greater depth to the image not found in the last game, complementing the range of visual enhancements on offer.

Seeing as the computational requirements for producing such graphics effects have probably also gone up, the resolution of these shadows is still relatively low compared to the rest of the game. I’m not sure how much resolution loss is occurring, although it is apparent that all shadows look slightly softer than you’d expect them to be, especially compared to if they were rendering in same resolution to match the rest of the game.

Transparencies however, now look to be rendered in a higher resolution than the first game, using proper alpha coverage, whereas before they were rendered in a half-res of sorts using the bandwidth saving alpha-to-coverage, which lead to a slight screen-door effect being present on all objects that featured it.

The true nature of the translucency is a nice touch, and goes well with other enhancements being made to the whole particle/effects system used through the game.


From what we can see LBP2’s use of soft dynamic shadowing in combination with SSAO is undeniably impressive, providing an incredibly life-like appearance to how the whole scene is lit at any given time. The tightly woven nature of the lighting and how it commands the way shadowing occurs in the game cannot be understated, and to this the addition of a global illumination (GI) style solution adds more believability into the mix.

In LBP2 light on some stages looks like it travels down from a main point (the sun, or a singular internal light source) into the world appearing like it reflects off some objects and onto others as it shades and lights the environment. An impressive visual trick, as in reality it isn’t being done in real-time at all, but instead is a pre-calculated simulation that uses something along the lines of a lightmap, moving these around on certain surfaces to create this effect.

The illusion of proper GI, and some cleverly implemented god rays is the focus here, convincingly backing up the original LBP’s realistic lighting model. Alone, these elements are merely hot discussion points. But when all brought together they bring a real sense of naturalness and cohesion to an abstract game world, much like in the way the use of physics provides us with some tangible connectivity between the game and our own experience of reality.

There's still a disconnect for sure, seeing as the whole style and notion of the game’s world is completely off-the-wall, but in it’s own little confines feels completely organic, succinct even. And that’s perhaps Media Molecule’s biggest success, not the visual wonderment that all these effects and improvements provide, but the ability for them to casually sink in and blend together so seamlessly into being part and parcel of the experience.

Low resolution shadows aside, and maybe some stray un-anti-aliased sub-pixel edges, LBP2’s tech has seen some noticeable changes, and some ingenious solutions to problems most lesser developers tend to flake over. The game isn’t visually outstanding from a ‘wow factor’ point of view, but instead has its moment in delivering small subtleties that do more for the overall experience than just for the sheer technical hell of it.