MAGAZINE

Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Edge Staff's picture

By Edge Staff

October 14, 2009

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Format: PS3
Release: Out now
Publisher: SCE
Developer: Naughty Dog

Screenshot gallery

It is a happy coincidence that, at a time when storytelling in games is being scrutinised as never before, along comes an example to demonstrate the sheer table-thumping power of a rollicking good yarn, even if it’s one relayed in a manner that may not win it fans among those attempting to reinvent the way games are played. Uncharted 2 propels you through a procession of intricately staged episodes of drama peopled with characters that sizzle with zip and pith, and, in showing you how your reckless treasure-hunting ways adversely affect the lives of others, even asks you to question your morality. At no point, though, are you given the option to change those ways. This is no Infamous. It’s obviously not a firstperson action game, either, which leaves the player feeling much less like he is the hero than is the case in contemporary action classics such as Half-Life 2 and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare, in which the characters you inhabit never utter a word. Conversely, Uncharted 2’s returning protagonist, Nathan Drake, tosses out a quip as readily as he draws a breath (even, repeatedly, when faced with a character who quite clearly understands not a single word coming out of our hero’s mouth). Despite never being short of a comeback, however, he remains likeable throughout the game’s duration, whether holding his resolve against what seem to be overwhelming odds, carefully picking his way through elaborate locations that belong to other civilisations, or even playing his part in a surprisingly tense love triangle.



Though two of the original Uncharted’s most obvious influences seemed to be Tomb Raider and Gears Of War, the focus on Drake, and his ability to pull you into his explosive world, is the result of a studio dedicated to emulating not other games but movies, and Naughty Dog’s ambitions have been more fully realised this time around. In truth, no film would dare to throw quite so many cliffhangers – sometimes of the literal variety – at its viewers for fear of seeming like some kind of parody, but this is a videogame and its pacing is remarkable, only rarely allowing you to shuffle back from the edge of your seat and recline. The opening chapters do not see the game at its very best, and one particularly prolonged firefight two-thirds of the way through begins to drag towards its conclusion, but otherwise this is a masterclass in capturing the player’s attention, slinging it into a sack, and poking it repeatedly, relentlessly, with a stick.



Which is not to say that there isn’t repetition. Despite its sophisticated presentation and the attention spent on creating believable relationships between human characters, Uncharted 2 involves a lot of killing, our first-playthrough tally of felled foes almost reaching the 1,000 mark. With the game running at a rate of about 90kph (kills per hour), it’s good to discover that its combat builds upon the original Uncharted’s robust, cover-heavy model. Only a handful of new weapons are introduced, but stealth takedowns, the use of riot shields and the ability to pick up gas canisters and fling them towards your enemies before lethally detonating them with gunfire bring a fresh helping of strategic options that serve to not only vary the action in the campaign mode but, significantly, give additional life to the all-new multiplayer components. Importantly, too, where the original game’s combat and vertical scenery navigation sections felt segregated, this time they feel enmeshed, and it is a genuine thrill to hang by one hand from a steel bar above a city street, while trying to use the pistol in the other to sequentially pop the heads of a troop of fast-approaching military goons.

99TEARS's picture

Yeah, good game. I had fun playing this and I really appreciated the amount of time that Naughty Dog had spent putting 'character' in to their characters, if you know what I mean. That's what made the first game so appealing to me and made this one even more special. No need to say anything else to be honest, probably worth a 9 if you look at how EDGE has scored some of the other recent major releases...

As for all of the threads below all I have no idea what the bulk of the ranting is about on both sides. What's going on in this forum - what's happened?? I'm even more baffled at the amount of rational people responding to the nonsense that's spouted from some of the more argumentative readers. Honestly, why bother? Please don't drive the quality of this website's readership to further depths - you're better than that.

DCrappa's picture

After reading this thread, wouldn't it be great if all comment boxes had three options to respond...
Reply, Flag as offensive and FANBOY.
Any messages tagged as fanboy are simply redirected to a giant thread which never ends so fanboys can continue the fight for years to come...or until they grow up.

ArronC07's picture

There's only one thing worse than fanboys and that's people accusing other people of being a fanboy. It's become a way of discrediting comment without actually addressing the point made in the post, not everyone who's positive about something or negative about another is a fanboy- they just have a different point of view.

Now that's not to say that there aren't any fanboys but usually these people can be shown up with a well thought out and well constructed argument.

glennsurname29's picture

Come guys,are you all saying you dont find the tidbits of misinformed/acurate info from fanboys amusing? You all use the term "FANBOY" as a means to destroy any sense of credabilty the accused may or maynot have, (i suspect) therefore, solidyfing infact yourselfs of the very thing you claim you revile.
Can one not choose a brand ala Ferrari/Lamborgini/Bugatti and with their level of education will allow, express their reasons objectivly for chosing that brand? Do art critics dismis each other as "fanboys"?
Again, if somone is porposly being unobjective, that to me can be VERY funny,kinda like when Jeremy Clarkson loses all sense of reason for liking one car over another.Expesion somtimes fails him, and that is when he gets the most laughs. But is to say he is not to be taken seriously? Please apply my anology as common sense dictates.

Mooks's picture

This is true, it is becoming a bit of a cheap shot. However, the problem is that the definition of a Fanboy could be one whose loyalties follow no rational reasoning, which is why, no matter how well constructed the argument is, they normally never admit to the pertinence of it and simply retort with an illogical/irrational reply. That's why the ridiculous arguments proliferate and the notion of a Fanboy button is not necessarily a bad idea - if it wasn't for the fact it would probably be abused by those very people.

Futurist's picture

Exactly Mooks. And it's not hard to see why fanboys react this way. "Fanboyism" is not logical, it is an emotional position that is often tinted by rose colored glasses. And, usually there is something that happened personally, or a strong experience, that happened when a person acquired their console (or any item worthy of coveting), that can cloud a rational discussion from happening. Even as a collector of systems myself, I look back on systems like the Saturn more fondly than the Playstation, the Intellivision over ColecoVision. It is precisely the experiences around the acquisition that push a position forward.

So, even if one system is more powerful than the other, the fanboy's system of choice has that innate awesomeness that the other systems can't compete with.

Now, it is a LOT of fun when the fanboy debates start to get into technical arguments. That's when accuracy is more important than emotion. However, at the end of the day, it is all about the things that make you happy.

Whisky a Go Go's picture

Jesus, can't nobody just play the fucking games and be happy at that!

U2 is a top game, possibly the best game of this gen so far. But all you get on here is wee dicks, fanboys, talking about irrelevant issues.

Mooks's picture

Hear hear.

The only time graphical differences should be important is if they affect the gameplay (as in the shift from 2D to 3D) or if they significantly affect the game players' immersion in the game world. Whichever console has the better graphics, the undeniable fact is that the differences are not huge - certainly not significantly affecting gameplay and/or immersion. In which case, stop stressing over whose consoles have the slightly better graphics and just enjoy the games.

A gradual and consistent improvement in graphical fidelity is a good thing. However, the obsession with graphical fidelity, particularly when it displaces attention from gameplay and actual artistry, is one of the major problems in the game industry at the moment.

xstavrosx83's picture

I couldn't agree more...Besides if you look at the past generations the winning platform wasn't the most powerful(PSone vs N64 or xbox vs PS2)Quality games is what makes the difference...

hasan's picture

let's not turn this into a political discourse but PS3 SPU model is more adaptable than rigid Direct X API, we just start seeing the results, also Intel larrabee is testament to how great the CELL is. IBM don't play any games....

Wall_E's picture


First of all, if you have any understanding of development or at least read any articles on that process and made any sense of them, you know that multiplats will always look best on the lead platform.

SO you can't really use a multiplatform title to compare the systems. the 360 barely edges out the ps3 on most because the 360 is the lead title on most.

Basically its like making a square block to place in a square space. you designed it for that purpose so unless your designers are crappy or the tools are crappy it should fit pretty well. But then your taking that same square block and putting attachments on it and adjustments to make it fit into a completely different shape. Well it definitely isn't going to look as pretty since it was origingally designed to be a square. and its structure will not be as intact.

This is basically the problem with ports and Why alot of people HATE multiplat games, unless there is some extremely good development going on, one platform will suffer.

The best judge of a system then, is in its exclusives.

I think it is then valid to compare two flagship products that represent what would be the best of each system(halo odst, uncharted) and note that one doesn't quite have the visuals the other does.

It would take a severe fanboy not to admit that.... And then any logic thought would have to lend you to ask why? the development time for uncharted 2 was incredibly short. they just released uncharted 1 less than 2 years ago. So in a short period of time naughty dog presents something amazing, and Bungee kinda fell short in comparison.

Fortunately the fanbase is there for halo for reasons other than visuals though. This article is about what a system can do though, not how well it sells.

Couldn't agree more with these statements.

Source:

http://www.gameswire.net/news/opinion-is-the-360-holding-the-ps3-back_42...

Ben_Lathwell's picture

Am defo not a fanboy but i find the ODST/ Uncharted 2 comparison a bit off. ODST is an updated version of Halo 3, a 2 and a half year old game and defo not the best example of what can be done on the 360.

A more current AAA 360 exclusive would be a better comparison, admittedly im struggling to name such a game.

I agree with you on the multi-platform note, and agree that the PS3 is ahead of the game graphically

Whisky a Go Go's picture


Am defo not a fanboy but i find the ODST/ Uncharted 2 comparison a bit off. ODST is an updated version of Halo 3, a 2 and a half year old game and defo not the best example of what can be done on the 360.

That's way off, Bungie had the time to update/make that game (Halo 3) better in 2 and a half years in OSDT (basically DLC IMO).

U2 was created in under 2 years from the first game and not only exceeded it in terms of gameplay, narrative, voiceovers, AI, multiplayer, etc, Halo 3 had more development time to GET IT RIGHT, but U2 is the superior game, even with less development time than the former.

Ben_Lathwell's picture

.

Top_Dollar's picture

Fact is, if games are created for the PS3 from start to finish then they'll always be better than the 360's offerings i.e. U2, GT5, Killzone 2, MGS 4, etc.

You can't really use multiplatform titles to compare the systems.

Mefistofeles's picture

I'm used to ask for coherence in a reviewer when analizing a game.
Today I feel like I get to ask coherence in gamers. Some of the comments are really hard with Uncharted 2 because it's too linear. Trying to figure what kind of games this people would like I can imagine GTA,Zelda,Super mario 64...and many more. That's O.K to me, no problem at all, but if you don't like any of those it means that you are not honest.
If you disliked Uncharted 2 because of linear, you got to love all the opposite: games showing the so called freedom.
Maybe you like horror movies and you dislike comedy and it can be understood, but you can always say: 'I don't like comedies but this one is a masterpiece even if I dislike comedy'.

I don't like fihting games, but Street fighter IV is a masterpiece, as simple as that.And then I give honest reasons analizing sound,visuals and all the stuff besides my personal tastes.

ZAKROCZ you disliked Uncharted 2 and you compare it with the visuals of killzone 2 and a few lines later you talk about Demon's souls.For Christsake,what has those two games in common to be compared with Uncharted 2?.It's like comparing The full metal jacket with toy story 2.It doesnt make any sense.Maybe you should know yourself better or one day you will find yourself buying a ticket to see a comedy, not an action film
Be honest and say it loud : "I don't like platformers, never will, and I prefer pure hardcore action games,but Uncharted 2 is a masterpiece."

Mefistófeles dixit.

Top_Dollar's picture


ZAKROCZ you disliked Uncharted 2 and you compare it with the visuals of killzone 2 and a few lines later you talk about Demon's souls.For Christsake,what has those two games in common to be compared with Uncharted 2?.It's like comparing The full metal jacket with toy story 2.It doesnt make any sense.

Exactly, it's just a bunch of gibbering nonsense.

Also, the guy is an idiot.

zakrocz's picture

LOL, drippy hippy, you just can't join the dots up can you? Your feeble robotic mind gives me cause to laugh like a gibbering loon as I look down on you with pity but ultimately with comtempt >;-E

ArronC07's picture

Less me guess, you haven't started your GCSE's yet?

Whisky a Go Go's picture

A career in journalism is not for you...

zakrocz's picture

Actually I think I would have made an excellent journalist (or lawyer), but when I looked into it, the thought of another 4 years of education was too much for my disturbed 16 year old mind to contemplate and hanging around in town centres drinking special brew had infinitely more appeal, DOH!!

Peter_Pesic's picture

I just finished this game last night (I didn't start playing it until after I completed Brutal Legend) and I thought it was a phenomenal experience. None of the gameplay mechanics are really innovative, but the one area it does innovate in is the overall quality and polish of every aspect of the game. They really went all out on the little details that make the world feel alive.

The game design the majority of the time is masterful. Except for one sequence (the boss fight in the train car where it took me a lot of replays to figure out what I had to beat him), going through the game was a frustration free and enjoyable experience. And this is coming from someone who isn't a fan of platforming.

It really does set new standards for narrative driven linear games, and games that aspire to be cinematic in their presentation.

squazzil4's picture

If ur not a fan of 3rd person action why did u buy this game?! Ur probably right now holding a new copy of Cooking Mama 2 thinking…oh how did this happen? Come on!?! the game u should be using as comparison is 360 genre rival Gears2. As Cliffy himself might put it. “Cliffymania just got skool-ed with proper hardcore bad-action”. Unfortunately some of the action in Uncharted 2 is plain bad-action – like the spazzy jumping & overall 1980’s McGuyver feel. But most of this genre mashup stuff was not even attempted in Gears2. U just got an uncontrollable snow tank and dragons lair style reaver chase video that was completely unplayable on hardcore difficulty. Yeah Uncharted 2 is really, really easy but the core combat gameplay gives you more choice than Gears2 i.e. you can jump over cover straight into melee kick to the head. Why in Gears can u not jump over cover & land on people with the chainsaw & why couldn’t u drive those bloodmount things & control them Yoshi style with a punch to the head. Basically Cliffy got skooled in the 3rd person.

zakrocz's picture

I bought it for a couple of reasons. I was too impatient to wait 14 days for Demon's Souls to turn up from Hong Kong and I forgot that Borderlands was out this Friday. The other reason was the hype machine, I thought I'd give the game another chance with all the high review scores from sites and high praise from fellow gamers posts, like I said a moment of weakness. I did the same with Gears of War 2, I thought the first one was alright, but apart from the 'nearly' next gen gfx, I didn't rate it very highly but that goddamn hype got me to buy the second one which I regretted after an hour with the game.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I am affected by advertising/marketing like everyone else. If either of the above games had released a singleplayer demo I wouldn't have ended up buying the full games. But I'm also glad that I have experienced for myself the PS3s biggest release to date. Though I guess I should really look into joining a local Video/Game Rental store to save me the money I'm gonna lose when I sell it on Amazon or part-ex it for MW2. I'm also thinking about buying Assassins Creed 2 even though I didn't rate the first one. All 3 of these games promised to deliver and improve on the shortcomingsof the originals, yet so far, to me at least, they didn't deliver anything different in gameplay terms.

Oh and I looked into buying Cooking Mama when I was still in love with my Wii, but I didn't end up buying it.

zakrocz's picture

I had a moment of weakness, read lack of new games to play, and bought Uncharted 2 yesterday, trading in my unfinished & sadly disappointing Halo:ODST. Oh dear, if this is the ps3's flagship title then the ps3 is doomed, doomed I tell you. Admittedly I'm not a big fan of 3rd person platformers but this is as tedious as it gets I'm afraid. Once you get over the wow factor of the stunning water effects you're left with a dreary linear boring repetitive average game imo with archaic arcade moments that are cringeworthy, like the bit where you have to escape the guards all pointing their red lazer targeting weapons at you. The inconsistency of the gameworld is shocking, some ledges you can hang on, some you can't, some pipes you can climb up, some you can't, some jumps you can make with the blatently obvious help of the game pushing you that few extra metres in mid-air, and you guessed it, some jumps you can't make. There is only ever one way to go regardless of the pre-rendered backgrounds inviting you to try different approaches. I keep reading it's the best looking game to date on the ps3, well not to this monkey, Killzone 2's visual brilliance blows this pre-rendered cartoon to Helghast!

It's almost like the game is trying to cater to the lowest common denominater/gamer, i.e. those who are used to playing simple waggle Wii games with little to no skill required.

I'm now starting to see the multiplayer in a whole new light.

Not to worry, I'll sell this on Amazon this week and buy Demon's Souls which is what I should have done in the first bloody place.

Oh and roll on a new Zelda for Wii HD the pinnacle of 3rd person action/platform games.

quietIdentity's picture

Is it third person shooters you don't like? Or is it Uncharted 2? I think you need to ask yourself this question. Zelda is first and foremost an RPG/puzzler. Sure you fight and jump a lot but they're secondary experiences to the puzzling and role playing. Uncharted 2 and Gears of War are of a similar breed, and you didn't like either.

zakrocz's picture

True I didn't really get into either games, but I think that's probably a lot to do with the very linear nature of both games as one of my all time favourite games was Jet Force Gemini, a 3rd person shooter, but it wasn't linear, oh and don't forget I loved Shadowman 64 another 3rd person shooter albeit with lots of platforming puzzling involved.

btw, I decided to give U2 another play at the weekend in response to every man, fanboy and his dog shoving my criticisms of the game down my throat, but unfortunately I still couldn't get into the gameplay so part-exing it tomorrow for MW2.

As a side note, Rare what the hell happened to you :(

Ivor_Biguns's picture

Hey mate, sorry you didn't like Uncharted 2 but, listen, you won't go wrong with Demon's Souls. I say this with true passion and conviction. I'm a huge Uncharted fanboy and I've all but forgotten about the sequel despite all the rave reviews. I've been so lost in Demon's Souls. Look at me; I'm even evangelising about this game on the 'net. I think everyone should play this game. It's a true gem.

zakrocz's picture

Well I ordered my copy yesterday from a Hong Kong ebay seller so with a bit of luck, postal strike permitting, I should get my hands on it next week :)

zakrocz's picture

Still waiting goddammit!! Up the postal workers and all that but please can you post my game now... pretty please !!!

zerobob's picture

Once you get over the wow factor of the stunning water effects you're left with a dreary linear boring repetitive average game imo with archaic arcade moments that are cringeworthy, like the bit where you have to escape the guards all pointing their red lazer targeting weapons at you. The inconsistency of the gameworld is shocking, some ledges you can hang on, some you can't, some pipes you can climb up, some you can't, some jumps you can make with the blatently obvious help of the game pushing you that few extra metres in mid-air, and you guessed it, some jumps you can't make. There is only ever one way to go regardless of the pre-rendered backgrounds inviting you to try different approaches. I keep reading it's the best looking game to date on the ps3, well not to this monkey,

That's strange, that's the exact impression I came away with after playing through some of the first game. The graphics seemed 'bitty' for lack of a better word, and the gameplay seemed clunky. This game seems exactly the same.

Give me Tomb Raider or Shadow of the Colossus any day. I don't think the Uncharted games take the 3rd person platformer genre anywhere, or even offer an average playing experience come to think of it.

glennsurname29's picture

It is NOO Mass Effect thats for sure! I wont miss playing uncharted at all, 1 or 2 because they have not "betterd" the story telling of Mass Effect, and we (Xbots) got M.E 2 to look forward to!!

zakrocz's picture

I never owned a PS2, buying the ill-fated GC instead, but Shadow and Ico are 2 games I would have really liked to play.

quietIdentity's picture

>>NEWSFLASH<< YOU STILL CAN! Heres to buying games that aren't new releases and enjoying them!

zakrocz's picture

yeh I know, but the gfx whore inside me would have a problem playing last gen games, and besides I'm a bit skint these days since being made redundant recently and with the onslaught of new major releases early next year any spare cash I have will go towards buying them.

savagehenry's picture

What you are looking for in Uncharted 2 isn't there! and that was highlighted with your admission that "I'm not a big fan of....."

What Naughty Dog has afforded us is a representation of a world, in which a movie like narrative flows through. It was never supposed to be a free-roaming environment and it was never meant to be accurate. and like a movie you have to suspend disbelief for a minute and just enjoy the experience. If you've only reach the turkish museum then and your passing this comment you really need to play the rest of the game as I don't think it's is fair to judge the game one section.

Yes, the climbing is slightly linear, but half the fun and challenge is finding the handholds. this is illustrated better if you go after the 100 items of treasure in a later play through, you'll be surprised how many hand holds and platforms that you missed.

I think you are very wrong in your assumption that its to cater to the lowest common denominator, one voice does by no means make a majority. If you didn't like the game that's fine, there is nothing wrong with that, but to trash it because a few issues that interferes with you personal preferences is the wrong attitude to take! Maybe you should have thought about that a little before you went out and wasted £40.

zakrocz's picture

But I loved Banjo Kazooie, Silicon Valley, Shadowman 64 and of course Zelda, all are 3rd person action platformers. So I do enjoy games in this genre but off the top of my head I can't think of any that match those I've mentioned for my own gaming tastes. But come to think of it, none of these games were linear.

savagehenry's picture

I'm not sure what the problem is with Linearity ?

zakrocz's picture

I prefer games that give me a choice, or at least the illusion of choice, of where to go and what to do rather than only giving you one route either forwards or backwards. It's just a matter of personal taste. But I thought that Resident Evil 4 was one of the best video games I have ever played and that was pretty linear. On a side note, they really screwed up the sequel for me turning it into just another action game with none of the horror and suspense of 4.

Alex Walker's picture

I think you probably covered it with "admittedly I'm not a big fan of 3rd person platformers"

Now I can understand people not enjoying the game, but criticising a game that was never going to be anything but linear for being linear is bad form. There is nothing wrong with a well crafted linear game. I've been playing Call of Duty 4 recently, and I've not wished it to be Operation Flashpoint, because the funneled experience Infinity Ward created is just that damn good.

As far as the visuals go whilst you dismiss it as a cartoon, some people actually like a bit of colour in their games, it breaks up the grey and brown we've been 'treated' to for the past god knows how many years.

zakrocz's picture

I'm not sure why, but for some reason I got the impression from the gameplay trailers & Edge previews that it wasn't going to be as linear as it was...

DubsTF's picture

Uncharted 2 is amazing. Putting aside for a moment its best of breed gameplay, from a purely tech perspective a game this good has to make you wonder: is the 360 holding the PS3 back? At this point it is absolutely a legitimate question, if not a stone certainty.

Anyway, well done, Edge—it's nice to see you recognize true quality. (Now just go back and amend a few points off that ridiculous ODST fanboy review and we'll be getting somewhere! You know it's the right the thing to do. :D)

grognard66's picture

The 360 isn't holding PS3 development back in the least. The additional availability of RAM, far superior GPU and more efficient architecture (not to mention superior SDK's) offsets the other advantages PS3 holds (mainly CPU). Any game made specifically for just one system should take full advantage of that particular hardware and Naughty Dog did a commendable job of this with Uncharted 2.

However, if you look at a game like inFamous, which was also a PS3 exclusive, the graphics were not any better than 360 ports (still an outstanding game, but not a graphical powerhouse). There are also 360 exclusives (Gears 2 comes to mind) which look far better than almost any PS3 title. Uncharted 2 is certainly at the top end of what this generation has offered to date, but keep in mind that there are some inherent advantages (from a graphical perspective) to a very linear game design.

Wall_E's picture

Mr patronizing speaks again. You haven't got a foot to stand on here as your comments are just a bunch of gobshite!

andyfour's picture

grognard, genuine question -
Have you ever done any technical design, development etc?
Do you truley understand the architecture of the systems, by which I don't mean, have you read lots of forums, interviews etc from other developers. I mean, do you understand how the architecture works from a development perspective yourself?
You're right of course about the fact that any game designed specifically for one platform will look and behave better that a multi platform game, thats just the nature of multi-platform.
I'm yet to see anything on the 360 compete with U2 or Killzone, have I missed something? Before anyone even thinks of saying Gears(2), that is the UT engine, nice enviroments, but nowhere near the same ball park.
Do you know if the New Halo game will be using the Halo 3 engine or a new one? If a new engine, will be interesting to see what they manage with that.

glennsurname29's picture

the games that push 360 the hardest graphicaly soo far, are able to b played in 1080p. Killzone 2 is caped at 720...what does this imply? Plus PS3 has 256 of FIXED memory for graphics,and another 256 for audio. 360 has 512 Mb that the developer can partition anyway needed,so graphics over audio, the developer has more ram for graphics,couple this with a better graphics processor (360 has this also over PS3) and this why i beleive MC claim that they have a up and coming graphics engine that will make KZ2 look tired, after congratulated Sony for raising the graphical bar with KZ2.

Futurist's picture

So, the PS3 just uses it's RAM for graphics and audio? Where is all of the game logic, network, input, etc. processed? In thin air?

I get it, you love your XBox360. But please don't get into technical debates when it is clear that you don't understand what you are typing.

glennsurname29's picture

Dont be soo pedantic, of course i know this, but in your response are you implying that the ps3 is able to partion memory in favour of graphical details? Because you would be 100percent WRONG, the 256mb for visuals cannot be added to from the other 256 mb to say increase the level size for les loading ect

Futurist's picture

Well, you are wrong there as you could, but you wouldn't due to a performance hit. Now, here is where you are really going to hate this discussion.

The XBox 360 can't actually output a 720P 2xAA picture in a single pass. The 360 only has a 10MB frame buffer. All of the memory that a developer dedicates to the graphic partition of shared memory is for set-up, textures, etc. The way a full 720P 2xAA frame is drawn is in two passes. It's also why the resolutions for XB360 games are all over the map (Halo3 didn't run in full 720P).

How does the 360 correct for this and get to 720P/1080P? Dedicated scaler. Who cares if the game scales to a larger resolution than was intended? It looks worse in many cases, although AA helps to hide some of the crappiness.

Now, it is true that if you need more than 256MB of VRAM on the PS3, there are concessions. However, this is in the most extreme minority, not the rule.

EDIT: Oh, and I'm not being pedantic, you stated that 256MB was used for audio. Your words, not mine. How am I supposed to know you meant everything else and audio too?

EDIT2: Oh, and KZ2 and UC2 both in full 720P native. :)

glennsurname29's picture

10mb frame buffer? cant output 720p 2xAA in a single pass? That 10mb is "onboard" the GPU specificaly to deal with antialasing. Because of that, there is little to no performance hit choosing what ever antialasing tecnique the developer chooses. Have you forgot that "ghostbusters" was developed foremostly for PS3, but by the developer own admission, the ps3.s resolution of ghostbuster was at 75percent of the 360 version and coupled with a inferior antialasing technique,because it wasnt possible to sustain the frame rate the 360 was doing? Go google it...This isnt bull,go see for yo self's