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Sony: Heavy Rain Graphics Outstrip Uncharted 2

So far this year, I've been hinting that many developers with super promising projects will immediately make comparisons to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves , simply because of the "measuring stick" quality I've spoken of in regards to Naughty Dog's masterpiece.

Well, it's happening again. Yesterday, Battlefield 2: Bad Company developer DICE, while still paying the correct amount of respect to Uncharted 2 , claimed their vistas were superior in terms of graphics. And because many associate a raising of the visual bar with 2009's Game of the Year, everyone is looking to make comparisons to what could be the best-looking titles of 2010. Take Heavy Rain , for instance. We all know it's going to look fabulous – the footage we've seen thus far is might impressive – but according to GamerTell , one Sony representative who showed off the game at this year's CES show took it a step further. When prompted during a presentation of a Heavy Rain demo, the rep said, "graphically, it blows Uncharted 2 away." You can actually hear the rep say this in the video provided through the link and if you're on the fence, you can decide for yourself on February 23 when Quantic Dream's massively anticipated new IP arrives. For our part, it's very difficult to compare the two sets of graphics presentations; they're both striving for completely different things within completely different gameplay formats.

But perhaps what everyone is starting to note is that most all games in these "best graphics" conversations tend to be PlayStation 3 exclusives; Uncharted 2 , Killzone 2 , God of War III , Heavy Rain , Gran Turismo 5 , etc. It's worth noting…as I look back on the dark days of 2007.

Related Game(s): Heavy Rain

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Alienange
Alienange
15 years ago

Well this is a lot less of a compliment than what Dice offered earlier. This is strictly "big mouth" syndrome if you ask me.

www
www
15 years ago

Yeah but what if its some marketing strategy he's trying to pull off…

coverton341
coverton341
15 years ago

You have to take into consideration that this is not a dev from Quantic saying this but a Sony rep so it may have a bit more clout than it would coming from a dev.

Orvisman
Orvisman
15 years ago

@Coverton,

Yep. Sony is comparing a Sony game to a Sony game, so it has a bit more validity than a developer pumping its own game up by tearing down a competitor (like M$ft does, e.g. Forza 3 and GT 5).

johnld
johnld
15 years ago

i would expect it to be better graphics than uncharted 2. I mean,uncharted 2 had a lot going for it, graphics, story, and gameplay. From what im hearing, heavy rain's main draw is its story telling elements. In order to immerse the player in the game, then superior graphics is needed. Im not saying that uncharted 2 wasnt a very good story teller, its more about heavy rain being a lot more story heavy than uncharted 2. However, uncharted 2 does have a lot of things going on onscreen at certain points like the train level. I havent seen much of heavy rain but from what i see, it didnt have that much going on compared to uncharted 2.

Alienange
Alienange
15 years ago

I hear you guys, I really do, but saying "graphically, it blows Uncharted 2 away" not even three months after UC2's release shows a serious lack of class on his part and disrespect for the best game the PS3 has to offer.

Jackyl
Jackyl
15 years ago

I'm not going to say in my opinion if it is solely just marketing or not. Though I will say there are certainly reasons it could be on Sony's part. Sony wants software sales just as much as the developers do. Let's face it, Uncharted 2 is yesteryear's game so its most important sales days have come and gone, while Heavy Rain's are right around the corner. What more, to continue to bolster Uncharted 2's sales Sony can count on U2's Game of the Year status.

I will be looking forward to Heavy Rain and hope it will show us how developers can continue to further push the envelope.

NeoHumpty
NeoHumpty
15 years ago

It's the gameplay that I'm worried about on this one. Uncharted 2 was not only great graphics. It was also huge and a lot of fun. They don't have to worry about the player scaling walls or gunning down a group of 20 bad guys when making Heavy Rain. The game does look beautiful, but I'm waiting for some reviews. I'm just not convinced that a whole game of QTE will be something I'll stay into long enough to make it worth $60 to me. I'm not putting it down, I just want to hear the reviews after people have been able to put a lot of time into it. Looking forward to what you guys will have to say.

LegendaryWolfeh
LegendaryWolfeh
15 years ago

This game isn't just QTE. to be honest, I'm more interested in the story of heavy rain then gameplay grphx or anything

NeoHumpty
NeoHumpty
15 years ago

I agree that I'm interested in the story. I'm not looking to argue over it because I haven't gotten to play it for myself yet. And I've only let myself watch a couple of trailers so I don't get any spoilers. From what I have watched, they only showed QTE's. I just haven't made up my mind if it's a rent or a buy yet. I'll let the pros figure that out. 😉

Don't think I'm down playing the game, I'm really not. Just not sure if it will be for me or not.

LegendaryWolfeh
LegendaryWolfeh
15 years ago

Well, I didn't down you so dun think that =P
But I understand,a lot of videos are of QTE and such, but that's only during sequences like that, there's a lot of character movement and other things via analog sticks and other stuff too.

Vivi_Gamer
Vivi_Gamer
15 years ago

If your unsure try a game called Farenheit/Project Indigo, Its on the PS2/XBOX and PC. Its the same sort of styled game made by Quantic Dream, I found it one of the overlooked treasures of that gaming gen.

NeoHumpty
NeoHumpty
15 years ago

w00t. Just saw this on QJ.

Yes we're still planning a demo pre-release. I can't tell you the details now but we'll have more information soon.

That will help.

Naztycuts
Naztycuts
15 years ago

this weeks episode of Qore has a "demo" with it, they also talk about Dante's Inferno, Heavy Rain, and Bioshock 2 so I thought it was worth it.

NeoHumpty
NeoHumpty
15 years ago

A demo on Qore? I didn't even see it. All I saw was a wallpaper. I'll have to look again.

Naztycuts
Naztycuts
15 years ago

It's at the end of the Heavy Rain preview, it's not a demo really it's more like a scenario they let you play. It's definitely worth $3 given all the other info and the 2 "exclusive" themes you get.

NeoHumpty
NeoHumpty
15 years ago

FRACK!! I have a Qore subscription and went to watch the trailer. Now I'm pretty sure I know what the killer looks like! Those bastards! That's why I was avoiding it. Dammit.

NeoHumpty
NeoHumpty
15 years ago

Really? Someone thumbed me down for not wanting spoilers?

Fane1024
Fane1024
15 years ago

It's actually called Indigo Prophecy in NA and anyone on the fence about Heavy Rain should give it a whirl.

Naztycuts
Naztycuts
15 years ago

After seeing the graphics for Uncharted 2 on the game, and watching some trailers for Heavy Rain the two look identical in the graphics department. I dont know why he said Heavy Rain kills Uncharted 2 in graphics it's not like the game is in 3d or anything, if anything graphics would be "ranked right up there with Uncharted 2." Poor choice of words by the Sony rep.

LegendaryWolfeh
LegendaryWolfeh
15 years ago

Well that depends on the person looking, to me, Heavy Rain looks more realistic while U2 had a less realistic style. Now someone could say that since they weren't realistic graphx in U2 that it's not as good as something that's photo-realistic like Heavy Rain. To me though, I think Heavy Rain does look better, but I wouldn't say it blows U2's graphx away as Uncharted 2's graphx are definitely one of a kind.

Naztycuts
Naztycuts
15 years ago

I don't know about you Wolfeh but when I saw Drake on UC2 with that soot on his face it instantly reminded me of the beginning of Killzone 2 when Visari is making that speech, he just looked so real! Also there were times in the cut scenes where the characters just seemed to jump out of the screen at you and you are caught in this little vortex where you almost think it's real for a second! Thats how it was with me anyways. As far as this guys statement goes I'm ready to see what the ps3 is truly capable of and I hope he is 150% correct because I've seen some very awesome things from it already this generation and I know it will only continue to amaze me as time goes on. Developers are only going to be able to use it better as they work with it more often just look at Uncharted vs. Uncharted 2, even though Naughty Dog are among the top developers this gen in my opinion, I think we are in for a long fun filled ride in 2010.

LegendaryWolfeh
LegendaryWolfeh
15 years ago

Mmm, well honestly for me, when it comes to Uncharted 2, no matter how amazing everything looked, I knew I was playing a game because of the art style, with Heavy Rain and it being photo-realistic it's just a bit different. But like I said, in it's own way, Uncharted 2 is 100% complete amazing.

I_defenestrate
I_defenestrate
15 years ago

Did anyone else get the impression that guy in the video doesn't know what he's talking about? Unless I misheard him, he said the script was 20,000 pages long.

Also, from the way it looked, watching that girls face in the video reminded me of some of the scenes from Silent Hill 2. Not the survival horrorness of it, but just the way it looked while she moved around. It looked a lot better, but it gave me that impression.

Cannot wait for the 23rd of February..

LegendaryWolfeh
LegendaryWolfeh
15 years ago

You probably misheard as the script should be 2,000 pages long, the last time is was talked about. 2,000 pages and 40,000 words, but that was in 2008 😉

LegendaryWolfeh
LegendaryWolfeh
15 years ago

oh and here's some other stats on it, also I might remind, this is 2008 stats.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/heavy-rains-vital-statistics-blog-entry

Feregrin
Feregrin
15 years ago

2000 pages but only 40000 words? That's like what, 20 words per page? O_o I don't know about you, but I usually get in many more than that on one page.

LegendaryWolfeh
LegendaryWolfeh
15 years ago

maybe these pages are 5×7 index cards?

Bo0mKiiD
Bo0mKiiD
15 years ago

I hate that picture(the one used for the article), She looks like a 5 year old indian girl.


Last edited by Bo0mKiiD on 1/9/2010 12:17:53 PM

Alienange
Alienange
15 years ago

Yeah you'd think they'd choose a picture that doesn't make her look like a boy. Good graphics or not, someone there can't draw.

SnipeySnake
SnipeySnake
15 years ago

Naughty Dog is amazing at mouth animations. Seriously i have jak and daxter 1 and the mouth animations are perfect.

bOnEs
bOnEs
15 years ago

i think heavy rain's character models and world objects look very realistic… uncharted 2's graphics that blew most away was the environment… heavy rain's use of shadows and object detail seem more polished than uncharted 2 to me… but, i can't be sure 100% because, i haven't played heavy rain yet…

but, i will say the graphics really do look really good… the PS3 is the system to get if your one of those people who say graphics are a major reason behind buying games… at least with the exclusives anyways… the multi-plats are still a work in progress…

NoSmokingBandit
NoSmokingBandit
15 years ago

"heavy rain's use of shadows"

This is the only thing i disliked about Uncharted 2's graphics. I know shadows are hard as balls to render correctly without making them all pixelated (im looking at you, NG∑2), and ND makes some really crisp shadows, but thats almost a bad thing. Very rarely is a shadow a clean line. Shadows are always a little fuzzy unless there is only one light source and the objects are super close together. Imo, is ND can manage some post-processing on the shadows and blur them a bit it will make the UC3 look so much better than UC2.

I havent really noticed shadows in HR, i'l have to look for those next time i watch a clip.

Hezzron
Hezzron
15 years ago

The graphics might be as good as Uncharted 2, but I doubt it will "blow it away".

The color certainly won't be better than Uncharted 2, unless you really like different shades of brown.

I wouldn't take this home video of some booth guy randomly winging it with someone too seriously.

LegendaryWolfeh
LegendaryWolfeh
15 years ago

Different shades of brown? Look more like shades of black or grey to me. The game is definitely noir and made by french people (tho that doesn't affect much, lol) so of course it's going to be dark, nothing happy about a serial killer story and people's lives that have gone wrong.

NoSmokingBandit
NoSmokingBandit
15 years ago

Unless they've changed a lot since the trailers and recent gamplay footage i dont see it happening. Sure, HR looks good, but it didnt blow me away.

Ricochet
Ricochet
15 years ago

Honestly, the game does blow Uncharted 1 away (but I would say it stacks up higher than Uncharted 2) but it's quite obvious most of the Cell's power is directed to the graphics as opposed to the physics and other "technical" features in Uncharted 2. Hey, at least it's a SONY exclusive, I'd be flipping out if that was a multi-plat or a 360 game.

isaya85
isaya85
15 years ago

lets just face it we all know soon that U2 is going to get topped by some other Ps3 exclusive whether it's HR, GOW3 etc it all remains to be seen when they finally release, I for one like to see the 1st party devs try to one up each other it all leads to better games, if HR happens to come out on top good I don't want it to stop at U2 I want the bar to be raised higher

Naztycuts
Naztycuts
15 years ago

+1 for promoting 1st party 1upmanship

jaybiv
jaybiv
15 years ago

Well they've been spent more time on the game than ND did with U2 so they should have no excuse. I'm not too big on comparing the two though. They are two different types of games. I don't know much about Heavy Rain, but I would gather that they don't have the the same resource requirements since it's not as action intense as U2. So that would leave room for more graphical refinement.

godsman
godsman
15 years ago

One thing I don't like about Heavy Rain are their eyes. They look out of focus, like soulless dolls.

Shams
Shams
15 years ago

The "Uncanny Valley" effect: ranking somewhere near zombie. Somehow, ND managed to avoid that, even with those luminescent eyes.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
15 years ago

But could any game dev ever make an ass as fine as Chloe's?

www
www
15 years ago

But Bayonetta's America's next to model.


Last edited by www on 1/9/2010 1:41:42 PM

www
www
15 years ago

Well we'll see if it's true, so long as you have both UC2 and Heavy Rain in your collection you're safe, no need to worry.

Danny007
Danny007
15 years ago

I can't wait to see Uncharted 3's graphics

MyWorstNightmar
MyWorstNightmar
15 years ago

Here here. Look at Gears of War, and Gears of War 2 (not much difference).

Now look at Uncharted and Uncharted 2. Big leaps and bounds.

Can't wait to see what we get treated to with Uncharted 3.


Last edited by MyWorstNightmar on 1/9/2010 8:54:31 PM

Robochic
Robochic
15 years ago

Honestly the graphics for this game looks great. For me to compare to UC 2 or any other game I would need a Side by side.

All I care about is the story line to be honest! Just finished paying this game off today 🙂 can't wait.

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
15 years ago

:O

Well at least it's a ps3 game, so it makes sense

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
15 years ago

Crap, this sounds slightly fanboy-ish

Anyway, at least it's good to see that companies are acknowledging Uncharted 2 as being the best looking game of this gen (graphically)